Extremes of the Earth.

Our planet Earth, is full of many interesting extremes. Here are some of the important ones:

Highest Mountain: Everyone knows Mt. Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It is 8,848 meters high. Mt. Everest was first climbed successfully in 1953 by Sir Edmond Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. It is located in Nepal, and is a part of the Himalayas Mountain range.

Tallest Mountain : Though Mt. Everest is the highest mountain in the world, it is not the tallest one. Mauna Kea at 10,000 meters stand much taller than it, and is the tallest mountain in the world. However, most of this great mountain is immersed in the ocean, and only 4205 mts, is visible over the surface of the ocean in Hawaii.

Largest Mountain Range: Mid Atlantic Ridge runs deep in the Atlantic oceans, and covers almost the whole length of Earth. Though it is mostly under water, at 50,000 kms , it is much longer than Andes, Himalayas and Rockies all combined.

Longest mountain range on land: Andes in South America is the longest mountain range on Earth. It is 7000 kms long.

Deepest point in Earth: The Deepest point in Earth is called Challenger Deep, in Mariana Trench. It is 10,924 meters deep, which is much deeper than Mt. Everest.

Lowest Land area: The lowest land area is in Dead Sea, Jordan. It is 422 meters below the sea level. Dead sea boasts of very high salinity, 8 times that of the ocean. Animals can’t live in such salty water, thus its’ name.

Highest Waterfall: is the Angel Falls in Venezuela. It stands 3230 feet tall.

Tallest Volcano: Mauna Loa in Hawaii is the tallest volcano in the world. It stands 13,681 ft. tall.

Coldest Place: Antarctica at nights is the coldest place in the world. Temperatures here have been recorded as low as -129°f at Vostok station.

Hottest Place: El Azizia in Libya is the hottest place in the world. The highest recorded temperature being 136°F.

Driest Place: Atacama desert is a plateau on the Andes mountain range. Some places here have not seen rain for 400 years!

Longest River: River Nile flowing through Africa is the longest river, at 4100 miles.

Greatest River: Amazon river is the greatest and most amazing river in the world. It carries the most amount of water in the world- a whopping 20% of all freshwater in the world. Amazon also supports a vast rainforest all around it, that are also called The Lungs of the World, for generating a huge percentage of the world’s oxygen.

Highest Tides: Bay of Fundy is famous for the highest tides, sometimes as tall as a 3 storey building.

Biggest Ocean: The Pacific ocean is the largest Ocean- its’ area is even bigger than all of Earth’s land mass combined.

Largest Continent: Asia.

Smallest Continent: Australia.

Largest Country: Russia

Smallest Country: Vatican city , an enclave country in the city of Rome, is the smallest country in the world.

Largest Lake: Caspian Sea.

Deepest Lake: Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest lake at 1637 meters deep, and carries more freshwater than any other lake in the world.

Paleontology

What is Paleontology?? Paleontology is a branch of science that studies ancient life forms and history of Earth by studying Fossils etc.

History of Earth: Earth has been around for a long time now; scientists today estimate it to be 4.5 billion years old. First Humans evolved around 1.8 million years ago. Numerous species have lived on Earth before getting extinct. The flora, fauna , weather and even the land mass on Earth has gone through many dramatic changes. But how can we know about the history of Earth if we were not even there? Paleontologists use fossils to aid them in researching the history of Earth.

What are Fossils? Fossils are the remains of ancient Animals and Plants, the traces or impressions of living things from past geological ages, or the traces of their activities. The fossil of a bone will have no bone in it. A fossilized object is actually a rock with the same shape as the original object, but it will have a different colour, texture and weight. This is because fossils are actually rocks!!

How are Fossils made? Earth is very god at getting rid of waste. As soon as a living thing dies, the process of its’ decomposition starts - the heroes of this process are bacteria. Fossilization is a very rare process, mostly found in sedimentary rocks.Fossils of hard parts (like bones and teeth) were formed as follows:

• Some animals were quickly buried after their death (by sinking in mud, being buried in a sand storm, etc.).
• Over time, more and more sediment covered the remains.
• The parts of the animals that didn't rot (usually the harder parts likes bones and teeth) were encased in the newly-formed sediment.
• In the right circumstances (no scavengers, quick burial, not much weathering), parts of the animal turned into fossils over time.
• After a long time, the chemicals in the buried animals' bodies underwent a series of changes and minerals replaced the chemicals in the bone.
• This process results in a heavy, rock-like copy of the original object - a fossil. The fossil has the same shape as the original object, but is chemically more like a rock!
  

