Elephants have almost no predators and they feed on plants, so they don’t need to hear all that well (neither to protect themselves or to find food). But why do they have such big ears? AnswerThey’re for regulating the body temperature. Since an elephant has a large body mass compared to its skin surface, it […]
If I dropped a bowling ball in a bucket of water which is 45 degrees F, and dropped another bowling ball of the same weight, mass and size in a bucket at 30 degrees F, both of them at the same time, which ball would hit the bottom of the bucket first? AnswerThe ball in
Mr. Redneck was in a peculiar tea drinking accident that left him unable to suck in any way. (I said it was a peculiar accident.) His jaw was wired shut and both his arms were broken, so he couldn’t reach his mouth. His wife left him a drink on the table before leaving him all
We all know that oil and water just don’t mix.One thousand years ago, we also knew that everything revolved around the earth, and some people as recently as one hundred years ago knew that the earth was flat!However, I know that I can get oil and water to mix simply by adding something found in
One day, John and Sue were out hiking. They saw a few tarantulas on the way. This gave John an idea to win some money. “Sue,” he said, “I’ll bet you five dollars that the tarantula over there can crawl without using its own leg muscles.” Sue thought that she would win, but she didn’t.How
Bob, an orange grower new to the industry, heard the news that there was a forecast of freezing temperature for the low next morning. He hadn’t picked his oranges yet because it was too early in the season and he was worried that he would lose everything. It seemed that he was doomed. John, a
Mr. Ode watched as Duffus got ready to launch his boat into the water. “It’s going to leak, Duffus,” remarked Ode.“No, it shouldn’t leak. I got in the boat, carefully patched all the holes with the patch kit recommended by the marina and then filled the boat with water to see if it would leak
Fred and Bob are racing cylindrical magnets down the tubes of various materials. All of the magnets weigh the same and have the same dimensions. All of the tubes are the same length and have an inner diameter just larger than the outer diameter of the magnets. There is negligible friction when the magnets travel
A cubic foot of dry air at standard pressure and temperature is weighed on a scale. Then a cubic foot of damp air at the same pressure and temperature is weighed. Which will weigh more? AnswerThe damp air weighs less because water molecules (molecular weight of 18) have replaced more massive molecules of air (nitrogen:
There was a millionaire who loved collecting gold. He bought ten solid gold shapes from a man, but the man proposed a bet. He said:“One of these shapes is fake. It is made from a metal that looks exactly like gold. The only difference is that it is 1 gram lighter per 10 sq cm.
Aliens have inflated two identical balloons, but one is inflated more than the other. You have the option of being inside the smaller balloon or the larger balloon. Once inside, your captors will join the two balloons by a short length of tubing. Then they will let the air flow freely between the balloons. Does
One hot afternoon, two friends were out relaxing on the back porch.“Would you like some iced tea?” one man asked his friend.“Oh yes! as long as it is good and cold.”The host then brought his friend a large glass of iced tea and dropped two small ice cubes in it.His friend took a sip and
Microscope Matt is an employee for a top-notch Science company.Today, he had signed up to use the big scanning electron microscope for the first time. He had received so much training and taken many classes to be privileged to use this machine. He had prepared a sample of an ant to be examined. Matt put
Cid was working near the acid vats one day when he noticed some aluminium on the floor that was quite corroded from some of the acid that had spilled on it. Cid then made his way to the top of the vat to inspect some equipment. The plant manager was conducting a tour and happened
You have a rubber balloon with a string attached to it, and a weight attached to the other end of the string. You put just the right amount of air in the balloon such that, if you submerge the balloon and weight under water to a depth of 30 feet, the balloon will not rise