THE BIG FIVE

ABOUT SEA TURTLE

Sea turtles are turtles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic. Sea turtles, along with other turtles and tortoises, are part of the order Testudines. The leatherback belongs to the family Dermochelyidae and is its only member. Sea turtles constitute a single radiation that became distinct from all other turtles at least 110 million years ago.

Sea turtles are large, air-breathing reptiles that inhabit tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world. Their shells consist of an upper part and a lower section. Hard scales  cover all but the leatherback, and the number and arrangement of these scutes can be used to determine the species.

Only females come ashore to nest; males rarely return to land after crawling into the sea as hatchlings. Most females return to nest on the beach where they were born. Nesting seasons occur at different times around the world. In the U.S., nesting occurs from April through October. Most females nest at least twice during each mating season; some may nest up to ten times in a season. A female will not nest in consecutive years, typically skipping one or two years before returning.

WHERE IS THE NILE RIVER

The river Nile is in Africa. It originates in Burundi, South of equator, and flows northward through north eastern Africa, eventually flowing through Egypt and finally draining into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, It is the longest river in the world running about 6,650 km   

The River Nile is formed from the White Nile, which originates at Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile, which originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. These rivers meet in Sudan and then go on their long journey northwards towards the sea.

The White Nile is a lot bigger than the Blue Nile, but because of losses along the way the it only contributes about 15% to the flow of the combined Nile. The Blue Nile, rising in Ethiopia, contributes about 85% to the flow of the Nile that passes through Egypt to the Mediterranean.

The course of the Nile in Sudan is distinctive. It flows over six groups of cataracts, from the first at Aswan to the sixth at Sabaloka (just north of Khartoum) and then turns to flow southward before again returning to flow north. This is called the Great Bend of the Nile.

The Yellow Nile is a former tributary that connected the Ouaddaï Highlands of eastern Chad to the Nile River. Its remains are known as the Wadi Howar. The wadi passes through Gharb Darfur near the northern border with Chad and meets up with the Nile near the southern point of the Great Bend.

BLACK CHERRY TREE

The black cherry tree is a woody plant species belonging to the genus Prunus. The tree can grow up to 15-35 metres with a trunk diameter of up to 50 – 130 centimetres, a mature black cherry can easily be identified in a forest by its very broken, dark grey to black bark, which has the appearance of very thick, burnt cornflakes.

Pale green berries begin to form as pea-size balls in late spring, born in long, hanging clusters, Ripening in late summer, The fruit is not truly ripe, however, until it has turned black, usually in August. By then, it has softened and become quite juicy. Edible by humans, the tastes is sweater when ripe, but is still some what bitter.

Because the seeds so easily germinate, this tree can quickly invade in lawns, borders and forests, and grows from a seeding even in underbrush. It prefers deep, moist, rich soil of varying PH levels, but will tolerate poorer soils and drought once established. 

ABOUT WHALES

Whales are the largest animals one earth they are mammals

What hunt for food using a variety of techniques and not all 

species of whale will hunt for or attack their prey in the same way. 

The way it works is as they their prey they send out a series of clicking and busing noises, these clicking and busing sounds bounce off of objects in the area (such as fish or other aquatic lifeforms) and return back to the whale indicating information such as how far objects are, what type of texture it is (hard or soft), and whether or not the object is moving or still.

Unlike most animals, whales are conscious breathers. All mammals sleep, but whales cannot afford to become unconscious for long because they may drown

Whaling is no longer the only threat to whales. The oceans, or rather, human impacts on the oceans, have changed dramatically over the half-century since whales have been protected.

Known environmental threats to whales include global warming, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise such as sonar weaponry, and ship strikes. Industrial fishing threatens the food supply of whales and also puts whales at risk of entanglement in fishing gear.

THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS

The aim is to illustrate that heat is liberated during respiration

The apparatus A and B

Take 2 thermometers, 2 thermos flasks, 2 rubber stoppers,2 beakers with seeds like beans or peas.

Take 2 beakers with seeds. To one of the beakers add water and allow the seeds soak for the whole night. On the next day morning take two wide mouthed thermos flasks which can be closed with a tight fitting cork. Put the germinating seeds into one of the thermosflasks and dry seeds in another thermos flask. Make a hole in the cork and insert a thermometer into cork and see the bulb of the thermometer is in the midst of the seeds. Record the temperature in both the flasks at every two or three hour intervals for about 24h.

In dry seeds, enzymes are inactive so respiration did not take place and no rise in temperature where as in germinating seeds enzymes are active and respiration has taken place with rise in temperature.

AFRICA TALLEST MOUNTAIN

Kilimanjaro it is 5895m in height it is situated in Tanzania, it has three volcanic cones  Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira,Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and fourth highest of the Seven Summits, is considered the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, rising 15,100 feet (4,600 meters) from base to summit.

