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Cecilia Payne Biography

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Who is Cecilia Payne?

Cecilia Payne was an astronomer who discovered that stars were made of helium and hydrogen, thus changing the way astronomers understood the universe. It was previously believed that Earth, the Sun and stars were elementally very similar. Her work was initially rejected as it questioned long held beliefs in astronomy.

Education –

Payne studied astronomy at a time when there were very few women in the field. She began her journey when she was granted a scholarship to Cambridge University to study physics. After finding her options for the future limited, she moved to Harvard University and became the first woman to receive a PhD in Astronomy from Radcliffe College.

Research and Work –

Her analysis of variable stars laid the groundwork for all studies that have been conducted since. She showed a far greater understanding of the universe than most of her male counterparts at the time. Her work was rewarded when she became the first woman to Chair the Department of Astronomy at Harvard University.

Healthy Yet Tasty Soups

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Soups are an effective yet delicious way to incorporate more vegetables into your child’s diet. By adding herbs and flavourings to soups, it is easy to amplify the flavour profile of the soup – making it a hearty option for dinner.

The monsoons and flu season come hand in hand and it’s important to try and incorporate vegetables that boost immunity into meals, to keep the sniffles at bay. Here are two healthy and delicious options for a tasty weeknight dinner.

Carrot, Tumeric and Ginger Soup

(Recipe serves 3)

  • In a large pot, lightly fry one chopped onion, a few cloves of garlic, 1″ piece of ginger chopped and 1″ piece of fresh turmeric chopped.
  • You can choose to incorporate fresh herbs such as sage or thyme at this point of time as well.
  • When the onions are soft and translucent, add 500 gms of carrots that have been peeled and chopped into chunks.
  • Fry the carrots for 2 minutes and then pour 1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock into the pot.
  • Bring the stock to a boil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
  • Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the carrot is cooked through.
  • Cool and blend in batches. If you are in the mood for a creamier soup, add 1/4 cup of cream while reheating the soup. Coconut milk is also a great option if you’re vegan.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

(Recipe serves 3)

  • In a large pot, lightly fry one chopped onion, 200 gms chopped carrots and 700 gms peeled and chopped sweet potatoes.
  • After 5 minutes, add 1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock and 100 ml of coconut milk.
  • This soup is a great vehicle for warmer spices such as ground cumin, ground coriander and ground cinnamon. Add 1/2 teaspoon of each of these spices as well as chilly flakes as per your taste.
  • Season the soup with salt and freshly ground pepper and cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
  • Cool and blend in batches.

You can add toasted garlic bread alongside the soup to make the meal heavier or even add a handful a boiled macaroni to the soups to make them a heartier meal. Soups are versatile and you can take the opportunity to add spices, herbs are flavourings as per your choice.

Essentials of a First Aid Kit

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Home first aid kits are a must in households with children. In case of an emergency, a readily available first aid kit plays a crucial role in helping those who are injured or in discomfort. A first aid kit can provide immediate relief or stabilize the patient before they are taken to the hospital (if need be). It can be used to treat minor injuries such as –

  • Burns
  • Cuts
  • Scrapes
  • Stings
  • Splinters
  • Sprains
  • Strains
  • Fevers, colds and allergies

These are some of the minor injuries children and adults alike incur at home and it is better to have medicines available at hand instead of rushing around at the last moment.

Remember to keep first aid kits in an airtight box to ward away dampness and in a cool, dark and dry place. It is best to keep them out of the hands of young children to avoid accidental ingestion of medicines. Check the first aid kit from time to time to throw away expired medication.

It is also important to make sure your children have memorized important phone numbers for emergency services along with the numbers of other family members in case of emergency. Below are some items which are handy to keep at home –

THE BASICS –

  • Scissors
  • Tweezers
  • Latex gloves
  • Cotton wool and earbuds (to dab on small amounts of ointment!)
  • Safety pins
  • Medical tape
  • Thermometer

FOR CUTS AND MINOR SCRAPES –

  • Different shapes and sizes of band-aids
  • Gauze pads
  • Antiseptic solution (like Dettol or Savlon)
  • Antibiotic ointment (such as Neosporin ointment)

FOR SPRAINS AND TWISTS –

  • Crepe bandages
  • An ice pack in the freezer
  • Pain relief gel

FOR ALLERGIES –

  • Antihistamine syrup or tablet

When it comes to fevers, colds and sore throats, it is always better to take your child to a doctor and be prescribed the appropriate medication. What you may feel is just a cold, maybe symptomatic of a larger flu or a viral. It is better to receive the advice of a trained professional rather than self-medicate.

First aid boxes should not be limited to the home. When undertaking long journeys, it is also important to carry a basic first-aid kit along with tablets for nausea and rehydration sachets.

London Eye Facts

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What is the London Eye?

The London Eye is the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel, on the South Bank of the River Thames.

It was formerly known as the Millennium Wheel or the revolving observation wheel.

What is the height of the London Eye?

At a height of 443 feet(135 meters), the London Eye was the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel, before it was surpassed by the Star of Nanchang, in Nanchang, China.

Who built the London Eye?

The London Eye was originally conceived by David Marks and Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield Architects in 1993, in response to a competition organised by the Sunday Times and Great Britain’s Architecture Foundation. The competition was organised to build a new monument in London, to commemorate the new Millennium.

It was finally built by the architects themselves and was funded by British Airways, Tussauds Group and the architect couple themselves.

How long did it take to build the London Eye?

London Eye was constructed over a period of two years. Construction began in 1998 and it was inaugurated by the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair on December 31, 1999.

It admitted its first paying passenger until March 9, 2000.

4 Fun facts about the London Eye

1. The 32 capsules on the London Eye are representative of the 32 London boroughs and each one weighs as much as 20,000 pounds, approx But they are numbererd 1 to 33, avoiding the unlucky number 13.
2. The London Eye can carry 800 people each rotation.
3. The capsules travel at a pace of 26 cms per second, which is really slow.
4. The London Eye is not a ferris wheel, as it is supported by an A frame on just one side, and the carriages are outside the wheel rim instead of hanging low.

Combustion and Flame

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What is combustion?

Combustion or burning is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidised, often gaseous mixture termed as smoke. In some reactions, water is also produced along with smoke and other chemicals.

Types of combustion

Combustion is categorised as the following :

1. Complete and Incomplete Combustion

Complete Combustion –

  • In complete combustion, the reactant burns in oxygen, producing a limited number of products.
  • When a hydrocarbon burns in oxygen, the reaction will yield carbon dioxide and water.
  • When elements are burned, the products are primarily the most common oxides. Carbon will give carbon dioxide, sulphur will give sulphur dioxide.
  • Nitrogen is not a combustible substance when oxygen is the oxidant, but small amounts of various nitrogen oxides form when air is the oxidant.

Incomplete Combustion –

  • Incomplete combustion will occur when there is not enough oxygen to allow the fuel to react completely, to produce carbon dioxide and water.
  • It also occurs if external devices or sources does not allow the combustion to take place completely. Carbon and carbon monoxide are the by products and not carbon dioxide.
  • Certain substances like diesel, oil, plastic, tyres, coal or wood, pyrolysis occurs before combustion. Pyrolysis is the process where complex molecules or polymers are broken down into simpler molecules. Pyrolysis generally occurs without oxygen. It is used in waste management to alter the waste generated into a more usable material.
  • Incomplete combustion adds harmful compounds to the environment, in the form of smog and other contaminants.

2. Smouldering

This type of combustion, though categorised by the presence of incandescence and smoke, produces no flame.

A relatively slow process, smouldering occurs between the oxygen in air and the surfaces of solid fuels such as coal, peat, wood, tobacco and synthetic foams. These solid fuels glow when smouldering, indicating temperatures in excess of one thousand degrees celcius. Sometimes it occurs for some time in a hot environment, despite lack of oxygen. Although under such conditions, it produces high amounts of carbon monoxide.

3. Diffusion Combustion

Diffusion combustion results from the transfer of fuel vapours and oxygen across a concentration gradient into a reaction area that is characterised by high temperatures and correct proportion of reactants. Vapours may come initially from a solid fuel such as candle wax, a liquid fuel like alcohol or kerosene or a gaseous fuel like methane, or even the ordinary LPG cylinders we use in our homes.

The flames produced from diffusion combustion begins as smooth, laminar flame, increasing in turbulence as it grows and consumes more fuel and oxygen.

4. Rapid Combustion

Rapid combustion releases massive amounts of energy in the form of heat and light as is the case with fire. In some cases, combustion occurs so fast that large amounts of gases are released, along with heat and light, causing a significant pressure shift in the surrounding atmosphere. This pressure shift, often accompanied by a very loud noise, is called an explosion.

Internal combustion engines convert the energy produced by rapid combustion into usable kinetic energy.

5. Spontaneous Heating and Combustion

Spontaneous heating and combustion differs from most other types of combustion in that no external ignition source is required for it to proceed. An extremely slow process, spontaneous can take upto a few weeks. It consists of a gradual oxidation of certain material. As heat builds up, the rate of reaction increases, eventually causing smoldering or flaming combustion when the temperature rises. It may occur with petrochemicals, hydrocarbons, hay, cotton, etc.

What is a flame?

A flame is the visible gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic reaction taking place in a thin zone.

Very hot flames are hot enough to have ionised gases as components, which may be considered plasma.

Structure of a candle flame

A candle flame consists of three zones.

  1. The innermost zone of a flame is dark or black and is the coldest part of the flame and is made of unburnt vapours of combustible material.
  2. The middle zone of a flame is yellow, bright and luminous. The fuel vapours burn partially in the middle zone, because there is not enough air for burning in this zone. The partial burning of fuel in the middle zone produces carbon particles. These carbon particles then leave the flame as smoke and soot. It has moderate temperature.
  3. The outer zone of the flame is blue. It is a non luminous zone. In this zone, complete combustion takes place, as it has enough supply of oxygen.

What is fuel?

Fuel maybe defined as any material that can be made to react with other substances, so that it releases chemical energy as heat.

Classification of fuels

1. Solid Fuel: Coal, wood, charcoal, peat and agricultural waste
2. Liquid Fuel: Kerosene, gasoline
3. Gaseous Fuel: Liquified Petroleum Gas, natural gas
4. Biofuels: Biofuel is defined as derived from biomass
5. Fossil Fuel: Fossils fuels are hydrocarbons, coal, petroleum, natural gas, coal. Fossils fuels are formed from plants dead and fossilised millions of years ago. They are non-renewable sources of energy

What are the characteristics of a good fuel?

The characteristics of a good fuel are :

  • High calorific value
  • Moderate ignition temperature
  • Low moisture content
  • Low noncombustible matter
  • Moderate velocity of combustion
  • Products of combustion not harmful
  • Low cost
  • Easy to transport
  • Combustion should be controllable
  • No spontaneous combustion
  • Low storage cost
  • Should burn in air with efficiency

Uses of combustion chemistry

The study of combustion chemistry helps us to design and monitor better and more efficient machines and engines. It also helps us to avoid using fuels that irreversibly damage our environment.

What is a clause?

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Definition of clause

A clause is a group of words that has both a subject and a predicate. Every complete sentence is made of atleast one clause.

Examples: Michelle runs every morning.
The sentence has both :
Subject – Michelle
Predicate – runs
The sentence has one subject – Michelle. It speaks about Michelle, who runs every morning. So the sentence has one clause.

Different types of clauses with examples

Independent clause

These clauses can complete a sentence independently.

Examples
Tara is a marathon runner.
This sentence has one clause. It is a simple sentence. You don’t need another clause, to complete it to speak about Tara’s action.
If we need to describe more about Tara, then we need to add more clauses. This makes the sentence compound, complex or compound – complex. The clause that we add will then be a dependent clause or clauses.

Most sentence we use in our language are complex. These sentences are complex.
Michelle runs every morning, but she has never run a marathon.
Tara runs the marathon, because she is fit and strong.
It has one subject and two clause. Can you find them and identify which is the main clause and which is the sub-ordinate clause?

Michelle runs every morning, but she has never run a marathon.
Michelle runs every morning.
Answer : Main Clause
she has never run a marathon
Answer: Subordinate Clause

Tara runs the marathon, because she is fit and strong.
Tara runs the marathon
Answer : Main Clause
because she is fit and strong.
Answer : Subordinate Clause

Dependent clause

A dependent clause cannot complete a thought to be communicated on its own. It will need another clause to complete the sentence.

Dependent or sub-ordinate clause are of three types:

1. Noun clause

The noun clause plays the role of a noun in a sentence. Noun clauses contain a subject and a verb. They cannot stand on their own because they are not a complete thought and must be paired with the main clause. When using a noun clause, no commas are used.

Noun clause use words like Who, Whom, Whose, Which, Whoever, Whatever, Whenever, Whether, That if, What etc, to complete a thought when a single noun is not enough.

2. Adjective clause

The adjective clause plays the role like an adjective and modifies a noun or pronoun. it contains a subject and a verb that provides a description. Adjective clauses do not change the basic meaning of the sentence. They use commas if they are adding information to the sentence.

Adjective clause use words like That, When, Where, Who, Whom, Whose, Which and Why to provide information that is necessary for identifying the word it modifies. It provides additional meaning to a word which is already clear and always contains a subject and a verb.

3. Adverb clause

The adverb clause plays the role of modifying a verb, a clause, another adverb or any other phrase with the exception of determiners and adjectives that directly modify nouns.

Adverb clauses contain subordinate conjunctions that prevent them from containing complete thoughts and becoming full sentences. Adverb clause always answer the questions When, Why and How in a sentence.

Identify the type of clause

1. Is this the white dress you wore last week?
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – adjective clause

2. The doctor said she was ill and that she should take her medicine.
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – noun clause

3. You may practice piano till 7 pm daily.
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – adverb clause

4. Whatever you choose will be fine.
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – noun clause

5. The house that I once lived in is for sale.
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – adjective clause

6. Please sit down whenever you drink water.
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – adverb clause

7. The lady who drives the red car lives next door.
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – adjective clause

8. The magical frog disappeared whenever someone appeared.
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – noun clause

9. They have a cat that likes boiled fish.
· Noun
· Adjective
· Adverb
Answer – adjective clause

Chemical Effects of Electric Current

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What is electric current?

An electric current is the flow of electric charge. In electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons, in a wire. It is either Direct Current (DC) or Alternating Current (AC).
Electric currents cause heating in certain metals like tungsten, which creates light in incandescent light bulbs. They also create magnetic fields, which are used in motors, inductors and generators.

The SI unit for measuring an electric current is the Ampere, which is the flow of electric charge across a surface at the rate of one coulomb per second. Electric current is measured using a device called an ammeter.

What happens when electric current is passed through a substance?

When electric current is passed through solids, it can either conduct the current, in which case, the material is a good conductor of electricity. At times, either magnetic effect, heat or light is generated.

Example : Iron, Copper, Gold, Platinum, Silver, Tungsten
Incase a solid doesn’t allow the current to pass through, it means it is a bad conductor or insulator of electricity.

Example : Wax, Wood, Plastic, Glass

When electric current passes through gases, light maybe generated.
When electric current is passed through a liquid (electrolyte), it causes a chemical reaction that separates ions. This process is known as Electrolysis.

What is electrolysis?

Electrolysis is the process when a liquid/solution of minerals, salt, etc, undergoes a chemical reaction when electrical current (Direct Current) is passed through it. A chemical reaction maybe defined as an exchange of ions. In this process ions are either absorbed or released.

Who coined the term electrolysis?

The term Electrolysis was coined by Michael Faraday, in 1832. He even discovered the two laws of Electrolysis, known as Faraday’s Law of Electrolysis.

Faraday’s 1st Law of electrolysis

According to this Law, the physical quantity of elements separated by passing electrical current through a molten or dissolved salt is proportional to the quantity of electric charge passed through the circuit.

Faraday’s 2nd Law of electrolysis

According to this Law, when the same amount of current is passed through different electrolytes/elements connected in series, the mass of substance liberated/deposited at the electrodes is directly proportional to their equivalent weight.

What are the uses of electrolysis?

Electrolysis is used in many industrial processes: separation of metals and minerals from ores and mineral salts coating of one metal with another, ie., electroplating

Shaheed Bhagat Singh

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Who was Shaheed Bhagat Singh?

Shaheed Bhagat Singh, was born on the 28th of September, 1907 in the district of Lyallpur in Punjab to a Sikh family. An important person in India’s struggle movement against the British Raj, he was hanged at the age of 23, by the British.

Why is Jallianwala Bagh a significant event to Bhagat Singh?

Coming from a family of freedom fighters, Bhagat was a witness to the Jallianwala Massacre, at age 12. This violent act by the authoritites of the British Raj, where about 2000 Hindu, Muslim and Sikhs were cordoned off and open fired on, completely disturbed the young mind.

What influenced Bhagat Singh?

He was greatly attracted towards socialism. Believed to be one of India’s earliest Marxists, Bhagat Singh was one of the leaders and founders of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Though he participated in the non-cooperation movement, he was disappointed when M K Gandhi called off the agitation after the Chauri Chaura incident. He studied at the National College in Lahore where he came into contact with other revolutionaries such as Bhagwati Charan, Sukhdev and others. He fled from home to escape early marriage and became a member of the organisation Naujawan Bharat Sabha.

What were the incidents leading to Bhagat Singh becoming a martyr?

In 1928, Bhagat Singh along with another freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad protested against the Simon Commission. In February 1928, The Simon Commission, a committee from England visited India. This commission was to decide the fate of Indians, the continuing rule of the British over India and other laws on governance and taxes and rights of Indians, without their say, including the right to living as secular people. The Indians mass boycotted and protested against this Commission.

Lala Lajpat Rai

During this protest Lala Lajpat Rai was killed in a lathi charge. This angered Bhagat Singh, who along with two other revolutionaries, Sukhdev and Rajguru decided to kill James A Scott but killed the British assistant superintendent, Saunders instead.

In April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall. They did not flee after bombing the assembly and were arrested. Bhagat Singh refused to hire a defence council for himself.

On the 23rd of March 1931 Bhagat Singh was sentenced to death along with Rajguru and Sukhdev. Bhagat Singh was given the title ‘Shaheed’ meaning martyr.

History of the Atlas

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Who doesn’t know the importance of maps and atlas in our lives? Without the atlas, the world of cartographers and geographers would come to a standstill!

What is an Atlas?

An atlas is an encyclopedia of the geographical, political and other educational information regarding each part of the world which serves a number of purposes. The world atlas that is today easily accessible in libraries and bookstores has had a very vivid history.

Story of Atlas the titan

Let us first acquaint you with an interesting ancient Greek tale. Greek mythology consists of innumerable tales about giant beings known as Titans.  One such Titan was Atlas. Once upon a time, it so happened that the Titans waged a war against the Greek gods and lost. All the Titans who participated in the war, then, had to face the gods’ wrath. Atlas’s punishment was to hold the sky on his shoulders.  Atlas had no choice but to keep holding the sky up for years and years.

One day, a hero named Hercules came to see him.  Hercules was looking for certain golden apples and only Atlas knew where they grew. So, Hercules requested Atlas to go and get the golden apples and offered to hold the sky in his absence. Atlas consented to help Hercules and went in search of the golden apples after shifting the sky on Hercules’ shoulders. He soon came back with the golden apples, but refused to take the sky back on his shoulders from Hercules.  Seriously, who would want to take back a job like that?  Hercules then thought of a trick and requested Atlas to hold the sky for a while so that he could just put some pads on his shoulders to be more comfortable. Atlas agreed to do so and as soon as Atlas took back the sky, Hercules vamoosed from there with the golden apples. And, thus, Atlas was once again forced to hold the sky on his shoulders till eternity.

About 500 years ago, in 1585, Gerardus Mercator, a renowned cartographer from Germany made a book of maps.  On the first page of the book, this famous story of Atlas was narrated.  Ever since then, a book of maps has been called an Atlas.

Story of Atlas the king

Another popular belief is that the land of Mauritania (In the continent of Africa) was once ruled by King Atlas, who was a great mathematician, philosopher and astronomer who had invented the first celestial globe. Gerardus Mercator first called his collection of maps as an ‘Atlas’ to honour this legendary king.

Whatever may be the truth, one thing is sure that the word ‘Atlas’ owes its origin to either of the above stories. Now let us proceed further to know how the ancient maps came into existence.

Story of ‘Atlas’ the book

It is said that the first printed collection of maps was produced in AD 150 by the renowned geographer of those times, Claudius Ptolemy. It contained 27 hand-drawn maps. Over a period of time, early cartographers and geographers started introducing corrections and reforms in the further reproductions of the maps. But the students of geography and cartography (art of making maps) faced a lot of problems while studying these maps because of the lack of uniformity of sizes of various maps. It was a tedious job to study maps as rolling and unrolling of large maps was very difficult.

Even in the early 1500s, the geography of the globe was rarely known to anyone. It was not clear whether America was a part of Asia, if there was a vast body of sea at the top of the world or if Australia was connected to Antarctica. The invention of airplanes was several centuries away, so there was no easy way of finding out what the world looked like from above.

Cartographers had to garner, assimilate and coordinate the geographical information provided by explorers and sailors who kept sailing around the world. They used to imagine themselves floating in the air, and looking down at the world from the heights of heaven. This earned them the ire of several religious sects. Maps were ripped apart, cartographers’ homes were vandalized and their lives were threatened. Some brave heart cartographers boldly faced such challenges and strove relentlessly to devise new ways of making maps.

Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius

Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius were two such men. They were German from origin and worked together as associates. Mercator was a mathematician and cartographer who was skilled in the art of making maps and had a penchant for creative thinking. Ortelius was a trained and highly skilled artist/craftsman. In 1554, they ventured into the business of buying and selling maps. Mercator used to collect and study the maps while Ortelius decorated their borders and mounted them on silk and rendered them in colour.

Mercator soon came up with his world map, but it had one nasty drawback. It was huge! It was meant only to be hung on a wall and was not portable. Every ancient map was more or less like that! In order to include the names of the smallest of places and make them readable as well, the map had to be large in size. It so happened that one day a client named Hooftman came to meet Mercator and Ortelius and asked them to devise a way to chop the huge silken sheets into smaller pieces and publish the map of the world in a book.

