Linda Jenkins, age 10, of Seattle, Wash., for her question:

How fast does the world turn?

The earth turns around on its axis once in every twenty four hours. The axis can be imagined as a stick through the center from pole to pole. The surface of the earth close to the poles has not nearly so far to turn as the equator. The distance around the equator is about 24,000 miles and this whole circle must turn once in 24 hours. At the equator, then, the surface of the earth is turning around at about 1,000 miles an hour.

Nearer the pole, the circles become smaller and smaller. These circles turn very slowly for they have only a short distance to travel in every 24 hours. The further we stand from the equator, the shorter is the distance which the earth has to turn around. Hence, the further from the equator we are, the slower the earth turns beneath our feet.