4Kids.org - Week of January 11, 2004

Week of January 11, 2004

A Blast in Space

Join the Solar System Exploration team at http://solarsystem.nasa.gov. You’ll explore the bodies in the solar system when you fly through The Planets. Using the History of Exploration time line, you can click on and learn about missions and important events. Read late-breaking news about current space exploration projects. Then look into NASA’s technology strategies and find out how exploring space helps improve technology used on Earth.

Nominate a cool Web site at https://4Kids.org/nominations/

Visit the Featured Web sites to find the answers.

Which planet did Clyde Tombaugh discover?

Mercury
Pluto
Uranus

What’s a good replacement for pressed wood in cupboards?

cork
bamboo
wheatboard

What is the study of human and animal traces left in caves called?

Ichnology
Tracology
Deposiology

Home Safe Home

Zoom in on The Toxic House at www.cbc.ca/ natureofthings/toxic_flash/ toxic_house_flash.html to see how you can protect yourself from potentially harmful household items. In the bathroom, some personal care products contain unhealthy chemicals. Walk down to the basement to see why you should leave old paint undisturbed. You may enjoy cozying up next to the living room fireplace when it’s cold out, but beware of wood smoke. In the bedroom, find out why flowers are better air fresheners than incense.

The Writing on the Walls

Jean-Marie Chauvet discovered The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc in 1994. Today you can visit the cave online and explore paintings, engravings and animal bones in the cave at www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/en. In Research you’ll find a cave painting of a bison composed of several handprints. Drawings of lions and bears, animals that were not hunted, are unique to this cave. Learn about Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc’s geological importance when you go to Time and Space.

Do you think it is important
to eat dinner as a family?

Speak Out Here!

Dear Amy: How can I add photos to a CD-R without erasing the old photos?
— Jordyn, Goose Creek, S.C.

Dear Jordyn: You can’t add data to a CD-R once it has been burned, but you can add data to a CD-RW. Once a CD-R is burned, it’s set. But CD-RWs may be reburned. In order to add data to a CD-RW, the computer copies the data on the disk to the hard drive. Then it groups the original and new data and burns all of it to the disk. Go to http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/ question655.htm to learn about the technical details of burning data to a CD-RW.

Dear Amy: If space makes things float, why don't planets just crash into each other?
— Astrid, Sri Manjung, Perak, Malaysia

Dear Astrid: It may seem like the planets are just floating in space, but the sun’s gravity keeps them moving in an organized manner. You’ll find a great example of how this happens at http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=481. Because the planets are circling the sun at a specific velocity, they follow the same path of orbit, which keeps them from crashing into each other.

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