Neal Konynenbelt, age 8, of Nobleford Alberta, Canada, for his question:

What is the dental formula for cows?

An animal's dental formula gives the number of teeth he should have, their names and shows how they are arranged. As a rule, the dental formula is written in a sort of shorthand with numbers and straight lines. The numbers above the lines show groups of teeth on each side of the upper jaw. The numbers below the lines show those in the lower jaw.

A coca has 32 teeth, but her dental formula is not at all like ours. She has eight incisors, or biting teeth, in front of her lower jaw. But the upper jaw has no matching incisors. In this toothless space, the gums form a hard wad which helps her tongue to pull off tufts of tough grass. She has no canine teeth because she does not need them to tear meat. What she needs is flat topped molars to chew her vegetable food. And she has 24 of these chompers. There are three molars on each side of the toothless space in front of her upper jaw. Farther back she has three super molars on each side. The lower jaw has six molars and six super molars to match those in the upper jaw.