Whizz Pop Bang Science Magazine for Kids! Issue 121: Spy Academy

ISSN 2399 -2840

THE AWESOME SCIENCE MAGAZINE FOR KIDS!

Craft a snoop-o-scope

10 SPY GADGETS

S e cr e codes t !

Make invisible ink

WHIZZPOPBANG.COM ISSUE 121

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF WHIZZ POP BANG MAGAZINE!

Psst… are you re ady to be co me a se cret agent? C ut ou t and fill in your Spy Acade my ID card and you’re re ady to star t!

In this edition of Whizz Pop Bang, you’ll learn all kinds of spy sk ills, from cracking se cret code s and writing with invisi ble ink to taking finge rprints and an alysing evide nc e. And to ce lebrate 10 awesome ye ars of Whizz Pop Bang maga zine, we’re of fe ring you the chance to win an ep ic Sublime Scie nc e Party to ce lebrate your own bir thday!

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ISSN 2399-2840

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Editor-in-Chief: Jenny Inglis Editor: Tammy Osborne Designer: Rachael Fisher Illustrator: Clive Goodyer Contributors: Nick Arnold, Joe Inglis, Tara Pardo, Isabel Thomas and Joanna Tubbs

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Welcome to WHIZZ POP BANG – the magazine bursting with enticing articles, mind-boggling facts and hands-on experiments to get your child hooked on science! Whizz Pop Bang is a gender-neutral magazine with plenty of inspirational male and female scientists and content that appeals to all children.

The magazine is ideal for home educators and it’s linked to the National Curriculum too, for use in schools. Whizz Pop Bang will help with literacy development as well. Transform science teaching in your school with our hands-on science and reading resources. Our downloadable lesson packs link fun science experiments and reading with key curriculum topics for years 2-6. Subscribe at whizzpopbang.com/schools

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©S hu tt

WELCOME!

Welcome to Spy Academy, agent!

CONTENTS

a

Ever wondered how crimes are solved? Have a go at matching evidence and taking fingerprints.

C

D

EL

C

I

H

T O B

J

L

G

HE

24

E

Spy gadgets – from night vision goggles to hidden cameras, discover all sorts of devious devices.

Meet wartime hero Grace Hopper, who created the world’s first computer language. ©

t ut Sh

e

rs to ck .co m

I’d love to see pictures of your experiments! Send them to Y@whizzpopbang.com – they could be featured in the magazine!

35

SPECTACULAR SCIENCE

30 32 34

Discover how unique iris patterns can be used to protect top-secret locations.

X

F

E

TEN AWESOMELY AMAZING…

MY AMAZING LIFE

U

Find out how glasses help spies (and everyone else who needs them) to see clearly.

T

HOW STUFF WORKS

R

I

M

Navigate through the mystery maze to uncover the secret word.

F

SPY

D

22

SILLY SCIENCE

Q

J U K

Make a code wheel to create your own secret codes.

G

CO

17

Atom

PULLOUT

A Q S

E

X

K

D

P

S

Ready, shreddy, go! Turn scrap paper into new paper by recycling it yourself.

L

O

B

EMMI’S ECO CLUB

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M

A

©S hu tte rs

OE Vera C. Rubin F–D Ob NS se © rv

FORENSIC SCIENCE LAB

12 16

10

Z

to

Learn all about sniffer dogs – the clever canines with a nose for the unusual!

Y P Z R

c

Write secret coded messages, make invisible ink and craft a snoop-o-scope.

ANIMAL ANTICS

ry

N

m co

SPY ACADEMY

to

Y

k.

Bubble messages from whales, 500-year-old drone designs and amazing new images of space revealed!

H

6

AWESOME NEWS AND AMAZING FACTS

4

26

28

Y’S WONDER CLUB

Ask our robot, Y, your burning science questions and share all of your adventures in science with the club.

QUIZ POP BANG AND COMPETITION

Test your knowledge with our super-duper science quiz and win a Sublime Science Party!

JOKES AND ANSWERS

Laugh out loud at some awesome jokes and find the answers to all of our quizzes, puzzles and riddles.

FIND THE SCIENCE EQUIPMENT Hidden on each double page is a piece of science equipment. Tick each one to find the complete kit!

s Awesome New cts and Amazing Fa

AN OLD IDEA TAKES FLIGHT Leonardo da Vinci’s flying machine

Bubble ring created by a humpback whale named Th or

© D. Perrine

Are whales trying to tell us something?

