What If: Mind-Boggling Science Questions for Kids

What if the earth were square? Discover the amazing answers to some cooland weird questions aboutour world * What if the earth stopped spinning? * What if we could see sounds? * What if the moon fell down? * What if aliens landed and only wanted to talk to dogs? Bizarre brainteasers and ingenious inquiries set the stage for afantastic foray into the wacky world of real science. Theintriguing topics range from plants and animals to light and sound,from the wind and the weather to the planets and the stars.Captivating cartoons and quick, fun-filled experiments will stretchyour mind and your imagination.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 Big, Blue, Spinning Ball The Earth 3 What if you dug a hole through the Earth? 4 What if you dropped a rock down a hole through the Earth? 6 What if the Earth were square? 8 What if you lived at the North Pole? 10 What if the Earth had no magnetism? 12 What if the Earth spun very fast? 14 What if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning? 16 What if the Earth were covered by water? 18 It’s Raining Frogs Weather and Climate 21 What if the Earth were hit by a big meteorite? 22 What if a day lasted a year? 24 What if there were no seasons? 26 What if it rained cats and dogs (or fish and frogs)? 28 What if people could control the weather? 30 What if the climate got much hotter? 32 What if the sky were always cloudy? 34 What’s the Matter with Matter? Forces and Energy 36 What if things fell up, not down? 38 What if things could pass through one another? 40 What if water didn’t evaporate? 42 What if drops of water were really big? 44 What if water could flow uphill? 46 Are You Seeing Things? Light and Sound 49 What if everything were the same color? 50 What if the sky were black during the daytime? 52 What if light didn’t travel in straight lines? 54 What if light traveled very slowly? 56 What if you could see sounds? 58 What if you could see in the dark? 60 Into the Wormhole Time 63 What if all past time were squeezed into one year? 64 What if you could travel into the future? 66 What if you could travel into the past? 68 Candle Clocks and Supercomputers Inventions 71 What if cars didn’t need fuel? 72 What if electric lights hadn’t been invented? 74 What if clocks hadn’t been invented? 76 What if computers could think like people? 78 Smart Pigs and Pet Dinosaurs Plants and Animals 80 What if the dinosaurs hadn’t died out? 82 What if we brought the dinosaurs back? 84 What of all plants and animals disappeared? 86 The Amazing, Changing Me People and Animals 89 What if some animals were smarter than people? 90 What if you were size of an insect? 92 What if you were the size of a giant? 94 What if you had a dog’s sense of smell? 96 What if you could fly like a bird? 98 What if you saw the world upside down? 100 What if you had three eyes? 102 What if you looked exactly like everyone else? 104 What if you always knew what other people were thinking? 106 The Superstar and the Big Cheese The Sun and the Moon 109 What if the Sun stopped shining? 110 What if the Sun doesn’t rise tomorrow? 112 What if the Earth didn’t go around the Sun in a circle? 114 What if the Earth had two suns? 116 What if the Moon fell down? 118 What if the Moon were much closer to the Earth? 120 What if there were no Moon? 122 What if you moved to the Moon? 124 Nonstop Flight to Neptune Visiting Other Planets 126 What if you visited Mercury? 128 What if you visited Venus? 130 What if you visited Mars? 132 What if you visited Jupiter? 134 What if you visited Saturn? 136 What if you visited Uranus or Neptune? 138 What if you visited Pluto? 140 What if you visited planets in another solar system? 142 Beam Me Up The Stars and Beyond 145 What if you traveled to the nearest star? 146 What if you traveled to the center of our galaxy? 148 What if you traveled to another galaxy? 150 What if you went to the edge of the universe? 152 What if there are intelligent aliens? 154 What if tiny aliens landed on Earth? 156 What if aliens lived inside the Earth? 158 What if aliens who looked just like us landed on Earth? 160 What if aliens who wanted to talk only dogs landed on Earth? 162 Glossary 165 Index 175

About the Author :
ROBERT EHRLICH is a physics professor at George Mason University. He is the author of The Cosmological Milkshake, What If You Could Unscramble an Egg?, and Why Toast Lands Jelly Side Down.