Marvelous Mavericks!

On Sunday night, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat to become the 2011 NBA champions. Many people expected the Heat, led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh to win the series, but the Mavericks prevailed. It was the first time in their 31-year history that the Mavericks won the championship. Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2011 NBA Finals. In the six games of the Finals, he scored 27 points, 24 points, 34 points, 21 points, 29 points, and 21 points. What was Nowitzki's average points per game for the Finals?

History-Making French Open

History was made this weekend at the French Open--one of the four major "Grand Slam" tennis tournaments. In women's singles, Li Na of China beat the defending champion, Francesca Shiavone of Italy, and became the first Asian-born player to win a Grand Slam singles title. For the men, Rafael Nadal of Spain beat Roger Federer of Switzerland. Twenty-five-year-old Nadal won his sixth French Open title, tying a record.) Federer still holds the all-time Grand Slam record with 16 career titles.) In his career, Federer has beaten Nadal 8 times, and Nadal has beaten Federer 17 times. What percent of matches against Federer has Nadal won?

Tornado in Missouri

On May 22, a devastating tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, destroying buildings and killing at least 142 people. People and companies around the country are chipping in to help through donations and volunteering.

Tornado intensity is ranked on the Fujita scale by the tornado's wind speed. The scale was developed in 1971 by T. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago. The wind speeds are estimates as different wind speeds can cause similar looking damage.

Scale	Estimated Wind Speed (mph)	Typical Damage
F0	40-72	Light damage such as damage to chimneys and branches broken off trees
F1	73-112	Moderate damage such as mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned
F2	113-157	Considerable damage such as roofs torn off frame houses, mobile homes demolished, and cars lifted off the ground
F3	158-206	Severe damage such as roofs and walls torn off of houses and trains overturned
F4	207-260	Devastating damage such as well-constructed houses leveled
F5	261-318	Incredible damage such as strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away and cars thrown considerable distances

The Joplin tornado had wind speeds of an estimated 198 miles per hour. Where did it rank on the scale? How many mph less would the wind have to have been for the tornado to be classified as an F2?

Hats Off To Princess Beatrice

At last month's royal wedding, Princess Beatrice of York, England, got a lot of attention for a rose-colored unusual-looking hat she wore. Beatrice decided to auction the hat online and donate the proceeds to charities that help children--UNICEF UK and Children in Crisis. Here is a link to the auction, which ended on Sunday, with photos of the hat.

The hat sold for about $131,341.47 (in U.S. dollars). About how many $20 hats could you buy with this amount of money? (Round to the nearest hat!)

Endeavour's Second Chance

Three weeks ago, we posted this news story about the final launch of the Endeavour space shuttle. Endeavour was supposed to take off on Friday, April 29 at 3:47 p.m. However, the launch was postponed because of a problem with a heater. The shuttle finally lifted off at 8:56 a.m. on Monday, May 16. (Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, wife of Endeavour's commander, Mark Kelly, was able to return to Florida to witness the launch.)

The mission is expected to last 15 days, 17 hours, and 34 minutes. How much longer in days, hours, and minutes was the delay than the length of the flight?

Gas Money

If you've ever been in the car with your parents when they had to stop for gas, you may have heard them complain about the price. The average price of gas in the United States hit $4 a gallon last Friday, getting close to the all-time high of $4.11 a gallon from July 2008. The price of gas rises and drops based on factors such as demand and the price of crude oil. Different tax levels lead to different prices for gas in different states. Currently, the city with the highest average price of gas is Chicago, Illinois, at $4.50 a gallon. Tucson, Arizona, has the lowest average price, at $3.62 a gallon. How much more would it cost to fill a 12-gallon tank in Chicago than Tucson?

A Successful Mission

Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist group Al Qaeda, was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan on Sunday. Al Qaeda was responsible for the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001. President Obama announced the news late Sunday night. At 2 p.m. on Sunday, Obama met with his national security team to review preparations. At 3:50 p.m., he was told that bin Laden had likely been identified. At 7:01 p.m., Obama was told that it was a high probability that Bin Laden had been killed. At 11:35 p.m., Obama officially announced bin Laden's death in a televised address. How many minutes passed from the first meeting to bin Laden's identification? How many minutes passed from bin Laden's identification to the televised address?

