Jimmy Day, aged 11, of Atlanta, Ga., for his question:

Is there land under the ice at the North Pole? .

The ice at the North Pole is floating ice. It floats on the chilly waters of a chilly ocean. Look at a globe or a world map and you will see that the whole North polar region is covered by sea. The area will be colored blue. This northern sea is the Arctic Ocean.

Now look at the south polar region on the globe or world map. Chances are it will be colored white. For the south pillar region is covered by a vast mass of solid ice, year in and year out. This white region is the South Molar ice cap. It rests on a mass of land ‑ the large continent of Antarctica.

So the north pole is covered by water and the south pole is covered by land, This makes the south polar region colder than the north polar region. For oceans have a way of staying warmer in winter and cooler in summer than do the land areas. The sea is slower to warm up and slower to cool.