Bruce Spellman, age 15, of Lynn, Mass., for his question:

WHAT IS IN METHANE GAS?

Methane gas is made up of one part of carbon to four parts of hydrogen. It is also called marsh gas and is the first member of the alkane series of hydrocarbons.

Methane is lighter than air. It is also flammable, colorless and odorless. It is found in natural gas, as a firedamp in coal  miles, as a byproduct of petroleum refining and also as a product of decomposition of matter in dumps or swamps.

Methane is used as a fuel and is the production of hydrogen, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, acetylene and formaldehyde.

Methane is a major part of the atmosphere of the outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Methane can be produced is a laboratory by the hydrogenation of carbon or carbon oxide, by the action of water on aluminum carbide or by heating sodium acetate with alkali.