Roger Chandler, age 10, of Glendale, Ariz., for his question:

WHERE DO WE GET KAPOK?

Kapok is a light, stringy, cottonlike fiber that comes from a tropical tree which is commonly called the silk cotton or kapok tree. The tree's botanical name is Ceiba pentandra.

Shiny, yellowish floss grows in football shaped pods surrounding the seeds. Similar floss is produced by other trees of the same family that grow in tropical America, Africa and Asia. Most of the commercial production of kapok is in the Orient, especially Indonesia.

Kapok does not mat together but stays fluffy. It is used as stuffing or padding in mattresses, cushions, upholstery, sleeping bags, outdoor clothing, softballs, boxing gloves and many other articles.

Because it floats and does not soak up water, kapok is valuable in lifesaving equipment. In water, high quality kapok can support about six times as much weight for each pound of its own weight as can cork.

Because it resists the passage of heat and sound, kapok has been used as insulation in refrigerators, cold storage plants, airplane cabins, broadcast studios and auditoriums.