Endless Ocean

An Old Science Story Exercpt That Involves Animals

Tell Me About The Sky by Ellen Wales Walpole illustrated by Jack Wolfgang Beck Text copyright from Children Ask 1947, by Ellen Wales Walpole- (2) How High Does The Air Go?

How High Does The Air Go?
The kind of air that we breathe reaches up to about six miles high. As it gets higher, it gets cooler. It also gets thinner. It is not easy for people or animals to breathe much higher than two miles.
Pilots of planes that fly very high have to take along special air to breathe, too.
Most of the clouds that we see do not go higher than six miles.
Although we cannot see it, we know that air is made up of a number of gases. All animals and plants need air to keep alive. That is one of the reasons that there are no living creatures above the air.
Above the air that we breathe, there is a different layer of air that reaches up for hundreds of miles beyond our earth.

Tell Me About The Sky by Ellen Wales Walpole illustrated by Jack Wolfgang Beck Text copyright from Children Ask 1947, by Ellen Wales Walpole, and published by Barnes and Noble, Inc.-(3) Why Does A Balloon Go Up Into The Air?

Why Does A Balloon Go Up Into The Air?
The air around us is made up of a number of different gases. In the air we breathe, they are mixed together. But it is possible to separate the air into its different gases.
Some of these gases are heavier than others. When these gases are separated from the ait, they sink down to the ground—just as a heavy piece of iron will sink to the bottom of a pail of water.
Some of the gases are lighter than others. They are lighter than the air. When these lighter gases are separated from the air, they rise or float—just as a cork will rise and float in a pail of water.
If you fill a balloon with one of the lighter gases, it will rise in the air and float. It will rise just as a cork rises to the top of water. Be sure to hold on tight to the string, or the balloon will rise up and float off into the sky.

Tell Me About The Sky by Ellen Wales Walpole illustrated by Jack Wolfgang Beck Text copyright from Children Ask 1947, by Ellen Wales Walpole, and published by Barnes and Noble, Inc.-(4) Where Does The Wind Come From?

Where Does The Wind Come From?
The wind can blow on you from any direction. If it comes from the south, we say it is a south wind. The south wind is mostly warm and gentle.
If it comes from the north, we say it is a north wind. The north wind is often cold and full of snow.
If it comes from the east, we say it is an east wind. An east wind can be cold and damp.
If it comes from the west, we say it a west wind. The west wind is often gentle and mild. We have a west wind more often than any other.
The wind is really air rushing about from place to place.
When the air in one place becomes too hot, it gets bigger. It needs more space, so it rises higher. As it does this, it leaves a space below. Cooler air then rushes in to fill up the space. This new air is the wind.
When the space is filled, the wind dies down and the air becomes calm.

Tell Me About The Sky by Ellen Wales Walpole illustrated by Jack Wolfgang Beck Text copyright from Children Ask 1947, by Ellen Wales Walpole, and published by Barnes and Noble, Inc.-(5) What Makes A Thunderstorm?

What Makes A Thunderstorm?

Thunderstorms happen when the air near the earth changes place with the air that is higher up. In summer the air near the ground gets very hot. Hot air always rises. If the air above it is cool, it has to push its way through the cool air.
Most thunderstorms are alike, though some are bigger than others. On hot summer days, great fluffy clouds begin to pile up. They get darker and darker till they seem to shut out the sun.
There are thunder and lightning. Usually there is rain. Sometimes there is hail, tooz
The wind becomes stronger. It may become strong enough to blow branches off the trees.
Soon it is all over. The wind dies down. The dark clouds drift away. The rain stops. The sky becomes clear again.
It is fun to watch a thunderstorm from start to finish. Watch the clouds darken. Hear the thunder. See the sky clear.