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum

Ortelius collected the best maps around with the help of Mercator and created the book that their client Hooftman had asked for. In 1570, Ortelius made the first Atlas. However, he did not name it ‘Atlas’ at first. He called it ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’ (theatre of the round world) and it had 53 uniform-sized maps in it.

This book of maps sold like hot cakes and several improved versions of this book soon hit the market. Ortelius became famous and people started respecting him for his cartography skills.
In 1585, Mercator published the first volume of his own world map in book form and titled this new book as ‘Atlas, or Cosmographical Meditations upon the Creation of the Universe’. The story of the mythological Atlas, as mentioned before, was written on the first page of this book. Now you know how the small book of maps that you every day carry in your school bag, was born.

Amphibians Facts and Characteristics

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What are Amphibians?

The word ‘amphibian’ owes its origin to a Greek word that means ‘double life’. Amphibians generally spend the first part of their life in water and the latter part on land.

How are Amphibians classified?

Some members of this animal class are frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians.
Amphibians are four footed and have a bony skeleton with a backbone and are classified under vertebrates.
They are tetrapods (4 limbs) that facilitate moving about on land – these limbs evolved from the pectoral and pelvic fins.
The skin is thin, soft, glandular and lacks scales except in the caecilians; caecilians have skin with scales similar to those of fish.
Amphibians are ectothermic, which means they are unable to control or generate body heat and rely on external sources to moderate their body temperature.
They breathe usually with gills in the larval stage, replaced by lungs in the adult; and cutaneous(skin) respiration in many.
They have a three-chambered heart with two atria and one ventricle, a nervous system capable of perceiving pain and a well developed digestive and excretory system.

Why do Amphibian have thin and moist skin?

Most amphibians stay or grow near water. This is the reason their skin is moist and permeable. Their skin allows cutaneous respiration and the oxygen they receive this way allows it to travel directly to the bloodstream. This method of respiration is especially useful when the amphibian has to stay in burrows during unfavourable conditions or hibernation, generally during low water situation or seasonal changes.

What is the difference between Amphibian eggs and other vertebrates that lay eggs?

The eggs of amphibians are typically laid in water and hatch into free-living larvae that complete their development in water and later transform into either aquatic or terrestrial adults (metamorphosis). In many species of frog and in most lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae), direct development takes place, the larvae growing within the eggs and emerging as miniature adults.

7 Interesting facts about Amphibians

  1. Amphibians are a crucial link in the evolutionary chain between water dwelling fish and land dwelling vertebrates. They also have a primitive lung compared to other vertebrates, connecting them to the evolution of early vertebrates.
  2. The first amphibians appeared on earth more than 370 million years ago during the Devonian period.
  3. The Chinese giant salamander is the largest known amphibian reaching 180 cms.
  4. The smallest amphibian is a frog known as the Paedophryne amauensis measuring 7.7 mm.
  5. There are more than 6,000 species of known amphibians alive today.
  6. The branch of science that studies reptiles and amphibians is known as Herpetology.
  7. Amphibians are one of the most affected species due to water and air pollution and global warming because of their permeable skin.

Canada Facts and Information

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Would you like to see thousands of red sided garter snakes slithering away in spring? Or visit an underground laboratory where you study physics? Or how about the first UFO pad? A highway exclusive for animals! Then visit Canada, the second largest country covered with 50% forests, with the largest coastline of 202,080 kilometers and boasting of 30,000 lakes; and freezing temperatures of -63 °C in winter, located in North America.

Jacques Cartier had met the Canadian natives, who had invited him to their Kanata which means a village in Iroquoian language; and he thought it meant that the country was called Canada.

What is Canada famous for?

Canada has the longest street in the world which stretches over 2,000 kilometers. It has 6 time zones. Canada has a meager population of 30 million people. Ottawa is the capital of Canada, hosting the Canadian Tulip Festival and being the cleanest city.

Quebec, the oldest city in Canada, with 95% speaking French has the beautiful Chateau Frontenac Hotel which is the most photographed hotel. It is the only walled city in North America.

The greatest Canadian invention

Canadians invented the Electric Cooking Range, Kerosene, Insulin, IMAX Film System, the Blackberry Phone, the Snow Mobile, Baseball Glove and Wood Fibers (used to make paper.)

National dish of Canada

One authentic Canadian food is French Fries covered with greasy gravy and cheese curds. Peanut Butter Nanaimo bars are chocolate bars with custard in the middle. Canada produces the most amount of maple syrup, hence maple shaped chocolate maple cookies are popular amongst kids. It also produces 3, 50,000 tons of 35 kinds of cheese every year.

Canadian National Tower

The largest tower in the world, the Canada National Tower, at 1,815 feet; prides itself of having a revolving restaurant at around 1,500 feet, giving an unobstructed 360 view of the city of Toronto. At 1,122 feet, you can stand on the highly safe glass floor and look down at the street below. Rogers Center is an attractive stadium with a retractable cover to watch events like ice hockey. Once 46 puffed up Hot Air Balloons were on display here. 743 Indian elephants can comfortably sit on the field here.

Niagara Falls

The breathtaking Niagara Falls in Canada, formed in the Ice Age, has a height of 167 feet and freezes in winter, creating an ice bridge to walk over. Superman was pictured at rescuing a boy from the Falls. The amount of water that falls every second could fill one million bathtubs in one minute. It means thundering of the water. The Falls stopped once as a massive chunk of ice was blocking its path.

10 Interesting facts about Canada

1. Montreal city has more churches than houses.
2. Quebec City has a hotel called The Hotel De Glace, made of ice every winter.
3. Thousands of red sided garter snakes emerge from underground lairs, in Narcisse, in the largest snake gathering in the world for the mating season in May, every year.
4. Canada’s national flag was formed a century after its birth.
5. Basketball game was founded by Canadian James Naismith.
6. Canada has won the maximum number of gold medals at the Winter Olympics.
7. Half of the total numbers of polar bears on Earth live in Nunavat, Canada.
8. Canada Post has a special postal code for letters to Santa Claus!
9. Canada does not own the North Pole!!
10. Canada’s only desert is a sensitive ecosystem, home to a 100 rare plants and 300 animal and birds found no where else in Canada.

The Fall of Berlin Wall

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What is the Berlin Wall?

The Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War, was a wall that separated the communist Eastern side of Berlin from the democratic Western side. The wall was built in 1961 and stood for nearly 28 years. It all started after the World War II, when Germany was divided into two parts – East Germany Zone and West Germany Zone, among the four allies that defeated the Nazis.

West Germany Zone

West Germany zone was controlled by France, Great Britain and America. It was known as the Bundesrepublik Deutschland.

East Germany Zone

East Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union and was known as the Deutsche Demokratische Republik. Berlin, being the capital city, was divided among the four allies. Thus, the Soviet Union controlled East Berlin, while France, Great Britain and America controlled West Berlin.

Why was the Berlin Wall built?

The conditions between the two parts of Berlin became very different. The Western part was growing as their economy began to rise and become better day by day, while in the East the Soviets had full control with limited freedom to the citizens. Thus, the people living in East Germany did not want to live under the control of the Soviets and started to move towards the Western part. These people were known as defectors. Few were stopped at the border, while other made their way to the West and kept in warehouses. By the early 1960’s, more than 2 million people had defected from the East to West. East Berlin had lost a great number of their workforce. Now, the East became desperate to stop this immigration. Citizen from the East used to commute daily to the West to look for better job opportunities. The East and the West finally had enough, and decided to build a wall around Berlin to prevent people from defecting. On August 13, 1961 the communist of the East started building the wall dividing East Berlin and West Berlin. In a matter of days a low concrete wall was created between the two sides.

What were the effects of the Berlin Wall?

The wall separated families and cut people off from their daily jobs. People from the East side peered through their dilapidated apartments into the prospering West side. Many East Germans tried to climb the wall or use the tunnels to get to the West in desperation. But they were killed by the East German guards who regarded such people as traitors. The Western side was very different. They started calling the Berlin Wall a ‘wall of shame’. The East continued to rebuild the wall and kept adding onto it, making it further long. It reached a length of 103 miles, 4 feet high and 12 feet high. Guards and dogs were then added at check points to keep a watch on anyone trying to cross the wall. Did this keep the East Germans at bay? No, they still made attempts to cross the wall- simple and planned ones. This continued till the 1970’s and 1980’s.

When was the Berlin Wall demolished?

It was on June 12, 1987, when President Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Berlin directed to the Soviet Union leader, Mikhail Gorbachev and asking him to tear down this wall of shame. By this time, the communists were also beginning to weaken and losing their hold on East Germany. It was on November 9, 1989 that an announcement was made which said that relocation on the two sides can be done through all border checkpoints. People rushed to see if the borders were opened. People from the West side celebrated the end of divided Germany by chipping off and tearing down the wall with hammers. It was only on October 3, 1990 that Germany was officially recognized as one and was unified as a single country.

5 Interesting facts about the Berlin Wall

1. The West side of the Berlin Wall was fully covered with colorful graffiti while the East side was totally barren.
2. The Berlin wall had underground subways and train stations. Many trains were not allowed to stop at the East side station. These stations were heavily guarded and dimly lit and were known as ‘ghost stations’. The Ghost stations were reopened after the wall was demolished.
3. During the 28 years when the wall stood, almost 5000 people had crossed to the Western side, either over or through the wall.
4. The most famous checkpoint was Checkpoint Charlie. After the demolition the guard house of this checkpoint is now situated in the Allied Museum in Berlin.

What is an ecosystem?

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In an ecosystem, each organism has its role to play. A forest has trees, herbivorous animals, carnivorous animals, birds, reptiles and insects.

How ecosystem works?

We know that the lions feast on deer, zebras and other small animals. We also know that humans are fond of hunting lions and tigers; though hunting has been banned by law, some poachers are still out there killing lions and tigers illegally.

What will happen if we take out lions and tigers completely from the forest ecosystem?

The population of the herbivorous animals will multiply in leaps and bounds and they will plunder the grasslands for food. The lack or absence of vegetation will result in soil erosion, lowering down the quality and fertility of the soil which will eventually affect us.

How non living things affect an ecosystem?

It is not just the presence or absence of the living organisms that affects the functioning of the ecosystem, but the abiotic or the non-living factors also play an important role in the ecosystem.

Industrialization and excessive use of fossil fuels for energy has resulted in serious environmental threats like global warming, ozone hole and pollution. Because of human intervention, our environment has changed, our climate has changed. Any disturbance or disruption to an ecosystem can be fatal to all organisms within the ecosystem.

Codependency in ecosystem

All the members of an ecosystem share a unique relationship with each other and depend on one another in order to get energy to survive. The energy flow in an ecosystem starts with the sun. Plants use the sun’s energy in the process of photosynthesis for manufacturing their food. These plants are eaten by herbivorous animals and the sun’s energy, in form of carbohydrates, flows from the plants to these animals.

When the herbivorous animals become food for the carnivorous animals, the energy of the sun stored in their bodies gets transferred to the carnivorous animals. The carnivorous animals may again be eaten by larger animals and when this happens, another energy transfer takes place. This pattern continues until the living organism dies and it is time for the bacterial decomposers to do their work.

Food chain in ecosystem

This ‘who eats whom’ list that also shows the path of transfer of sun’s energy in an ecosystem is known as a food chain. In an ecosystem, multiple food chains may exist. A collection of several complex food chains is known as a food web.

Science of Chemical Bonding

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You know that atoms are the basic building blocks of all types of matter. Everything around you—the food you eat, the water you drink, your pets, your toys and even your bodies—is made up of atoms. In nature, these atoms combine with other atoms through chemical bonds which are a result of the strong attractive forces that exist between the atoms.

These atoms are so very tiny that you can only see them under a microscope. Now how can a tiny thing like an atom be useful to us? Well, just like the Lego blocks, these miniscule atoms make themselves useful by combining themselves with each other.

What is chemical bonding?

When two atoms combine with each other, the chemical process that takes place is known as chemical bonding. The electrons that help in the formation of chemical bonds are known as valence electrons, the ones that are found in an atom’s outermost shell. When two atoms come close to each other, the valence electrons in their outer shell interact with each other. Though electrons repel each other, they are attracted to the protons in the nuclei of atoms. Due to the interaction of forces, some atoms form bonds with each other and stick together.

Types of chemical bonding

There are two main types of bonds formed between atoms: ionic bonds (also known as electrovalent bonds) and covalent bonds. An ionic bond is formed when one atom either accepts or donates one or more of its valence electrons to another atom. A covalent bond is formed when instead of donating or accepting electrons, the atoms share valence electrons. When the atoms do not share the electrons equally, a polar covalent bond is formed. When metallic atoms share their electrons, a metallic bond is formed.

Why do atoms form bonds?

Now that you have understood how the atoms combine together, you must also know why these atoms need to bind together. The answer is : all atoms want to be happy, just like you! And what makes them happy is having their shells full. There is a specific 2-8-8 rule that can make them happy. The first shell should be filled with 2 electrons, the second with 8 electrons, and the third one also with 8 electrons.

Some atoms have extra electrons in their shells. These atoms are very generous and always ready to give up their electrons. Some atoms have a few electrons less in their shells. These are the greedy ones, always looking to bag some electrons from other atoms.

Examples of chemical bonds

Let us study some elements, sodium and fluorine for starters, to comprehend the concept of chemical bonding better. Sodium (Na) has 3 shells and only one electron in its outer shell. Now this sodium atom can do either of the two things: it can donate one electron in its third shell to some other atom and have two complete shells, with 8 electrons in each orbit or it can can keep looking for some benevolent atom with extra electrons to meet it someday sometime and fill up its third shell. Which option sounds easier to you? Obviously, it is the first one! It is much easier for the atoms to give away the electrons rather than keep waiting to receive some extra ones.

The atom of another element, fluorine (F) has 7 electrons in its outer shell, i.e. it is one electron shy of becoming ‘happy’. So, what these two atoms do is that they give and take electrons from their outer shells and become happy. In other words, the sodium atom gives away the extra electron in its outer shell to the fluorine atom and then both have a total of 8 electrons in their outermost shell. Such a bond is known as ionic bond. When an atom gives up an electron, it develops a positive charge like sodium (Na+) and when an atom receives an extra electron, it becomes negatively charged like fluorine (F-). The positive and negative charges attract each other like magnets and this is what helps in the formation and maintenance of the bond.

Bonding of Oxygen and Fluorine

Now let us learn more about the covalent bonds with the help of oxygen (O) and fluorine (F). Oxygen has 6 electrons in its outer shell and fluorine has 7. Fluorine needs one electron and oxygen needs a couple of electrons to have a completely filled up shell. Both these elements have innermost shells that are complete with two electrons, but their second shells want to have more! If they agree to share their electrons with atoms of other elements, they can share electrons and make covalent bonds with those elements. They can also decide to make an ionic bond if they prefer to borrow electrons from some other atom rather than sharing. Whether by sharing, donating or borrowing electrons, the atoms of an element reach the happy state of having eight electrons in their outer shells by bonding with other atoms. After all, everyone wants to be happy, right?

Types of fruits and vegetables

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Fruits and vegetables form an important part of our daily diet. They contain essential vitamins and minerals which keep us healthy and protect us from diseases. At least five servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits are recommended daily.

What is a fruit?

A fruit is a seed bearing structure and develops from a flowering plant. A fruit is a sweet and fleshy product of a tree or a plant and can be eaten as food, without cooking.

  • Apples and pears
  • Citrus – oranges, grapefruits, mandarins and limes
  • Stone fruit – nectarines, apricots, peaches and plums
  • Tropical and exotic – bananas and mangoes
  • Berries – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwifruit and passion fruit
  • Melons – watermelons, rock melons and honeydew melons
  • Tomatoes and avocados.

What is a vegetable?

A vegetable is any part of a plant that is eaten as food such as roots, stems, leaves and even flower buds.
Some common types of vegetable are:

  • Leafy green – lettuce, spinach and silverbeet
  • Cruciferous – cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and broccoli
  • Marrow – pumpkin, cucumber and zucchini
  • Root – potato, sweet potato and yam
  • Edible plant stem – celery and asparagus
  • Allium – onion, garlic and shallot.

Fruits example:

Apples – Red, Green, Golden…there are thousands of varieties of apples. You can have them raw and even cook them into delicious jam, sauces or a sweet dish.

Vegetables example:

Broccoli – This veggie is a close relative of cabbage and one of the essential greens in a diet. Have it steamed, stir-fried or in a salad, it is full of nutritional value.

Note – To know the difference between fruits and vegetables, click here.

Animal brain size comparison

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Are humans the most intelligent species on earth?

Scientists believe that humans are the most intelligent creatures on earth. Thus, it is concluded that human brain is the largest brain among all living beings on planet earth. The human brain weighs 1.1 kg to 1.4 kg.

What animals have the biggest brains?

Let us look at the size of brains of other living creatures on earth:

  • Sperm Whale – It is the largest toothed predator and has the largest brain weighing 7 kg. Compare it with the largest whale, the blue whale which has a brain of 5 kg.
  • Elephant – It has a brain size of 4.78 kg. The brain of an elephant makes up less than 0.1% of its body weight.
  • Mountain Gorilla – They are considered to have a good amount of intelligence with a brain that weighs 430 g. Brainy than a monkey whose brain size is only 22 g.
  • Chimpanzee – Compared to its body size, a chimpanzee has a brain size of 350 g. The brains of early humans were similar to those of chimpanzees.
  • Walrus – It has a brain size of 1.1 kg. This brain size comes very close to a human brain size. One half of the walrus brain remains active while it sleeps.
  • Dolphin – Positioned next to humans, a dolphin’s brain size is 2 kg. If trained, dolphins are sufficiently intelligent to grasp and learn several tasks.
  • Octopus – It is considered as the most intelligent invertebrate as its brain is made of the largest brain cells or neurons, found in nature. Its brain is made up of 500 million large neurons. Each of the eight arms of the octopus carries, a neuron package and its intelligence can be compared to that of a chimp.
  • Cats and Dogs – The brain of a cat is only 30 g in size. But cats learn by observation and have better short term memory. Dogs though have longer memory but their brain size is 30% lighter than those of wolves.
  • Alligator – One of the most ferocious predators, the reptilian alligator’s brain weighs only 8 g. They are roughly the size of three olives!
  • Giraffe – These tall animals have a brain half the size of humans. Their brains weigh only 680 g.
  • Rat – The size of a rat brain is only 2 g, while its body weight is 400 g. Rats have the ability to predict events and avoid danger and are experts in obtaining basic resources.

Germany Facts and Information

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10 Interesting facts about Germany

1. Germany is known as Deutschland in the German language.
2. The capital city of Deutschland is Berlin.
3. Germany has the largest economy in Europe.
4. Football is the most popular sport in Germany.
5. The first book was printed in the German language.
6. German is the third most commonly taught language worldwide.
7. There are around 300 varieties of bread found in Germany.
8. Instead of saying ‘Hello’, the Germans answer the phone with their surname.
9. Gummy Bears were invented by the candy maker, Hans Riegel, in Germany.
10. The biggest festival of Germany known as Oktoberfest, starts from the last week of September and is a 16 to 18 day long festival held since the Middle Ages.

Desert plants and their adaptations

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What is it that sets a desert apart from other landscapes? – Desert plants

What are desert plants?

Desert plants are those which grow in the environment of arid regions where rainfall is scanty. Their beauty is very different from other plants. Desert plants are sturdily built. There are different types of plants which grow in deserts around the world.

6 Most common desert plants

1. Elephant Tree:

This plant is found to be grown in the Santa Rosa Mountains and south western part of the Arizona. It is small in size and has thick trunk .It stores water in trunk, lower limbs and wood. Elephant tree produces beautiful small and star shaped flowers which are either white or cream in colour.

2. Organ Pipe Cactus:

Organ Pipe Cactus is mainly found in the rocky deserts of Mexico and the US. This plant has narrow stems and a small trunk. This species of cactus takes 150 years to reach its mature stage. This plant produces fruits and purple or light pink tinted flowers.

3. Desert Sage:

Desert Sage is a shrub. It grows about 2-3 meters in height. Flowers of this shrub are deep blue in colour with purple bracts. This shrub is evergreen plant .It does not require water once it has set well.

4. Desert Marigold:

These plants belong to the aster family. They are mainly found in the south western parts of the US and Mexico. Desert Marigold is annual and short lived perennial plant. Their heights range between 10 and 30 inches. They possess hairy leaves which increase the reflection of light. This lowers leaf temperatures and blocks UV rays, making them to survive in extreme climate. The flowers of these plants are yellow in colour.

5. Saguaro:

The saguaro belongs to the cactus species. Its growth depends on the amount of precipitation present in the deserts. It produces ruby red fruits; white and yellow flowers.

6. Barrel Cactus:

These are the most common plant found in the deserts around the globe. Their heights vary between 1 meter to 10 meters. Barrel Cactus produces flowers of different shades such as orange, red, yellow and pink.

11 Interesting facts about desert plants

1. Desert plants are highly adaptable to the tough and extreme climate of the deserts.
2. Desert plants store water mainly in their trunk, stem and fleshy leaves.
3. Desert plants mainly the cactus group can be developed in nurseries and personal gardens.
4. They are ornamental plants which are used for home decoration.
5. Some cactus produces flowers.
6. Flowers of desert marigold are highly poisonous.
7. If the spine of barrel cactus accidentally pricks, one may need to take antibiotics to combat its effects.
8. Fruits of Organ Pipe Cactus are tastier than watermelon.
9. Fruits of Saguaro are consumed by locals.
10. Fruits of Organ Pipe Cactus serve as medicines.
11. Desert Sage has medicinal properties which cure headaches, common cold, stomach aches, influenza, pneumonia and eye problems.

11 Crazy facts about the world

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The world we live in has some unknown, weird and crazy truths or facts that might just blow your mind.

Let us look at some of the crazy facts our world hides!