Researchers in America have noticed humpback whales blowing bubble rings during friendly encounters with people. This behaviour was only seen when humans are near and never when the whales were remotely observed by drones, leading the scientists to suggest that the whales might be trying to interact or even communicate with us. “We’ve now located a dozen whales from populations around the world, the majority of which have voluntarily approached boats and swimmers blowing bubble rings,” said marine wildlife photographer and study co-author Jodi Frediani.

© W. Davis

4 whizzpopbang.com

© ausschnitt aus http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Leonardo_da_Vinci_helicopter_and_lifting_wing.jpg

n

A model of da Vinci’s aerial screw In 1480, the Renaissance genius Leonardo da V inci designed a flying machine. Half a millennium later, scientists are using his design to make drones quieter. As well as being used by spies, drones are increasingly being used in cities for home deliveries and emergency services. Their fast-spinning blades create unwanted noise pollution.

But scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, USA, found that da Vinci’s ‘aerial screw’ design could generate the same amount of lift while rotating more slowly than regular drone rotors, using less power and making less noise.

© Soldatini Alberto Mario (progettista), Somenzi Vittorio (progettista) / Wikimedia Commons

© Dan Knaub, The Video Company.

BUBBLE TALK

DISTANT GALAXIES REVEALED

los © RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/T. Matsopou

The Vera C Rubin Observatory sits on a mountain in the foothills of the Chilean Andes

A new telescope has captured never-before-seen images of deep space. In the first 10 hours of observations, the

The observatory is named after Vera C Rubin, the astronomer whose work proved the existence of dark matter. Dark matter is the stuff in space that has gravity but that we can’t see.

It's thought to make up a quarter of the universe, but we know nothing about it!

Vera C Rubin observatory

A huge cluster of galaxies, including two spiral galaxies and three galaxies merging together

© NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Two star-forming regions of the Milky Way, the Lagoon nebula and the Trifid nebula

© NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

© Soldatini Alberto Mario (progettista), Somenzi Vittorio (progettista) / Wikimedia Commons

in Chile had discovered 2,000 new asteroids and taken incredible photos of distant galaxies. The 8.4-metre telescope has a car-sized digital camera – the largest ever built. Over the next 10 years, the telescope is expected to discover about 20 billion previously unknown galaxies, map our own galaxy, the Milky Way, measure the expansion of the universe and investigate dark matter.

If a ninth planet in our solar system exists, this telescope should find it within a year.

It will also play an important role in keeping us safe from near-Earth asteroids.

According to Brian Stone of the US National Science Foundation, the observatory “will capture more information about our universe than all optical telescopes throughout history combined.”

SEEING AROUND CORNERS Scientists have developed a high-tech way to see around corners. They used computer programs called algorithms to reconstruct images from light that bounces off a wall. When light hits a smooth mirror, it reflects clearly, but walls have rough, uneven surfaces that scramble the light waves. By mapping the wall’s surface and feeding this information into a computer program, the researchers taught computers how to ‘unscramble’ the light and reveal hidden images – almost like turning a rough wall into a mirror. This technology could one day be used to safely scan dangerous areas before entering and could even prevent traffic accidents.

5

SPY

ACA D E MY

spies!

Calling all trainee t it Have you got wha secret takes to be a top t agent? Your secre E! weapon is SCIENC Let’s get started…

Why did the spy spend all day in bed?

Because she was working undercover!

CREATE A SECRET IDENTITY

A spy’s secret identity helps to protect their true identity from enemies. Code names allow other spies to communicate safely without revealing their real names. Cut out and fill in the identity card from the pullout section on page 17.

SPECIAL SKILLS:

Gadget expert

1.

2.

3.

SPY ACADEMY ID CARD

CODE NAME:

Agent O

COVER NAME:

Max Sparks

SECRET MESSAGES

d messages – ones Spies need sneaky ways to sen y’re intercepted by that can’t be understood if the codes to the enemy. Try out these classic … send your own secret messages

Caesar Cipher

This classic code was used by Julius Caesar in ancient Rome. Just shift eac h letter in your message forward or backwa rd in the alphabet. For example, if you shif t by three (as Caesar did), A becomes D, B bec omes E, and so on. It’s a quick way to make your writing look like total nonsense – unless the reader knows the secret number!

See if you can decode this messa ge (written with a +3 shift, so you’ll need to count three letters back to crack it). Check your answer on page 34.

Z K L C C

S R S

E D Q J

_____

___

____

ode Number C place

its ch letter to 3, Match ea B = 2, C = , 1 = A t: e hab 6. in the alp y to Z = 2 all the wa ssage coded me is th k in ou th page 34.

