Ask a Scientist Question Archive Search
Ask A Scientist Archive 2008
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| January 1, 2008 | How do birds get the momentum to stay in the air while flying? (Answered by Heidi Hall, ESER Wildlife Biologist) |
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| January 8, 2008 | What makes a penny turn blue? How can I do this? (Answered by Russ Mitchell, EITC Instructor and Stoller ESER Program Consultant) |
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| January 15, 2008 | Why does the moon look so big when it is close to the horizon, but much smaller overhead? (Answered by Mike Hart Amateur Astronomer, Member of the Idaho Falls Astronomical Society) |
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| January 22, 2008 | If you are in a van, and you are throwing a tennis ball at the ceiling and catching it, how come, if the van suddenly changes speed, the tennis ball doesn’t fly to the back of the car? (Answered by Roy Woodvine, Mechanical Engineer, Stoller Corp.) |
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| January 29, 2008 | I've heard that clouds can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. Is that true? How do they stay in the air? (Answered by Rick Eckman, Deputy Director, NOAA lab in Idaho Falls |
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| February 5, 2008 | What causes a sneeze? Answered by Tammy Cox, RN, Division Director, Eastern Idaho Public Health District Return to top |
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| February 12, 2008 | Where would all the water from lakes, oceans and rivers go if we didn’t have gravity? Answered by Gus Caffrey, Idaho National Laboratory physicist |
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| February 19, 2008 | How the earth could be thrown out of orbit? What might the effects of this be? Answered by Gus Caffrey, Idaho National Laboratory physicist |
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| February 26, 2008 | What causes a burp? Answered by Tammy Cox, RN, Division Director, Eastern Idaho Public Health District |
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| March 3, 2008 | If an adaptation is a change an animal makes to fit into its habitat, what did the animal used to be like? Answered by Alana Jensen, Environmental Educators, Stoller ESER Program |
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| March 11, 2008 | Why is some animals’ fur soft and other’s coarse and stiff? Answered by Gregg Losinski, Idaho Fish and Game |
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| March 18, 2008 | Where did the moon come from? Answered by Dr. Brian Tonks, BYU-Idaho Physics Department (Part 1) |
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| March 25, 2008 | Where did the moon come from? Answered by Dr. Brian Tonks, BYU-Idaho Physics Department (Part 2) |
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| April 1, 2008 | What does a scientist do if their findings do not agree with those of other scientists? Answered by Doug Halford, Stoller ESER Program Manager and Wildlife Biologist |
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| April 8, 2008 | What is a lek? Answered by Jeremy Shive, Stoller ESER Biologist |
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| April 15, 2008 | How does a bat use echolocation? How fast does a bat chirp travel? Question answered by: Diana Lowrey,Archaeologist and Bat Expert, Idaho National Laboratory |
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| April 22, 2008 | Are we still in a drought? Answered by Kirk Clawson, Director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
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| April 29, 2008 | How was the Earth created? Part 1 Answered by Mike Hart Amateur Astronomer, Member of the Idaho Falls Astronomical Society Return to top |
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| May 6, 2008 | How was the Earth created? Part 1 Answered by Mike Hart Amateur Astronomer, Member of the Idaho Falls Astronomical Society |
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| May 13,2008 | According to EPA, U.S. residents, businesses, and institutions produce approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per person per day. That means about 400,000 pounds of garbage is produced each day in Bonneville County and that number will grow as our population grows. What would you do as a county official to formulate a long-term plan for handling all that trash? Answered by Ben Losinski, Idaho Falls Earth Day Essay Contest winner |
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| May 20. 2008 | Why is my sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) dying and dead on a one-acre area on my property? Could it be due to old age? Dr. Roger Blew and Amy Forman, Ecologists, Stoller ESER Program |
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| May 27, 2008 | There seems to be a disagreement
about the future of our planet. Some think we are
causing irreversible damage to the Earth and some think
the planet’s future has never looked brighter. What do
you think? Answered by Meng Gan, 12th Grade, Idaho Falls High School, Idaho Falls Earth Day essay contest winner |
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| June 3, 2008 | Why is global warming bad? What problems would it cause? Answered by Dr. Rick Eckman, Research Meteorologist, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory |
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| June 17, 2008 | Are there any ecological impacts from the dam and power plant system in Idaho Falls, especially relating to fish movement across the concrete barrier at the Broadway Bridge? Answered by Gregg Losinski, Regional Conservation Educator, Idaho Fish and Game Return to top |
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| June 24, 2008 | What is the largest insect? Answered by Dr. Heath Ogden, Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University |
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| July 1, 2008 | Why mosquitoes are here on Earth? Answered by Marilyn Case, Environmental Scientist,Stoller ESER Program |
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| July 8, 2008 | We know helium is less dense than air
so helium balloons rise, but why does helium make your
voice sound weird when you suck in the helium gas? Answered by Alan Jensen, Pharmacy Manager, Sav-on Pharmacy |
