CURIOSITY QUESTIONS from students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT, Guwahati

1. Why is water colourless and tasteless?                         Tusti Sarma, Class VII

Ans. Taste depends on the pH of a solution which is nothing but the negative logarithm of H ⁺ ion concentration. As pure water has equal concentrations of H⁺ and OH^– ions, it does not taste either sour or sweet. On the other hand, colour of any substance depends on the range of wavelengths absorbed and reflected by it. As water does not absorb any wavelength, it is colorless.

2 .Why do ships float in water?                                            Dhristi Pathak , Class VII

Ans. Ships float in water due the rule of buoyancy. It is the upward force exerted by the water. A ship will float if its weight is less than that of the water it displaces. In other words, the force of buoyancy is larger than the gravitational force that sinks the ship.

2.What is beyond this universe? Is there any other cosmos beyond this universe?

                                                            Hriday Ranjan, Class IX

Ans. Astronomers believe that the space outside the observable universe might be an infinite expanse of what we see in the cosmos around us.

3. Do ghosts really exist? Vungthianhoih Hangsing, Class VII

Ans. There is no scientific basis to prove the presence of ghosts on Earth.

4. What kind of planets are in Andromeda galaxy?            

Ayushman, Class IX

Ans. Very less scientific facts are available about Andromeda galaxy. It is estimated that the Galaxy contains around one trillion (1×10¹²) stars, or roughly twice as many stars as that of the Milky Way. Like the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy also has satellite galaxies, consisting of over 20 known dwarf galaxies. 

5. Why we have salty tears?                                     Vaishnavi Tripathi, Class VIII

Ans. The salty taste of tears is attributed to the presence of salts of sodium and potassium.

6. Why is air invisible?                         Advait Joshi, Class VIII

Ans. Air is nothing but a mixture of different gases. As the molecules of these gases are distantly apart they are invisible to the naked eye. Wavelengths of light may pass by these molecules without hitting them.

7. Why cheetah have stretchable ligament and we don’t have?                                                                                                                          Ayushman, Class IX

Ans. Cheetah is the fastest animal on earth and they can sprint with high acceleration to catch a prey. In order to do that through evolution they have developed stretchable ligaments. On the other hand, we don’t have such requirements.

8. How much does the Earth weigh?

                                                                        Susmita Kar, Class VII

Ans. The Earth weighs around 5.972 × 10^24 kg