1. Russia is bigger than Pluto

Pluto has been deleted from the list of planets but it is the largest object in the Kuiper belt orbiting the Sun. Russia, the largest country by land mass on earth, is bigger than Pluto! Russia’s surface area is 17,075,200 square kilometres while Pluto stands at 16,647,940 square kilometres.

2. Mammoths did not extinct with dinosaurs

Woolly mammoths existed even when the pharaohs were busy building the pyramids in Egypt. So the mammoths got extinct not so long ago and man did get to see them in real, though man could not see the dinosaurs. They overlap in time with the construction of pyramids. Man exploited mammoths for their skin and tusks.

3. Lobsters are immortal or so they call

Lobsters can die of external forces but they just keep growing and growing when left on their own. Even after they attain sexual maturity lobsters keep growing. They can even regrow a limb after losing it in an accident. They cannot live forever, some scientist say, but they can grow and live an extremely long life, which might seem as eternity.

4. Holes in pen lids and Lego

Do you know why pen lids and Lego blocks have holes in them? They were created just so that if they are accidentally swallowed by someone, they would still be able to breathe due to passage of air through that hole!

5. Panda is China property

Every Panda you see is the property of China. If you see a Panda anywhere else in the world then they have rented that Panda from China. Any guesses on the rate? US $1 million a year!

6. Smelly bacteria

Rain brings with it immense joy and a slight, pleasant fragrance of the after showers. Do you know what this pleasant smell is? It is the smell of bacteria called Actinomycetes. They are of great importance because of their contribution to the soil and forests.

7. Life forms living on your skin outnumber people on the planet

There are about trillions of microbes living on your skin. 90% of our body is home to microbes. They are on our eyelashes, tongue, skin, hair follicles, teeth…everywhere!

8. An octopus that mimics

Yes, there is an octopus called the mimic octopus which is capable of impersonating or mimicking other species. They can change their skin colour and texture to blend with the surroundings. But they can change shapes and mimic flounder, lion fish or sea snakes!

9. Dead bodies on Mount Everest

There are over 200 dead bodies on Mount Everest and climbers use them as way pointers. The corpses are left there with the flags of specific countries. They die for Everest and are left there as it is difficult to carry them back.

10. Vacant houses in United States

There are more vacant houses in the United States than homeless people. Homeless has been on the rise in America but you just cannot put homeless people in any vacant house. So, empty houses end up being owned by banks rather than people.

11. A Jellyfish is 95 percent water

Only about 5 percent of the body of a jellyfish is solid. They don’t have blood, brain or even a heart, but they can sting real badly!

Alexander the Great

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Alexander the Great was the King of Macedonia, the ancient kingdom of Northern Greece, and the conqueror of the Persian Empire. In his short life span he had conquered many empires and thus he was considered as one of the greatest military geniuses to have ever lived.

Early life

Macedonia was ruled by Alexander’s father, King Philip II. Alexander was born in July in356 B.C in Pella. Alexander was raised by a nurse and a strict tutor and learned how to read, play the lyre, ride, fight and everything that a son of a noble family would do. At the age of 13 Alexander was tutored by the famous philosopher and scientist Aristotle. He taught him medicine, philosophy, logic, morals, religion and it was through his teachings that Alexander developed a passion for the wars of Homer and the Iliad. These stories were the ones that inspired him to become a war hero.

Alexander – The soldier and king

Alexander became a soldier at the early age of 16. At that young age, Alexander helped his father in an important battle to defeat the Athenian and Theban armies. Alexander became king when his father died. He had gained support of most of the army. Though King Philip succeeded in uniting all Greek-city states, after his death the states were divided once again. Alexander worked towards getting the support of the Greek city states. With the exception of Athens, the Greek city states supported Alexander with full military power.

Alexander’s empire

Alexander now turned east to conquer more of the civilised world. First he moved and conquered Asia Minor, which is Turkey today. Next he took over Syria, defeating the Persian Army. He then set to conquer the Persian Empire, the largest kingdom to the Eats of Greece. In 334 B.C Alexander broke the power of Persia and defeated the kingdom in a series of decisive battles. After defeating the Persian King Darius III, Alexander became the king of the Persian Empire. Alexander’s empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. He then conquered Egypt and declared Alexandria as its capital. He then moved to Babylonia, including the city of Susa.

Alexander conquered many kingdoms and even grew his empire to occupy Punjab in Northern India. He defeated King Porus in India but was very impressed by his bravery and tactics and made him an ally. He gave Porus his Kingship back and also some land that he did not own previously.

Death of Alexander

Alexander had just come to Babylon and captured it when he suddenly fell sick and died. Many people suspect he was poisoned as the reason of death is unknown. He died at the age of 32. Some say he died of a fever, maybe malaria or typhoid. He was sick for 12 days before he succumbed to his illness.

4 Facts about Alexander the Great

  1. Alexander never lost a battle, not even one.
  2. He named more than 70 cities after him and one after his horse, Bucephalus in India.
  3. After defeating the Persians Alexander started dressing like them.
  4. After his death, Alexander’s body was immersed in honey by the Babylonians to save it from decoy. Many years later it was placed in Alexandria’s communal mausoleum.

Difference between metals and non-metals

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Elements on the Earth are classified into metals and non-metals based on their characteristics and physical properties. The periodic table has metals placed on the left while non-metals are placed on the right. Let us first look at what we mean by each of them.

What are metals?

Metals are solid materials and are typically hard, malleable (bendy), ductile (flexible) and heavy. They are good conductors of heat and electricity. Metals are shiny and have a high density. They can also be opaque as a thin sheet. Example: aluminium, copper, gold, silver, steel are all metals. Metals have one to three electrons in their outer shells.

What are non-metals?

Any material or substance that is not a pure metal is a non-metal. They do not have the properties of a pure metal. Non metals are dull in appearance. They are poor conductors of heat and electricity. Non-metals maybe solids, liquid or gases at room temperature. Non metals have four to eight electrons. Non metals are very good oxidising agents but they are very brittle and have low density. Example: hydrogen, helium, phosphorus, iodine, carbon are some non-metals.

Chemical properties of metals and non-metals

  • Metals are very reactive. They tend to lose electrons very easily and form positively charged ions. This allows metals to form compounds with other elements very easily.
  • Metals corrode easily. They are damaged by oxidation like rust or tarnish
  • Almost all metal combine with oxygen to form metal oxide
  • Metals like lead, copper, silver and gold do not recat with water at all
  • Metals react with acid to give salt and hydrogen
  • Non metals form oxides that are acidic in nature
  • Non metals readily gain or share valence electrons
  • Non metals gain electrons to form anions (an atom that has donated electrons, hence giving a negative charge)

Physical Properties of metals and non-metals

  • Metals are hard except Sodium and Potassium
  • The boiling and melting points of metals are high and they also have high density
  • Metals are sonorous (when a metal is beaten it produces sound) except mercury
  • Metals can be turned into thin sheets by hammering, this is called malleability
  • Metals can be changed into thin wires, this is called ductile
  • Non metals are soft- except diamond
  • Non metals are mostly found in gaseous state, except Bromine which is found in liquid state
  • Non metals have a dull surface except iodine and graphite
  • Non metals are not sonorous

South America Facts

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Where is South America located?

South America is the fourth largest continent in size and is located in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. It is home to the majestic Andes mountain range and the mysterious Amazon River.
The continent of South America is compact and slightly triangular in shape, being broad in the north and in narrowing down at the point called Cape Horn in the south.
South America is bounded by three major water bodies from three sides: Pacific Ocean on the west, Caribbean Sea to the northwest and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

20 Interesting facts about South America

  1. South America comprises about 12% of the earth’s land.
  2. South America is the fifth largest continent in terms of population.
  3. Andes mountain system in South America is the second highest mountain range in the world, next to the Himalayas, in Asia.
  4. The highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls, is situated in South America.
  5. World’s highest lake, Lake Titicaca, is located here
  6. World’ largest salt lake, Salar de Uyuni, is located here.
  7. Portuguese and Spanish are the main languages spoken in South America.
  8. Brazil, the largest producer of coffee in the world, is situated in South America.
  9. The highest point in this continent is Cerro Aconcagua in Andes in Argentina.
  10. The continent of South America is named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.
  11. Anaconda, the heaviest snake on earth, is found in South America.
  12. It has the world’s largest river Amazon (by volume).
  13. Amazon rainforest is also the largest rainforest in the world.
  14. A total of 12 countries together constitute the continent of South America.
  15. Area wise, the largest country in South America is Brazil.
  16. Suriname is the smallest country in South America.
  17. Brazil is the most thickly populated country in South America.
  18. The Atacama Desert, Chile, is the largest desert.
  19. Some of the rare animals found in South America are ant-eaters, armadillos and llamas.
  20. It is the only continent to have wild Pink Dolphins.

Holi – Festival of Colors

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What is Holi Festival?

Holi, is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. It is a festival celebrated with colour, water and the exchange of sweets and is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with a large Indian population following Hinduism.

Why do we celebrate Holi?

Holi originally, was a festival that commemorated good harvests and the fertile land. In addition to celebrating the coming of spring, Hindus believed that it was a time to enjoy spring’s abundant colors and saying farewell to winter.

Holi also celebrates many religious myths and legends. On the eve of the festival, bonfires are lit in memory of a young Prahlad’s miraculous escape from the Demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu in Hindu mythology. The name Holi is derived from the demoness Holika.

Even though there have been references to a festival such as this in Sanskrit texts where people sprayed coloured water using bamboo syringes, the origin of the modern Holi festival has been traced back to ancient Bengal. During the Gaudiya Vaishnav festival, people went to Krishna temples, applied red colour to the icon and then distributed the red coloured powder along with prasad to family and friends. These customs spread across the country and now…

History of Holi

Even though Holi originated in Bengal, the festival is most celebrated in the Braj region – locations connected to Lord Krishna such as Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandagaon and Barsana. These places see a huge surge in tourism during the Holi festival.

Holi is celebrated on the last full moon day of the lunar month, which usually falls in the later part of February or March.

Holi celebration in India

In most parts of India, Holi lasts about two days. One of festivals biggest attributes is that it closes the wide gaps between social classes and brings Hindus and people belonging to other religions together.

Holi today is celebrated with much fervour across the country. This festival is not just restricted to the younger ones, and you will see people of all ages, young and old participate. Just like the old times, people go visiting their friends and family and play with them. There are private parties too that are organised for the public by certain groups where a place is taken on rent, and people can come and play holi there with their friends. The organisers ensure that there is enough water, colour and sweets available. The music played at these parties get the crowds going as well.

Project –

  • What is Holi locally known as in Bihar?
  • Holi has been depicted in which famous international song. Hint : It’s by Linkin Park
  • Make your own natural Holi colours by mixing some turmeric powder and gram flour and use it to play this Holi season. Be rest assured that this colour is safe and also extremely good for the skin.

Don’t forget to check out the Story of Holi and our other Holi articles and activities.

Chinese New Year Facts and History

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This year, Chinese New Year is falling on February 16, 2018. This day is important in Chinese culture. The holidays run for 15 days, starting from the first day of a new moon and ending with the full moon. The Lantern Festival happens then, with lantern displays and a parade at night. Chinese New Year tradition- In many places, there is a dragon dance too on this day.

Facts about Chinese New Year

In Chinese New Year, the date of the new year changes every year, because the Chinese base their calendar on lunar years. The date depends on the day when a new moon rises.
The Chinese New Year calendar has a 12 years cycle. Each year is based on the name of an animal. 2018 will be the Chinese Year of the dog.

Story behind Chinese New Year

A long time ago in China, Buddha wanted a way to measure time. So he invited all the animals to race against each other in crossing a river. 12 animals could do this successfully and the Emperor rewarded these 12 animals by naming a year after each one of them, in the order in which they had crossed the river. So, Chinese New Year starts with the year of the Rat, followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

Chinese Zodiac Animal Years

Depending on the year that you are born in, you are supposed to have qualities of the animal representing that year. Discover your animal sign with the help of your birth year

Birth YearAnimal SignQuality Traits
1996, 2008RatImaginative, generous, observant, intelligent, secretive
1997, 2009OxLeaders, confident, disciplined, strong, impatient
1998,2010TigerSensitive, emotional, competitive, natural leaders, courageous
1999,2011RabbitWise, thoughtful, affectionate, selfish, quiet, intelligent
2000,2012DragonEnthusiastic, perfectionist, intelligent, self-confident, proud
2001,2013SnakePossessive, proud, thinker, secretive, wise
2002,2014HorseWitty, friendly, cheerful, popular, impatient, alert
2003,2015SheepIntelligent, well-mannered, creative, dependent, shy
2004,2016MonkeyIntelligent, witty, social, talkative, restless, mischievous
2005,2017RoosterHard working, courageous, dreamers, practical, bossy
2006,2018DogHonest, reliable, logical, anxious, introverts
2007,2019PigSincere, friendly, intellectual, honest, lazy, innocent

More Information:
What do you know about the Dragon Boat Festival?
To know more interesting festivals facts, click here

New Year Party

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New Year Party for Kids

Here are some New Year party ideas so that you can ring in the New Year in a fun way.

New Year party themes

  • New Year’s Eve parties are perfect occasions for slumber parties. You and your friends can wear pajamas. No need to wear fancy New Year dresses! Set up tents for your friends to play in. Let your friends bring their stuffed animals and pillows.
  • How about a carnival themed party with everyone dressed up in silly clothes with pirate hats ?

New Year party decorations

  • Using paper, cardboard, feathers and glitter create individual party hats.
  • Take a trash bag and fill it up with balloons. Get your guests to write their wishes on chits of paper. Add these, confetti and sweets to the bag. At 12 AM, drop the bag from the ceiling.
  • Give your guests a plethora of empty pans and pots to bang at 12 AM.
  • Place alarms on cell phones and every clock in the house, so that they all ring at 12 AM.
  • Give each guest an empty tin can and let them store something in that time capsule. Decorate it and let your friend hide it somewhere. It is meant to be opened years later.
  • Fill the house with glow sticks.

New Year party games

  • What to do on New Year’s Eve, you ask? Here are some things to do on New Year’s Eve.
  • Do a karaoke night with everyone singing and dancing.
  • Let each guest make their own game and place it inside a goody bag. Whoever picks a bag has to make everyone play that game.
  • Have a scavenger hunt where your friends write their own special memories of the year gone by, on chits. Hide them inside small boxes and place them around the house.

New Year party food

  • Popcorn is always a favorite.
  • Greeks would bake a cake with a lucky coin inside it. You could try doing that too!
  • Let your friends decorate and bake their own pizzas.
  • Hope these New Year’s Eve party ideas help you have a gala time!

For more interesting Party Ideas and Themes for kids, go to https://mocomi.com/fun/party-ideas-themes/

New Year Celebrations around the world

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New Year is celebrated across the world through different festivities and is one of the most widely celebrated festivals the world over!

Did you know that Auckland, New Zealand, is the first city to celebrate the New Year and Honolulu, Hawaii is the last to celebrate it? Around the world, New Year festivities begin on 31st December, New Year’s Eve. As the clock strikes midnight, everyone bids adieu to the old year and greet each other a ‘Happy New year’. The same date but different festivities in various countries make the New Year the most celebrated holiday. Let’s take a look at the different festivities followed by people around the world:

New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world

1. Spain

Spanish people believe that eating twelve grapes, at midnight of the New Year, brings good luck. Thus, at every stroke of the clock, at midnight on New Year, they pop in a grape.

2. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Copacabana beach is famous for hosting the largest New Year celebrations worldwide! Millions of people from around the world come here to attend the huge party. Traditionally, the local Rio public honors the beach by throwing white flowers into the sea. People also dress up in white as a good luck charm. Fireworks start on New Year’s Eve and continue till the next day.

3. United States

Times Square in New York is a famous place where everyone gathers on New Year’s eve. The tradition is to drop the huge New Year’s eve ball from the Times Square flag pole when it is just 1 minute to midnight. When the ball drops, it releases thousands of confetti, messages on colored paper. These messages have been left by the local public days before the New Year celebrations.

People from Southern United States believe in eating black eyed peas and turnip greens on New Year. The peas represent coins and the turnip greens represent dollars. They believe that by doing this, the New Year will bring them good money.

4. Sydney, Australia

The world’s largest firework show on New Year’s is held here. Though the show lasts only for 12 minutes, starting at the stroke of midnight, the beautiful extravaganza attracts people to be a part of this celebration from all over the world.

5. Philippines

People here want the new year to bring in more money and prosperity. Thus, they dress up in polka dotted clothes and gather in streets and localities, throwing coins at midnight or by keeping coins in pots and shaking them in their own homes.

6. Greece

For the Greeks January 1st is also Saint Basil’s Day, one of their forefathers. It is the day for gift giving, telling stories and leaving presents at midnight in children’s shoes. Every Greek family bakes a cake on this day which has a silver or gold coin hidden inside. The cake slices are passed to everyone and whoever gets the coin is believed to have a lucky year ahead.

7. Japan

People in Japan, in the evening of December 31st, eat a bowl of a special type of noodles called ‘toshikoshisoba.’ While eating they listen to the sound of Buddhist temple bells which are rung 108 times at the midnight hour of New year and is supposed to remove all evils and sins.

Christmas Cookies Recipe

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How to Make Christmas Cookies

What You Need (for 144 cookies)

  • 3 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Flavored yoghurt or any other filling you want

13 Steps to Make Christmas Cookies

  1. Mix the flour, butter, sugar, juice and yolk together.
  2. Put it in plastic wrap.
  3. Keep it in the refrigerator for an hour at least.
  4. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes, on 375 degrees F.
  5. Take a little of the mix in your hand and roll it in a ball.
  6. Place it on a greased sheet of foil, on the baking tray.
  7. Like this, prepare the rest of the mix.
  8. Use a teaspoon to make small wells in the middle of the balls.
  9. Bake for 10 minutes.
  10. Take the tray out and put flavored yoghurt , marmalade or any other filling in the wells.
  11. Put the tray in the oven again and bake for another 5 minutes.
  12. Keep checking to make sure the cookies don’t become brown.
  13. Take the tray out and let the cookies cool.

For more interesting recipes for kids, go to Recipes for Kids category.

History of Christmas Tree

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People in many ancient cultures believed that the Sun God became pale and frail during winter and that is why we had the winter solstice. Evergreen trees reminded them of the plants that would grow once more, when the sun god recovered.

Who got the idea of lighting up a Christmas Tree?

Lights are important in the history of the Christmas tree. Martin Luther, a Protestant was once walking through a forest of evergreen trees in Germany, when he saw sparkling stars lighting up the trees. Martin recreated this beautiful scene at home by lighting candles on his Christmas tree.

In 1895, Ralph Morris of the USA, got the idea of using electric lights on Christmas trees, changing Christmas celebrations forever. He helped make Christmas lights safer, as the danger of fire reduced.Earlier, a Chicago hospital had burnt down thanks to Christmas candles. Insurance companies wanted a ban on Christmas candles because they caused many fires.

Can you guess the maximum number of lights anyone has put on a Christmas tree? 194,672. This was done in Belgium in 2010.

Early Christmas Trees

Some early Christmas trees were hung upside down, from the ceiling! Chandeliers were used sometimes to do this.

What did artificial Christmas trees of that time look like? If people couldn’t afford a real tree, they would decorate pyramids of wood. They used Christmas tree decorations like candles, paper and apples.Some carried these around to show neighbors, instead of keeping the trees in their houses.

Famous Christmas Trees

Every year, Norway sends the United Kingdom a giant Christmas tree, as a thank you for help during World War II. It stands in Trafalgar Square, London.

Which is the world’s tallest Christmas tree? It is supposed to be the 122 foot tall, 91 years old Douglas fir in Washington, USA.

What Christmas ornaments do you like? Do you get your tree from a Christmas tree top or do you make one?

Note: Don’t forget to check out the Christmas Story video and other Christmas articles and activities.

Santa Fun Facts

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5 Things you didn’t know about Santa Claus

  1. Santa has 31 hours to deliver presents, thanks to international time zones.
  2. Santa Claus needs to visit 832 houses every second to visit all the houses in the world.
  3. Although Santa’s reindeer have mostly male names, they lose their antlers around Christmas time. So, they become female deer.
  4. The biggest present Santa’s delivered is The Statue of Liberty from France to the USA, in 1886. It’s 151 feet tall! How tall are you?
  5. One regular present Santa delivers is a Christmas tree from Norway to the UK, since 1947. The Norwegians send it as thanks for England’s help to them during World War II.

Click here and get to know more about Santa Claus.

Plum Cake Recipe

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How to make Plum Cake

Plum cake is a traditional Christmas goodie- read on to know how to make it!

What You Need

  • 1 cup maida (refined flour)
  • ½ teasp baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
  • 3 tablespoons chopped raisins
  • ½ cup of softened butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • A few drops of vanilla essence
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teasp lemon zest (Grate the rind of 1 lemon)

10 Steps to make Plum Cake

  1. First, preheat the oven to 160° C
  2. Next, grease a cake tin by putting a few drops of oil and spreading it with your hands.
  3. Sieve the maida with the baking powder in a bowl.
  4. Mix in the raisins and walnuts.
  5. Cream the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla essence in a separate bowl.
  6. Add the eggs and lemon zest- make sure you mix it continuously.
  7. Now add the maida and mix again- your batter’s ready!
  8. Pour your batter in the cake tin and bake it in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
  9. Then, take it out from the oven and turn it upside down so that it can cool.
  10. Cut it in slices and serve it!

For more interesting recipes for kids, go to Recipes for Kids category.

Who is Santa Claus?

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The real Story behind Santa Claus

Did you know this jolly old figure, who has come to be a greatly celebrated symbol of Christmas, actually has a rich history?

The name Santa Claus was derived from the Dutch word Sinterklaas which is a pronunciation of ‘Saint Nicholas’.

Saint Nicholas was a wealthy man and a devout Christian who used his entire inheritance to help the needy and the poor.

For his generous and selfless service to God and humanity he was made the Bishop of Myra.

This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas.

This tradition was passed on through the generations and is practiced by kids even today.

There are many stories that speak about this extraordinary human and why he was so loved by all.