3... 2... 1... Blast Off!

Friday will be a historic day for NASA. The space shuttle Endeavour will be launched for the 25th and final time. It's the second-to-last space shuttle launch for NASA. (Space shuttles will be replaced by the Orion space capsule.) Astronaut Mark Kelly is the commander of the mission. He is married to Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was a victim of the violent attack in Tucson, Arizona, in January. Her doctors have given Giffords permission to attend the launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, her first trip since her injury.

During Endeavour's 15-day mission, the shuttle will have an altitude (height above the Earth) of 188 nautical miles. (NASA lists distances in nautical miles, which are commonly used by sea and air navigators.) One nautical mile is approximately equal to 1.15 land miles. What will be the Endeavour's altitude in land miles?

Relax Before Tax

Have your parents seemed grumpy the past few days? It might be because their federal and state taxes were due by midnight on Monday! Normally, taxes and tax forms must be sent in by midnight on April 15, unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. (Taxes are a percent of the money that people earn at the their jobs. The government uses this money to pay for many services, such as the military, health care, education, national parks, and so on.)

April 15 was a Friday this year. So why weren't taxes due then? Because it was Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C. (This holiday celebrates the day President Abraham Lincoln signed the act which ended slavery in Washington, D.C.)

So taxes were due by midnight on Monday, April 18, this year, instead of by midnight on Friday, April 15. How many extra minutes did people have to turn in their taxes and tax forms this year?

Making Census of the Results

The results are in for the 2010 census! Every ten years, the Census Bureau counts the people in each state by delivering a 10-question form to every residence in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The government uses the results to determine how many delegates each state gets in the House of Representatives and to figure out how to distribute federal funding to the states for schools, hospitals, and other services. In 2000, the U.S. population was 281.4 million. The 2010 census reported a 9.7 percent increase in the U.S. population. What is the current U.S. population, according to the census results? Round your answer to the nearest tenth.

More March Madness (in April)!

Tonight, Connecticut takes on Butler to determine the 2011 NCAA men's college basketball champion. To mark the occasion, we have a guest post from Scholastic Kid Reporter Jack Keyes! Here's the question he wrote for you:

Last year, the NCAA tournament was almost expanded to a whopping 128 teams! That would mean almost double the March Madness that we have this year! With all the upsets and buzzer beaters from this year's tournament, many coaches are on board with the expansion. However, this surely would mean quite a few more games. So, how many games would it take to narrow down 128 teams to just 2 final teams?

(Later this summer, you can apply to join the Scholastic Kids Press Corps for next school year. For details, click here.)

Pre-Teen Genius?

Watch out, Albert Einstein! Twelve-year-old Jacob Barnett is working on his own theory of relativity (a very famous combination of two of Eintein's theories that is important in physics and astronomy). Jacob taught himself calculus, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry in a week! He finished high school at the age of eight and began studying at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Now he may leave college for a research job at the university. His IQ (a measure of intelligence) is even higher than Albert Einstein's was! The average 12-year-old's IQ would be around 90. Solve 8.5% of 2,000 to find out Jacob's IQ.

Following Up With Japan

Last week, we wrote about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. That disaster also led to a nuclear crisis for that country. Japan uses nuclear power, an alternative to fossil fuels like coal, to generate some of the country's electricity. Nuclear power plants create energy using a chemical reaction that produces large amounts of heat. The reactors have long, thin fuel rods that must be kept cool to prevent overheating. Overheating can cause radiation, which can be dangerous if people are exposed to it.

This was a major concern when the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was badly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. Authorities have been working to cool the fuel rods by spraying water. An estimated 1,170 tons of water were sprayed between 9 p.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. About how many tons of water is that per hour? Round to the nearest hundredth.

Tragedy In Japan

On Friday, Japan was hit by one of the strongest earthquakes in history. The earthquake had a magnitude of 8.9. (For more on magnitude scale, see pages 6–7 in our January 10 issue, or click here for our recent question about the earthquake in New Zealand). The earthquake created giant waves, called a tsunami, in the ocean off of Japan's east coast. The waves were so large that some entire towns were washed away. Thousands of people are dead or missing, and about 450,000 people are living in shelters. Organizations (such as the American Red Cross) and countries around the world are pitching in to help with relief efforts.

