Ricky Schubert, age 8, of Skokie, Ill., for his question:
How does water turn to steam?
Water is made from bitsy molecules, far, far too small for our eyes to see. There are billions and billions Of molecules in a single drop of water. If the weather is not freezing cold, these molecules outdoors cling together in streams and puddles of liquid water. If we put some water in a pot on the stove, it gets hot and then hotter. The molecules use this heat to pull apart from each other. Soon they get enough energy from the heat to leave the pot and fly off into the air. The water turns to steam and gassy vapor. The freed molecules fly off separately and mingle with the other gases in the air.