Saint Nicholas left gifts for everyone and as his story traveled through the ages, he become known as Santa Claus

Christmas is incomplete without the plump, chubby, lovable old man, dressed in red with a sackful of presents, known to all as Santa Claus.

It is believed that he drives a sleigh pulled by 8 flying reindeer and lives on the North Pole with his company of elves.

He is especially big in the hearts of kids who write letters to him addressed “Santa Claus, North Pole” with there wishes and wait for him on the night of Christmas to come with presents.

There are many stories that speak about this extraordinary human and why he was so loved by all.

One of the famous stories is about an old man who was poor and didn’t have any money or presents to give his three daughters as dowry on the day of their wedding.

Saint Nicholas went to their house and dropped a bag of gold coins in the stockings they had left to dry by the fire place.

Note: Don’t forget to check out the Christmas Story video and other Christmas articles and activities.

How to Make Christmas Stockings

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Personalized Christmas Stockings

What You Need

  • Scissors
  • Fabric paint
  • Thick red paper
  • Stencils (optional)
  • Old Christmas cards/wrapping paper, sequins (optional)
  • Puncher (If making a paper stocking)

14 Steps to Make Christmas Stockings

  1. Fold the paper in half.
  2. Cut a Christmas stocking shape. You can use our templates for Christmas stocking patterns.
  3. Align the pattern’s straight line edge with the folded edge of the paper.
  4. Trace the pattern on the paper.
  5. Cut the stocking out.
  6. Unfold your stocking.
  7. Stick your stocking with glue on all sides, except the top.
  8. Fold the stocking on the crease in the middle.
  9. Press so that the glue adheres.
  10. Tie a knot at the end.
  11. Decorate your stocking with paint or stencils. You can even stick old Christmas cards. Or sequins. Cut out designs from old wrapping paper and stick them on. Get ideas from Christmas decorations and Christmas ornaments for designs.
  12. Punch a hole in your paper stocking.
  13. Thread a ribbon through so that you can stick it up.
  14. What Christmas gift ideas do you have for filling stockings? They could be greeting cards, papercraft items and anything else that’s small and light!

We have a huge collection of free and downloadable craft ideas for kids.

What are Factors and Multiples?

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Definition of Multiple

A multiple is the result of multiplying a number by an integer, not a fraction.

For example
18 is a multiple of 3, because 3 x 6 = 18
Similarly, – 12 is a multiple of 3, because 3 x -4 = 12
7 however is not a multiple of 3.

Difference between Factors and Multiples

Factors and Multiples – Both of these are related to multiplication.

While factors are what you multiply to get a number, multiples on the other hand are what you get after multiplying a number by an integer.

What are Factors?

Factors are numbers which are multiplied together to get another number.

For example

3 x 4 = 12 (Number 3 and 4 are therefore factors of number 12)

And if you did not know, negative numbers also can be factors. So if 12 was the chosen number, -1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6, -12 could also be factors of 12.

What are Multiples?

A multiple as you know is the result of multiplying a number by an integer.

Let us look at an example.

Multiples of 3
12 is a multiple of 3, because 3 x 4 = 12
-3 is a multiple of 3, because 3 x -1 = -3

So you know now, that you have to multiple by an integer, but the number that is multiplied can be anything.

Changes in States of Matter

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The terms melting, boiling and evaporation are the processes associated with the change of state of a substance.

What do we mean by ‘change of state’?

Transformation of a substance into another form is called change of state. Example: Ice melts into water if heated.

What happens in the process of Melting?

Melting or Fusion is a process by which a substance in the solid state is converted into liquid state. To simplify, when a solid is heated, it melts down.

How does solid change into Liquid?

It happens because a substance while changing into liquid state absorbs heat without a rise in temperature. A substance changes from a solid to liquid state at a fixed temperature. This temperature is known as melting point of the solid and remains constant throughout the process of melting. The quantity of heat required to change unit mass (1gm) of the substance at its melting point from solid to liquid state without changing the temperature is termed as latent heat of fusion of solid.

What happens in the process of Boiling or Ebullition?

A liquid if heated continuously under a given superincumbent pressure releases vapour from its surface. Eventually vaporisation takes place throughout the mass of the liquid in a rapid and vigorous way. This stage is known as boiling of the liquid. If the superincumbent pressure does not change, the temperature of the liquid remains constant as long as it’s boiling. This constant temperature is called boiling point of a liquid.

Factors which govern boiling point:

  1. The boiling point varies depending upon the increase or decrease in the superincumbent pressure on the liquid.
  2. The presence of any dissolved impurity increases the boiling point. Boiling point of a solution is always greater than that of the pure solvent.
  3. The boiling point also depends on the material of the boiler, its roughness and the degree of cleanliness of its inner surface to some extent.

What is Evaporation?

Evaporation is the gradual and slow change of a substance from liquid to a vapour state, which takes place at the surface of the liquid at all temperatures.

Factors which govern Evaporation:

  • The temperature of the liquid.
  • The nature of the liquid.
  • The removal of air over the liquid surface.
  • The pressure of air.
  • The area of exposed surface.
  • The pressure of vapour in contact with the liquid.

Notes:

  • The word ‘latent’ means hidden.
  • The word ‘superincumbent’ means lying or resting on or above something.
  • Melting point of solid such as naphthalene can be determined by two methods; cooling curve method and capillary tube method. It should be noted that naphthalene expands on melting.
  • The melting and boiling point of different substances varies from each other.
  • The change of a substance from the liquid to the vapour or gaseous state is called vaporisation.

To know more about the States of Matter click here.

Past Tense and Its Types

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What is Tense?

The term tense is derived from Latin word ‘Tempus” meaning time. Tense is used to indicate time in English language. It has been broadly classified into three groups – Present Tense, Past Tense and Future Tense.

Let’s learn more about Past Tense and Its Types:

Past Simple Tense

It is used to express an action which has taken place a little time before speaking or action which is just completed. Example: I watched a movie.

Sentence Formation:
Here verb forms have changed.

Positive: I killed a snake
Here ‘killed’ is used as main verb. It is the second form of verb (Past Simple)
Negative: I did not kill a snake
In this sentence ‘did’ is the auxiliary verb and ‘kill’ is the main verb.
Interrogative: Did I kill a snake?
Here, the sentence starts with ‘did’ and first form of verb ‘Kill’ is used instead of second form of verb (past simple verb)

Past Continuous Tense

It is used to indicate an ongoing nature of an action in past. Example: He was laughing.

Sentence Formation:
In this case, auxiliary verb ‘was’ or ‘were’ and first form of verb along with ‘ing’ (present participle) have been used as main verb.

Positive: She was smiling yesterday.
Negative: She was not crying yesterday.
Interrogative: Was she crying yesterday?

Past Perfect Tense

It indicates an action which took place long back and before occurrence of another action. Example: I had lived in America.

Sentence Formation:

In case of past perfect tense auxiliary verb ‘had’ and third form of verb or past participle is used as main verb.
Positive: He had taken the exam last year
Negative: He had not taken the exam last year
Interrogative: Had he taken the exam last year

Past Perfect Continuous

It is used to denote an ongoing action which continued for sometime in past.
Sentence Formation:
Here, auxiliary verb ‘had been’ and present participle ‘ing’ have been used.

Positive: I had been waiting for him for two hours
Negative: I had not been waiting for him for two hours
Interrogative: Had I been waiting for him for two hours?

Read here related articles Types of Present Tense and Future Tense.

Future Tense and Its Types

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What is Tense?

The term tense is derived from Latin word ‘Tempus” meaning time. Tense is used to indicate time in English language. It has been broadly classified into three groups – Present Tense, Past Tense and Future Tense.

Let’s learn more about Future Tense and Its Types:

Future Simple Tense

This is used when an action is going to take place in future.
Example: I will go there tomorrow.

Sentence Formation:
Here, auxiliary verb ‘will’ and first form of verb are used.

Positive: They will come here
Negative: They will not come here
Interrogative: Will they come here?

Future Continuous Tense

It is used to express a continued or ongoing action in future.

Example: I will be waiting for you tomorrow.

Sentence Formation:
Here, auxiliary verb ‘will be’ and first form of verb along with present participle ‘ing’ are used.

Positive: I will be waiting for you.
Negative: I will not be waiting for you.
Interrogative: Will I be waiting for you?

Future perfect Tense

This indicates an action which will occur and completed in future.

Example: John will have gone tomorrow.

Sentence Formation:
Here, auxiliary verb ‘will have’ and third form of verb (past particle) are used.

Positive: You will have started a job.
Negative: You will not have started a job.
Interrogative: Will you have started a job?

Future Perfect Continuous

It is used to indicate an ongoing action which will start and continue for sometime in future.

Example: He will have been playing in this team since 2006
In this case, auxiliary verb ‘will have been’, first form of verb along with present participle and time reference ‘for’ and ‘since’ are used.

Positive: I will have been waiting for him for three hours.
Negative: I will not have been waiting for him for three hours.
Interrogative: Will she have been playing cricket since 2014?

Read here related articles Types of Past Tense and Present Tense.

How to Make a Witch Hat?

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Witches are wicked… witches are shrewd… witches are helpful… witches know magic… witches can be good or bad. When you think of a witch what picture comes to your mind? An old lady with a long nose, black robe, sitting on a broom with a long hat on her head?

A Homemade Witch Hat

Well, all witches may not be old…all witches may not wear robes; all witches may not want to eat you up. But all witches have one thing in common. They accessorize themselves with a long pointed hat. Do you want to try and become a witch and caste magic spells or brew up some magical potion? We will give you the magical steps to make your own witch’s hat.

13 Easy Steps to Make a Witch Hat

  1. Gather the following items: Black chart/craft paper, scissors, wire, tape, ribbon, some embellishments like plastic spider or a nice bow
  2. Measure your head around your forehead and add about ½ or 1 inch to the circumference of the brim of the hat that you want to cut
  3. Make a wide circle on the paper. It should be as wide as you want the brim to be. Cut it.
  4. Inside the wide circle make a smaller circle with the above measurement of your head
  5. Take another craft paper and make a triangle or a slant line with a marker. This will be the top of your hat and the line can be as tall as you want the top to be.
  6. Cut along the slant line so that you have a nice triangle with a rounded base. Basically you have a cone
  7. Take the wire and place it in the center of the cone lengthwise. Paste it with the tape.
  8. With the wire as the center, round the cone into a pointed top. Stick both ends with the tape.
  9. Take the brim of the hat and flatten it completely first either by placing some heavy books on top of it
  10. Now take your scissors and cut the inner circle that you have made. It will make a hole of your head size. Place it on your head to see if it fits properly.
  11. Now you have to place the cone on top of the brim. Use glue or tape to attach the cone on the brim. You can cover the tape or glue with black ribbon or feathers.
  12. Once the cone is attached, bend it a little from the top to give it a worn out look.
  13. Attach the plastic spider or the bow or anything you like to the witch hat.

Your witch hat is ready and you can now go around throwing spells and making frogs of people!

Get into the mood of Halloween, read a fun comic story about Smelly witch and Rebecca.

Paper Pumpkin : Halloween Craft

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How to make a Paper Pumpkin

What You Need

  • Two chart papers
  • One marker pen
  • A pair of scissors
  • glue stick
  • Leaf cut out template: 1 on A4 size paper

4 Steps to make a Paper Pumpkin

Step 1 : See reference image and cut out minimum 20 strips of brown chart paper.

Step 2 : Fold each strip and lace one end of the strip to the other end. Place the round strip inside another round strip and make a round shape like that of a pumpkin.

Step 3 : Use a leaf template and cut out leaf shape on green velvet paper and paste it on top the pumpkin.

Step 4 : See the reference and cut out a pumpkin stick and a long strip of paper to decorate over it. Stick all cut outs on top of the pumpkin.

Related Article:

Halloween Cookies Recipe

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It’s that time of the year! When you get to dress up as spooky characters and eat yummy sweets and delicacies. Wouldn’t you like to make something on this fun occasion?

Here’s a fun Halloween recipe to double the fun this year! We’re going to make Halloween Cookies! To be specific, pumpkin orange cookies.

How to Make Pumpkin Orange Cookies

These moist, oh-so-yummy pumpkin cookies are full of the Fall-flavor, with the key ingredients being pumpkins and oranges. With the perfect finishing touch of orange glaze, this is one cookie you can’t wait to eat!

So how do we make these tasty pumpkin cookies?

The best thing about the pumpkin cookies is that they’re easy to make. Just remember to ask for the help of an adult to use the gas stove, or the oven and the microwave, and the kitchen utensils, and you’re all set to get cooking.

Preparation Time – 15 mins
Cooking Time – 12 mins
Makes – 3 dozen Cookies!

What You Need

For the Cookies

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (8 tablespoons) butter or margarine, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 can pureed pumpkin
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
  • ½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

For the Orange Glaze

  • 1 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • ½ teaspoon grated orange peel

7 Steps to Make Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
  2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium mixer bowl. Set aside.
  4. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl; beat until light, creamy and fluffy. Beat in egg. Beat in orange juice and orange peel, followed by pumpkin puree. Add the flour mixture and beat till combined. Stir in the nuts (optional)
  5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets.
  6. Bake for around 12 – 14 minutes or until edges are golden, and dry on top. After 5 minutes, remove to wire racks to cool completely.
  7. After it cools, spread on each cookie about 1/2 teaspoon Orange Glaze.

2 Steps to Make Orange Glaze

  1. Combine powdered sugar, enough orange juice and orange peel in a medium bowl until smooth and of desired consistency.
  2. And Voila! Your scrumptious halloween delight is ready! Call over your friends and treat them to your own home-baked super tasty halloween cookies!

Get more Information

How to Make Clay Lanterns

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Clay Lanterns for Diwali

What You Need

  • Clay (any kind and any colour)
  • Cutting tools and a mat to work on.
  • Stamp, stencils or anything else you want to make an impression of.
  • Cling wrap (to protect the mat)
  • Bottle (of the size and shape you want for your lantern)
  • Sandpaper
  • Needle
  • Check that the clay is not flammable.

16 Steps to Make Clay Lanterns

1. Roll out the clay.

2. Take a hunk of clay and roll it out to about 0.5cm(1/4 in) thickness.

3. Cut the top and bottom edges in a straight line with the desired height (in my case I made it about 9cm(3.5in)).

4. Check that it is long enough by loosely wrapping it around the bottle and trim the edge.

5. Make an impression.

A Christmas ornament is used here to make an impression on the clay, stamps work nicely for this too. Or if you have a steady hand you can draw something yourself. Try to add even pressure and don’t push too hard that it goes through to the other side.

The cup is being made large enough here, so that two impressions of the dove could be made on it.

6. Poke holes.

With a needle or something with a pointy end (a seam ripper is used here) poke holes all the way through the clay along the pattern you made with the impression.

7. Space them roughly 2mm apart and make sure the needle enters the clay vertically, not at an angle.

8. A stencil is used here to add more holes since some areas looked a bit bare.

9. Make a cup.

Loosely wrap the clay around the bottle and connect the two ends together.

10. With the clay I used I just wet the clay and blended the edges together.

11. To make the bottom, roll out some more clay to about the same thickness as the sides.

12. Place the cylinder piece on top and trim around the edges

13. Connect the bottom piece by blending the edges of clay together. Allow to dry.

14. Sand and finish

15. Once the clay has dried you can sand it to smooth out the edges at the rim as well as along the seams.

16. Drop a tealight in and you’re done!

More Information about Diwali Festival

Present Tense and Its Types

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What is Tense?

The term tense is derived from Latin word ‘Tempus” meaning time. Tense is used to indicate time in English language. It has been broadly classified into three groups – Present Tense, Past Tense and Future Tense.

Let’s learn more about Present Tense and Its Types:

Present Simple Tense

It is used to indicate an action in present time, habitual or usual actions; daily event and universal fact. Example: I work in an IT firm. This expresses a regular action.

Sentence Formation:

Always keep in mind that the first form of verb is used as main verb in a sentence.

Positive Sentence: I write book .
Negative Sentence: I do not write book
Interrogative Sentence: Do I write reports?

Present Continuous Tense or Present Progressive Tense

It indicates ongoing action at present time which takes place while speaking. Example: I am writing a report.
In this case auxiliary verb ‘am’ , ‘is’ or ‘are’ used in sentence along with first form of verb or Main verb plus present participle i.e. ‘ing’.

Sentence Formation:

Positive: I am playing basketball
Negative: I am not playing basketball
Interrogative: Am I playing cricket?

Present Perfect Tense

It is used to indicate an action completed in near past. Example: She has learnt language.
Here, auxiliary verb ‘has’ or ‘have’ and the third form of verb i.e. past participle is used as main verb in sentence.

Sentence Formation:

Positive: I have eaten meal
Negative: She has not learnt language.
Interrogative: Have I eaten rice?

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

It is used to indicate an ongoing action which started in past and is continuing till now. Example: He has been studying in this school since 2009.

Here, auxiliary verb ‘has been’ or ‘have been’, first form of verb and ‘since’ or ‘for’ before time reference are used.

Sentence formation:

Positive: He has been watering plants for one hour.
Negative: I have not been studying for two hours.
Interrogative: Have I been studying since 1 O’ clock?

In the next two types of tenses position of subject, verbs and objects in a sentence is similar to that of present tenses. There is a change in verb forms only.

Read here related articles Types of Past Tense and Future Tense.

Types of Maps

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8 Different Types of Maps

1. Political Map

  • A political map shows the state and national boundaries of a place. A political map does not have any topographic features.
  • It also shows the location of cities, with respect to each other.

2. Physical Map

  • A physical map is one which shows the physical features of a place or country, like rivers, mountains, forests and lakes.
  • The physical features are usually shown in different colors.
  • Rivers and lakes are shown in blue, places of low elevation are shown in dark green and as the elevation increases, the color becomes light green and eventually orange.
  • Mountains are shown in brown.

3. Topographic Map

  • Topographic maps are similar to physical maps, which show the physical features of an area. Although in topographic maps, differences in elevation and changes in landscape are shown with the help of contour lines and not colors.

4. Climatic Map

  • A climatic map shows the information about the climate of different areas.
    For example it shows areas which receive more rainfall or snow, or which have dry weather.
  • It uses colors to depict areas with different climate.

5. Economic or Resource Map

  • Economic or resource maps show the different resources present in the area or economic activity prevalent.
  • They show the kind of crops that are grown and the minerals found in places.
  • Symbols and letters are used to depict the activity or resource present in the area.

6. Road Map

  • Road map is the most widely used map which shows different roads, highways or railways present in the area.
  • It is a very detailed map and is generally used for direction purposes.
  • Road maps are usually made individually, city-wise.
  • There are road maps present for an entire country too, but they cannot be made very detailed.

7. Scale of a Map

  • The scale of a map shows the relationship between the distances on the map with respect to actual distances on the Earth. For example if the scale of a map is 1 cm to a kilometer, that means 1 cm on the map is equivalent to 1 kilometer on actual ground.
  • Using a scale you can quite accurately measure the distance between 2 places.

8. Symbols

  • On maps different symbols represent different things, for example black dots represent cities, circled stars represent capitals.
  • Different types of lines represent roads, highways and railways.
  • Trees and forests are depicted in green, mountains in brown and rivers and lakes in blue.
  • This done for making it easier for us to spot these features and study the map.

Related Article:
Read and download the World Map with Country Names.

What is Average?

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Definition of Average

Calculating an average refers to the sum of numbers divided by how many numbers there are.

Example of Average

Lets us try and understand how an average is calculated with the help of an example.

Arjun, Krishna and and Ram went out to the fields one day to collect some mangoes. By the end of the day, Arjun had collected 10 mangoes, Krishna had collected 5 mangoes and Ram had collected 3 mangoes.

In total, Arjun, Krishna and Ram had collected 10 + 5 + 3 mangoes = 18 mangoes

How to Calculate Average?

To know the average number of mangoes collected by Arjun, Krishna and Ram, as the definition suggests, we need to divide the number of mangoes, with the number of friends who helped collect them. So we divide 18 ÷ 3 = 6

And get to know the average number of mangoes collected stands at 6 mangoes per person.

For more interesting Maths worksheets and lessons, go to : https://mocomi.com/learn/maths/

How to make a Paper Bag?

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Paper Bag Origami

Paper bags are widely used for carrying gift items, dresses and others. These could be simple or decorated and vary in sizes. Infact, plastic bags are now replaced by paper bags. If you are a creative person and passionate of art of paper folding or origami, then you are the right person to make it within few minutes!

Material Required

Papers used for the purpose could be newspapers, coloured papers and so on. You can use paper according to your own choice. Besides, you need a scissor, scale, pencil, glue, colours, ribbons, and other decorative items as per requirement.

10 Steps to make a Paper Bag

  1. Place the cut out paper in front on a flat surface.
  2. The paper should be placed in landscape orientation or long sides up and down; short sides to the left and right. Decorated papers should be faced down.
  3. Then the bottom edge of the paper should be folded (2inches).
  4. The fold should be creased sharply. This end would become the bottom of the bag when unfolded.
  5. The next step is to locate the centre points of the top and bottom edges. Here, you must maintain the landscape orientation. Bring the short sides together as though you were folding the whole thing in half. You pinch the top and bottom of the portion to be folded and mark the centre of each long side with a pencil. Then mark a half inch to the left and right of each centre point. In total there should be six points of which three lies in the centre of one long edge and rest on the other.
  6. Now fold the sides of the bag into place. You must bring the right edge of the paper to the left – most marked lines and then fold. Crease the fold and unfold it. Repeat the process inversely on the opposite side. You flip the paper over and re-fold its left and right sides downward towards the centre. Glue them at the place where they overlap. Then you fold along the same lines as before (but note that the folds will be inverted. Let the glue dry completely.
  7. Then you flip the bag over .The glued side should be down. It should be placed in such way so that one of the open ends points toward you.
  8. You fold the side and creases inward to give an accordion effect. Make the sides so that it becomes a rectangle when it opens up. Then mark 1.5 inches inwards from the left- hand side of the bag. You push the left side crease of the bag inwards towards the interior of the bag. Do this until the left hand mark made previously sits on the outer edge where the paper is bending. First you press and fold the paper downwards so that the mark lines up with the new folded edge. Keep the top and bottom edges symmetrical at the time of pressing the paper down. Repeat the process on the right hand side. Then the body of the bag should be folded inwards on either side like a grocery shopping bag.
  9. Now you make the bottom of the bag. First determine which end is the bottom by looking at the crease lines and keep the bag flattened. You fold the bag up (4 inches) from the bottom and crease it along this line. You must see that the inward flaring creases should pop open and forms a square edge. Inside, you will find a triangle of folded paper on either side. You fold few sides to the centre by using triangular shape. Bottom should be closed off properly.
  10. Make holes and add handles.