Kilimanjaro is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 19,340 feet (5,895 meters); Mawenzi 16,896 feet (5,149 meters); and Shira 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo’s crater rim.

Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano that began forming a million years ago when lava spilled from the Rift Valley zone. The mountain was built by successive lava flows. Two of its three peaks—Mawenzi and Shira—are extinct while Kibo, the highest peak is dormant and could erupt again.

According to the famous English geographer Halford Mackinder: "It was the missionary Rebmann of Mombasa who, in 1848, first reported the existence of Kilimanjaro.

WHAT IS THE FASTEST ANIMAL

Cheetah is the fastest with a maximum speed of 112–120 km/h, Cheetah is a large feline  
they follow under a family of Cats, they are mammals and they are Carnivore   

Before unleashing their speed, cheetahs use exceptionally keen eyesight to scan their grassland environment for signs of prey especially antelope and hares. This big cat is a daylight hunter that benefits from stealthy movement and a distinctive spotted coat that allows it to blend easily into high, dry grasses.

The cheetah has unusually low genetic variability. This is accompanied by a very low sperm count, motility, and deformed flagella. Skin grafts between unrelated cheetahs illustrate the former point, in that there is no rejection of the donor skin

The cheetah's chest is deep and its waist is narrow. The coarse, short fur of the cheetah is tan with round black spots measuring from 2 to 3 cm (0.79 to 1.2 in) across, 

WHY ARE PLANTS GREEN

Plants are green because they have a substance called chlorophyll in them. Chlorophyll absorbs wavelengths of light with wavelengths around 450nm and again around 650nm. In other words it absorbs reds and blues. The only light left to reflect off the plant and back to your eye is green. This is why plants appear green.

But since they appears green—bouncing back green and yellow light waves—it means it's not 100 percent efficient at absorbing all of the sun's rays.

Plants get their energy to grow through a process called photosynthesis.  Large numbers of chlorophyll molecules acts as the antenna that actually harvest sunlight and start to convert it in to a useful form. Is where the absorbent properties of the chlorophyll molecule come into play.

WHY IS THE SKY BLUE

The light from the Sun looks white. But it is really made up of all the colors of the rainbow.
A prism is a specially shaped crystal. When white light shines through a prism, the light is separated into all its colors

Sunlight reaches Earth's atmosphere and is scattered in all directions by all the gases and particles in the air. Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth's atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time.

The color of an object changes depending on the colors contained in the light source; for example, red paint, viewed under blue light, looks black. Isaac Newton demonstrated with a prism that the white light of the sun contains all colors of the visible spectrum, so all colors are possible in sunlight.

WINDOWS OF GOD

Windows of god is situated on Drakensberg escarpment in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa, Just one look down and you will begin to understand why it is called "God's Window".  With magnificent views, canyons, rock formations and waterfalls.

Wonderful view is about 1,800 m north of God’s window. At an altitude of 1,730m this is the highest viewpoint in the area. No walking necessary as the viewpoint is right next to the road with an angle of depression you can see it all 

There are also beautiful waterfalls in the area the Lisbon Falls is the highest waterfall in the area. For an outdoor adventure: Mpumalanga is the ideal place for a South African outdoor adventure vacation. This is one of the most wonderful places in the world. It is a must see. 

WHERE IS THE EQUATOR

An equator is an imaginary line around the middle of a planet.
the equator is the longest line of latitude on the Earth (the line where the Earth is widest in an east-west direction)

The equator is located at zero degrees latitude. The equator runs through Indonesia, Ecuador, northern Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kenya, among other countries

The Earth's diameter at the Equator is about 12,756 kilometers (7,926 miles). At the poles, the diameter is about 12,714 kilometers (7,900 miles). The Earth's equatorial bulge is about 43 kilometers (27 miles).

MAGALIESBERG MOUNTAIN

The Magaliesberg is a mountain range extending from Pretoria in the north of the Gauteng Province to a point south of Pilanesberg, in the North West Province, South Africa.
The later inhabitants of the mountain range called them the Kashan mountains,  The Hartbeespoort Aerial Cableway extends to the top of the Magaliesberg mountain range 

The Magaliesberg are among the oldest mountains in the world, almost 100 times older than Everest. They stretch for 120km, for Tourist I would Defenetly recommend it.  

ABOUT PANDA BEARS

The panda bearer is a mammal, is black and white in colour (Also known as the giant panda).
The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. As a result of farming, deforestation and other development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.

the giant panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes, and thus derives little energy and little protein from consumption of bamboo.
The giant panda has lived in bamboo forests for millions of years.

Although their habitat and population is on the decline, Panda bear cubs are born to play. But the survival skills they learn from their mother are critical. With proper skills and a favorable environment, cubs can mature to adulthood and continue the cycle of reproduction to save the species. The owl is an enemy of panda babies.

WHAT IS THE ANIMAL FOOD CHAIN