[♪ INTRO]
Ooh, that's a good one!
Hey, everyone! Sometimes, you guys send us some really great questions about science.
[Squeaks squeaks]
I agree! They are all so interesting!
Why don’t we answer some of them today, Squeaks?
[Squeaks squeaks]
Great. This is going to be so much fun. Let’s start with this one!
Emma, age 5, asks: Where does sand come from?
[Squeaks squeaks]
Well, yes, we did go to the hardware store that one time to buy sand for our sandbox.
But they didn’t make the sand!
[Squeaks squeaks]
Nope! Sand comes from the natural world.
Most sand is just teeny, tiny pieces of rock.
Rocks get broken down by things like wind and water into tiny pieces,
and those tiny pieces become sand.
You’re going to run out of breath before you turn that rock into sand, Squeaks!
[Squeaks squeaks]
Rocks might seem like they’re a lot stronger than your breath,
or even a strong wind, or a flowing stream.
And if we tried to break down a rock into sand by blowing on it,
or holding it under the sink, that probably wouldn’t work.
It takes a very long time, and a lot of wind and water,
to break rocks into such tiny pieces.
But just imagine a sandy beach.
What do you think of when you imagine the beach?
I think of the crashing waves.
That’s a lot of water moving around, and it never, ever stops!
Over a very long time, like many many years, lots and lots of wind or water moving around
eventually breaks rocks down all the way into sand
so we can play in our sandbox, or build sandcastles at the beach!
That was a great question about something that happens in nature.
But we can learn about things that people do, too.
Things like how we can make computers work.
How about we answer this one next, Squeaks?
[Squeaks squeaks]
Greyson, age 6, asks: What is coding?
This is a great question! I love learning all about coding.
[Squeaks squeaks]
You’re probably watching this video right now on a computer…
or a phone… or a tablet.
And a lot of people had to work together to make that computer or phone
work the way it does.
Some people built the computer in a factory.
But that’s not all it takes to make a computer!
Computers need lots of special instructions to follow in order to do the things we want.
For example, the device you’re using to watch this right now
needs the right instructions to play a video.
It needs lots of instructions.
To go on the Internet, go shopping, play games…
we have to teach the computer how to do all of those things.
[Squeaks squeaks]
Exactly! People write those special instructions for computers to follow.
But computers don’t understand the way humans talk.
So if we wrote out instructions like the ones in a cookbook,
they wouldn’t make sense to a computer!
Instead, we use a special language computers can understand.
It’s called computer code.
Learning that special language,
and using it to write instructions for computers, is called coding!
Do you remember the time we built a robot that raised a flag over the Fort?
[Squeaks squeaks]
I taught a computer when to raise the flag. That was coding!
[Squeaks squeaks]
It is a really cool thing to learn! You can teach computers to do all kinds of things!
What would you teach a computer how to do, if you learned coding?
[Squeaks squeaks]
That’s a great idea! I like to learn all about animals.
So maybe I would use a computer to help me study them.
Oh, that reminds me of this next question!
Rhys, age 7, asks: Do butterflies sleep?
Hi, Rhys! I really love this question, because do you know what?
We don’t really know!
[Squeaks squeaks]
I know, Squeaks! I’m surprised too!
Scientists who study insects, the group that butterflies are a part of,
are still learning about how they sleep.
The insect group includes butterflies, bees, flies, ants, and many other creatures!
We know that butterflies rest sometimes.
Most butterflies are active during the day, but rest at night.
But nobody really speaks butterfly…
Oh, you don’t speak butterfly do you, Squeaks?
[Squeaks squeaks]
No, me either.
So we can’t just ask them if they feel like they got a good night’s rest,
or had sweet dreams!
We don’t know if they are really sleeping when they rest,
and if it feels the same way to them as sleeping does to you and me.
Scientists who study other insects, like bees and fruit flies,
look for signs that they might be sleeping.
They might stop moving and curl up to rest, just like you curl up in bed.
And they can still wake up easily, like you do if you hear a loud noise.
Other scientists look at their brains, since human brains do different things
when we sleep than when we’re awake.
Like dreaming, for example!
So scientists are still hard at work learning about whether insects sleep.
Isn’t that great, Squeaks? There’s so much more to learn!
[Squeaks squeaks]
Thanks for asking, Rhys!
Maybe you’ll be the first insect scientist to learn about butterfly sleep!
Thank you to everyone who sent us questions today!
You can ask a grownup to help you send your questions to us.
They can get started at patreon.com/scishowkids.
We'll see you next time, here at the Fort!
[♪ OUTRO]