We have a huge collection of free and downloadable craft ideas for kids.

Navratri Festival

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Festivals are for fun and food, friends and family, and of course- holidays!!

India has festivals to mark seasonal changes, seeding and harvesting, family occasions – just about everything!

What is Navratri?

Navratri – as the name indicates –is a nine day festival or a nine-night festival.

When is Navratri celebrated?

Navratri is celebrated twice a year in India.

Ram Navami

The earlier one falls roughly in April, and ends in Ram Navami, where all Hindus celebrate the birth of Ram, the king of Ayodhya famed for his scrupulous justice. Typically, people fast for the nine days. They don’t stay hungry for the entire time- they eat a variety of grains and cereal, except for wheat and rice. The change of diet is a good practice to ensure the health of the digestive system.

In many parts of North India, there is a ‘jagran’ or ‘awakening’ for the entire period. People stay awake all night, singing ‘bhajans’ or devotional songs together. Pop stars are roped in to keep everyone awake! On Ram Navami the birth of Ram is celebrated with worship and feasting.

When Navratri is celebrated again in October, the nine-day fast is dedicated to King Ram. Ram had spent fourteen years in exile. Around the middle of that time a demon king Ravana kidnapped his wife, Sita and carried her off to his kingdom in Lanka.

After much searching he found her and attacked the 10-headed king with the help of his friend Hanuman. He had slayed Ravana, and restored the balance of good and evil in the world. Navratri celebrates this triumph of good over evil.

Ram Leela

In all the northern states of India, Ram Leela – a nine-evening traditional drama eulogising the life of Lord Ram –also concludes on Dasshera, the tenth day. Huge effigies of Ravana are burnt down to much merriment and bursting of crackers and feasting.

Huge fairs emerge in cities and towns across the country where all kinds of food and curio stalls offer their fascinating wares. People enjoy themselves late into the night, gorging on traditional sweets and savouries. In Gujarat, people step out and dance the Dandiya all night long, symbolising goddess Durga’s fight with the demon Mahishasur.

Navratri

Navratri in October is also important in West Bengal and the seven north-eastern states of India. Here it is called Durga Pooja. For ten days, everyone in West Bengal is on a holiday – no school, no office! The militant and fiery Goddess Durga is venerated during this time. Worshippers fast for nine days and pay obeisance to huge effigies of Durga slaying the wicked demon Mahishasur.

It is a time when the rich literary and artistic tradition of Bengal is brought out on stage. There’s dancing, drama, painting competitions and so on. Food and fun is high on the agenda of this colourful and culturally rich festival.

Why do we celebrate Navratri?

The purpose of this festival (and many others around the world) is to tell us all that good wins over evil and each of us is meant to chase away wicked thoughts and replace them with good ones.

Project:

The entire story of Ram, Sita and the triumph of good over evil is in the epic Ramayana. Find a family member and ask him or her to tell you about why Ram was exiled in the first place. There are also many other sources online and in books where you can find the information if someone in your family doesn’t know.

Chocolate Modak Recipe

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How to Make Chocolate Modaks?

The term ‘Modak’ is a Marathi word. It is a popular sweet in Maharastra. Though its recipe is said to have originated in Maharastra, but it is also common in southern India. It is known as Modhaka, Kozhakkattai and Kudumu in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh respectively. Modaks are of different types, among which the chocolate modaks are quite popular nowadays. You can make it at home very easily.

How much time is required to make Chocolate Modaks?

You can make twelve modaks within thirty minutes. It would take only ten minutes for preparation and twenty minutes for cooking.

Ingredients and Quantity

  1. Milk:- 1/3 cup
  2. Condensed milk:- 1/3 cup
  3. Semi sweet or dark chocolate chips:- ¾ cup or 4 oz
  4. Graham cracker crumbs or digestive biscuits crumbs:- 1 ½ cups
  5. Pistachios (chopped):- ¼ cup

7 Easy Steps to Make Chocolate Modaks

You do not have to give much effort to make chocolate modaks at home. Below are few simple steps which you have to follow to make perfect modaks.

Step 1: Put milk, chocolate chips and condensed milk in a pan and heat (medium to low flame) it.

Step 2: Once the chocolate starts to melt down, keep stirring continuously to avoid burning.

Step 3: After it melts down completely, it would become smooth and shiny. Then, you add graham cracker crumbs to it.

Step 4: Then start mixing it.

Step 5: Add chopped Pistachios to it and continue mixing. Sticky dough will form.

Step 6: Keep it aside to cool down.

Step 7: Now grease your finger as well as the modak moulds with oil or ghee. Then use the moulds to shape modaks.

Why modaks are made on Ganesh Chaturthi?

Modak is known to be a favourite dish of Lord Ganesha. Therefore, it is offered to Lord Ganesha as ‘Bhog’ on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, a Hindu festival.

Why kids can make Chocolate Modak easily?

Kids can make chocolate modak easily because there is no need to prepare the outer covering and stuffing mixture separately. Chocolate modaks are shaped by using moulds. Moulds are readily available in market.

Ganesh Chaturthi

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Vinayak Chaturthi

The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayak Chaturthi, is celebrated with great enthusiasm all over India. On this day Lord Shiva declared his son Ganesha as superior to all other gods and so this festival came to be. Ganesh Chaturthi falls between 19th August and 15th September and lasts for 10 days.

How was Ganesha born?

Mythology tells us that Ganesh was created by the Goddess Parvati when she sculpted him out of sandalwood paste and brought the figure to life. She then sent him to guard her door while she bathed. When Lord Shiva returned he was denied access into the chamber by this boy whom he did not recognise. So he severed Ganesh’s head in a fit of anger.

Upon finding out that Ganesh was his son, Shiva was overcome with remorse. He resurrected his son by attaching an elephant’s head onto Ganesh’s body and that’s how Ganesh came to be the elephant headed God.

Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration

The festival starts with colourfully decorated statues of Ganesha being installed in homes. The pandals are adorned with garlands and lights and the idol is worshipped in homes for 10 days. On the 11th day it is carried through the streets and immersed in a river or sea. This represents a ritualistic send-off for Lord Ganesh as he travels to his home in Kailash, taking with him the sorrows of his devotees. The main dish eaten during this festival is the modak. Other dishes such as kudumu, vrundallu, panakam and vadapappu are offered to Ganesha along with modaks.

Project

Go green: Traditionally, the statues of Ganesh were made out of clay. In order to produce cheaper statues, they are often made of plaster of Paris (POP). This material pollutes water bodies when the POP dissolves.

If your family follows this tradition of immersing a statue of Ganesh in a large water body, encourage them to get one that’s made from clay instead of POP.

To read and download more Lord Ganesh related articles, free wallpapers, greeting cards and coloring pages please visit this page.

For more interesting festivals for kids, visit: https://mocomi.com/learn/culture/festivals/

Spitting is a Bad Manner!

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In different parts of the world the act of spitting is not acceptable. Most important fact is that spitting on streets gives others a feeling of uncomfortableness. Moreover, red marks of betel on walls of buildings and staircases makes the place ugly too. So do not grow the habit of spitting. It is a bad manner.

Looking for more Health Tip articles? Go to: Quack A Tip for Kids.

What is Interest?

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Definition of Interest

The amount of money or a percentage charged by the lender (Banks) to the borrower (You) is known as Interest.

Money does not come for free, and therefore when you borrow money, not only is that money to be returned, but an amount is charged for borrowing too.

These charges are different around the world.

Interest on Money Example

Ram wants to borrow rupees 1000 (principle amount) from a bank for a year. The bank tells him that to borrow this amount, he will have to pay an interest of 10% at the end of the year.
How much would that amount to?

To convert this percentage into an amount, all we need to do is divide the interest amount with the borrowed amount or principle amount.

1000
——- = 100
10

After dividing, we get the numbers 100. This Rs. 100 is the 10% interest the bank is charging Ram.

Therefore, when Ram returns the money, he would have to pay Rs. 1000 (the borrowed amount), as well as an addition 100 rupees (1000 + 100 = 1,100) charged by the bank as interest for its lending (loan) services.

For more interesting Maths worksheets and lessons, go to : https://mocomi.com/learn/maths/

Raksha Bandhan

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Family in Indian culture and history has always been of great priority and significance. Festivals that highlight this auspicious bond are celebrated throughout the year. One such festival is Raksha Bandan which is celebrated on Purnima or full moon of the month of Shraavana in the Hindu calendar. It celebrates the bond between a brother and a sister and has proven to not limit itself to blood siblings, but cousins, trusted neighbours and friends also. On this day, the sister ties a band around her brother’s wrist and in return, her brother presents her with a gift and the promise of protection.

The Story of Raksha Bandhan

This tradition has been followed through Indian history and comes from Hindu mythology. In the Mahabharata, Draupadi (the wife of the Pandavas) aided Krishna in his time of need. On seeing him bleed profusely from a battlefield wound on his wrist, Draupadi tore a strip of her silk sari and tied it around his wrist as a bandage. Touched by her act of concern, Krishna promised to return the favour to her when she would most need it.

When Yudhishthira wagered and lost Draupadi to the Kauravas in a round of gambling, Krishna repaid the debt during her Cheer-Haran. When the Kauravas were trying to disrobe her, Krishna extended her sari through divine intervention in such a way that the length of her sari kept increasing. Her sari, in process, could not be removed and in the end, Draupadi’s honour was kept intact.

Significance and Importance of Raksha Bandhan

In history, the significance of rakhi has been brought about as well. When Rani Karnavati’s empire was under threat from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, the queen sent a rakhi to the Mughal Emperor Humayun to aid her in her time of need. Although Humayun was too late to save the Queen from her ultimate death, he succeeded in slaying Bahadur Shah. He restored the kingdom to Karnavati’s son, Vikramjit Singh. During the Partition of Bengal in 1905, Hindus and Muslims tied yellow rakhis on each others’ wrists to show their undying unity.

By showing their affection for one another in a traditional manner, the ceremony of Raksha Bandhan has strengthened the bond between brothers and sisters across the country.

Project –

The tradition of Raksha Bandhan is age-old. Can you try and find out about the Rakhi story of Roxana, the wife of Alexander the Great, and Porus, the Katoch king?

To read more interesting festivals for kids, click HERE

Verb Tense Exercise

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Fill in the blanks using the verbs below.

Use them either in the past or present tense. Tense exercise for kids.
(open; be; make; say; close; blow; fall; turn; give; shiver; cover; need; see; do)

  • “I ________ going outside,” said Rahul.
  • “Wait!” ________ Rahul’s mother. “Don’t forget your umbrella. And wear your jacket, it is cold out there.
  • “But mom,” said Jerry. “I don’t want to wear it. I will be fine without it. Besides, it is not that cold today.”
  • Rahul ________opened the door. The wind was blowing and ________ a whistling sound. Leaves ________ to the ground because of the wind. He ________a little and stood behind the door.
  • “Rahul!” shouted Rahul’s mom. “You ________ that door and get your coat young man.”
  • “But mom!” said Jerry.
  • “But what?” said Jerry’s mom. “I don’t understand why you don’t want to wear your new coat. Is there something wrong with it?
  • Jerry’s face ________ red. “No!” he said. “Nothing’s wrong with it!” Then he ________ his mouth with his hand.
  • “Well then…” said Rahul’s mom. “Why don’t you want to wear it?”
  • “Well, mom,” said Jerry. “I kind of…well…________ it away.”
  • “You what?” said Jerry’s mom.
  • “Yeah. But don’t worry. It’s okay. I gave it to Marvin. And he really ________ it.”
  • “Why?”
  • “Every time I ________ him, he looks cold. He is always cold, actually. His parents cannot afford to buy him a jacket.”
  • “Well, that is a very nice thing for you to ________, dear. But now what are you going to do without a jacket?”
  • “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll wear my old jacket for a little while.”

Importance of Health and Hygiene

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What is Health?

Health as scientists describe is a state of complete well being both physically and mentally. A healthy person is one whose mind and body are completely fit. Hygiene refers to habits or practices that ensure good health and a clean environment.

We consume a variety of foods everyday. Food is necessary for all living things. Plants and animals both need food to grow. Plants make their own food whereas animals depend on others for their supply of food. We all begin our day with a good breakfast and have at least two more big meals in the day – lunch and dinner.

Where does food come from?

The food we eat comes from plants and animals. Different parts of the plant are eaten by us as food. We eat the leaves of some plants like spinach, seeds of some plants like corn, flowers of some plants like broccoli, stems of some plants like potato and roots of some plants like carrots. Food from animals are eggs, milk and milk products like butter, ghee etc, We also eat the flesh of some animals like chicken, fish, goat etc. The food that we eat can be thus divided into five types based on their usefulness to our body These types of food provide energy, build our body, protect it from diseases and keep us healthy and strong.

Components of Food:

The five types or components of food are:

  1. Carbohydrates
  2. Fats
  3. Proteins
  4. Vitamins
  5. Minerals

What are Carbohydrates?

  • Carbohydrates are also known as energy giving foods.
  • We need energy to do our daily activities like running, walking, cycling etc.
  • Carbohydrate rich foods are potatoes, bananas, corn, sugar, cereals etc.

What is Fats?

  • Like carbohydrates, fats are also considered as energy giving foods. Excess or extra carbohydrates are changed and stored as fat in our bodies.
  • Foods rich in fats are meat, ghee, vegetable oil, milk, butter, cheese, dry fruits.
  • Although fatty foods are necessary for the body but an excessive intake of these foods leads to weight problems like obesity leading to heart problems.

What is Proteins?

  • Protein rich foods are those foods that help in the growth and repair of muscles and tissues in our body. This is one of the most important food groups. It builds muscles and repairs worn out tissues in our body.
  • Foods rich in proteins are milk, chicken, eggs, fish, soya bean etc.
  • Now, can you tell me if a coolie or a porter should eat the same diet as an office going person who does a desk job?
  • No, a coolie has to do a lot of physical work everyday. He carries heavy luggage for which he needs a lot of energy and so his diet should be rich in carbohydrates, which are energy giving foods. An office person sits at his desk all day and hardly does any physical activity hence he needs foods rich in proteins which are body building and tissue repairing foods.

Vitamins and Minerals

  • These are foods that are needed in small quantities by the body to keep our body healthy, help in normal functioning of the body and protect it from diseases.
  • There are 13 important vitamins needed by our body.
  • Besides performing the above functions, minerals also help in strengthening the bones and maintaining a normal heart-beat.
  • Important minerals that our body needs are iron, calcium, phosphorus and iodine.
  • Foods rich in minerals are fruits, eggs, milk and vegetables.

Why should certain fruits and vegetables like tomatoes carrots, cucumbers be eaten raw?
This is because cooking of these vegetables leads to loss of some essential vitamins present in them.

Water and Roughage

  • Our body is mostly made up of water and this is the reason why water is very important for us.
  • We need to replenish the water we lose from our body through our sweat and urine by increasing our intake of water.
  • We must drink atleast 8 to 10 glasses of water a day. Certain fruits and vegetables contain water in them.
  • Water helps in flushing out the toxins in our body and keeping our body clean and healthy.
  • Roughage is the fibre present in food, it is that part of the food which is not digested by our system and helps in eliminating waste materials from our body.
  • Roughage is necessary to stimulate digestive juices in our body and thus help in digesting food.

Balanced Diet

  • When we eat any meal, we do not eat only one component of food in it. What we eat is a meal that has a little of all five components which are necessary for us and perform different functions for our body.
  • As the name suggests a balanced diet is a diet which contains the right or adequate amounts of different components of food which are required for the normal functioning of our body.
  • Eating a balanced diet ensures proper growth and development of our body, gives us energy and also protects us from diseases, as it contains all the components of foods mentioned above.

Exercise

  • Just eating away is not going to keep us healthy. Imagine if we were to eat all day without doing any physical activity like running, walking, swimming cycling etc. Our body would become lethargic and our growth would get affected.
  • So, like it is necessary to eat healthy and the right kinds of food, it is also necessary to exercise so that we are able to digest the food we have eaten.
  • Regular exercise improves blood circulation in our body.
  • Yoga is an ancient system of exercise that has been practiced in India. Yoga improves our posture and keeps us healthy and fit. It keeps us calm and wards away many diseases.
  • Playing outdoor games like football, basketball, cricket etc is also considered as exercise.

What is Hygiene?

Hygiene is nothing but maintaining cleanliness through good habits and practices. Good hygiene prevents various diseases from spreading.

Steps to maintain a good Hygiene

  • Have a bath daily. Dust particles stick to our body when we play or sweat. These dust particles attract disease causing germs. Bathing daily keeps these germs away.
  • Wash your hands before and after every meal. When we play, the germs present in soil and mud get transferred to our hands and can enter our body causing illnesses.
  • Take care of our teeth, brush twice a day and floss regularly to remove food particles that are trapped or stuck between our teeth and are hard to remove.
  • Trim your nails regularly.
  • Keep hair clean and lice free.
  • Take good care of your eyes and ears. Avoid reading in bad light and wash your eyes with cold water regularly.
  • Keep our surroundings clean always. Throw garbage in dustbins, do not collect water in drums and buckets as water is the breeding ground for mosquitoes which can cause diseases.
  • A recipe for a fruit salad can be inserted.

Bulletin Board Ideas for Preschool

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Bulletin boards or pin boards are the reflectors that indicate the mood of the classroom. A colourful and happy bulletin board shows that the class is learning and enjoying at the same time.

How to make Bulletin Board

Let’s look at some really great bulletin board decorating ideas that will bring the classroom to life.

1. Back to School Board

Going back to school is not something that a lot of kids look forward to. A cool, well decorated bulletin board will not only make for a good welcome, but ensure that they feel special.

To welcome them back to school we suggest the ‘Superheroes in Training’ board. Here all we need to create is one superhero silhouette and scattered around this figure will be the names of all kids who are starting a new year on a high note.

2. Tattling Turtle Board

Has the class gotten too loud in the middle of the term? Try the ‘Tattling Turtle’ board. Just pin up a number of turtles and leave their stomach areas empty. If a naughty student refuses to focus even after repeated warnings, you can just write their name on the turtle. This will ensure that they keep quite and learn when the teacher is in the class.

3. The Festive Season Board

Want the class to take part in the festivities coming up? Get the students to contribute towards the festive pin board! Here is an example of a great Christmas bulletin board idea. Make the reindeer from the hands and feet of the students. Let them pick what colour they want the deer and write their name under the deer they made. To give it that extra effect, you could decorate it with real Christmas lights. This will surely make a happy and prosperous festive season.

4. The Farewell Board

Has the time come to bid the class goodbye? Give the students a promise of the bright future with the help of this pinboard! Ask the kids to get their pictures while wearing shades or click them yourself! The statement we want to make here is, ‘The future’s so bright we have to wear shades!’ If you click the pictures using the photo booth style and add a dash of bright colors, the board will serve as a vibrant send-off for the kiddos!

How much of our Brain do we use?

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Our body is made of many wonderful systems and organs but brain is the most astounding and mysterious of all. There are many myths about the brain and researchers are still researching to understand it completely. There are many mislead facts regarding the power of the human brain.

Do we use 100% of our Brain?

Do you know everyday we use 100% of our brain. Yes, opposed to the famous myth that no one uses 100% of their brain, the reality is that we all use it completely. Every part of our brain is associated with some part of our body, and while we are still alive, we use all the parts. So our brain is used to it’s full mass. Yes, one thing we can say is that we do not use the full potential of our brain. The human brain has infinite potential.

For instance, there is nothing in the world you cannot understand or learn but some just give up thinking that they cannot do it. The reality is every brain is equally strong to learn and understand. You need to tap into that untouched potential of your brain, give some more time to that work, and VOILA, it’s done.

Brain capacity is unlimited. The more you use it, the sharper it becomes.

11 Interesting Facts you didn’t know about the Human Brain

1. Your brain can’t multitask. Neurons in our brain fire at such a speed that we feel we’re multitasking but actually we are not.
2. Research has found that good relationships are even more important to a long life than exercise.
3. Your brain does more creative work when you’re tired.
4. People who view TV crime shows consistently overestimate the frequency of crime in the real world.
5. Seeing positive in others reveals our positive traits, seeing negative in others reveals our negative traits.
6. We seem to ignore the ones who adore us and pay more attention to those who ignore us.
7. Depression is the result of over thinking. The mind creates problems that don’t even exist.
8. Being with happy people makes you happier.
9. Your mind wanders 30% of the time.
10. Happiness, anger, sadness, fear, disgust, and surprise are the six emotions that are universally expressed.
11. People tend to be happier when they are kept busy, as this prevents them from thinking about the negative things in life.

Our brain is what separates us from other animals. It’s single handedly responsible for all the human progress and growth. Just tap into your potential and achieve the unbelievable.

Looking for more biology articles and videos? Go to: Biology for Kids.

How do Magnets Work?

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In the early days, the Greeks observed that the naturally occurring ‘lodestone’ attracted iron pieces. From that day onwards began the journey into the discovery of magnets.

Now we have all kinds of magnets, like bar magnets, horseshoe magnets, disk magnets etc., all being used for a variety of applications.

How do all these Magnets Work? Let’s find out!

First, let’s understand what makes magnets magnetic.

What makes Magnets Magnetic?

All matter is made up of atoms. Atoms in turn, are made up of protons, electrons and neutrons. In most materials almost all the electrons form pairs, with the magnetism from the two paired electrons exactly cancelling. This makes such materials non-magnetic.

What is Magnetic Field?

Magnets have what is known as a half shell of electrons; in other words, they are not paired up like other materials. These electrons then line up, and move around the protons, which creates a magnetic field.

