QUES: Plants also detect the daily cycle of light and darkness. Do you know how plants respond to these changes? Some plants open their leaves during the day. It is during these hours the plant can collect sunlight. At night, the plant closes its leaves to prevent water loss. Many plants respond to the change in the length of the day. As days grow shorter, some plants respond by going dormant. Dormant is when a plant suspends its growth. It does this in order to survive. Shorter days signal the coming of winter. Winter in most areas means extreme cold. It is also very dry in the winter months. As winter approaches, some plants respond by their leaves changing color. After the change in color, they fall off. This dormancy period helps trees. It allows them to survive the cold and dry winter. Plants only want to grow when conditions are right.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: What are the right conditions for plants to grow in?

QUES: Chinese Influences: The Japanese were forced out of the Korean peninsula in the sixth century, but not before the Koreans had bequeathed to the Yamato court copies of the sacred images and scriptures of Chinese Buddhism. Just as Christianity introduced Mediterranean culture into northern Europe, so Buddhism brought Chinese culture into Japanese society. Throughout the seventh and eighth centuries numerous Japanese monks, scholars, and artists made the perilous trip west across the Sea of Japan to study Chinese religion, history, music, literature, and paintinglater to be brought back for further development in Japan. An outstanding figure of this time was Prince Shotoku, who in 604 developed the "Seventeen-Article Constitution," outlining a code of human conduct and the ideals of state as a basic law for the nation. He also established relations with the Sui dynasty in China. Through him, the Japanese imperial court developed Chinese patterns of centralized government, with its formal bureaucracy of eight court ranks. The Chinese calendar was used to calculate the year of Japan's foundation by counting back the 1,260 years of the Chinese cosmological cycle. Thus, 660 b.c. is still the official date celebrated nationwide. At this early stage in its history Japan was already (for the most part) only nominally ruled by the emperor. De facto power was exercised by the militarily and economically strongest family. The Sogas had promoted Buddhism as an imperially sanctioned counterweight to the native Shinto religion, along with the new Chinese customs, to weaken the influence of their more conservative rivals. But they in turn were ousted in a.d. 645 by Nakatomi Kamatari, founder of the great Fujiwara clan, which was to rule Japanese affairs for hundreds of years and provide prominent advisers to the emperor even up to the 19th century.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Who was the economically strongest family in Japan's early history?

QUES: For thousands of years, people have found fossils. The fossils caused curiosity about Earths past. How did these organisms live? What type of world did they live in? Fossils can tell us a lot about Earths history. In ancient times, fossils inspired myths and stories. These stories included tales of monsters and other incredible creatures. What type of creature do you know that could inspire such stories? Of course, dinosaur fossils were once mistaken for dragons bones. Two thousand years ago, people discovered fossils in China. At the time, they were thought to be dragon bones. We know now that these were not bones, but fossils. So what is the difference?
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: How long ago and in what country were the first documented fossils found?

QUES: A flood occurs when a river overflows its banks. This might happen because of heavy rains. Floodplains In very flat regions, flood water may spread out on the surface of the land. It then slows down and drops its sediment. If a river floods often, a floodplain develops. A floodplain is an area where a thick layer of rich soil is left behind as the floodwater recedes. Thats why floodplains are usually good places for growing plants. They are very flat areas and they have very rich soils. The Nile River valley is a great example of a floodplain. Each year, the Nile River rises over its banks. This floodwater carries a lot of sediment. This sediment has been eroded off areas of land from upstream. This sediment is dropped as the water slows down after spreading across the land. What is left behind is a very rich soil. Thats why crops can be raised in the middle of a sandy desert. Natural Levees A flooding river often forms natural levees along its banks. A levee is a raised strip of sediments deposited close to the waters edge.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION:
What forms the raised strip near the edge of a flooding river?