How is a cuttlefish like a jet plane?   The cuttlefish moves underwater and the jet plane moves through the air, but both use the same method — jet propulsion. The cuttlefish has a bag or cavity into which it lets water. When it is full, muscles in the cavity stop any more water coming in and push the water out of an opening in the back of the cuttlefish. It...

How do waves erode cliffs?   The wind blowing over sea produces waves. These waves pound all around our coastline. They can wear, or erode even the hard rocks in cliffs, but this takes a very long time. There are two main ways in which this erosion occurs. The cliffs are not smooth but have lots of holes and crevices in them. When the waves pound against the cliffs, the air...

How does the Moon cause tides? The Earth is attracted lo every in space by the force of gravity. This is a force between objects which depends on how heavy they are and how far apart they are. The force is greater the heavier and closer together the objects are. The Moon is our closest neighbour. It orbits around the Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km  and  238,7o0 km...

How does the water spider breathe? The water spider (right) is a rarity among spiders, for it builds its web under water, attached to pond plants. The web — or ‘bell’ —is made of very finely woven silk strands which are waterproof. Even though it lives under water, the water spider must breathe air, like all spiders. So, once the bell is Complete, the water spider climbs to the surface of...

How do spiders catch their food? All spiders are carnivorous, in other words, they catch and eat other animals. Many spiders build webs in which they trap their food. The web is made from a sticky, silken substance which the spider spins from silk glands within its body. Once the spider has completed the web, it lies patiently in wait for some small creatures such as an insect to become trapped...

What is the difference between insects and spiders? Many people think spiders are insects. Perhaps this is because at first glance spiders do look like some insects, especially when you disturb them and they scuttle away to shelter. If we look more closely, however, we see that there are many differences between them. Spiders belong to a group of animals called the Arachnids, which also includes tiny creatures called mites, scorpions,...

Where is Holy Island? Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, is an island in the North Sea about 3 km (2 miles) from the coast of Northumberland. It was here that St Cuthbert (AD 635—AD 687) came from Ireland to preach Christianity to the Northumbrians. In AD 793, the Norsemen landed, burning the monastery and killing many of the monks, as they did to numerous settlements up and down the coast of Britain....

Which English king is called the Great?   Alfred (AD 849—AD 899) is the only English king to be known as the Great, and he well deserved his title. When he became king of the West Saxons (Wessex) in AD 871, the Norsemen had overrun most of England north of the Thames. By AD 896, after a series of brilliant victories, Alfred had successively resisted their attempts to invade the south,...