What do y nswer on a r u o y k c says? Che -3-5

-14

-19-3-9-5

2-5 9-12-15-2

_

____

___ ____

_

Pigpen Cipher This code uses symbols instead of letters.

Each letter is represented by a symbol taken from the grid that surrounds it.

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

A

S U

T V

J. K . .L M. N . .O . . .

P Q R

W . .

X . .Y Z

See if you can work out the answer to this joke, written in pigpen code!

What kind of shoes do spies wear?

MAKE AWESOME INVISIBLE INK Write secret messa

ges using science!

Yo u will need

Two cups Two paintbrushes 100 ml water 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda 40 ml alcohol hand sanitiser (the runny kind) ½ tsp ground turmeric Plain paper

W h a t y o u do

Check your answer on page 34.

Coded letter This might look like an ordinary letter, but there’s a secret message hidden within it. Can you work it out? Check your answer on page 34.

1. Mix the water and bicarbonate of soda together in a cup.

2. Use a paintbrush to write a secret message on a piece of paper and leave it to dry.

3. Mix the hand sanitiser and turmeric together in a cup.

(Hint: The numbe rs refer to the wor d order in the letter. If yo u highlight these words, you will reveal the message.)

Dear Sir, I am w riting to complain about the four garden chai rs I bought on sa le in your shop last Th ursday. They do not meet the standa rd I expected. Pl ea se tell me how to re turn them at yo ur earliest conven ie nce. The prod uct number is 25.32.

17.09.11.37.10.15.

21.

Yours sincerely, Tere nce Stag

4. To reveal the message, use a clean brush to carefully paint the turmeric mixture over the writing.

You should find

The plain paper will turn yellow and the areas painted with the ink will turn dark red.

Turmeric is an indicator – a substance that changes colour when it is added to an acid or base (alkali), like bicarbonate of soda.

whizzpopbang.com 7

I SPY

with my little eye...

y, you’ll need to sp p to a e m o c e b o T tiny details – e c ti o n to lf e rs u train yo gs change! in th n e h w t o sp d an

TEST YOUR OBSERVATION SKILLS Cover up the bottom picture and look carefully at the top, then cover up the other one and see how many changes you can spot. Check your answer on page 34.

Spot the difference puzzles test your visual recognition memory.

Your visual memory helps you remember what you see, but it doesn’t store everything – just the details you need. That’s because our brains have limited space for remembering visual details. If we tried to remember every tiny thing we saw, we’d be overwhelmed! So our brains focus on what really matters. That’s why spotting small changes in scenes can be tricky. Practicing games and puzzles like this helps you boost your brain and sharpen your spy skills!

Memory challe nge

Test your visual mem

8 whizzpopbang.com

ory with a friend or someone in your fam ily.

Collect 10 small objec ts. Lay eight of them out on a table and as k your friend to spen d 10 seconds looking at them before closing their eyes. While their eyes are closed, swap one object, remove an other and move a few others around. W hen your friend open s their eyes, they have to see how many of th e changes they can sp ot! Now swap around so you each have a turn .

MAKE A SNOOP-O-SCOPE

The proper name for a snoop-o-scope like this is a periscope.

Peep around corners and over fences with this spy-tastic snoop-o-scope!

Yo u will need

ardboard (we used a large cereal box) C Sticky tape Two small mirrors S cissors Paint (optional)

Small mirrors are available from craft shops, but you could also use small make-up mirrors or ask an adult to warm an old CD in hot water before snipping it into pieces (while wearing eye protection).

What you do 1. Ask an adult to help you score and cut the cardboard to make a tall, rectangular tube that is at least as wide as your mirrors. Leave both ends of the tube open.

mirror

2. Cut a flap on opposite sides of each end of the tube. The flaps should be the same height as your mirrors.

Tape a mirror to the inside of each flap.

Light travels in straight lines, which is why you can’t normally see around corners and over fences! When you lift your snoop-o-scope up over the fence, the light bounces off objects on the other side of the fence, hits the first mirror, gets reflected 3. Cut away the cardboard opposite each flap. down the tube onto the second mirror 4. Angle both mirror flaps inwards by about 30 degrees. and then enters your eye, allowing Look through one end of the snoop-o-scope and adjust you to see over the fence! the angle of the mirrors until you can see the reflection from the far mirror.

5. Tape the mirrors in place, paint the cardboard tube if you wish and get snooping!

You can only see an object when light shines on it and gets reflected (bounced) off the object and into your eyes.

whizzpopbang.com 9

AL ANIM S TIC

AN

Sniffer Dogs

Want to find someone or something that no-one else can find?