The earthquake was so powerful that it also moved certain areas of Japan 3.9624 meters closer to the United States. And the Earth's figure axis (the imaginary line the planet's mass is balanced around) shifted by about 16.51 centimeters. Knowing that 1 foot equals .3048 meters, and that 1 inch equals 2.54 centimeters: How many feet closer to the U.S. did parts of Japan move, and how many inches did Earth's figure axis shift?

Lots of Lava

On Sunday, a volcano in Kilauea, Hawaii, started erupting after a crater called Puu Oo collapsed. Luckily, no homes were in any danger. You can see updated images from the volcano on the Hawaii Volcano Observatory Web site. Lava spewed high in the air. Just how high? Evaluate the expression to find out how many feet high the lava erupted.

1,925 ÷ 50 x 2 + (198 ÷ 66)

American Hero

Sad news today as America's last World War I veteran has died. Frank Buckles died in his West Virginia home of natural causes. He enlisted in the army in April 1917 after lying about his age to get in. He was only 16 at the time, but said he was 18, the minimum age to join. World War I began in 1914, but the United States didn't enter the war until 1917, joining Britain and France against Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Turks. Buckles was one of almost 5 million Americans who served in World War I in 1917 and 1918. He was stationed in England and France as an ambulance driver. Buckles was born on February 1 of what year? How old was he when he died?

Shaken New Zealand

On Tuesday, an earthquake hit one of New Zealand's largest cities, Christchurch, destroying buildings and killing at least 65 people. Our January 10 issue included a story on the one-year anniversary of Haiti's devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake. In that story, we explained that scientists use a magnitude scale to measure an earthquake's power. Each 1-point increase on the scale represents an increase of 10 times in the quake's size (as measured on a seismogram). The earthquake in New Zealand was 1,000 times bigger than an earthquake measuring 3.3. What was the magnitude of the New Zealand earthquake?

Big Budget

Every year, the President has to develop the federal budget, the total amount of money the government will spend in a year. The money, which comes from taxpayers' dollars, is divided among different government departments and programs. It's used for all sorts of services that benefit the public, such as college scholarships, building highways, Medicare (health insurance for people 65 and older), Medicaid (health insurance for those who can't afford it), Social Security (income and benefits to the eldery and disabled), etc.

Monday morning, President Barack Obama revealed his $3.729 trillion budget proposal for 2012. Congress still has to debate and suggest changes before approving the budget. President Obama and Congress hope to reduce the deficit, the difference between the amount of money the government spends and the amount it brings in. Some of the top items in the budget proposal are Social Security ($761 billion), Department of Defense ($553 billion), Medicare ($485 billion), Medicaid ($269 billion), and Department of Transportation ($128 billion). How much is left for all the other departments and programs, including Education, Energy, Agriculture, and NASA?

You can see the complete budget here.

Super Expensive Ads

The 2011 Super Bowl was held Sunday night in Dallas, Texas. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31–25, to become the NFL champions. But the real winner might be the TV network that aired the game! Companies love to get their commercials on during the game, because so many people are watching. So the network can charge the companies big bucks to "buy" the commercial time during the Super Bowl. This year, it cost up to $3 million to air a 30-second commercial! How much is that per second?

Retail Results

This month, 13 two-person teams from across the country competed in the fifth annual DemandTec Retail Challenge Grand Championship in New York City. It is a scholarship competition for high school seniors with the goal to get students excited about math and science. The winners were Eric Rosenthal and Xiyu Wang from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Manlius, New York. "I think a lot of our success comes from how well our teachers prepared us," Xiyu told us. The teams had to think like store owners and come up with strategies to maximize profits--to bring in more money than was spent. Let's say you are managing a store that sells T-shirts. If you order 30 shirts at $8 each and sell them for $15 each, how many would you have to sell to make a profit?

Click here to find out more about the competition and how you can get involved.