Fossils help Paleontology in a big way. We know about Dinosaurs, and other extinct species solely due to fossils. TrackWays are footprints that become fossilized.



What are Dinosaurs? Dinosaurs were land dwelling reptiles that walked with an erect stance. The dinosaurs dominated the Earth for over 165 million years during the Mesozoic Era, but mysteriously went extinct 65 million years ago.

Dinosaur legs: upright position
Other reptiles: Sprawling legs

Dinosaurs Facts:
1. Most Dinosaurs hatched from Eggs.
2. Not all dinosaurs were giants – Some were as big as a chicken
3. Most of the Dinosaur were herbivorous. Only a few were carnivorous.
4. Many scientists believed that some Dinosaur evolved into todays’ birds.


Important Kinds of Dinosaurs.

Tyrannosaurus Rex also called T-Rex. Name: Tyrannosaurus Rex means: Tyrant Reptile (King)Interesting fact: Tyrannosaurus was the biggest and most powerful flesh eater that ever lived on earth. A grown man would hardly have come up to its knees. Its jaw was about 1.5 m long, with teeth that were 15 cm long and were serrated like carving knives. Tyrannosaurus needed a lot of food, so probably spent all its waking hours hunting for food.

Diplodocus
Interesting fact: Diplodocus was the one of the longest dinosaurs, it was about as long as a tennis court. Its brain was about the size of a hen's egg

Triceratops Means: Three-horned face. Interesting fact: Triceratops had a bony frill to protect its head, neck and shoulders. It's head was enormous, nearly a third as long as its whole body. Its curved jaw was very strong and like a parrots beak. Although it was a plant eater it was very fierce - even fighting with its own kind.Triceratops is the best known horned dinosaur. It had three horns: one on its nose and two long ones above its eyes.

Stegosaurus Means: Roofed Reptile
Interesting fact: The stegosaurs bony plated armour was to protect it from attack, but they also helped to keep it cool. It had a tiny tubular skull with a brain the size of a walnut. Its teeth were small, blunt and leaf-like. At the end of the tail there were four long spines, used for protection. Its hind legs were twice the length of its forelegs.

EXTINCTION OF DINOSAURS: Dinosaurs, and a number of other species that lived with it suddenly went extinct some 65 million years ago. Nobody knows for sure wht happened, but the most accepted theory is that major climate change, possibly due to an asteroid impact, and coming of Ice Age killed the Dinosaurs. However, many Paleontologists believe that not all dinosaurs died- some of them evolved into the modern day birds!!

The Human Body

The Human Body is truly the most wonderful machine on Earth. It performs so many complex and complicated tasks, that we cannot understand them well as a whole. So, we divide the body into various Systems in order to aid our understanding.


1. Nervous System: The central nervous system consists of the Brain and the Spinal Cord. The five sensory organs – Eyes, Ears, Skin, Nose and Tongue provide outside information to the Central Nervous System. The Brain is an amazing computer, that controls the whole body. The left side of Brain control the right side of the body and vice-versa. Spinal Cord is the Brain’s assistant, and is connected to the body via 32 different nerves. In cases of danger, Spinal Cord acts on its’ own (Reflexes), thus allowing immediate response.


2. Skeletal System: Bones form the framework of our body. Our Bones are very light, yet strong enabling us to move around safely. Bones protect the soft internal organs, and manufacture new blood too. Blood is made in the soft insides of a bone, called Bone Marrow. Bones are made up of a mix of chemicals, most important of them being Calcium.








3. Muscular System: Muscles form the bulk of our body. They join the bones to each other, and thus result in movement. Brain directs muscles for any desired movement of the body. Muscles also act involuntarily (without your control), to digest the food, to shut the eyelids etc. Even your Heart is actually a very strong muscle!!








4. Respiratory System: Breathing is essential to life. We breathe to take in Oxygen, and take out Carbon-di-oxide. Our Lungs are the organs that are used for breathing. They expand and contract like a Balloon in order to breathe. This oxygen is then mixed with Blood, and thus reaches the cells of our Body.








