In Focus

Win a valuable book from Books.lk

“Reading maketh a full man,” it is said and the importance of reading need not be reiterated. And, it is with the objective of promoting the habit of reading among children that the Junior Observer in collaboration with Bookazone (Pvt.) Ltd; the innovators of the country’s first web portal (www.books.lk), launched a competition in September.

We give a lucky reader an opportunity to win a valuable book priced at Rs 1000 from books.lk. All you have to do is answer a the question and mail it to the address given, on or before Friday of that week.

The name of each week’s winner will be published later.

Here is how Bookazone will help you enter the magical world of books, to not only entertain yourself but also enhance your knowledge.It allows you to purchase any title of book regardless of the author, publisher, or the country of origin. Although Bookazone web portal was limited to English users since 2009, the latest additions of Sinhala and Tamil is also accessible on www.poth.lk and www.puththagam.lk listing a wide range of books written and published in local languages in addition to what is offered in English apart from magazines, CDs and DVDs. Once you place an order at Bookazone and make your payment,the deliveries are made free of charge using the best secured mode to any part of the island. In case you don’t see the title listed in the Bookazone web portal a simple email can be sent to inquire the availability, price, and the number of days that it will take to source the book.So, keep improving your general knowledge to answer the question posed every week. And what better way to do so than by READING!

Winner of coupon no 7 is :

Amanda Kuruppu,
Beligaswatte,Uluwitike,
Galle.

Light:

1. How is light bent?
2. How do your eyes see things?
3. How do fibre optic cables bend light?
4. How do mirrors work?
5. Why is the Sun red?

Animal kingdom:

1. Why do tigers have stripes?
2. Is a civet a kind of cat?
3. How many kinds of cat are there?
4. What is a panther?
5. What is a meerkat?

Countries and flags:

1. Where can you see all the flags of the United Nations?
2. Which country fits inside a city?
3. Which is the biggest country in the world?
4. How many dependencies are there in the world?
5. How many independent countries are there?

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[Answers]

Light:

1. Light rays are bent when they are refracted. This happens when they strike a transparent material like glass or water, at an angle. The different materials slow the light waves down so that they swing round like car wheels driving on to sand.

2. We see things with the aid of light rays that bounce off things. Light sources such as the Sun, stars and electric light shine light rays straight into your eyes. Everything else we see is by reflected light (light rays that bounce off things) So, if there is no light source everything will be in darkness and look like black.

3. It seems as if light is bent but it is not so. Fibre-optic cables only reflect light round corners not bend it. There are lots of bundles of glass fibres inside a cable. Light rays zig-zag along the inside of each fibre, reflecting first one side, then the other. In this way light can be transmitted through the cable no matter what route it takes.

4. Most mirrors are made of ordinary glass that has been silvered - coated with a shiny metal that perfectly reflects all the light that hits it - at exactly the same angle.

The image in the mirror is back-to-front or reversed. Left is on the right and right is on the left - a mirror image!

5.The Sun is red only at sunrise and sunset. When the Sun is low in the sky (at sunrise and sunset) sunlight reaches us only after passing a long way through the dense lower layers of the atmosphere. Particles in the air absorb short blue wave lengths of light or reflect them away from us, leaving just the red.

Animal kingdom:

1. Tigers have stripes to help them hide among the grasses and leaves – as camouflage. Tigers cannot run fast for long distances so they depend on being able to sneak up to their prey without being detected. The stripes help them break up their outline when they are stalking prey.The pattern of stripes on a tiger’s fur is unique.

2. Civets are not cats. They belong to a separate family which includes mongooses, meerkats and genets. Most civets live in tropical forests in South-east Asia and Africa.

3. There are about 36 species of wild cat ranging from the tiger to the African wild cat, which is closely related to the domestic cats. There are no wild cats in Antartica, Australia or New Zealand.

4. A panther is simply a leopard with a black coat instead of spots.They are not a separate species of cat. Leopards (and panthers) live in Africa and Asia. No panthers have been spotted in Sri Lanka even though plenty of leopards are found here.

5. A meerkat is closely related to the mongoose. They are found in Africa. Meerkats live in large groups of up to 30 or more animals. The adult members share the guarding of the young and finding food. Sentry meerkats often stand up on their hind legs to watch out for danger.

Countries and flags:

1. Most of the world’s countries belong to the United Nations Organisation (UNO) So, rows and rows of flags fly outside the UN headquarters in New York City, USA.

2. The Vatican City is the smallest nation of the world. It is situated within the city of Rome and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.

3. The gigantic Russian Federation takes up over 17 million sq km of the Earth’s surface. It spreads into two continents – Europe and Asia and its clocks are set at 11 different times!

4. Around 65 of the world’s nations are still ruled by other countries. They include many tiny islands in the Caribbean Sea and in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.

5. There are about 190 independent countries in the world – the number is subject to change from time to time as new countries are formed or taken over by other nations.