Lance Bond, age 13, of Springfield, I11., for his question:

WHAT IS INSANITY?

Insanity is not a medical term. It is a legal one.

The term "insanity," used by lawyers and judges, means literally "of unsound mind." But its actual meaning may vary from country to country, from state to state or from one legal situation to another.

It is legally important to decide whether a person is of sound or unsound mind when he has died and left a will; when it is recommended that a court send him to a mental hospital; or when he has committed a a crime.

Often a person in a mental hospital can be judged sane for the purpose of writing a will if he knows who his family and other heirs are and if he knows what property he has to leave.

In deciding whether he should go to a mental hospital, a judge must consider the patient's welfare.