5. Circulatory System : Blood forms the core of the Circulatory System. It moves around in millions of tiny tubes, taking nutrition and oxygen to all body cells, and collecting toxins in return. The Heart pumps the blood all around the body. The oxygen rich blood is red in colour, while the oxygen poor blood looks blue. Heart has four chambers, Arteries(to carry good blood out) and Veins(to bring bad blood in.)









6. Digestive System: We eat, because our body needs nutrition to grow, to function and to sustain itself. But the food we eat has to be broken down in very basic, small units to become really useful for our body. The process of breaking down the food into small, useful pieces in called Digestion. Digestion starts in the mouth with our biting and chewing. Saliva plays a major role too. Then this chewed food goes down the Esophagus into the Stomach. Esophagus is like a one-way slide. The Stomach stores all the food you eat in one meal, and then sends it to the Small intestine. Small intestine does the most of digestion, and the big intestine further absorbs the remaining water and nutrients left. Liver, Our largest organ, has a major role to play here. It removes the Toxins from our body, and also controls the amount of key nutrients that go in our blood, storing the excess for future.


Isn’t the Human Body a marvellous thing? Let’s be thankful to the God for providing it, and let’s take good care of this wonderful machine we have!!!

The Magic of Stories

The magic of stories, For the UniWorld Gardens Batch fifth class.


The Magic of Stories

Stories are our windows in the worlds unknown. Stories teach us language, culture, history, morals and imagination.

Classics Stories :
Some of the stories that a must for a child to know are :
Cinderella, SnowWhite and Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Shoemaker and the Elves, , Pinocchio, 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Rabbit, Alice in the Wonderland, The little match girl, Little red riding hood Hensel and Gretel and Thumbelina.

In addition to these, some exposure to these well-known story collections is desirable:
1. Panchatantra: Written by Pt. Vishnu Sharma to educate dimwit sons of a king, these tales provide practical knowledge and rules to live life by.
2. Aesop’s Fables: Aesop was a slave in ancient Greece. His collection of stories is one of the most popular in the world, with stories like The Hare and the Tortiose and The Boy who cried Wolf.
3. Arabian Nights: The stories told by the intelligent wife of the Iranian king Shahrjan, in order to escape her execution in the morning. These contain classics like Alibaba and 40 theives, Aladdin and Sindbad.
4. Jataka Tales: The stories from the previous births of Gautam Buddha.

The Art of StoryTelling:
Storytelling is a subtle art than we can use to captivate anyone’s attention. In fact, once you master the art of storytelling, you’ll find it of immense value in day to day conversations as well.

Some key pointers:
1. Know your Story : not necessarily by heart. But you should know the start, the end, and the basic plot of the story for sure.
2. Know your audience: Is it only your child? Is it a group of young kids. What age?
3. Make sure they fit : The Story should be suitable for the target Audience.
4. Amplify emotions in the dialogues: Speak the sentences with appropriate emotional dose. The emotion (happy, angry, sad, disgusted, disappointed, hopeful..) should be clear in the tome you use.
5. Accent your voice according to the character : An old witch would sound very different from a little boy, no?

Choosing a story:
Books are one of the best investments, and the bookstores are full of materials for kids. Some books, though, are printed for adults to buy for their kids, and some books are for kids to enjoy. Know the difference. Choose a book that slightly challenges the present vocabulary of your child. Internet is a good source of some nice stories as well. The Apple story I chose for the class can be found here : http://www.thevirtualvine.com/thelittleredhouse.html

Forces of Nature

The Fury and the force of Nature. For the Uniworld Gardens Batch fourth class.




The Nature is the biggest force. It’s fury can be devastating, deadly, and awesome! We discuss some key natural disasters in this class.




It is interesting to notice that many a times, one natural disaster triggers another, or they often happen together. Earthquakes can be accompanied by Volcanic activity, and they can trigger Tsunamis and Avalnaches. Hurricanes can spin off Tornadoes, Flooding or Fires. Each tiny change in the Earth’s dynamic and alive system can affect something else in the atmosphere.




1. Earthquakes: The ground shakes and moves, without warning. The buildings and trees fall; bridges break, and huge cracks appear in the ground.




Although the ground we walk on seems solid, it is actually moving!! The earth in divided into approx. 20 ‘parts’ called Tectonic Plates. The Tectonic plates are constantly shifting and moving, over a hot molten interior called mantle. The place where these plates meet is called a ‘fault’. When these plates rub together, the friction causes immense energy, that manifests itself as an Earthquake. Earthquakes generally happen along these fault lines. Epicenter is the place on Earth from where the vibrations spread out.




