Science & Mathematics Questions & Answers

Although David Livingstone had trained to be a doctor, he decided to go to Africa as a missionary. He sailed for what was then called the Dark Continent on 20 November 1840 and soon found that his work took him into areas that were virtually unknown. In time he crossed the great Kalahari Desert and later reached the bank of …

The first successful English settlement in North America was founded in 1607 by Captain Christopher Newport. It was situated on an island ad named Jamestown in honour of the king, James I, who had given the settlers their Charter. Newport later returned to England and Captain John Smith became the new leader. Early in 1608 he was exploring the Chickahominy …

Saudi Arabia has the largest petroleum reserves in the world. It comprises almost 1/4th (24 %) of the world’s proven total petroleum reserves. Saudi Arabia’s economy is petroleum-based; roughly 75% of budget revenues and 90% of export earnings come from the oil industry. Officially, it has about 260 billion barrels (41,000,000,000 cubic metres) of oil reserves. It has become one …

Bulletproof jackets were being manufactured with ballistic nylon material till the 1970s. In 1965, a compound — poly- parphenyleneterephthalamide – was invented with the brand name Kevlar. This is a liquid polymer which can be spun into fibre and woven into cloth. Kevlar was developed for tyres and, later, for ropes, gaskets and various parts of planes and boats. The …

Surprice! It’s a steel ball! When a steel ball hits a hard surface, like the ground, it dents just like a rubber ball. But the steel snaps back into shape much faster than a rubber ball. It is the snapping back into shape that makes any ball bounce, so since the steel ball snaps back into shape faster than a …

How many times have you been told not to read in bed and how often have you been ticked off for reading in poor light? Probably quite a few times if you are an avid book-worm. Now you can cast away your small flashlights and get rid of your reading lamp, for there are specially designed books that create their …

It is probably sate to say that some of the largest animals that have ever lived on the surface of this planet are members of group of animals which have been collectively called dinosaurs. These ‘terrible reptiles’, as their name means, have excited the imagination of men ever since bones of the first dinosaur were discovered in rocks of Upper …

In this question, the word ‘danger’ does not refer to the danger to which individuals of any species may be subjected. Danger in this case means the danger to which a whole species is liable. In other words, species may be in danger of becoming extinct, and disappearing for ever from the face of the planet. Of course, we can …

In contrast to the acrobatic antics of the monkeys and apes, sloths move about the tree tops in very slow motion. They hang underneath the branches from hooked claws of both the fingers and toes, and spend most of their lives in this upside down position. They eat, sleep, mate and even give birth to their young upside down. There …

Some readers may think that this the easiest question in the book. Surely everyone knows that the answer is Mount Everest, which rises 8,848 m (29,028 ft) above sea level! But what about mountains that rise from the sea floor? If you take them into account, then Mauna Kea, Hawaii, is 1,355 m (4,446 ft) higher than Everest. Mauna Kea, …