Lisa Jean Neal, age 8, of Enid, Oklahoma, for her question:

Does a whale really spout water?

When a great whale comes up for a breath of air, he spouts a frothy white fountain high into the air. Sailors can see it from afar and it looks for all the world like a fountain of water. But actually it is a tall plume of air mixed with frothy moisture. The whale cannot breathe under water like a fish. He has air breathing lungs, just as we do. He can stay under water only as long as he can hold his breath.

The air in his enormous lungs gets moist and steamy. When he comes to the surface, he puffs this used air up through his blow hole. The air and the moisture make that tall plume that looks like a fountain of water. It takes several great puffs to blow all the used air out of his lungs. Then the great whale starts taking in another huge helping of fresh air to fill his lungs. He may fill up with enough air .to last him a half hour or even a whole hour.