Judging from my oldest son, asking such questions is a common and powerful tool that children use to explore nature and life.
Adults play the what-if game, too.
The only difference is that we grown-ups do it unconsciously, hundreds of times every day. In 1990, a colleague, David Batuski, came into my office and observed that we science educators are always looking at the world from the same old perspectives. I suggested that we try to look at the world differently. A deafening silence followed for several minutes. And then, unexpectedly, my son's what-if questions percolated into my consciousness.