Kenneth Allsfi age 11, of Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, for his question:

How do objects decay?

The ground is the natural burying place for plants, animals and the waste products of all living things. Healthy soil is alive, teeming with numerous busy creatures, both visible and invisible. These busy soil dwellers thrive on dead organic material from the plant and animal worlds. Populations of tiny bacteria, molds and fungi, midges and assorted insects, grubs and earthworms devour this material and digest it. Together, they start and finish the process of decay.

As a rule, the job is started by population of decay bacteria. They absorb organic material and break down some of its complex chemicals into simpler ones. Soil dwelling insects and grubby worms have amazing digestive systems that also break down the complex chemicals created by living plants and animals. At last, the properly decayed materials enrich the soil with the very same simple nutrients that plants must absorb through their roots. In the process of decay, nature reprocesses old worn out materials and recycles them into the living world.