The best trackers in the world are dogs, and our vet Joe Inglis is on the trail of their amazing superpowers...

200 million

That’s how many specially adapted sensory cells a dog has in its nose, compared to just 5 million or so in a human’s nose. The very best sniffer dogs, such as bloodhounds, have over 300 million sensory cells.

Thanks to all these extra cells, and their other special adaptations, a dog’s sense of smell is thought to be around

10,000

times better than a person’s.

Big flappy ears can help specialist tracking dogs by wafting smells up from the ground into their noses.

Dogs don’t just smell smells, they also taste them! They have a special structure in the roof of their mouth called the vomeronasal organ (say vom-er-oh-nay-sal), which allows them to ‘taste’ chemicals. Some sniffer dogs actually lick the air to taste the scent using this organ.

Some of the air that dogs inhale through their nose is diverted into a maze of bony scrolls called turbinates.

This allows dogs to analyse the air thoroughly and pick out all those tiny, subtle smells that we humans miss.

10 whizzpopbang.com

All the information from the sensory cells in the nose gets analysed in a part of the brain called the olfactory cortex. This takes up a much larger proportion of a dog’s brain than it does in a person’s brain.

Disease Detectors 10 things that dogs sniff out Explosives Cash Other animals Missing people

Training

Illegal drugs

Training sniffer dogs takes a lot of time and patience, but it is quite a simple process. The dogs are taught that when they find something with a particular smell, they get a reward. After lots and lots of repetition, they get super-good at sniffing out even the slightest trace of that smell.

Dead bodies Mobile phones Cancer Truffles Bumblebee nests

5 most popular breeds for sniffer dogs Springer spaniels Labradors Golden retrievers

Sniffer dogs can tell the difference between identical twins.

Answer on page 34

Cocker spaniels Beagles

whizzpopbang.com 11

© Olga Visavi / Shutterstock.com

As well as hunting out explosives and missing people, dogs’ amazing noses are also used to track down diseases, including cancer. Specially trained dogs can sniff out tiny amounts of chemicals released by cancers from samples of patients’ wee.

This can help to diagnose diseases long before any physical symptoms are seen, so that patients can start receiving treatment sooner. Other sniffer dogs can alert diabetic patients if their blood sugar level falls dangerously low.

FORENSIC SCIENCE LAB Find out how scientists can help solve crimes!

WHAT’S A FORENSIC SCIENTIST? Forensic scientists gather evidence from a crime scene and use it to link the criminal to the crime.

DIRT

BUGS

The criminal might have left or collected dirt at the crime scene, like mud from their shoes.

Insects or bits of bug on the victim or criminal might link either of them with the crime scene.

FINGERPRINTS When you touch a smooth surface, you leave a sweaty fingerprint of pressure ridges on your fingers. Everyone’s fingerprints are totally unique, so they can be used to identify criminals.

WHAT KIND OF EVIDENCE? Without meaning to, criminals leave behind clues. Here are some of the things forensic scientists look for…

DNA

Why did the forensic scientist bring a pencil to the crime scene?

Because she wanted to draw her own conclusions!

Nearly every cell in the human body contains DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). It’s a chemical code that controls how the body grows and develops. Like fingerprints, everyone’s DNA is unique, so it can be used to match blood, hair or skin cells found at a crime scene to the criminal or the victim.

Since you shed over 500 skin cells a minute, you’re always leaving DNA about!

12

FOOTPRINTS AND TYRE TRACKS Shoes and tyres show unique wear patterns. Footprints on a floor or soft ground can be linked to shoes worn by the criminal. Tyre tracks can identify a particular car.

FORENSIC CHALLENGE Can you help Riley m atch this evidence to one of the suspects below, like forensic scientists do?

FIBRES Microscopic fibres might come from clothes worn by the criminal, or from fabrics at the crime scene.

So they can be used to link a person to a place.

BULLETS AND BULLET CASINGS Scratch marks on bullets can be matched to the gun that fired them.

SUSP ECT 1

SUSP ECT 2

SUSP ECT 3

BLOODSTAINS Forensic scientists don’t just test blood for DNA. They also study the pattern of bloodstains to work out where and how wounds were inflicted.

Who do you think committed the crime?

Check your answer on page 34.

whizzpopbang.com 13

WHY DO FORENSIC SCIENTISTS WEAR FUNNY SUITS? It’s important that forensic scientists don’t leave any misleading evidence – like their own fingerprints or fibres from their clothes – at the crime scene while they’re examining it, so they wear gloves and disposable suits.

