Bimmy and Harold are both four years old and are about to start attending school. Before that though, it is important that they have adequate supplies to be prepared. Bimmy's parents, who both have worn glasses their whole lives, took him to the store to pick up folders and pencils. While there, they bumped into Harold and his parents, who do not wear glasses. They quickly exchanged hellos before moving on with their shopping. Which boy is less likely to have myopia? Hint: Generally, nearsightedness first occurs in school-age children. There is some evidence that myopia is inherited. If one or both of your parents need glasses, there is an increased chance that you will too. Individuals who spend a lot of time reading, working or playing at a computer, or doing other close visual work may also be more likely to develop nearsightedness. Because the eye continues to grow during childhood, myopia typically progresses until about age 20. However, nearsightedness may also develop in adults due to visual stress or health conditions such as diabetes. A common sign of nearsightedness is difficulty seeing distant objects like a movie screen or the TV, or the whiteboard or chalkboard in school.
Ans: Harold

Two sisters went in for a medical examination. Mary had normal blood calcium level, but her sister Ann sadly found out that she has a condition named hypercalcaemia. Ann started a new treatment right away. Which sister didn't have excess calcium salts being deposited in the kidneys? Hint: Excess intake of calcium may cause hypercalcaemia. However, because calcium is absorbed rather inefficiently by the intestines, high serum calcium is more likely caused by excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) or possibly by excessive intake of vitamin D, both which facilitate calcium absorption. It may also be due to bone destruction that occurs when tumours metastasize within bone. All these conditions result in excess calcium salts being deposited in the heart, blood vessels, or kidneys. Symptoms include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, memory loss, confusion, muscle weakness, increased urination, dehydration, and metabolic bone disease. Chronic hypercalcaemia typically leads to calcification of soft tissue and its serious consequences: for example, calcification can cause loss of elasticity of vascular walls and disruption of laminar blood flowand thence to plaque rupture and thrombosis. Conversely, inadequate calcium or vitamin D intakes may result in hypocalcaemia, often caused also by inadequate secretion of parathyroid hormone or defective PTH receptors in cells. Symptoms include neuromuscular excitability, which potentially causes tetany and disruption of conductivity in cardiac tissue.
Ans: Mary

Two stars have just been discovered that are identical in terms of chemical composition. The scientist who discovered them was given the right to name them, and he chose the names Enterprise and Vader. As said before, these stars are very similar, but the main difference is that Vader is a red giant, and Enterprise is not. Scientists are very eager to study these two newly discovered stars and see if they can learn anything new from them. Which star is farther from the end of its life? Hint: A red giant star is a star with a mass like the Sun that is in the last phase of its life, when Hydrogen fusion reactions in the core decrease due to the lack of fuel. With the gravitational collapse of the core, the fusion reactions now occur in a shell surrounding the core. The outer layer of the star expands enormously up to 1000 times the size of the Sun. When the Sun becomes a red giant, its volume will include the orbit of Mercury and Venus and maybe even Earth. The increased size increases the luminosity even though the outer layer cools to only 3000 K or so. The cooler outer layer causes it to be a red star. After a few more million years, the star evolves into a white dwarf-planetary nebula system.
Ans: Enterprise

Ben and Mike both studied earthquakes, while Mike was more interested specifically in mantle melting and related phenomena. Which person learned about lowering the melting temperature of the mantle? Hint: Mantle melting can come about three ways: (1) when the temperature rises, (2) if the pressure lowers (which lowers the melting point), and (3) if water is added, which lowers the melting point. Two of these (1 and 3) might explain why there are volcanoes at convergent plate boundaries: the temperature of the subducting plate increases as it sinks into the hot mantle (1). Sediments lying on top of the subducting plate contain water. As the sediments subduct, the water rises into the overlying mantle material. This lowers the melting temperature of the mantle (3). When the mantle above the subducting plate melts, volcanoes form above it. This leads to volcanoes in an island arc or continental arc.
Ans: Mike