Thus, these atoms themselves are tiny microscopic magnets.

Now, atoms align themselves in groups called crystals. A collection of magnetic crystals forms a domain of magnetic fields, which are then all aligned in the same magnetic direction. The more domains that point in the same direction, the greater the magnetic force will be.

Now that we know how magnets are formed, let’s find out how magnets work.

Magnets : How do they work?

When a ferromagnetic material (a material that is attracted to magnets) comes into contact with the magnet, the domains in this material align themselves with the domains in the magnet. Thus, the atoms in these materials, like steel, for example, temporarily tend to behave like tiny little bar magnets.

All magnets have south and north poles. The south pole of a magnet is naturally attracted to the north pole of another magnet. This attraction is what causes the piece of steel to stick to the magnet.

Non-ferromagnetic materials (materials that are not attracted to magnets) do not rearrange into alignment with the magnetic domains and stay in a random formation.

Stainless steel, for example, is not a very good magnetic material, so if you touch your magnet with something made of stainless steel it will probably not stick to it.

Principles of Magnetism

Thus, magnets work on this principle of magnetic fields.

Another point to make a note of is this –

“Like poles repel” and “Opposite poles attract”

The north pole of one magnet will repel the north pole of another magnet, but will attract the south pole of the same magnet.

Fun Fact about Magnets

You can make a magnet by placing a magnetic object in a magnet’s magnetic field for a sufficiently long period of time. The strength of the magnet you make will depend on the strength of the magnet you used in the first place, as well as the duration of exposure.

Related Article:

Can Magnets attract anything?, Let’s find out in our video https://mocomi.com/can-magnets-attract-anything/

St. Patrick’s Day

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St. Patrick’s Day History

Once upon a time, there was boy called Maewyn Succat who was born in Britain in 387 AD. Sadly, he was snatched away from his family at the age of 16 by Irish pirates. He was sold to a trader in Ireland and was a shepherd for his master’s sheep.

God came in his dreams and commanded him to leave Ireland. Patrick traveled over 200 miles and came to Britain again where he became a devout Christian. He became a priest. However, he missed Ireland.

St. Patrick and Ireland

Pope Celestine, in 432, made him a Bishop and the name Patercius or Patrick (meaning father of the people) was bestowed on him. St Patrick went back to Ireland. He combined the Celtic language, Irish symbols and traditions with Christian propaganda; and he started to convert people to Christianity.

There is a green clover leaf which has three leaves attached together and is called a shamrock. St Patrick used this leaf to explain the Holy Trinity to people.

Why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

The Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s death anniversary on 17 March as St Patrick’s Day. Everyone wears shamrock and if you don’t wear it you will get pinched. In Chicago, the river is dyed green with vegetable dye.

To read more about festivals from around the world, click HERE

What is Good Friday?

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When is Good Friday?

Good Friday is the Friday when Jesus Christ was crucified (attached to a cross). Jesus was ridiculed and beaten because he said that he was God’s son.

He was made to wear a crown made from thorns. He had to carry the heavy cross on which he would be crucified, to a hilltop. This is the saddest day for Christians in the year.

Jesus rose a few days later, on Easter Sunday and went to Heaven. Easter Friday is the Friday after Easter.

Why is it called “Good Friday”?

  • The word “Good” means holy in Old English, and Good Friday is also called Holy Friday.
  • Maybe the word “God” turned to “Good.”
  • Another explanation is that people believe that Jesus’s sacrifice allows for humans to also go to Heaven.

Good Friday Quotes

“On this Good Friday may we never forget the true meaning of Easter – ‘For when He was on the cross, I was on His mind.’”
-Unknown

“The cross was two pieces of dead wood; and a helpless, unresisting Man was nailed to it; yet it was mightier than the world, and triumphed, and will ever triumph over it.”
Augustus William Hare

“Good Friday marks the slaying of our Jesus. The unblemished lamb, the perfect sacrifice. He took our guilt and blame upon Himself so we could be with Him in paradise.”
-Unknown

Festival Customs

  • Churches are never decorated on this day and left dark. God is absent on this day, thus the eternal candle is not lit.
  • A cross lies alone on the altar.
  • People reenact Jesus’ painful death.

Strange Rituals

  • You cannot dance on this day in Germany.
  • Kites are flown in Bermuda to show Jesus’s journey to Heaven.
  • “Hot Cross Buns” which are fruit buns with a cross on top are eaten on this day.

More information –

Here’s how Black Friday is different from Good Friday.

What is Square Root?

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What is Square?

Square roots work the opposite way of a square.

For example : The square of the numbers 3 is 9, therefore the square root of number 9 is 3.

Definition of Square Root

The square root of a number is a value that can be multiplied by itself to give the original number.

The square root of 9 is 3, because when 3 is multiplied by itself, you get 9.

Decimal Numbers

Decimal numbers can also be squared. And therefore you can find their square root too.

For example, the square of 3.13 is 9.77 and so the square root is 3.13

The Square Root Symbol

√ The square root symbol as you can see looks like a tick, and was introduced hundreds of years ago as a dot with flick upwards.

So the √25 = 5

Perfect Squares

Perfect squares are squares of whole numbers. Let us look at a few perfect squares.
Here is a list of squares from 1 to 15.

123456789101112131415
149162536496481100121144169196225

For more interesting Maths worksheets and lessons, go to : Maths for Kids

Law of Conservation of Energy

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Where does Energy come from?

If energy can be neither created nor destroyed… where did it come from in the first place? And where does it go?

Well, energy can be found in many things and it takes many forms.

So even if it appears to be lost in thin air, technically it has just changed its form! Hence, the total energy in the universe remains the same because nothing is really lost. You get the gist of it now don’t you?

It was during the 1840’s that a physicist named James Prescott Jules outlined the theory of conservation of energy.

This theory essentially stated that: energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only changed from one form into another or transferred from one object to another.

So, when you kick a ball, the potential energy in the ball is converted into kinetic energy which causes it to move ahead. Also the energy that is stored in you is transferred into the ball which causes it to move forward.

Now you ask, in the case of atomic energy, where is this conservation of energy employed? Where is this excess energy coming from?

The Law of Conservation of Mass

In the case of the atomic energy, we see that a very small amount of mass has been converted to huge amount of energy!

Hence, it means that the conservation of energy applies to matter too! It’s name just changes to conservation of mass. This law can be practically seen in chemical reactions, nuclear reactions and radioactive decay in case of the atomic reactions.

The law of mass conservation was deduced by : Mikhail Lomonosov.

What is Energy Efficiency?

Yes, we said that energy could not be lost. But, a flooding need of energy with increase in the population and excessive utilization of the available resources has led to the need of resource management and energy efficiency.
Practicing very simple steps like turning off the lights and fans when no longer in use, getting the leaking taps fixed and such, we can use the present energy resources efficiently!

Practicing the efficient usage of the present energy resources, we can not only save it up for the future generations, but also save our planet from destruction that is caused by green house gases and global warming due to excess gaseous emissions. Be a hero for Earth! Be an energy efficient citizen!

Who Invented Homework?

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Who created Homework and Why?

The invention of homework can be dated back to the 1095 in the city of Venice. All the credit mostly goes to Roberto Nevilis for being one of the first to give homework. There might have been others, but there is no evidence or recordings of them.

In fact homework was introduced during the same time as the formal school system. In that time only well-to-do people had leisure of education and Nevilis wanted that his pupils should fully understand and embrace the lessons they learnt. Since formal educational system was developed at the same time as homework it became a part of it in European countries.

In the United States educational was not taken seriously till the 20th century. It was taken as a nuisance since children were needed at home to support their family instead of being involved with studies. But after the 2nd World War the mindset of people changed when the World stated needing more people with educational qualification to help with problem around the Globe.

What is First Aid?

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We might be careful enough to avoid the injuries, but that is the thing about accidents. Even though, the major cause of accidents is carelessness, accidents may occur anytime and anywhere even if it was your fault or not!

For example :- while running down the stairs, or crossing a busy road in a hurry, not following traffic rules and signals while driving or while working on machines or in the kitchen.

Certain injuries are serious or severe and need medical help alone. We are not able to do much, but whenever we see an injured person we can provide some immediate help to relieve the person from the pain and agony.

Definition

First aid is the assistance given to a person suffering a sudden illness or injury until full medical treatment is available.

8 Essentials you must have in your First Aid Box

  1. Different types of Adhesive Bandages
  2. Sealed packs of Ibuprofen or Antihistamine
  3. Scissors or Knife
  4. Athletic Tape and Sterile Gauze
  5. Safety Pins
  6. Antiseptic Ointments
  7. Insect Repellent
  8. Any prescription medications in a Labeled Bag

Injuries could be caused by fire, animal bites, poisoning and accidents.
The most important thing to remember while giving first aid to an injured person is,

  • Do not panic, always remain calm.
  • Do not crowd around the injured person.
  • Keep a first aid emergency preparedness kit ready and handy.

First Aid Training

Follow the subsequent section as a personal first aid training :

First Aid for Small Cuts and Wounds

  • We must wash the area with water
  • Wipe it with an antiseptic lotion or cream
  • Tie a bandage
  • Call an adult or doctor if it is very deep

First Aid for Burns

  • For minor burns, ice or cold water may be applied on the burnt area.
  • The area that has been burnt should be placed under running water for a while.
  • Never prick the blister caused by the burn.
  • If the burn is severe, a doctor must be consulted immediately.

First Aid for Animal Bites

  • Animal bites could be caused by pets such as dogs and cats or even by a snake.
  • In case of animal bites wash the area nicely with soap and water, apply antiseptic cream and cover it with a clean bandage. Take the victim to a doctor immediately for any vaccination that may be needed to avoid serious diseases like rabies.
  • In case of bites or stings of bees and wasps, a paste of baking soda and antiseptic cream must be applied.

For more such interesting General Knowledge articles and videos for kids.

Top 10 reasons I’m glad to be me this Thanksgiving

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10 Reasons Why I Am Grateful This Thanksgiving

  1. Thank God I’m not an Enter button on a keyboard, people would hit me hard every time they got angry or excited while working on the computer!
  2. Thank God I’m not a football, people would be kicking me all the time.
  3. This Thanksgiving, Thank God I’m not a bad drawing, otherwise I would get erased from my sister’s drawing book.
  4. Thank God I’m not a rocket, otherwise there would always be fire on my bum.
  5. Thank God I’m not an electric wire, otherwise there would be a current passing through me all the time.
  6. Thank God I’m not a water bear (Tardigrade) or else I would be .5 mm or .02 inches and people would have to use a microscope to look at me.
  7. This Thanksgiving, Thank God I’m not the ozone layer, otherwise I would deplete 4% every decade.
  8. Thank God I’m not a mouse or else a cat would always be chasing me.
  9. Thank God I’m not a dragon, otherwise every time I cough, there would be fire balls coming out of my mouth.
  10. Thank God I’m not a fan, otherwise I would be dizzy with all that spinning.

Get more Information

Watch

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Oh my! I am in a watch!

A short History of the Wrist Watch

It was during the world war that men started to wear watches on their wrists rather than on a chain around their neck. This simple change made it easier for men to tell the time without moving their hand. Previously men wore pocket watches on chains and women wore wrist watches.

That’s it! Time to get out of here!!

How to Make a Paper Airplane

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Paper Airplane Origami

Paper planes are among the most entertaining paper crafts that any child indulges in while growing up. The best part about these planes is that they are incredibly easy to make and cost close to nothing. But, one must always value the sanctity of a paper airplane. Let us look at some of the rules that are key to making the best paper airplane there is.

Rules :

  • One A4 only! Yes, the best paper planes are made from one single sheet of A4 paper. Try to avoid any additional materials. Skip tape, glue, stapler, all.
  • The sheet is holy. Never-ever tear the A4. You have to fold your way through this wonder. No cutting at all.
  • Forget the beauty, go after the flight. Don’t make folds to make the plane look fancy. The folds should add to the flying ability of your paper airplane. If you are adding a fold for looks, please don’t.
  • Now that we know the dos and don’ts, time to go ahead and make a plane!

The Dart : The dart is the best, most classic paper craft idea of all times.

7 Steps to Make a Paper Airplane

Step 1. Take an A4 sheet of paper.

Step 2. Fold the paper exactly in half, longways. Now, open up the folds. What you will have in front of you is the centre line guide so all your other folds are straight.

Step 3. The next step is to take the dog-ears of the page and fold them inward such that they exactly meet the centre line.

Step 4. Now fold once more and try to divide these dog-ears exactly in half. Make sure that the diagonals meet the middle line.

Step 5. Carefully now refold the centre line so that all the folds that you made are on the outer side.

Step 6. Now make a line and divide both the sides into half. Make folds on both sides and prepare for the wings to stretch out.

Step 7. Boom! Your plane is ready. Send this Dart to fly and see how it soars the sky!

Facts about Paper Airplane

  • It was during the world war II that paper was among the only material available for toy making. This resulted in the popularity of paper modeling.
  • It is said that the Wright brothers used paper planes, wings and airfoils in wind tunnels as part of their quest to build the first powered human carrying airplane.
  • The Project Space Planes team spear headed by Joel Veitch, a British web animator launched a weather balloon carrying a whopping 200 paper planes from a field in Germany all the way into outer space. Once the balloon burst, all the planes raced back to Earth and landed in different parts. They were able to trace these planes as each one carried a tiny Samsung memory card with an individual message.

Related Articles

Poke a Potato

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Potato and Straw Experiment

How about using a bendable, light straw- yes, the one we use to slurp down chocolate milk shakes; to make holes inside rock solid potatoes? Does it sound like mission impossible? How about trying it with us?

Stab a Potato with a Straw

There are two rules. You need to use two ingredients and you cannot twist or crack the straw.

What You Need

A straw
A raw potato

3 Steps to Make a Straw Stab a Potato

  1. Hold the potato in your left hand (your non writing hand). Make sure your fingers are not on the top or bottom of the potato.
  2. Place your right hand’s thumb over one end of the straw, and don’t allow any air to enter. Hold the straw tightly with the other four fingers of your right hand.
  3. Now with a quick jab, insert the straw inside the narrower, top part of the potato, not the thicker middle part. It went in and the straw did not bend or break. You are a genius! A big round of applause for you.

How It Works

  • The end of the straw has a narrow opening, and when you close it firmly; you are trapping the air inside. So, the air molecules compress and make the straw strong. That’s why the straw doesn’t bend when you poke it in the potato.
  • The trapped, compressed air makes the straw strong enough to go through the potato. Since your thumb is not covering the straw on the other side, the air gets pushed out of the straw. Now, it is weak again.

For more such science experiments and articles, visit https://mocomi.com/learn/science/

Saraswati Puja or Vasant Panchami

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A day when you don’t have to study

On Saraswati puja, you don’t have to study. That’s because your books will be at Goddess Saraswati’s feet for her blessing. This festival is popular in West Bengal and South India.

What is Saraswati Puja?

This day is also known as Vasant Panchami or the Festival of Kites. Children fly kites in Punjab. This year, the festival is on 22 January. It marks the start of spring.

Yellow is the colour of the day. It symbolizes spring, as yellow mustard flowers bloom during this time in Punjab. Everyone wears yellow clothes, including Goddess Saraswati. Yellow rice and yellow sweets like kesar halwa are made. Yellow marigold flowers are offered to the goddess. People put yellow coloured turmeric (haldi) as tilak on their forehead.

Why do we celebrate Saraswati Puja?

Saraswati is the goddess of learning, music, art and culture. Saraswati puja is celebrated as her birthday. Saraswati means purity and truthfulness. The deity Saraswati is always white, wearing a yellowish white saree that has been dyed with shiuli flowers (small white flowers with orange stems). She holds a veena showing her love for music. Saraswati holds a lotus flower (pure wisdom) and has a swan sitting beside her.

Pandals (structures made from bamboo and cloth) are erected in neighborhoods, and Saraswati sits here. Garlands made from the marigold flowers (in yellow and orange) decorate the goddess. Children draw alpana (using rice powder) in various designs on the floor where Saraswati sits. They make multi colored streamers which are hung on the walls.

Three year old children are made to sit in front of the Goddess and they use the chalk, for the first time, to write on their slates. This is called haate khori. Sit and draw competitions are one of the popular activities of the day. In the evenings, children perform musical shows and act out plays.

To read more interesting festivals for kids, click here.

Tea Bag Rocket Experiment

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How to Make a Tea Bag Rocket

What You Need

  • A tea bag
  • A flat dinner plate
  • A lighter

4 Steps to Make a Tea Bag Rocket

  1. Take a tea bag, and empty its contents. Now open the staple pins, label and strings on the tea bag, and lay it flat, with both ends open. Roll it into a cylinder and make it stand straight on a dinner plate.
  2. Be careful or ask for your mom’s help now. Using a lighter, ignite the top of the cylinder. Carefully and from a slight distance, observe the fire quickly burn up the cylinder.
  3. 3..2..1! Kaboom! Lift off!
  4. The tea bag zooms up!

How did that happen?

There are three principles at work here. First, the flame heats up the air that is contained inside the cylinder. The molecules move quicker and spread further apart. The outside air is denser than the inside air of the cylinder. So, the less dense, warmer air rises above the more dense, outside air.

Also, the space created by the less dense air within the cylinder lets the denser outside air push the hot air upwards. This is called a convection current.

Finally, when the tea bag burns, there is smoke formed which dissipates. The cylinder which has reduced to ash is forced to rise up by the heavier hot air; which is also rapidly rising up.

For more such science experiments and articles, visit https://mocomi.com/learn/science/

How to Make a Piggy Bank

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Homemade Piggy Bank

What You Need

  • A water bottle
  • 1 large bottle cap for the nose
  • 4 small water bottle caps for legs
  • Googly eyes
  • Pink paint
  • Pink foam paper, for the ears
  • Pink wool, for the tail
  • Scissors
  • Glue

9 Steps to Make a Piggy Bank

  1. First, paint your bottle and all the bottle caps, pink.
  2. Let the paint dry.
  3. While that’s happening, curl the wool tightly around your finger, to make the tail.
  4. Now, cut ear shapes from the foam paper.
  5. Fold them in half, so that they look more real.
  6. Check if the paint is dry. Then, stick the 4 smaller bottle caps as legs.
  7. Glue the larger bottle cap on as the nose.
  8. Stick on the Googly eyes, foam paper ears and the woolly tail.
  9. Cut a slit in the back of your pig, large enough to slide coins and notes in.

Have fun saving money!

We have a huge collection of free and downloadable craft ideas for kids.

MRI Scan

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What is an MRI Scan?

MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. This technique uses a very powerful magnet and radio waves to create pictures of tissues and organs inside the body, which can then be viewed on a computer. An MRI scan provides much better and clearer images of body parts that cannot be seen as well with X-ray, CT scan, or ultrasound.

What happens during the MRI Scan?

During the MRI procedure, the patient has to lie inside a big and hollow cylindrical machine that has a strong magnet fit inside it. It almost feels like lying inside a large hose pipe! When the scanning machine is turned on, it sends extremely strong radio waves through the body and a strong magnetic field is created. This strong magnetic field affects the protons in the human body, that are mostly in hydrogen atoms, and aligns them in a particular fashion.

Hydrogen, along with oxygen and carbon, makes up 99 per cent of the human body, and thus, almost all the protons found inside the body are affected by the magnetic field generated by the machine. When the machine is turned off, the magnetic field also disappears and the protons start losing their alignment. They start going back to their original positions where they were before the magnetic field was generated. As the protons begin to fall back in place, they send out radio wave signals of their own. The MRI scanner picks up these signals and sends it to the attached computer which turns these signals into pictures.

Protons located in different parts of the body emit different types of signals. For example, a proton found in a muscle will produce an entirely different type of radio wave signal as compared to a proton found in a bone.

10 Interesting Facts about MRI Scan

  1. MRI scanning is a fairly new technique and it came into use in the early 1980s.
  2. An American medical practitioner, Raymond Vahan Damadian, invented the first MRI scanning machine.
  3. There are lights inside the machine, so it is not dark and there is nothing for the patients to feel scared of.
  4. The MRI machine is slightly noisy. A loud tapping sound is heard while the machine generates the pictures. If the patients get bothered about the noise while the examination, some doctors allow them to put on earplugs.
  5. A patient can bring his i-pod or walkman to listen to during the scan.
  6. The MRI machine is completely harmless. It does not hurt even a bit! Since we cannot feel any type of radio waves, we do not feel a thing.
  7. A patient must stay still while the pictures are being taken or else the pictures get blurred.
  8. The MRI scanning lasts for about half an hour to 45 minutes, depending on the number of body parts to be examined.
  9. MRI scanning is completely safe as no harmful radiation is produced during the examination, unlike X-Rays or CT scanning.
  10. Most commonly, MRI scanning is done to find out the severity of internal injuries, sprains and back pain.

For more interesting and informative technology articles, visit: https://mocomi.com/learn/science/technology/

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

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Do enigmatic creatures like ‘E.T.’ and ‘Jadoo’ shown in Hollywood and Bollywood movies actually exist? How are we going to find that out in real life? Is there an organization that is involved in searching for extraterrestrial life? If yes, who are the people working with it? SETI is the answer to these mind boggling questions.

What does SETI stand for?

SETI stands for ‘search for extraterrestrial intelligence’.

Project SETI began actively in 1960 when an American astronomer Frank Drake started searching for radio signals from two stars near Earth.

SETI is based at the University of California and the purpose of this project is to use radio telescopes from around the world to scan the sky to look for special patterns in radio waves that could have been sent by some alien civilization in space.

There is a huge radio telescope installed at Arecibo, Puerto Rico that catches all the radio signals floating around in the space. This telescope has a huge bowl-shaped dish which is almost 1000 feet in diameter and takes pride in being the world’s largest stationary radio telescope.

The researchers analyze thousands of radio signals intercepted through this telescope daily. Currently, astronomers are building an Allen Array Telescope which would be able to check much more stars and the planets orbiting around them with higher precision.

Scientists prefer to use radio telescopes because radio waves can reach very far in space without being absorbed by the thick clouds of gas and dust that are extensively found in the space. Radio telescopes can be used both day and night and radio signals are easy to detect as compared to other forms of signals and signs.