They also make sure the area is taped off so no one else can contaminate it.

HOW DO FORENSIC SCIENTISTS FIND EVIDENCE? Some evidence is lying around – but other evidence is microscopic. The scientists collect tiny bits of evidence using tweezers or vacuum cleaners. Evidence is bagged up for study in the lab.

How many fingerprints can you count on pages 14 and 15?

Check your answer on page 34.

Why did the robber take a shower?

So he could make a clean getaway!

WHAT IF THE CRIMINAL CLEANS UP THE CRIME SCENE?

Some criminals try. But scientists find tiny clues that the criminal missed.

They use special powder to show hidden fingerprints and have tests for bloodstains that you can’t see. One test uses a substance called luminol.

A blood protein called haemoglobin speeds up a chemical reaction, causing the liquid to glow in the dark.

FINGERPRINT LAB

GORY STORY

Nowadays, forensic science uses lots of modern technology, but people have been using science to solve crimes for hundreds of years. Seven hundred years ago in China, an investigator matched wounds on a body with a sickle (a tool used to cut wheat). He lined up suspects with their sickles. None of the sickles had visible blood on them, but one of them attracted flies. This was the murder weapon!

Yo u will need A soft pencil Sticky tape Some plain paper A magnifying glass The fingerprint cards on page 17

W h a t y o u do

1. Cut out the fingerprint cards.

2. Rub the pencil on the plain paper.

3. Press a finger onto the pencil markings and then onto the sticky side of some sticky tape. Peel the tape off your finger and stick it onto the fingerprint card in the correct place.

Scientists first realised that fingerprints could be used for identification and criminal investigations in 1880.

4. Repeat with the rest of the fingers on the same hand.

5. Get family or friends to record their fingerprints too!

Yo u should find

The soft graphite in the pencil sticks to the unique pattern of ridges on your fingertips (called friction ridges). When you touch the sticky tape, the pattern is transferred to it.

Forensic scientists look for patterns in fingerprints, like these.

Arch

Arch

Whorl

Loop

Scientists use soft brushes and very fine powders to reveal fingerprints on surfaces.

There are lots of different powders available, including a magnetic powder designed to enhance the details of faint fingerprints and even a fluorescent powder that glows when a UV light is shined on it.

whizzpopbang.com 15

b... clu O C E

Emmi’s

RECYCLED PAPER Recycle your own paper using things you'll find in your recycling bin!

Yo u will need

Scrap paper A mixing bowl or large jug with high sides An electric whisk A sheet of greaseproof paper (or a silicon baking sheet) A non-towelling cloth (like a smooth tea towel or napkin)

1

I was going to tell you a joke about paper, but it’s just tear-ible!

Tear some scrap paper into e pieces about th p. size of a stam

2

Put the pieces of paper into the bowl or jug and pour over enough water to just cover them. Leave to soak for about 10 minutes.

16 whizzpopbang.com

3

Mix the paper and water with the electric whisk until it has broken down into a pulp. It will take a while (and might be a bit messy!).

Continued on page 21 ➜

4

I’d love to see your recycled paper!

Take a photo and email it to Y@whizzpopbang.com – it could be featured in the magazine!

Lay the greaseproof paper on a table.

Pick up a handful of paper pul p and squeeze out some of the water . Put the pulp onto the paper and press it into a very thin layer using your hands.

6

5

Press the cloth onto the layer of pap er pulp to soak up some of the water.

Repeat a few times with dry parts of the cloth. Have a peek at your paper and fill any holes with tiny bits of pulp.

ECO

More

ideas...

r Brighten up your pape l by pressing colourfu after lp pu scraps into the t you’ve pressed it ou y flat. You could use tin r, pe pa e su scraps of tis the little circles from a hole punch or dried flower petals.

Continued from page 16

Move the greaseproof paper to a warm place until your paper is dry, which might take a few days.

It’s up to us to save the planet. Lots of small actions can make a BIG difference!

Cut your paper into the several rectangles of em th ld same size, then fo in half and stack them mini together to make a ial nt se es notebook – an ! kit part of every spy Sew or staple the pages together.

whizzpopbang.com 21

➜

Riddle

Check your answer on page 34.

Two spies hide in an enemy base and watch a guarded door. They need to work out the password to get in.

A woman approaches and the guard says, “twelve”. The woman replies, “six”, and is let in. A man approaches and the guard says, “seven”. The man replies, “five”, and is let in. Two more people walk up to the guard, who says, “one”. They reply, “three”, and are also let in through the guarded door.

