I read this background article the other day: During May, June, and July, the Northern Hemisphere is exposed to more direct sunlight because the hemisphere faces the Sun. The same is true of the Southern Hemisphere in November, December, and January. It is Earth's axial tilt that causes the Sun to be higher in the sky during the summer months, which increases the solar flux. However, due to seasonal lag, June, July, and August are the warmest months in the Northern Hemisphere while December, January, and February are the warmest months in the Southern Hemisphere.  I am facing a new situation today: Ian traveled to the Southern Hemishpere last May and stayed there for 7 months. His mom Ash called him every day form the US, an they would chat about the weather the seasonal differences between the two hemispheres.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Who experienced less heat in July, Ian or Ash?
Ans: Ian

I read this background article the other day: Thermoclines, or sudden changes in temperature. Where the air temperature is higher than the water temperature, shallow water may be warmed by the air and the sunlight but deeper water remains cold resulting in a lowering of temperature as the diver descends. This temperature change may be concentrated over a small vertical interval, when it is called a thermocline.[3][4] Where cold, fresh water enters a warmer sea the fresh water may float over the denser saline water, so the temperature rises as the diver descends.[3] In lakes exposed to geothermal activity, the temperature of the deeper water may be warmer than the surface water. This will usually lead to convection currents.[3]  I am facing a new situation today: Deep lake presents geothermal activity, while Shallow lake has mixing of saline water with fresh water. Deep lake had more instances of divers having problems because of thermoclines.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which lake has less water salinity?
Ans: Deep

I read this background article the other day: For example, if a circuit has a potential difference of 100 volts and it is intended for the circuit to contain a 100 ohm resistance, then the wires carrying the current for this circuit will be designed for 1.0 amp. If that 100 ohm resistance is suddenly cut out of the circuit and only 0.10 ohm resistance remains, then the voltage will push 1000 amps of current through the circuit. This current overheats the wires and may damage the circuits or start a fire in the walls or the appliance. There are many possible causes of a short circuit, one possible cause could be something overheating, melting wires, and thereby fusing the circuit closed, bypassing the resistance. Another cause might be something damaging the insulation of a wire, allowing the incoming and grounds wires to touch. In any case, once the resistance is lost, the voltage pushes a huge amount of charge through the wires causing them to overheat.  I am facing a new situation today: John is preparing for a do it yourself science project. First, he made a circuit with adequate resistance. He labeled that state of the circuit as circuit A. Then he lowered the resistance. He called that new state of the circuit as circuit B. While he was doing all this, his friend Keith showed up with another circuit, circuit C. But that circuit's insulation was damaged.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which circuit would be less prone to short circuit, circuit A or circuit C?
Ans: circuit A

I read this background article the other day: Located mostly in the Arctic north polar region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic Ocean is almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America. It is partly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter. The Arctic Ocean's surface temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans, due to low evaporation, heavy fresh water inflow from rivers and streams, and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities. The summer shrinking of the ice has been quoted at 50%. The US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) uses satellite data to provide a daily record of Arctic sea ice cover and the rate of melting compared to an average period and specific past years.  I am facing a new situation today: The Madrigal Ocean and the Listy Ocean are two bodies of water currently under observation by scientists on a planet nearly identical to Earth. Although the studies have just started, the scientists have already discovered that the salinity of the Madrigal Ocean is much lower than that of the Listy Ocean. This isn't much information, but it's progress and the scientists are not going to stop their studies until they learn all that they can about these waters.  Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which ocean is more likely to have higher evaporation?
