Why is Washington DC the capital of the United States? It was a compromise between the northern and the southern states. Washington DC was first used as the capital of America in November of 1800. It replaced the city of Philadelphia, which had been serving as the home of the Continental Congress and the capital […]
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What causes a tsunami? A very large and very sudden displacement of the ocean. A tsunami is a series of waves that are caused by a huge amount of water in the ocean suddenly being moved. It is different to a regular wave because the wave goes deep into the ocean. The word tsunami is
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How do glaciers move? Glaciers move because they are pulled downhill by gravity. A glacier is a river of ice that is flowing downhill. A river is a body of water that flows from a high elevation to a low elevation, usually ending in the sea or a lake, under the force of gravity. A
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Why is there a sunken continent underneath New Zealand? There is an almost completely submerged continent called Zealandia in the southern hemisphere. My questions is actually a little bit misleading. The sunken continent isn’t “underneath” New Zealand. New Zealand is part of this continent. Zealandia has an area of 4.9 million km2, which makes it
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How is volcanic ash made and how dangerous is it? Volcanic ash is made of rock, mineral and glass particles that are smaller than 2 mm. It can be extremely dangerous. Volcanic ash is formed during a volcanic eruption. Magma inside the volcano contains dissolved gases and water. These gases are mostly sulfur dioxide and
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What causes thunder? Thunder is caused because the air around a lightning bolt is superheated. Lightning is caused when there is an imbalance in the electrical charge within clouds. During a heavy storm, strong winds circulate through storm clouds. The wind picks up water droplets at the bottom and carries them to the top of
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What is the difference between snowflakes and hail? Snowflakes are made up of ice crystals and hail is a frozen raindrop. Hail are frozen raindrops. They are generally between 5 mm and 15 cm in diameter. Hail is not as common as snow and can only form in a thunderstorm. For hail to form there
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What causes quicksand? It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. Quicksand is an example of a non-Newtonian fluid. That means it is a liquid, but has the properties of a solid when the pressure applied to it changes. A Newtonian fluid is a liquid such as water that flows exactly
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Why are rubies red, emeralds green, and sapphires blue? Rubies and sapphires are varieties of the mineral corundum. Emeralds are a variety of the mineral beryl. They all have impurities that give them their color. Rubies are obviously red. Their name comes from the Latin ruber, which means red. They come in many different shades
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How does a Geiger counter work? By using radiation to create an electrical signal. There are four types of radiation and they all have different mass and energy. The types are alpha, beta, neutrons, and electromagnetic waves. Alpha particles are the heaviest. They have two protons and two neutrons. They are made by many of
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