If the two spies go to the door, and the guard says, “nine”, what should their answer be?

SPECIAL SKILLS: 1.

2.

3.

FINGERPRINT RECORD FINGERPRINT RECORD NAME:

LEFT RIGHT

NAME:

LEFT RIGHT

THUMB

INDEX FINGER

MIDDLE FINGER

THUMB

INDEX FINGER

MIDDLE FINGER

RING FINGER

LITTLE FINGER

NOTES

RING FINGER

LITTLE FINGER

NOTES

18 whizzpopbang.com

l

PULL OUT pages 17-20 and get making!

WHIZZ POP BANG SPY ACADEMY ID CARD SPY ACADEMY ID CARD

CODE NAME:

Stick a photo here or draw your face.

COVER NAME:

We’d love to see a photo of your spy ID card!

Send it to Y@whizzpopbang.com – it could be featured in the magazine!

FINGERPRINT RECORD CARDS

Find a printable version of the pullout here: bit.ly/3TtvSy9

(see page 15 for instructions)

FINGERPRINT RECORD FINGERPRINT RECORD NAME:

LEFT RIGHT

NAME:

LEFT RIGHT

THUMB

INDEX FINGER

MIDDLE FINGER

THUMB

INDEX FINGER

MIDDLE FINGER

RING FINGER

LITTLE FINGER

NOTES

RING FINGER

LITTLE FINGER

NOTES

whizzpopbang.com 17

Using yo ur code wheel Choose a secret letter key for your code (e.g. W)

and line up both letters on your code wheel. Write down a secret message, then use your code wheel to translate it into code.

The green letters on the bigger disc are the real letters, and the red letters on the smaller disc make up the code. A fellow spy can then use the code wheel to decode your message if they know what your secret letter key is.

Z

Y P Z R

A

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Code wheels were first used in Italy in 1470!

P

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MAKE A CODE WHEEL

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Create your own secret codes – and decode messages from fellow spies!

R

S

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Yo u will need

P

EL

D X

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Z R Y P

T

M

N

O B

K J

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What yo u do

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SPY

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S A Q

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Scissors A sharp pencil A paper fastener (also called a split pin)

1. Cut out the two discs on this page.

2. Make a small hole in the centre of both discs with the sharp pencil.

3. Place the smaller disc on top of the larger disc and push the paper fastener through the holes.

4. Open the paper fastener at the back to attach the discs together, checking that you can move the top disc around.

whizzpopbang.com 19

L

YOUR MISSION: Find your way through the maze and uncover the secret word! Once you’ve reached the centre, turn back and find a path that leads to one of the letters hidden in the maze. Return to the centre and keep going until you’ve collected all five letters. Write each letter you collect here:

P

To finish, see if you can fit your letters into the spaces in the centre of the maze to spell out the secret word. Four of the letters are already in place.

You might bump into us hiding in the maze too – we’re acting as undercover agents!

Can you tell who’s who just from the top of our heads?

Check your answers on page 34.

E

You can find your way out of most mazes using just one hand.

Answer on page 34

G A S

I

N

E

O

whizzpopbang.com 23

GLASSES

HOW STUFF

WORKS 1

I SPY with my little eye... a simple invention that’s been helping spies see clearly for centuries!

As light rays enter your eye, they travel through two layers – the cornea and the lens.

This slows the light rays down and makes them bend inwards, so they meet (or focus) on your retina, right at the back of your eye.

Retina

Iris Pupil Cornea Lens

2

Light rays that have travelled different distances need bending by different amounts. Your eye can do this by changing the shape of your lens. When you look at nearby objects, the lens gets rounder. It gets flatter when you focus on things in the distance.

24 whizzpopbang.com

3

Around three-quarters of people in the UK have eyes that can’t focus perfectly – they bend light too much or too little. Glasses help your eyes focus light rays in exactly the right place on your retina. They use lenses to bend light before it reaches your eyes.

Short-sighted Rays of light

Without glasses

Short-sighted eyes focus too strongly. They need help from lenses that bend light rays outwards.

Lens

With glasses

Long-sighted Rays of light

Without glasses

4

Long-sighted eyes focus too weakly. They need lenses that bend light rays inwards to give the eyes a helping hand.

Lens

With glasses

Most modern lenses are made from plastic.

This is lighter and tougher than glass. It can be coated with chemicals that protect your eyes from UV rays or screen glare.

5 6

A plastic or metal frame holds the lenses in front of your eyes.

The arms rest on your ears.

