May 23, 2003
Geography Genius
Fourteen-year-old James Williams puts himself on the map with his geography bee victory
BY NEEPA SHAH
Goa, a state in southwestern India, was owned by which country until 1961? Don't know? Well, knowing that Portugal owned Goa at that time and other geography tidbits helped 14-year-old James Williams become the 2003 U.S. National Geographic Bee champion.
Williams missed just three questions during the two-day tournament this week. During the competition, he took virtual journeys everywhere from island countries in the Persian Gulf to volcanic formations in Tanzania.
A Busy Bee
Williams, a homeschooled student from Vancouver, Washington, said he studied up to five hours a day for the competition. After beating out 55 local champions (from a field of more than 5 million participants nationwide) and 10 finalists, Williams headed to the White House to meet the President! He also appeared on NBC Today show and CNN.
His first place finish earned him a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime subscription to National Geographic and a week at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Adventure Camp.
On top of being a geography ace, Williams is also a science wiz. He participated in a science olympiad in Ohio this year, and will go on to compete as a member of the Washington-Oregon science bowl team later this year. He not letting the success get to his head, though. "I wasn expecting this at all, it really exciting," he said politely after his big win.
Where in the World is? Can the rest of the world keep up with Williams? According to a recent study, it looks like most Americans can learn a thing or two from Williams. About 11 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 cannot find their own country on a map, according to last year's National Geographic-Roper Global Literacy Survey. Another 50 percent could not properly identify China, the United Kingdom or Japan. Top scorers, according to the study, were young adults in Sweden, Germany, and Italy.
I think that geography is a very important subject. We should study geography to help us know more about the earth. There are a lot of countries in the world. If we want to learn more about it, read geography. Geography is very interesting it is also very helpful. 14-year-old James Williams was the national Geographic Bee champion in 2003. I think that James Williams might do a lot of efforts on studying geography. He traveled to a lot of places to know more geography. James Williams survived from the competition and win the geography bee. It is a great honor to win the geography bee competition. If I have a chance to go traveling I will go everywhere too.
2009年3月22日 星期日
2009年3月20日 星期五
What Makes the Red Planet Red?
What Makes the Red Planet Red?
New data suggests Mars' rusty color may have come from tiny meteors, not water
BY NEEPA SHAH
Why is Mars red? Scientists have widely believed the planet's rusty color comes from a past when water existed on the Red Planet's surface. But new data suggests the red hue is caused by something else: Meteor showers! Now, scientists are rethinking theories they have long held to be true about Earth neighbor.
Creating the Red Glow
The commonly held view was that Mars' rusty color was the result of a chemical reaction between iron in rocks that dissolved into the planet's oceans, lakes and rivers over billions of years. But a new study that appeared in The New Scientist magazine suggests that water was not needed to create rust on Mars.
The study's leader, Dr. Albert Yen, found that rust could have been created by exposing iron in rocks to ultraviolet light and exposing the iron to the gases and temperatures found on Mars.
The study does not suggest water never flowed on Mars. Yen says the Red Planet's dry valleys and channels show that there once was water on its surface. But the water may have played a smaller part in creating the reddish color than scientists had thought.
Why Is Water So Important?
Even though Mars is now as dry as a desert, the possibility that there once was water remains an important discovery. Water is one of the most important ingredients of living things. Scientists believe that evidence of water also points to evidence of life that may have once existed on Mars. In 2001, scientists found such evidence but they don know if the water existed long enough to support living creatures.
Earth’s neighbor-Mars is a very mysterious planet. Scientists have widely believed the planet's rusty color comes from a past when water existed on the Red Planet's surface before. But now scientists think that there is another reason of the planet's rusty color. They think that it is because of the meteor shower. The meteor showers are with dirt so it made Mars red. Scientists also believe that there was water on Mars before. Water is the most important thing to let living creatures live. In 2001, scientists found such evidence but they don’t know if the water is enough for the creatures on Mars to live. The space is a very mysterious place we don’t know if there are any aliens on other planets and we don’t know if the other planets have high technology. So we need to put more efforts on investigate more things.
New data suggests Mars' rusty color may have come from tiny meteors, not water
BY NEEPA SHAH
Why is Mars red? Scientists have widely believed the planet's rusty color comes from a past when water existed on the Red Planet's surface. But new data suggests the red hue is caused by something else: Meteor showers! Now, scientists are rethinking theories they have long held to be true about Earth neighbor.
Creating the Red Glow
The commonly held view was that Mars' rusty color was the result of a chemical reaction between iron in rocks that dissolved into the planet's oceans, lakes and rivers over billions of years. But a new study that appeared in The New Scientist magazine suggests that water was not needed to create rust on Mars.
The study's leader, Dr. Albert Yen, found that rust could have been created by exposing iron in rocks to ultraviolet light and exposing the iron to the gases and temperatures found on Mars.
The study does not suggest water never flowed on Mars. Yen says the Red Planet's dry valleys and channels show that there once was water on its surface. But the water may have played a smaller part in creating the reddish color than scientists had thought.
Why Is Water So Important?
Even though Mars is now as dry as a desert, the possibility that there once was water remains an important discovery. Water is one of the most important ingredients of living things. Scientists believe that evidence of water also points to evidence of life that may have once existed on Mars. In 2001, scientists found such evidence but they don know if the water existed long enough to support living creatures.
Earth’s neighbor-Mars is a very mysterious planet. Scientists have widely believed the planet's rusty color comes from a past when water existed on the Red Planet's surface before. But now scientists think that there is another reason of the planet's rusty color. They think that it is because of the meteor shower. The meteor showers are with dirt so it made Mars red. Scientists also believe that there was water on Mars before. Water is the most important thing to let living creatures live. In 2001, scientists found such evidence but they don’t know if the water is enough for the creatures on Mars to live. The space is a very mysterious place we don’t know if there are any aliens on other planets and we don’t know if the other planets have high technology. So we need to put more efforts on investigate more things.
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)
