General Science Questions

Epicentre of Earthquakes can be over both oceanic and continental surface. Epicentres above oceanic surface are cause of tsunamisof large intensity. Anearthquake's hypocentreis the position where the strain energy stored in the rockis first released, marking thepointwhere the fault begins to rupture.

In troposphere and mesosphere, temperature declines with increasing altitude. In stratosphere and thermosphere, temperature increases with increasing altitude.The coldest temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere occur at the top of mesosphere, the Mesopause, especially in the summer near the pole.Transitional layers of atmosphere include tropopause, stratopause, and mesopause. These layers are relatively thin and are located between major layers of atmosphere. These have contrasting thermal properties. Hence, in these layers there is no change in temperature with change in altitude.

A clear cloudless day-time sky is blue because molecules in the air dissipate blue light from the sun more than they dissipate red light. When we look towards the sun at sunset, we see red and orange hues on the grounds because the blue light has been scattered out and away from the line of sight.

Venus has the most number of volcanoes than any other planet in the solar system.

A sinkhole (in Karst topography) is a hole in the ground that forms when water dissolves surface rock. Often, this surface rock is limestone, which is easily eroded, or worn away, by the movement of water.

Formation of a Sinkhole: In a landscape where limestone sits underneath the soil, water from rainfall collects in cracks in the stone. These cracks are called joints. Slowly, as the limestone dissolves and is carried away, the joints widen until the ground above them becomes unstable and collapses. The collapse often happens very suddenly and without very much warning. Water collects in these collapsed sections, forming sinkholes.

Sinkholes also form when the roofs of caves collapse. Sinkholes are often funnel-shaped, with the wide end open at the surface and the narrow end at the bottom of the pool.Sinkholes vary from shallow holes about 1 meter (3 feet) deep, to pits more than 50 meters (165 feet) deep.