TRICKY SCIENCE QUESTIONS
GW gives you the lowdown on some of the world’s most mind-boggling mysteries!
WHY IS IT EASIER TO DO A HANDSTAND IN THE POOL THAN ON THE GRASS? — Joey, 9, NM
Well, when you’re doing a handstand on grass, you’re surrounded by air. When you’re doing a handstand in the pool, you’re surrounded by water. In the pool, the water pressure creates resistance for your body to use. When you put your hands on the floor of the pool and then put your body into handstand position, that pressure helps to push you forward and keeps you in place. That’s why, even if you wiggle bit, you can get yourself back into handstand position pretty easily. On land, you don’t have any help getting up or staying in place from the environment around you. That makes it harder!
WHY DOES THE SUN HURT OUR EYES? — Larissa, 11, CA
There are two reasons for this! The first is that on a bright, sunny day, your eyes adjust to the sun by making your pupils smaller. This helps because less of that bright light is getting let in, but that quick reaction from your eyes causes some pain. Why? We’d compare it to how you’d feel after suddenly trying to run as fast as you could — your legs would probably hurt a bit. The second reason is that the sun has something called ultraviolet light. We can’t see the light, but it causes sunburn and it can cause burn on your eyes, too. That’s why it’s important to protect your eyes from the sun’s rays, just like you protect your skin!
WHY ARE TONGUE TWISTERS SO HARD TO SAY? — Prya, 8, DE
She sells seashells by the seashore. Not so easy to repeat, right? That’s because tongue twisters are designed using words that repeat similar sounds and mouth movements. When you try to say them, your brain and your mouth have to quickly make small changes to stop you from messing up. For example, all those “S” and Sh” words in “She sells seashells by the seashore” confuse your brain and may cause you to say “See shells She sells by she she sure.” The slower you say them, the easier it is because your brain and mouth have time to adjust!