Brent Strong Jr., age 10, of Miami, Fla., for his question:

WHY DID THE TITANIC SINK?

On the night of April 14, 1912, the world's largest ship, the British steamer Titanic, crashed into an iceberg 1,600 miles northeast of New York City, which tore a 300 foot gash in its hull. The Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable, but in about two and a half hours, the ship went down.

Approximately 2,200 persons were on board. The lifeboats held less than half of the passengers. It turned out that only 705 people survived.

The ship sank because it could not survive such a major gash. The iceberg had not been sighted until just before the crash. By that time it was too late to avoid the collision.

The British inquiry reported 1,490 dead, the British Board of Trade reported 1,503 and a U.S. Senate investigation committee reported 1,517 dead.