Nose pads make glasses

comfortable by spreading the weight of the frame over the bridge of your nose.

whizzpopbang.com 25

.

g.. in z a m A ly e m o s e w A 0 1

T E G D A G Y P S devices. y with these devious Channel your inner sp

1

3

Spies use tiny wireless hidden cameras disguised as buttons on their clothes to spy on people. Cameras can also be hidden inside watches, keys, screws and light switches.

Need to eavesdrop on a secret conversation? Spies use hearing amplifiers. These ‘bionic ears’ boost quiet sounds so you can hear whispered conversations up to 30 metres away.

4 TOP SEC RET 26 whizzpopbang.com

2

Need to get rid of a secret message fast? Spy paper is special dissolving paper that melts away when water touches it – perfect for destroying maps and messages in a flash!

Facial recognition smart sunglasses help spies spot criminals

in a crowd. They have a tiny camera linked to an artificial intelligence system that checks people’s faces against a database of suspects.

Peephole reversers

are clever little gadgets that can turn the peepholes in front doors inside-out, allowing spies to see into the house – but newer digital door cameras make this trick harder to use today.

5

E TS

6

Super sneaky spies use flying drones to get a bird’s-eye view of the action without being spotted.

These clever gadgets can take photos or videos from the sky – and some are so small they can fit in your hand!

8 10

Spy pens can do much

more than just write – some can break through glass, record conversations and even collect DNA from villains, which the police can use to identify them.

7 9

Spies need to keep information secret from their enemies, so

self-destructing computer chips erase all their information if someone tries to steal them.

In the past, spies hid tiny movement sensors called seismometers (say size-mom-et-ers) inside fake dog poos to secretly track enemy movements. The gadgets were rarely discovered because everyone avoids dog poo!

Spies operating under cover of darkness use night vision goggles. These clever bits of kit work by turning tiny amounts of light into electricity, amplifying the electricity and then turning it into brighter light. Some even use thermal imaging to help spies see the heat from people in total darkness.

Photographs © 1. John Frycek, and Total Security Inc., 2. RJ22 / Shutterstock.com, 3. Ranta Images / Shutterstock.com, 5. Shutterstock.com, 6. Volodymyr Krasyuk / Shutterstock.com, 7. Shutterstock.com, 8. UZI Tactical Pens, 9. Shutterstock.com.

whizzpopbang.com 27

My AmaZ ing Life

GRACE HOPPER While the world was at war and full of secrecy, spies and exciting new technologies, ‘Amazing Grace’ helped to develop the very first computer languages...

I got my nickname, ‘Amazing Grace’, because people thought I’d achieved some pretty remarkable things during my long career! I was born in New York in 1906, and from a very young age I was fascinated by technology. When I was just seven, I spent a week taking apart all the alarm clocks I could find in the house to try and discover how they worked.

I studied maths and physics at Yale University. Then, after a few years teaching and working on my own mathematical research, World War II broke out and my career took a very different direction.

After America joined the war, I wanted to support the war effort, so I decided to join the US Navy Reserve. I learnt how to navigate, pilot and fight on board Navy ships – it was an amazing experience and so different to my life as an academic.

I was desperate to use my new found skills and head out to sea with the Navy, but I wasn’t allowed to on account of my age – at 38 years old I was considered too old to fight!

28 whizzpopbang.com

©hans peters

GRACE HOPPER WAS BORN IN NEW YORK, USA, IN 1906

After the war ended I worked for a few years in one of the earliest computer research laboratories under a Navy contract. Then, in the early 1950s, I started working on one of the very first commercial computers made in the USA – the UNIVAC-1. This machine was at the cutting edge of early computer technology, but it was nothing like today’s tiny computers. It was an enormous machine taking up as much space as a small house, and weighing over 13 tonnes! Despite its vast size, it had only a tiny fraction of the computing power you would find today in a mobile phone!

What do Navy admirals use to blow their noses?

Anchor-chiefs!

I helped shape the technology behind almost every electronic device on the planet!

The compiler program I wrote was the very first one in the world, and it translated programs written by people in a language they could understand into the 1s and 0s that the computer could understand. It was pretty basic, but seven years later it was used to help create one of the world’s first proper programming languages called COBOL. It was the beginning of the modern computer age. Nowadays, every laptop, phone or tablet runs using a language based on the ideas I helped to develop almost 70 years ago.

The USS

©Smithsonian Institution

As well as being very slow, one of the main issues with these early computers was that they were incredibly hard to program.

You had to use binary codes of 1s and 0s, which was painstakingly slow work.

