Fred Ireland, age 12, of Burlington, n.c., for his question:

Who invented the compass?

The first compasses were made with magnets. The mysterious trick that made them work was discovered by the chinese. We do not know who invented the magnetic compass, but certainly it was someone interested in the behavior of magnets. He must have noticed how a suspended sliver of magnetic material always swings to mint directly h1orth and south.

About 1,000 years ago, the Chinese were using the magnetic compass on land and sea. The instrument had a sliver of magnet on a piece of wood which was floated in a bowl of water. No matter where it was taken or in what direction, the magnetic needle turned the floating island of wood to line itself up in the north south direction.