4Kids.org - Week of November 25, 2007

Week of November 25, 2007

R U a Science Explorer?

Forge FX welcomes you to join them for an interactive adventure in science at www.forgefx.com/
casestudies/prenticehall. There are several dynamic activities to choose from, such as Design and Test where you build your own catapult with the challenge of sticking to a budget. If you love bugs, get ant crazy when you travel through Pheromone Trails and see how chemicals from one small creature can affect everyone in the colony. Last but not least, get a far-out view of the Earth and discover the different biomes that make up our awesome planet.

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

Visit the Featured Web sites to find the answers.

How long ago was the solar system formed?

5 billion years
6 billion years
7 billion years

What are the 3 R's?

Rise, run, return
Revisit, reset, renew
Reduce, reuse and recycle

Where did Frank Lloyd Wright begin his career?

Greenfield, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois
Fulton, Illinois

Save the Earth

Calling all Earth Buddies! Do your part to help with environment when you click on http://library.think
quest.org/06aug/00442/
index1.htm. See What's Up and get information on major threats to our planet like pollution and the ever-concerning global warming. Make a difference at home when you learn how to make your place a greener, safer environment through solar energy and conserving electricity. Run some calculations with the S.E.E.K. calculator and find out just how friendly you really are with Mother Earth.

Build It Wright

Future architects of the world will find their passion at Architect Studio 3D, www.architectstudio3d.org/
AS3d. This site lets budding builders build their own dream homes, walk through them in 3D and share their original creations with others. Meet up with Frank Lloyd Wright and begin to create your house when you enter the Design Studio. Visit the Design Gallery to tour and rate the houses others have created. Finally, brush up on architecture skills in About Architecture where you can browse the Architect’s Handbook and learn how to design for different clients with different needs.

Do you recycle? Why or why not?

Speak Out Here!

Dear Amy: How do people make computer chips? — Aditi, Woodbury, Minn.

Dear Aditi: Everyone knows that you can find computer chips in your PC, but did you know that everyday electronic items such as programmable coffee makers and cellular phones have computer chips, too? With so many cool, innovative uses for computer chips, it is worth all the hard work that’s put into making them. Computer chips are built on a polished wafer of silicon crystal. Next, a layer of silicon dioxide glass is deposited on the wafer, and a process called photolithography is used to create circuit patterns on the chip. The process is repeated to create multiple layers of circuit patterns on the chip.

After all the circuit layers are on the chip, it must be treated with chemicals to change how electricity is conducted. Silicon is a semi-conductor that can be altered to become a conductor of electricity or an insulator, which does not conduct electricity. A final layer of conducting metal is electroplated on the wafer’s entire surface and is etched to make the electrical connections. For an illustrated and more detailed explanation of the process, visit www.sematech.org/corporate/news/mfgproc/mfgproc.htm
#steps1_2.

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