However, in the last few decades, astronomers are also contemplating the use of optical signals to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Scientists are busy developing powerful lasers—devices that will emit strong optical signals in space and could act like cosmic projectors.

Since 1998, astronomers in Harvard University have been keenly looking to intercept pulse optical signals. The Planetary Society (Headquarters in Pasadena, California) also surveys the sky for optical extraterrestrial signals using a large telescope.

Sending messages to the other stars is somewhat like sending a message in a bottle from a faraway marooned island in the hope that someday someone out there on the shore will find it.

It is this hope that keeps the stranded person alive and it is this hope again that keeps the scientists going. Actually, astronomers did send a message in 1974 to the globular cluster M13 which consists of about million stars.

Has it been received by some alien civilization or is yet to be received? If received, have the aliens been able to understand it? Well, these are the questions that no one can answer as yet.

One of the major problems that the scientists encounter is the huge distance between Earth and the other stars.

Even if we target the stars that are closest to us, our message would take nothing less than 40 years to reach the target location and if the target is far away from us, then the number of years taken would be in thousands. These problems have so far not deterred our scientists and they are leaving no stone unturned in informing the extraterrestrial civilizations about our planet.

Certain spacecrafts like Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2 carry a record with information about Earth and the achievements of the human civilization.

This has been done keeping in mind that if the aliens do happen to come across these spacecrafts, they are able to access detailed and more importantly, accurate information about our planet easily.

These spacecraft are all currently headed out of the solar system in search of finding any clue about aliens.

The basic idea for establishing SETI is to exchange correct and unambiguous information in order to establish friendly relations with our fellow dwellers of the universe. Of course we don’t want to face a situation like that shown in Hollywood’s famous movie “Mars Attack”, do we?

Scientists are also contemplating planting a large radio telescope on the Moon. It would then be easy for them to distinguish the registered signals from those of Earth’s technological origin.

They will also be able to register the signals with all possible radio waves because there is no atmosphere on the Moon.

For more such interesting General Knowledge articles and videos, visit: https://mocomi.com/learn/general-knowledge/

Earthworm : The Farmer’s Friend

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How do Earthworms help Farmers?

Martin heard his mother shriek. She was staring at over thirty earthworms crawling on the bathroom floor. “Quick Martin! Bring some salt. I will sprinkle on the earthworm and they will die,” she screamed.

Martin said, “No mother, don’t kill them please! They are harmless. I promise I will get rid of them!”

Martin carefully picked the earthworms up and placed them in a box. He took them to a patch of land in the garden that his father didn’t use and released them in the ground.

In the evening, Martin went to Eeshan’s place to study. He told Eeshan that his father was going to take part in a gardening contest. Eeshan said, “My father has a book on gardening. Let’s go and check it out.”

As Eeshan was flipping through the pages of the book his eyes fell on a chapter title, “Earthworm, a farmer’s friend.” He said, “Martin! Here it says that an earthworm is a farmer’s friend because they turn the soil and large pieces of organic matter and make the soil fertile. This helps in making the plants grow naturally and well.”

Martin took the earthworms out of the patch in his home carefully, and placed them inside the pot of the tomato plant. Over a week the tomatoes had grown into plump and healthy fruits and were ready for the contest.

On the day of the contest, Martin, Eeshan and Martin’s mother saw Martin’s father return with the trophy. He thanked Eeshan and Martin for making this possible. Martin spoke, “Einstein Iyengar helps so many people in need, wouldn’t he help my father?”

Everyone laughed and Martin’s father treated them at a restaurant.

Looking for more biology articles and videos? Go to: Biology for Kids.

Groak

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“Groak” What does that mean?

Groak, pronounced as “Grohk” refers to the act of staring at someone while they’re eating, hoping that they’ll give you some of the food. It’s a habit commonly observed in children and animals, and even some adults! So the next time someone is eating, don’t groak at them!

Dandi March

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What was the purpose of Dandi March?

Do you know what salt, the word salary, and Indian independence have in common? Well, the answer takes us back to 900 BC, when Roman soldiers worked in a sal-arium and were paid a sal-ary of… you guessed it- salt! That’s actually why we have the saying ‘he’s worth his salt,’ meaning he is efficient and worth the salt he gets paid.

At around the same time the Maurya kingdom had special officers of the court whose job was to monitor and collect a salt tax. It was common even for Mughal emperors to levy a small salt tax on their subjects.

So you see, taxes on salt have been around long before the Dandi March in 1930. But under British rule, they were unfair and unbearable.

By the 19th century the British East India Company had monopolised the salt trade to such an extent that by 1858 approximately 10% of the Company’s revenue was obtained from the salt trade alone. Remember that they were also dealing in hundreds of other commodities.

They controlled their trade with high taxes and heavy restrictions that made it unaffordable even for the people who were producing the salt.

The lack of salt in people’s diets led to deaths and disease due to iodine deficiency. Food shortages resulted since salt is an essential ingredient in food preservation.

Two of the biggest salt producing regions of India during the British rule were Orissa, which was part of the Calcutta Presidency, and the Rann of Kutch, which was part of the Bombay Presidency. Let’s find out how they were significant.

Holding on to their salt monopoly was so important to the British that they actually built a thorn fence around the western frontiers of Bengal to prevent smuggling. This 4000 km fence consisted of thorny trees, stone walls and ditches, which made it hard for smugglers to cross with their contraband.

The other is significant because it is the site of Mahatma Gandhi‘s famous Salt March. After the declaration of Purna Swaraj in 1929, Gandhi chose to use the issue of salt to protest against the British rule. Even though the Raj did not feel threatened by a protest on salt taxes, the choice was a wise decision.

When was Dandi March Started?

On March 12, 1930, Gandhi started his 390 km journey from Sabarmati Ashram towards Dandi. This small group of 78 people soon became a procession 3 km long as Gandhi stopped in villages along the way to give speeches and inspire more people to join him.

Finally on April 6th, Gandhiji arrived on the coast, picked up a piece of salty sand and declared:

“With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.”

He encouraged people to boycott the tax and make their own salt whenever and wherever it were convenient.

There was pandemonium everywhere as people all over India began to produce illegal salt. The Dandi march was so successful in uniting people against the British that 60,000 people were imprisoned within a month.

People all over began a mass civil disobedience movement by boycotting British goods and refusing to pay taxes they thought were unfair.

What started as a peaceful protest against an unfair salt tax led to mass unity against British rule. Wouldn’t you agree that Gandhiji is worth his salt?

GLOSSARY

  • efficient: working in a well-organised manner
  • levy: impose (a tax or fine)
  • monopolise: obtain the majority share or complete control
  • contraband: goods that have been imported or exported illegally
  • procession: a long line of people or vehicles moving in an orderly fashion as part of a ceremony
  • pandemonium: wild disorder or confusion
  • In what year was the Dandi March?
  • Approximately how much revenue did the East India Company earn as part of their salt trade in the 19th century?
  • What was the thorn fence?
  • Why did Gandhi choose to protest the unfair salt tax?

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More Science in Cooking

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Why Bananas, Potatoes and Apples turn brown after being cut?

“Eeshan, do you know why bananas, potatoes and apples turn brown after some time outside?” asked Mrs. Iyengar.

“I can guess they undergo some kind of reaction,” replied Eeshan.

She said, “Yes. Complex chemical reactions go on in these foods all of the time – even if you’re not cooking them. They all contain an enzyme which triggers the release of ethylene when they come in contact with air.

It ripens them and turns them brown with over-ripening. That is why I wrap them in plastic sheets- so they last longer.

Many kinds of food can be preserved by salting them. Salt extracts the water out of the food, making it dry and deters the growth of bacteria.”

“All this knowledge from just watching you cook! It’s incredible, Ma!” marvelled Eeshan.

His mother smiled and said, “Let me make you some pancakes for breakfast. Do you know why I mix the baking powder in them?”

Eeshan shook his head to imply no.

His mother continued, “Milk is acidic in nature. You told me that baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate. The base and the acid react to give carbon dioxide. That makes the pancakes nice and fluffy. Just like this.”

Mrs. Iyengar served Eeshan a pancake and topped it with a little honey.

Eeshan said, “Your cooking is anyway great, mother. Now I get to learn every time I see you cook and you can trust that I will only give you a positive reaction!”

For more such science experiments and articles, visit https://mocomi.com/learn/science/

Quick way to empty a Bottle

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How to empty a Bottle in 2 Seconds

What You Need

  • 2 bottles
  • A sink

What To Do

  1. Try to empty a bottle in a sink by turning it upside down.
  2. Now, try to empty another bottle by swirling the water as you turn it upside down.

What you will observe?

The bottle with swirls empty faster as compared to the other one. Keep things ready in a table.

Why does it happen?

  • While you are emptying a bottle the air tries to make its way through the narrow neck. While going in, it has to make its way through the water.
  • Air gets in through the narrow neck
  • When the bottle is turned upside down, the process happens with a series of ‘glugs’ as some water falls out. With another bubble of air, another lump of water falls out. Due to this, the speed of the water flow slows down.
  • Whereas, the spinning of the water allows a path to the air with out effecting the flow of water. better flow of water.

Now try this out by yourself and have fun!

For more such science experiments and articles, visit https://mocomi.com/learn/science/

What is a Shadow?

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All of you would have at some point of time used your hands to make shadows of different animals like dogs, deer and peacocks on the wall in the light of a candle or torch. It is still one of the most favourite pastimes of the children who live in areas that experience frequent power cuts. Take a look around you, and you will find a number of things that have shadows. You will see that furniture, decoration pieces, trees, electrical appliances and many more things in your house have shadows. But have you ever wondered how these amazing shadows are formed?

How are Shadows formed?

Shadows are formed when an opaque object is placed in the path of light rays. An object through which no light can pass is known as opaque. One such example is your body. Since light cannot pass through your body, it forms a dark region. This dark region where the light cannot reach is known as a shadow. Opaque objects form clear dark shadows. A transparent object does not make any shadow as light passes straight through it. Translucent objects create faint shadows as light is able to pass only partially through them.

While the presence or absence of light is responsible for forming shadows, there are other factors related to it that determine the shape and size of the shadows. If the angle of the light is smaller, then the shadow formed will be much longer than usual. If the object is very close to the light source, larger shadows are formed and if an object is moved away from the light source, the shadow becomes smaller in size. The size of the shadows is also determined by whether the object is in motion or not. The size of the shadow is always slightly longer and larger than the moving object.

The size of the light source also plays an important role in the formation of shadows. Bigger light sources form blurry shadows. If the light source originates from various directions and points, several shadows will be formed and some of them may even overlap. Depending on the color of the light, you will also see shadows of different shades. Coloured shadows are formed when the multi-coloured light sources produce white light.

Interesting facts about Shadows

  1. Shadow puppetry is the art of using the shadows of puppets to entertain the audience.
  2. Your shadow is longest in the early morning and in the late afternoon. In the afternoon, when the sun is directly above you, your shadow leaves your side for a little while. The sun makes the longest shadows at the beginning and at the end of the day because at that time, the sun is lowest in the sky and aimed at the sides of the various things on the earth. When the sun is directly above you, there is little or no shadow because the light from the sun is falling upon you from all the sides and there is hardly any dark region.
  3. A long time ago, people observed the way shadows were formed by the sun and utilized this principle in making the world’s most primitive clocks, the sundials.

For more such interesting General Knowledge articles and videos for kids.

How do Antibiotics Work?

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What are Antibiotics?

Antibiotics are special medicines that are given to fight certain diseases caused by bacteria and parasites. In other words, antibiotics are actually chemical substances that have the ability to kill micro-organisms that are harmful to human beings.

Kinds of Antibiotics

Antibiotics are available in the form of liquids, tablets or capsules. They can also be administered by means of injections.

Some of the naturally occurring antibiotics include ginger, honey, olive oil and such.

Antibiotics are derived from

You would be surprised to know that these wonder drugs called antibiotics are derived from other bacteria and fungi molds, the significant difference being that these bacteria and molds are not the harmful ones, but the helpful ones! These micro-organisms release chemicals that work as weapons against the harmful micro-organisms. Today, we can also synthesize some antibiotics in laboratories.

How do Antibiotics work to fight Bacterial Infections?

We fall sick when disease-causing bacteria override our immune system and start reproducing inside our bodies. We can become healthy again if these bacteria are terminated. An antibiotic can be thought of as a selective poison that attacks only the disease-causing bacteria and does not cause any harm to the healthy cells of the body.

Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria or parasites in different ways. Sometimes it is done by inhibiting a bacterium’s ability to turn glucose into energy while at other times, the antibiotics affect the bacterium’s ability to construct its cell wall. When this happens, the bacterium is not able to reproduce and it dies.

2 Interesting Facts about Antibiotics

  1. It is interesting to note that antibiotics only work against bacteria and some parasites. They do not work on viruses because viruses are not living life forms; they are just some pieces of DNA or RNA. So, in the case of a virus, there is nothing to ‘kill’. Bacteria, on the other hand, are alive and can reproduce. Some of the common infections like cold are caused by viruses, where the antibiotics are not of much help.
  2. Antibiotic Resistance : It is important for a patient to complete the entire course of antibiotics as directed by the doctor. Doctors generally prescribe a five-day or seven-day course of antibiotics which should not be broken at any cost. If the course is stopped in the middle, the bacteria are not completely killed. They become even more resistant to that antibiotic and the disease reappears.

Looking for more biology articles and videos? Go to: Biology for Kids.

Make a Roaring Balloon

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How to Make a Roaring Balloon

We all know that lions roar, but whoever has heard of a balloon roaring? Well you are about to, with some magic, some centripetal force and gravity.

What You Need

  • A balloon
  • A round coin
  • A nut (the one in nuts and bolts)

What To Do

  1. Insert the coin inside the balloon and inflate it.
  2. Now, spin the balloon and increase the speed slowly. The coin will move around horizontally, in an almost smooth circle.
  3. Now, take the coin out, and insert a nut and inflate the balloon again. You hear a roaring sound as you rapidly spin the balloon.

Why does the Balloon roar?

The nut’s uneven edges caused bumps to be created in its movement inside the balloon. More bumps leads to elevated pitches of sound. If you increase the height of the bumps by bouncing the balloon more, you will hear even louder sounds.

Centripetal force causes the coin to travel in a circle. This force is the inward force which causes the coin to move in a circle. It is a force that looks for the centre. The uneven nut bounces on the balloon’s surface and this vibration is transmitted into air, producing sounds. This is like a violin, where the vibrations of the string are broadcasted into air and produce beautiful sounds.

For more such science experiments and articles, visit https://mocomi.com/learn/science/

What is Magnetic Field?

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The Science of Magnetism

“What are you playing with, Nitin?” asked Eeshan

Nitin replied, “It’s a magnet. My father gave it to me. I was wondering how this attracts or repels the objects towards it?”

Eeshan said, “All magnets exert an invisible force which attracts or repels things. This magnetic force is limited to a region around the magnet. This particular region is called a magnetic field. It is this magnetic field that exerts a force that attracts or repels objects. The field affects other objects along things called magnetic field lines. A magnetic object can repel or attract another magnetic object.”

As they were walking they saw a group of students of another school gather around a drain hole. They were peering inside it as if something had fallen in the hole. Nitin asked, “What’s the matter?”

One of the boys said, “Zubin’s house key fell in the drain and we can’t take it out. It’s a Sunday so there is no janitor or plumber around to help. We tried to take it out by putting our hand in but none of our hands are thin enough to reach inside the drain.”

Eeshan looked at Nitin and said, “Give me your magnet.” He asked Zubin to give his necktie and tied the magnet to one end of it. The hole in the middle of the magnet helped him to secure the knot. Eeshan asked the other children to move back and make some room.

He carefully lowered the magnet into the drain hole, close to the key. The key was metallic so it stuck to the magnet. With patience, Eeshan pulled out the key out of the drain. Zubin was relieved and the children cheered.

“Thank you so much for helping me. I would have been in a lot of trouble. My parents are out of town and I would have been locked out,” said Zubin.

“No problem,” said Eeshan.

All the children then went to the ice cream parlor and celebrated the recovery of Zubin’s key.

“So that’s one thing a magnet attracts? Thanks for showing that to me today,” said Nitin.

Eeshan laughed and said, “Einstein Iyengar will help one and all!”

Looking for more Physics articles and videos? Go to: Physics for Kids.

What is Nitrogen Cycle?

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Nitrogen (N) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas with atomic number of 7 and atomic weight of 14.007.

Why do we need Nitrogen?

  • It is used to produce chlorophyll in plants.
  • It is used in cell processes like DNA, amino acids and proteins (for muscles, bones etc).
  • It is used in fertilizers.

Where is it found?

78% of atmospheric air consists of nitrogen.

Process of the Nitrogen Cycle

Fixation

  • Nitrogen in its pure gas form is unusable. It is converted through a process called Fixation where N2 + 3 H2 -> 2 NH3 (ammonia).
  • Fixation can happen in three ways.
  • Nitrogen disperses in the earth’s soil and bacteria transforms it to ammonium ions (NH4+) which is accessed by plants.
  • Lightning changes nitrogen to nitrate ((NO†3-) and ammonia which gets absorbed in the soil along with rain.
  • Nitrogen is chemically transformed to ammonia.

Nitrification

After the nitrogen is converted to ammonia, it is further converted with oxygen to nitrite and nitrate by aerobic bacteria. 2 NH3 + 3O2 – > 2 NO2 + 2 H+ + 2 H2O & NO2- + O2 -> 2 NO3-.

Assimilation

Plants can now use it and animals eat plants to get their share of nitrogen.

What happens after plants and animals have got the nitrogen they need?

Ammonification

After the plants die and animals shed their waste products; the decaying bacteria again transforms the nitrite and nitrate to ammonia and ammonia salts.

Denitrification

Anaerobic bacteria then change nitrate to its original nitrogen gas form – NO3- + CH2O + H+ -> _ N2O + CO2 + 1_ H2O

Unique use of Nitrogen

Nitrogen gas is used where an inert atmosphere is needed. Historical documents like USA’s Declaration of Independence are stored in a sealed container containing nitrogen gas; as then the paper and ink will not react with it and thus preserve the writing.

For more such interesting chemistry articles and videos, visit: https://mocomi.com/learn/science/chemistry/

Why do Leaves Change Colour?

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Why do Leaves change color in the Fall?

  • There are two types of trees – evergreen and deciduous.
  • The evergreen trees do not shed their leaves. The deciduous trees shed their leaves every autumn.
  • As the winter season approaches, the days get shorter and cooler.
  • A tree’s sturdy trunk, branches and roots can survive in low temperatures, but the leaves are not so tough.
  • Also, there is little sunlight available for the leaves to make food and generate enough energy for the entire tree.
  • The freezing temperatures make water transport from the roots to the trunk and the trunk to the branches and leaves very difficult. If the leaves are allowed to stay during the winters, whatever moisture is left in the tree may get robbed by the harsh and cold winds via the surface of the leaves. So, the deciduous trees shut down their ‘leafy food factories’ in the winters to save their energy and go dormant.
  • In order to drop their leaves, deciduous trees start withdrawing pigments like chlorophyll from their leaves, which makes them change colour- from green to yellow and then brown.. Then, a thin layer of dead cells is formed at the base of the stem, which slowly detaches the leaf from the stalk.
  • The spots where the leaves were attached get carefully sealed. Now, no loss of water can happen. By the end of the autumn season, all the leaves fall. When spring brings warm air and fresh water, new leaves start sprouting again.

Why don’t Evergreens lose their Leaves?

Evergreen trees like pines, spruces, firs and cedars do not drop their leaves because they have thin needle-like leaves that are covered with a heavy wax coating. So, there is only a little surface area available from which the water can be lost. And, the fluids inside the cells of evergreen trees contain substances that are resistant to freezing.

Looking for more biology articles and videos? Go to: Biology for Kids.

Crush a Can without Force

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How to crush a Coke Can without Physical Force

What You Need

  1. Coke Can
  2. Cold Water
  3. Deep Bowl
  4. Gas Stove
  5. Tongs

8 Steps to crush a can without force

  1. Take an empty metal soda can like a small Coke Can; and wash it.
  2. Now fill a deep bowl with almost ice cold water.
  3. Add a couple of drops of water to the soda can; just enough to cover the surface of the bottom of the can.
  4. Hold the can using tongs; and carefully hold it over a lighted gas stove.
  5. Just allow the water inside the can to boil; or make the bubbling sound with water vapor rising up from inside of the can.
  6. Now immediately invert the can and insert it inside the bowl filled with cold water.
  7. Remember you are still holding the can using the tongs.
  8. The can implodes! It was that easy to squash the can.

How did it happen?

Now let us understand the science behind it all.

  1. The can was initially filled with water vapour (water which boils into gas) and air.
  2. When you turned the can inside the cold water, the vapor changed into water again.
  3. This had miniscule amount of pressure compared to the greater pressure of the water outside.
  4. Nature always craves for equilibrium; and thus “implosion” or cracking at the center of the can occurred to balance the internal and external pressure.

For more such science experiments and articles, visit Science for Kids.

What is a Polygon?

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Polygon : Definition

A polygon is a closed shape with three or more straight sides and angles.

Characteristics of a Polygon

  1. Multiple angles.
  2. A closed (all lines connect up) plane (two dimensional shape with zero thickness) shape.
  3. Has at least three sides (with straight lines called line segments and no curves).
  4. At least three angles (an angle is a figure formed by two sides intersecting).

Polygon Formulae

  • The point at which the two sides meet is called a vortex.
  • The line segment that joins two vertices is called a diagonal. No. of diagonals= n(n-3)/2 (where n=number of sides).
  • The sum of the interior angles= (n-2) * 180.

Types of Polygons

  1. We classify them by the number of sides they have and we attach “gon” to its sides for polygon names. A 42 side polygon is called a 42 gon.
  2. If the lines of a polygon intersect they are complex polygons and if they don’t intersect they are simple polygons.
  3. A regular polygon has equilateral sides and angles; whereas an irregular polygon has uneven sides and angles.
  4. A concave polygon has at least one angle pointing inwards and is greater than 180. A convex polygon has all angles pointing outwards, no angle is greater than 180 and the diagonals do not merge outside the polygon.

