Delight L. Santilli, age 9, of Fiskeville, Rhode Island for her question:

IS THE EARTH GETTING HEAVIER?

Mountains do not add extra weight to the earth. Neither do fallen tree trunks or extra people. All these objects are formed from materials that originally belonged to the earth. They are merely remodeled to make different things. In fact, it is hard to imagine how anything could change the weight of the world. Nevertheless, there is something that does  and it goes on all the time.

Scientists tell us that the total weight of the world is 6.6 sextillion tons. However, day and night the earth is struck by countless meteors or falling stars from outer space. A few big ones drop down and add their extra weight to the earth. The others are small specks that burn up as they fall. In time, their ashes drift down and add still more weight to the earth. So gradually, our earth is getting heavier.