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| July 15, 2008 | We ran across a rattlesnake while hiking in the desert. It didn’t rattle until we had spotted it and stopped to take its picture. Why didn’t it rattle when we came near? Answered by Jeremy Shive, Wildlife Biologist, Stoller ESER Program |
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| July 22, 2008 | Do lodgepole pines produce both serotinous and non-serotinous cones on the same tree? Are they located in separated parts of the tree (top and bottom of the tree) or all mixed together? Answered by Sonja Shadow, Fire Prevention Specialist,Idaho BLM |
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| July 29, 2008 | While hiking in the Pine Creek pass area, we noticed a very large footprint that we think may have been a grizzly. Are there grizzly bears in that area? Answered by Gregg Losinski, Regional Conservation Educator, Idaho Fish and Game |
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| August 5, 2008 | Are woodchucks, groundhogs, rockchucks, and marmots all names for the same animal? Answered by Doug Halford, Wildlife Ecologist, Stoller ESER Program |
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| August 12, 2008 | How thick is the basalt rock under the
Snake River Plain? Answered by: Doug Owen, Park
Geologist, Craters of the Moon |
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| August 19, 2008 | We are experiencing our yearly invasion
of flying ants at EBR-1. I've seen it happen every year
and it lasts just a few days. Never once have I been
stung or bitten, but now the summer guides at EBR-1 are
claiming that the ants are stinging them. Do these ants
actually sting or bite people? Answered by Dr. Paul Blom,
Research Biologist, USDA-ARS |
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| August 26, 2008 | Our family made a mint-flavored Mentos/Diet Coke fountain for the Fourth of July. How does it work? Answered by Troy Thomson and Joy Wilson, Mechanical Engineers, S. M. Stoller Corp. |
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| September 2, 2008 | How do black bears prepare for hibernation? Answered by Alana Jensen, Environmental Educator, S. M. Stoller ESER Program |
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| September 9, 2008 | Are hummingbirds becoming rare in Idaho Falls? Amswered by Mark Delwiche, President, Snake River Audubon Society Return to top |
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| September 16, 2008 | What is the latest data on the INL contaminant plume around INTEC? How are DEQ and other agencies monitoring the plume’s movement? Answered by Flint Hall, Hydrogeolgist, Department of Environmental Quality |
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| September 23, 2008 | We came across three rattlesnakes in Wolverine Canyon. I'm assuming they are all Great Basin Rattlesnakes, however, one was yellowish and lighter-colored, one was grayish and darker-colored, and the third was a darker colored gray with a yellowish tint. Are they all the same sub-species, and if so, why the color variation? Question answered by Dr. Christopher Jenkins, Executive Director, Project Orianne Ltd. |
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| September 30, 2008 | What does adding gypsum do to the soil? My garden soil used to be nice and soft, but since adding gypsum it has become hard and my flowers are really struggling? Answered by Dusty Plaster, Southeast Idaho Master Gardener |
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| October 7, 2008 | How many virions are shed by a person
infected with a respiratory virus during a typical
sneeze? Answered by Tamara Cox, R.N., Division Director Eastern Idaho Public Health District |
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| October 14, 2008 | If there is a drought year and there is less water for recharge in the upper reaches of the aquifer (Ashton, St Anthony areas), does it have an immediate effect on the level of discharge at the Thousand Springs discharge area, or is there a lapse time before discharge quantities are lowered? Answered by Flint Hall, Hydrogeolgist, Department of Environmental Quality |
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| October 21, 2008 | In the extreme southern tip of the Lost River Range southwest of Howe, Idaho, there are several “fins” of limestone rock vertically jutting out of the hillsides. Were these created by upthrust? Are these formations unique in any way? Answered by Doug Owen, Geologist, Craters of the Moon National Monument |
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| October 28, 2008 | Why do most hurricanes travel across the Atlantic Ocean and then turn northward and eastward? I’ve noticed that pattern whether hurricanes come inland or stay in the ocean along the coast. Answered by Jason Rich, Meteorologist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |
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| November 4, 2008 | Why do leaves change color in the fall? Answered by Alana Jensen, Environmental Educator, Stoller ESER Program |
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| November 11, 2008 | Can ocean currents be harnessed as a source of electricity? Return to top |
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| November 18, 2008 | Why do worms crawl up on my driveway and sidewalks during a rainstorm and die? Answered by Betsy Holmes, Betsy Holmes, U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Office Physical Scientist |
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| November 25, 2008 | Why does our moon not have a “proper” name? Other planets’ moons have awesome names. Answered by Dr. Brian Tonks, Physics Professor, BYU-Idaho |
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| December 2, 2008 | Why is the Earth a sphere? Answered by Dr. Brian Tonks, Physics Professor, BYU-Idaho |
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| December 9, 2008 | Why does the Earth have more gravity than some other planets? Answered by Greg Studley, Geologist, S. M. Stoller Corp. consultant |
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| December 16, 2008 | How can weather change? Question
Answered by: Jason Rich, Meteorologist, NOAA Idaho Falls Office |
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| December 23, 2008 | How can weather change? Question
Answered by: Jason Rich, Meteorologist, NOAA Idaho Falls Office |
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| December 30, 2008 | Can people change weather? Question Answered by: Jason Rich, Meteorologist, NOAA Idaho Falls Office |
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