Calculating the Area of a Polygon

It is more complicated to find the area of an irregular polygon as you would have to break it up into small triangles and then calculate the area.

Why do we need to study about Polygons?

Polygon shapes are important for architects, farmers, engineers, artists etc. You need polygons even when you’re planning a party.

Technical Facts about Polygons

The circumcircle of a regular polygon is the circle whose points touch each vertex of the polygon.

For more interesting Maths worksheets and lessons, go to : https://mocomi.com/learn/maths/

What is Deforestation?

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Deforestation : Definition

The permanent chopping, clearing and subtraction of trees intentionally, naturally or inadvertently is called deforestation.

Causes of Deforestation

  1. Mining
  2. Logging
  3. Cattle ranching
  4. Agriculture
  5. Urban development

Effects of Deforestation

  • Tree roots cause gaps in the soil. This enables water and air to reach roots of plants. After deforestation, the water stays on top of the soil, which can cause floods.
  • Trees absorb water and give out some moisture to the atmosphere. When trees are chopped down, the rivers etc dry out and drought occurs.
  • Birds, insects and animals lose their homes.
  • Plants soak up CO2 during photosynthesis and give out oxygen. Cutting down plants will increase CO2 and increase global warming.
  • Insect plagues occur.

What can we do to stop Deforestation

  1. Reduce paper use
  2. Educate ourselves and others on importance of forests
  3. For each older tree being cut, a newer young tree should be planted

3 Facts about Deforestation

  • 2000 trees are brutally chopped down every minute in the rainforests.
  • 25% of our medicines come from rainforest trees.
  • 70% of our plants and animals reside in forests.

 For more environment related articles and videos, visit: Environment for Kids category.

What is Radiation?

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Radiation : Definition

  • Radiation is the transfer of energy through waves (electromagnetic radiation) or fast traveling particles (particulate radiation).
  • Radiation can be in the form of heat, sound and light.
  • Radiation can be felt or seen like light or detected through special instruments like X-ray.
  • Radiation from a hot object is shorter and more intense than radiation from a cooler object.
  • The Sun, Earth, soil, microwave, television, cell phones all expose us to radiation.

Electromagnetic radiation involves photons (energy that is always moving) traveling in waves (radio which brings sound to our ears) or like particles ( x-rays ). There are two types of radiation within electromagnetic radiation.

  • Ionizing radiation has sufficient energy to break atoms to create ions. Eg: electric power.
  • Non ionizing radiation causes atoms to move in the molecule only. Eg: microwave heating the food.

Types of Radiation

  • Alpha radiation emits out positively charged alpha particles because there are too many protons in the nucleus. Eg: Radium
  • Beta radiation emits out negatively charged beta particles because there are too many neutrons in the nucleus. Eg: Hydrogen
  • Gamma and X- Ray radiation emit excessive energy from the nucleus. Eg: Iodine

Radiation Therapy for Cancer

Cancer cells start multiplying and destroy your body’s valuable cells one by one. Radiation therapy involves high energy gamma rays killing the cancer cells. External radiation therapy uses a large machine that points at the particular place being affected and emits out radiation rays. In internal radiation therapy, a radioactive substance is injected in the body to kill the tumor cells.

2 Interesting Facts about Radiation

  1. Too much exposure to radiation causes cancer as radiation changes cell structures in our bodies.
  2. Radiation is measured in curies.

Looking for more Physics articles and videos? Go to: Physics for Kids.

Facts about Traffic Lights

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Traffic Light Control and Co-ordination

Some things are so fluidly embedded in our daily system that we forget how important they can be for smooth operation of our lives. Traffic jams are infuriating! So is stopping at a traffic signal, isn’t it? What if you never had to stop? Well, wish granted! Let us get rid of those traffic lights for one day and see what happens!

What would happen if there were no Traffic Lights?

  1. For starters, no one would know when to stop and when not to.
  2. Talking about traffic jams is just an understatement, we’ll have a gridlock!
  3. Number of accidents will automatically increase due to this chaos.
  4. Late comers tend to increase in number, and mind you, it will not because you got up late for school!
  5. It would be all together more difficult for kids to cross the roads because zebra crossing would practically become non-functional without traffic lights.

Such a madness at road is not only annoying, but can be dangerous too! The concept of traffic lights is not only important for roads, but it also becomes an inspiration for regulating traffic in air too. The introduction of traffic lights has made our life simpler in terms of commuting.

When was the first Traffic Light installed?

Let us now see how and when the various versions of traffic lights debuted and became a blessing that they are today :

  1. On 9 December 1868, first non- electric, gas lit traffic lights were installed in London outside the house of parliament to control the traffic. It was declared unsafe and hence, discontinued.
  2. First traffic signal installed was in Cleveland, Ohio on August 5, 1914. Its been 100 years since the first traffic signal was installed.
  3. A ‘No-Left-Sign’ first appeared in New York in 1916.
  4. Garret Morgan invented an automated traffic light and patented it on November 12, 1923. During the same time, a police officer named William Potts invented a four way, three color traffic light getting inspiration from the railroad signal lights. Even though his design was used in various regions in Detroit but he never got his design patented.
  5. In 1935, ‘The manual on uniform traffic control devices’ was created by the federal highway commission, which set a uniform standard for the traffic signals and road safety everywhere.

To respect this great invention, we must follow the traffic rules and we should be aware what the colors of traffic lights mean and follow them accordingly.

What does Traffic Signals indicate?

Let us refresh our memories with what these traffic signal lights define :

  • Red means Stop

Red is a universal sign of danger. Plus this color is visible even in harsh conditions like fog, rain or in smoke.

  • Yellow indicates to Wait.

Yellow is a color that defines caution, plus it is made by the super position of red and green, hence, an obvious choice!

  • Green means Go.

It is specifically chosen because it is considered as a calm color. Moreover, this color is easily distinguished from the other two colors and can be seen easily.

For more such interesting General Knowledge articles and videos, visit: https://mocomi.com/learn/general-knowledge/

Dancing Raisins Experiment

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Hip Hopping Raisins

Raisins are dried grapes. Wouldn’t it be hilarious to make tiny raisins swing and dance to rap music?

What You Need

  • Transparent glasses
  • Raisins
  • Clear soft drinks like Sprite

What To Do

  1. Take two clear glasses. Fill one with plain water and one with clear soda like Sprite. Grab some of those raisins and drop them into each glass. Plop! The raisins fall flat at the bottom. Now look closely at the glass filled with carbonated drink.
  2. What do you see? The raisins are slowly rising up and are now doing cha cha cha. They swoop up gracefully and dive down, and keep repeating this process. It is completely mesmerising. You are a good dance teacher who has taught those heavy raisins to lift up their spirits and dance gracefully.

Why do the Raisins Dance?

  • The dented surfaces of the raisins are filled with little air pockets. They lure the carbon dioxide bubbles towards them, thus creating magical bubbles on the face of the raisins. These bubbles also increase the volume (surface area) of the raisins without raising the mass (weight) of the raisins much.
  • So, they lower the density (tight compactness) of the raisins. Archimedes’ principle states that when an object has lesser density than a fluid, the object will rise up. The bubbles disappear once they meet air.
  • Once the bubbles subside, the raisins sink down and again carbon dioxide causes bubbles to form. This simple scientific process generates a fascinating display.
  • However, the raisins in the plain water will stubbornly sit at the bottom of the glass.

For more such science experiments and articles, visit Science for Kids.

Painting of Nature

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Moco Star

Name – Sawali Sujit Raskar
Class – IX
School – KAJV Karmala, Solapur.

If you want to be a Mocostar, send us your paintings, craft, photos, stories, jokes, riddles, videos, and whatever else you create. You can also share a strange dream, funny incident, or anything else that’s interesting and happened to you. Mail to editor@mocomi.com

Note: Don’t forget to check out the Mocostar of Mocomi.

The Life Cycle of a Star

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Stars are hot balls of gas. They are held together by their own gravity. The nearest star to the earth is the Sun. They give out light of their own due to nuclear reactions.

What are the stages in the Life Cycle of a Star?

  • The life cycle of a star is determined by its mass. The larger the mass of a star the shorter will be its life cycle. The life of a star ranges from a few million years to a billion years, depending on the mass.
  • It is believed that stars are born from collapsing dense clouds of dust and gas found in spiral galaxies. These clouds are called molecular clouds or nebulae, and are made up of 97% hydrogen and 3% helium.
  • When the nebula collapses under its own gravitational force, it breaks apart and results in the formation of a dense sphere called a Protostar.
  • These protostars are dense bodies of dust and gas which have not begun to generate light. As the mass of each protostar increases so does its gravity, squeezing the core of the protostar harder.
  • As the stars expand, they become less bright, due to the core running out of hydrogen and then helium. Then the star enters the main sequence or adult phase. A star remains in this phase for most part of its lifetime.
  • A star leaves its main sequence phase when it runs out of hydrogen and starts fusing helium and other elements.
  • Dim small stars are called red dwarfs. The fusion of hydrogen in them, takes place at a very slow rate and they are able to remain in the main sequence for billions of years.
  • The low mass stars like our sun expand and become red giants. This red giant is a large star that is bright with a cool surface. This is formed when the star runs out of hydrogen. They are very bright because they are so large.
  • Stars die in explosions called supernova. Supernova leads to the core compressing into a neutron star or a black hole.

For more such Geography articles and videos, visit: https://mocomi.com/learn/geography/

The Northern Lights : Facts and Causes

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What are the Northern Lights?

If you take a trip to the Arctic region, in the Northern hemisphere you are likely to see a natural colourful display in the sky. This is known as the Aurora Borealis, which is Latin for Northern dawn.

What causes the Northern Lights?

  • These colourful lights are the result of interactions between solar storms from the sun and the earth’s outer atmosphere. During the day solar storms from the sun blow an array of particles, called solar winds.
  • The solar wind is like a burp given out by the sun from time to time. The earth comes in between the path of these solar wind particles. These particles are filled with energy. Many electrons and protons from these particles get trapped in the polar regions of the Earth.
  • The Earth’s atmosphere is made up of two main gases, oxygen and nitrogen. These electrons and protons from the solar winds, full of energy, collide with the oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere and they become electrically charged. This charging produces a display of lights in the sky- the Aurora Borealis.

6 Amazing Facts about the Aurora Borealis

  1. The Aurora Borealis have been happening since ancient times. The earliest account can be found on a Babylonian clay tablet dating back to 567 B.C.
  2. They can either be static or travelling lights and can occur up to 1000 kilometres. Most auroras occur at a height of 80+ kilometres above the earth! They can last for a few minutes to several hours.
  3. The aurora can be of a variety of colours- red, green, brown, blue or a burst of colours together.
  4. The oxygen molecules in the earth’s atmosphere are responsible for the green or brownish colours while the nitrogen molecules are responsible for the blue or red colours.
  5.  Show in image. Do an exercise around this- show an aurora with green and blue colours and ask why is it blue or green? Answer- oxygen molecules make it green and nitrogen molecules make it red.
  6. Auroras occur usually around ring shaped regions, so they are seen around the two poles. They have also been spotted on planets like Jupiter and Saturn.

For more such Geography articles and videos, visit: https://mocomi.com/learn/geography/

How do Night Vision Goggles work?

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Why does everything look green through Night Vision Goggles?

Ans. Night vision goggles have screens that make green pictures. That’s because our eyes are more sensitive to light that’s green. And, it’s easier to view green pictures for a long time, rather than black and white pictures.

Looking for more Physics articles and videos? Go to: Physics for Kids.

What is Kinetic Energy?

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Every day we do hundreds of tasks from the time we wake up, till the time we sleep. Do you know from where do we get this ability to work? From energy! We have many sources of energy like the sun, water, wind etc. Food also gives us energy which makes our muscles move.

Kinetic Energy : Definition

All energy in the world is divided into two types: Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy. Potential energy is the energy that is stored in an object like a big rock. Kinetic energy is the energy of anything in motion like a car in motion or a football when kicked.

Examples of Kinetic Energy

For example, river water, air, electricity are all forms of kinetic energy. Even planets which constantly rotate or smaller objects like atoms have kinetic energy. The heavier something is and the faster it moves, the more kinetic energy it has in it.

Relationship between Potential and Kinetic Energy

All objects have potential energy in them. When these objects move, this energy changes into kinetic energy. For example, let us look at a big rock sitting on top of a mountain. When it is just sitting, it has potential energy.

If the rock falls from the mountain slope, it will keep rolling down causing a lot of damage. This potential energy is now changed into kinetic energy. In contrast, if we have a very small rock and it falls down the mountain slope, it will stop after going a few metres and would also not cause any damage or destruction. Thus, heavier objects have more kinetic energy.

Kinetic energy is the reason why any fast moving object cannot stop all of a sudden. So, a fast moving bus cannot immediately stop, or if you are riding a bicycle, you cannot immediately put brakes. Kinetic energy can be passed from one object to another by collision. A good example is a bowling game, where the pins begin moving when the moving ball collides with them.

Looking for more Physics articles and videos? Go to: Physics for Kids.

Honey Roasted Almonds Recipe

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How to Make Honey Roasted Almonds

What You Need

  • I cup almonds
  • 1 tbspn honey
  • 1 tbspn Olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp water

4 Steps to Make Honey Roasted Almonds

  1. Line a baking tray with foil and Spread a cup of almonds and bake at 175 degrees C for 11 – 12 minutes stir once in between: Remove and cool.
  2. Heat a vessel, add half a table spoon of olive oil, a tbsp of water and a tbsp of honey. As the bubbles form, add the almonds and combine well. Allow to cook for 2 minutes till the liquid is completely absorbed by nuts. turn off
    heat.
  3. Sprinkle 3-4 tbsp of brown sugar and combine such that the almonds are well coated. add a pinch of salt (optional) Remove onto the baking sheet to cool.
  4. Store in an air tight container.

For more interesting recipes for kids, go to Recipes for Kids category.

What is Plastic?

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Plastics are moldable and bendable materials which we use as shopping bags, utensils, toys, CDs and plumbing pipes. There are some natural plastics like rubber which grow from plants. We make the other types of plastics.

Did You Know Facts

  • Alexander Parkes had created the first plastic which he had called parkesine.
  • John Hyatt chemically combined nitrocellulose with camphor to make plastic called celluloid which is used to make ping pong balls.
  • Baekeland combined formaldehyde and phenol and heated it. He found that when this substance cooled, it hardened to form a strong plastic which we use for making auto parts. This plastic will have no change when heated again.
  • Nylon, a plastic, was made by Wallace Caruthers, who mixed adipic acid and diaminohexane monomers; to form long fibers.

Where is Plastic Used?

  1.  Nylon is used in making tents and clothing as it is light and resilient.
  2. John Rex Whinfield formed Polyethylene Terephthalate or PET plastic which is used to make Ziploc storage bag.
  3. PVC pipes or Polyvinyl Chloride, formed when a plasticizer liquid is added to the hard vinyl chloride, is used in making pipes, electric cables, clothing etc.
  4. Teflon plastics is used in making of cooking utensils and plumbing tape.
  5. Polyethylene allows the making of garbage bags and disposable gloves.

Why are Plastic Bags banned in some parts of India?

Plastic bags are now banned because they are made up of non-biodegradable material which cannot be broken down into simpler substances in the environment and can stay there for more than a thousand years, thus contaminating soil and water bodies. These platic bags also enter the food chain and get eaten by animals.

Why are Plastic Bags bad for the Environment:

Plastic is a substance that cannot be recycled or incinerated as burning plastic releases harmful smoke. So, it has to be dumped at the landfills or in the oceans.

Plastic Bags Fact

  • One plastic bag may take anything between 200–1000 years to get decomposed. Most of the plastic that was manufactured, used and thrown as early as 1950s is still here on this planet and will continue being here for centuries to come.
  • There are innumerable pieces of plastic debris floating in or near every square mile of ocean all over the world, putting a great share in the global plastic bag pollution. After every three years, the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans gets DOUBLED!
  • Plastic is not just harmful for animals; it is also thought to be carcinogenic (cancer causing agent) for the human beings. Along with that, inks and colours used on some bags contain lead, a toxic chemical.
  • If 1,000 sets of jute and paper bags are used regularly in your society, it would save 1,000,000 plastic bags every year.

How to Recycle Plastic Bags?

  1. Rcycling plastic bags would mean reusing them as shopping bags.
  2. Use these bags as bin liners. Dual fucntion of recycling and being hygienic in the process. Also keep some clean plastic bags in your car to trash out stuff instead of throwing it on the road.
  3. Plastic bags can be multi-functional during travel.
  4. These bags can be donated to the local charity, store, flea markets or libraries. These bags would be put to best use by them.
  5. Plastic bags can also be used for satisfying the artistic apeptite in you by making things using plastic bags like knitting a new bag out of it, cutting out streamers etc.
  6. For a cleaner and greener surroundings, we should recycle plastic bags as well as educate our friends about recycling plastic bags.

 For more environment related articles and videos, visit: Environment for Kids category.

Fizzy Colours Experiment

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Would you like too see  your colours bubble?

Well, then here we are with a new kitchen science activity.
Let us see how can we make it.

Things you need

  • 4 table spoons of baking soda
  • A cup of vinegar (white)
  • Four different food colours of you’re choice
  • A muffin tin

How to do it?

  • Firstly it is suggested that you carry out this activity in your backyard or in a open space. It is because this experiment may spill over. keep things ready on a table.
  • Fill muffin cups half with vinegar. Now, add the colours in those cups. Add a teaspoon of baking soda, and step behind. You can see that your colours will start too fizz.

Why does it happen?

  1. This happens due to acidic reactions. Vinegar has acetic acid which reacts with the sodium bicarbonate of the baking soda to form carbonic acid.
  2. Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate
  3. Vinegar contains acetic acid.
  4. Carbonic acid becomes unstable and immediately splits into two components; Carbon dioxide and water.
  5. Vinegar + baking soda = Carbonic acid = Carbon dioxide + water.
  6. The carbon dioxide bubbles up but as it is heavier than air, it starts to flow like water over the edge of the muffin tin.
  7. Enjoy the bubbly colours coming out from the muffin caps!

For more such science experiments and articles, visit Science for Kids.

What is pi?

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Definition of Pi

Pi (Π) is the ratio of the circumference to diameter of a circle. Try measuring round objects like jar lids and see the ratio of their circumference to their diameters.

A story about a number called Π (Pi)

Say you walk about the edge of a circle and you know just the diameter (line joining the two ends of the circle); but you wish to find out how much exactly you walked. You calculate the distance (circumference) by multiplying π x diameter. You also find the area of the circle= Π r²

Value of Pi

  • Pi from Greek letter π has a value of 3.14159…this term was adopted by Leonard Euler.
  • This number is always the same and will never change no matter what the diameter or circumference of a circle is.
  • Pi is an infinite decimal as it is a decimal number that has numbers repeating after it constantly. Thus we put “..” after writing the first few digits after the decimal point.
  • Pi does not have a pattern of its infinite numbers and this has been checked till the quadrillionth place.
  • Pi is an irrational number as we can never stop writing the numbers following the decimal point.

History of Pi

4000 years ago, the Babylonians measured the area of a circle by 3x the square of its radius. Π=3

How does Pi (Π) relate to our lives?

  • “May I have a large container of butter today”- 3.14159265 is an easy way to remember the first few digits of pi.
  • Pi Day celebrations are on 14th March (3rd month). It is also Albert Einstein’s birthday.
  • Kellalur Nilakantha Somayaji was the Indian mathematician who formulated the Nilakantha series for calculating pi- 3 + 4 /2×3×4 − 4 /4×5×6 + 4/ 6×7×8 − 4 /8×9×10 + …
  • The Great Pyramid of Giza has a ratio of 1760(perimeter)/280 (height) ≈ 6.2857 or 2π ≈ 6.2832.

For more interesting Maths worksheets and lessons, go to : https://mocomi.com/learn/maths/

How to Make a Lava Lamp

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Homemade Lava Lamp

Want to make a bee-yoo-tiful lava lamp? Read on to find out how!

What You Need

  • A plastic water bottle
  • Oil
  • Alka-seltzer tablets
  • Food coloring

6 Steps to Make a Lava Lamp

  1. Fill the bottle till the three quarters mark with oil.
  2. Pour water in the remaining part, but make sure to leave about an inch of space.
  3. Put about 10 drops of food coloring.
  4. What’s happening? Does the food coloring change when it moves through the oil or when it hits the water?
  5. Break an Alka-seltzer tablet in four. Drop one piece at a time, and see the effect!
  6. You can use different food colours each time for a new funky shade and pattern.

We have a huge collection of free and downloadable craft ideas for kids.

Run Pepper Run

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Black Pepper and Dish Soap Experiment

I hate black pepper powder. Black Pepper powder makes me go achoo! Black pepper powder makes food spicy! I want to break the friendship of the black peppers; as they make me cry in front of my friends. How do I do that?

Take a shallow bowl of clear water. Sprinkle some of that irritating black pepper powder in it, all over the surface of the water. The pepper should not sink.

What do you observe? The pepper powder stays together, tightly bound; unnerved by the immersion in water. Darn it!

Now gently immerse your index finger into a dishwashing liquid; take it out; and carefully dip it into the bowl filled with water and pepper. Whoa! Those pesky peppers scatter hither and thither; and their years of friendship have been broken. The soap particles from your finger darted towards the peppers; and the peppers got scared and ran away as fast as they could, wherever their tiny bodies could take them.

Water molecules are very tightly glued to each other. Pepper molecules are hydrophobic, so water is not attracted to them. The water molecules pull their own surface molecules strongly, inward.

Since there is no other outer force attracting the water molecules on the top, the surface of the water is firm. This is surface tension. Soap molecules have the capability of breaking up this surface tension of water.

The water molecules fight back, and even though their surface tension reduces; they still manage to drag those pepper molecules away from the soap molecules, and towards the sides of the bowl.

For more such science experiments and articles, visit Science for Kids.