Anyone who has been to a swimming pool or to the beach is familiar with the idea that some things float, while other things sink. The question though is why do some things float, and other things sink. Is it their weight? Consider that a very large ship easily floats on the ocean while a […]
Everything in the Universe has gravity, including you! Gravity attracts objects toward each other. The larger an object is, the more gravity it has. For example, a star, like the Sun has significantly more gravity than an asteroid. Like all fields, including magnetism, static electricity, and yes, gravity, the attractive force increases the closer you […]
Scientists are always learning more about how the world works. Mankind has known about the effects of El Niño & La Niña for many centuries, but it wasn’t until recently that we began to understand what was actually occuring. El Niño was first noticed by fishermen who lived off the coast of Peru. These fishermen […]
You have probably heard the word “capacity” before. It refers to how much of something can be stored. For example, if we talk about the capacity of a battery we are referring to how much power the batter can hold. If we talk about the storage capacity of a computer, we are referring to how […]
Have you ever flown in an airplane? If you have, then what did you do during your flight? Did you read a book? Watch a movie? Sleep? Whatever you did, you probably trusted that the pilot knew what they were doing, and that they would get you to the correct destination. Did you consider though […]
All living things must have energy in order to carry on the functions of life. This energy comes mostly from a sugar, which is produced deep within plant cells, in an organelle called Chloroplasts. These chloroplasts are unique in that they have the ability to change sunlight into chemical energy that can be used by […]
The American bison is a large, shaggy-haired mammal that once roamed across North America in huge herds. Today, it is mostly found in national parks and other protected areas. The European bison is a similar animal that lives in Europe. Both species are endangered. Bison are important to native Americans, who use every part of […]
The Stegosaurus was a herbivore that lived during the late Jurassic period. It was approximately 30 feet long and weighed around 2,000 pounds. It had a small head, a long neck, a tail, and four legs. The stegosaurus was covered in plates and spikes. The plates were made of bone and were arranged in rows […]
Living things interact with their environments. This includes cells, which take in nutrients and expel waste. They do this through active and passive transport. Active transport requires energy, while passive transport does not. Examples of active transport include cells taking in glucose against a concentration gradient. Meaning that the cell must use energy to bring […]
Transcription is the process of converting DNA into RNA. In transcription, an enzyme called RNA polymerase reads the DNA and creates a complementary RNA strand. This RNA strand is then used as a template for protein synthesis. Translation is the process of converting RNA into proteins. In translation, ribosomes read the RNA and create proteins […]