They are measured on the Richter scale – 1 being the mildest one that mostly goes unnoticed. An earthquake of magnitude 7 or more in a populated area is very devastating, resulting in huge loss of life and property.




2. Volcanoes: Volcanoes are also a result of Earth’s internal seismic activities, much like earthquakes. In fact, most of the Volcanoes are situated along the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, which is on a major fault line.
Inside the Earth’s core is hot molten rock, called Magma. When the magma rises to the surface of the Earth, it is called Lava. Volcano is basically a hole in the Earth that allows lava to come out. Volcanoes can be classified as active, dormant and extinct.
Volcanoes can be deadly- lava , hot stones, Lahar and the volcanic ash and smoke can kill anything that comes in their way. But volcanoes can also be useful; the early earth was shaped by volcanic activity, the volcanic soil is very fertile too.





3. Tsunami: Tsunamis are caused by Earthquakes at sea.


When a huge earthquake vertically jolts the seabed by several meters, a lot of water is displaced- which starts travelling towards the coast in a straight line. The Tsunami wave is huge by the time it reaches the coast and can cause a lot of damage. The only warning sign of a Tsunami is that the waterline retreats just before a Tsunami, exposing hundreds of meters of seabed.



4. Avalanche: An avalanche is restricted to mountaineous areas with a lot of fresh, loose snow. This snow can start falling at the slightest disturbance, and gains mass and momentum as it rolls down the slopes. An Avalanche can cover a whole village in no time.








5. Hurricane: Hurricanes, also known as cyclones or Typhoons, are large rotating storms, built around an area of very low pressure. They are accompanied with lots of rain and very fast winds. The center of the hurricane is called an ‘eye’ , which is rather calm . Hurricanes lose their strength when they make a landfall. The hurricanes are divided in categories from 1 to 5, 5 being the strongest hurricane.







6. Tornado: Tornadoes are an intresting phenomenon restricted mostly to a part of the US, called the Tornado alley.


Tornadoes are the most violent storms known to us, the wind speeds are so high that cannot be measured. A Tornado is a powerful column of spiralling winds, hanging down like a tail from the storm clouds. A powerful tornado can uproot trees and tear apart buildings that come in its way.



7. Floods: When a normally dry area is submerged in water, it is known as a flood. Floods can happen slowly, due to seasonal heavy rains, or hurricanes. They can also arrive suddenly, known as flash floods. Flash Floods can happen due to a dam burst, earthquake or Tsunami, or as in a recent case, sudden course change of a river.

In case of Natural disasters, Prevention is just not possible. So, Preparation is the best course of action. One should always keep a 'survival kit' ready for such unforeseen circumstances. A basic Survival kit will contain -
Spoil-proof Food and bottled water for three days, Medicines, Blanket, Torch, Swiss Army knife, Whistle and Cell phone.

Spectacular Space

Amazing Universe !! For the Uniworld Gardens Batch third class.


Universe can not be described as huge, enormous or gigantic. It is all that, and more. To our senses, it truly is infinite. The scale of everything in the universe is huge, as you will shortly see.

GRAVITY:
But first, we need to understand the single most important force in the Universe, Gravity. Gravity is what keeps us grounded to Earth. But not only Earth, every big object exerts Gravity. Bigger a body, greater the gravitational force. This force not only keeps us from flying off to space, but also keeps the satellites around the planets, planets around the Sun, the Sun around the center of our Galaxy , and so on.

SOLAR SYSTEM:

All the ‘things’ in space – planets, stars, moons, etc. – are all collectively called heavenly bodies. The one we know best? Our Earth! Isn’t Earth big? So much of land, and then three times of that water. Well, if you consider the Sun, and the Solar System, Earth would actually come across as quite tiny.

Our closest neighbour in space is moon, Earth’s natural satellite, and about a quarter its size. The solar System has 8 ( earlier 9 ) planets.








