Varcus Hay, age 8, of Perry, Oklahoma, for his question:

Why do faraway thins look smaller?

Your eyes look out at the world from their own private window. This picture window is just so high and just so wide. And your view fills every corner of it. When you hold a book in front of your nose, it fills the whole scene. But when you hold the book at arm's length, there is room for a piece of bookcase and maybe a reading lamp in the picture. However, the book looks smaller than it did when it filled your whole view.

If you walk to a corner and look around the whole room you can see a lot more things. But in order to fit into your picture window, they look a little smaller. This is more noticeable when you go outdoors. Maybe your picture window takes in miles of ground, a tall mountain and a piece of sky. These huge items have to seem to shrink way down to squeeze into your view. This may help you to understand one of the reasons why faraway things look smaller. However, the way your eyes work, and several other things, also help to make it possible.