In order of their distances from the Sun, they are:

1. Mercury: Closest, No moons, No atmosphere, Rocky Planet.
2. Venus: Hottest Planet, Thick Atmosphere, No Moons, Rocky Planet.
3. Earth: Only known life sustaining planet, At just the right distance from Sun, 1 Moon, Rocky, blue Planet.
4. Mars: Mild, Earth like Temperatures, Frozen Polar Cap water, 2 Moons, Rocky Red Planet.
5. Jupiter: Biggest Planet, 63 Moons, Gaseous Planet.
6. Saturn: Beautiful, Thin, Wide Rings, 34 Moons including Titan, Gaseous Planet.
7. Uranus: Spins on its side, 27 moons.
8. Neptune : A lot like Uranus, 13 moons, Ice Planet.
9. Pluto: Dwarf Planet, 3 moons, Icy.

Remember them by using the mnemonic:
My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets.

There are also Asteroids, Meteors, Meteorites: Rocks flying around the space.
Comets: Icy core, Long Dusty Tail, Hailey’s comet every 76 years. Tail can either be in front or back of the core.


GALAXY:

Galaxies are a group of stars- billions of stars, huddled together, revolving around the center of the galaxy.
Solar System forms a part of our galaxy, The Milky way, which is a spiral galaxy.


The Sun and The Stars.

Sun, or Sol, is our star. But it is not exceptional in any way if one considers the Universe. Sun is a medium-sized star on one of the arms of Milky Way. Stars can be much smaller, or much bigger than the Sun.
Space consists of a lot of empty space, and interstellar medium made mostly of a gas called Hydrogen. This ‘cloud’ of dust and gas is called a Nebula. When a portion in the Nebula compresses, the gases heat up immensely, and a rotating gas globule is born. This rotating globule finally settles into a central core (the Star) and surrounding planets, asteroids, etc.






Stars don’t live forever. When their fuel runs out, they die. According to their sizes, they can become a White dwarf or a neutron star/ Black Hole following a supernova explosion.

THE START:

How did it all start? With a big bang, literally. All the galaxies in Universe are moving away from each other, like dots on an inflating balloon. It must have all, therefore, started with a super-huge explosion, often called as The Big Bang.


THE EXPLORATION:

How do we know all this? Astronauts have only gone as far as the moon. Then, how we know all that we know about the Universe? The scientists use a lot of equipments to ‘see’ space. Unmanned spaceships, probes, and Telescopes, all help to enhance our understanding of the space. Hubble Space Telescope, for example, has sent invaluable data about the space.

Types of Government

For the second class of Uniworld Gardens Batch.
Click 'Read more' undrneath to, well, read more!


Types of Governments.

When a lot of people live together, they need a set of rules and a system to take care of their common needs and grievances. This is the basis of formation of a government. A government is a complex of political institution, laws and customs through which a country is governed.
Governments can be of many types. These are:
1. Monarchy: A government headed by a King or a Queen is called a monarchy. The King has complete authority, and exercises this authority through his officials. A Monarchy is an example of absolutism. However, a ‘token’ monarchy is also prevalent, where the King/Queen acts just as a constitutional head of the country, and the real power lies in the power of elected officers. Example, Gulf countries, U.K.
2. Dictatorship: This is another example of absolutism. The power here, lies not with a king, but the dictator, who is usually a military head. E.g. : Cuba, N. Korea.
3. Imperialism: Imperialism occurs when a stronger nation takes over a weaker nation, and starts dominating all economical, political and cultural decisions. E.g. The British rule over India till 1947.
4. Theocracy: This is a system in which religion plays a major role in the government. A religious organization or its officials control the government. E.g. Iran, Saudi Arabia.
5. Communism : Communism , as an idea, was introduced by Karl Marx. In a communist country, all land, factories etc. Are controlled directly by the government. Communists oppose capitalism, where people can own property and goods, supposedly in proportion to their merit. In a communist country, there is no private property and goods are owned and used by all, as needed. E.g. , China.
6. Democracy: The most popular of all political systems today, Democracy is literally, the rule of people. Citizens of a society come together, and decide everything among themselves using majority decisions. Direct democracy works well only in very small groups.
7. Republic: In a larger group of people, representative democracy, or Republic is required. People choose amongst themselves some specific persons as their representatives. These representatives then sit together and take the required decisions. The representatives are accountable to general public and can be changed when they fall out of the favour. Eg., India, USA.
8. Anarchy: It is a situation when there is no Government. This can happen in a country after a civil war, when a number of rival groups are trying to take control of the country. Anarchists are people who think government is a bad thing. E.g. Somalia.

What is a Constitution?
the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it. It is a written instrument embodying the rules of a political or social organization