You could only use computers to carry out mathematical calculations. At the time, no-one thought it would be possible to use computers to do anything except crunch numbers, but I was determined to prove them wrong. I realised that if you could make it easier to program complex instructions, then computers could be made to do almost anything, so I started work designing a computer program called a compiler.

Grace Hopper with the UNIVAC-1 computer After finishing my work on COBOL, I continued in the US Navy for another 20 years before finally retiring in 1986 at the age of 79. I was the oldest serving officer in the history of the US Navy, and I had risen to the rank of rear admiral. I may never have fought a battle on the high seas, but in over 40 years in the Navy, I helped shape the technology behind almost every electronic device on the planet.

Since her death in 1992, Grace has had a US Navy ship named after her as well as a supercomputer. Her pioneering ideas on compiling computer programs led to a whole new world of computing.

Hopper

whizzpopbang.com 29

Email me at Y@whizzpopbang.com

der Club!

Welcome to Y’s Won to share your This page is for you with our robot, adventures in science p Bang readers!

Y, and other Whizz Po ce question Everyone whose scien is page gets answered on th ng wins a Whizz Pop Ba Science Joke Book, ome available in our awes at online science shop

whizzpopbang.com/shop

F oR

Hi Y, Why do flowers bloom and how do they make themselves bloom?

CURIoUS K I DS

Gwen, aged 7

We were really impressed with the rainbow density columns you made from the Sugar Lab edition (Issue 117)!

Budding scientist George, aged 8, made a density column for his school science fair project.

He also did an experiment measuring pH (how acidic or alkaline something is).

r insects to Plants grow flowers to attract bees and othe important It’s s. help them spread pollen and make seed g arrives sprin that they do this at the right time, when ts Plan t. and there are lots of insects buzzing abou have they don’t have nervous systems like us, but nd them. other ways to sense what’s happening arou cells detect leaf Special photoreceptors in their days are the n changes in sunlight and tell the plant whe ing warm it’s n getting longer. Plants can also sense whe ns tei pro e up thanks to clever temperature-sensitiv n the plant that act like molecular thermometers. Whe ial chemicals senses that spring has arrived, it sends spec that nes to the tip of the stem to switch on the ge make flowers bloom.

Elspeth, aged 8

James, aged 7

Vera, aged 7, approached this activity like a scientist, experimenting with different techniques until she got it to work!

Edward, aged 6, and his brother Alex, aged 4, had lots of fun making their rainbow density column – this was their favourite edition so far!

enamel badges Y’s Wonder Club Badges Collectable for you to earn!

Help local wildlife to earn your Wildlife Watcher badge.

Investigate scientific questions to earn your Super Scientist badge.

Help save the planet to earn your Eco Hero badge.

E

Hello Y, I visited the zoo and I saw a sign saying elephants have 100,000 muscles just in their trunk, so how many muscles do I have in my body?

The butterflies are in for a treat this year!

Here are some of the awesome butterfly feeders you made from Emmi’s eco club in the Sugar Lab edition! aged 5 Isaac,

Joseph, aged 6 An elephant’s trunk is actually an extension of its upper lip and is composed almost entirely of muscle. It’s an incredible body part – unlike anything humans have! Our closest equivalent is probably our tongues, since we can move them even though they don’t have bones. Elephants use their trunks like a hose, a nose, a finger and even a trumpet. They can lift heavy things, explore the world around them and spray their friends with water. They can also use them to smell water up to 19 km away. Inside, there are about 90,000 muscle fascicles (bundles of muscle fibres), arranged into around Muscle 40,000 small muscles. Humans only have about 600-700 individual Muscle fibre muscles in their whole bodies!

Theodore, aged 6

Welcome to the Wonder Club, Isaac!

Lèo, aged 5

Isobel, aged 12

Fascicle

Well done to everyone who made the spinners and bookmarks from the Sugar Lab pullout section!

SKELETAL So phie, MUSCLE aged 8.

hie’s This was Sop ang pB first Whizz Po lcome e magazine – w lub, C r e to the Wond Sophie!

Dear Y, If climate change melts all the ice and covers the world in water, is it possible to build a world on top?

India, aged 9

Mariana, aged 8 Zachary, aged 9

if all the ice on Earth It’s a scary thought, India, but luckily even r. And that’s not likely wate melted, some land would still be above Antarctic ice cap, the to happen anyway – most of the ice is in er times in the past. warm which has stayed frozen through much ice around Greenland ting Scientists are more concerned about mel could flood coastal rises l and West Antarctica. Even small sea leve e. Building mov to le towns and cities, forcing millions of peop ntists are scie e som and floating cities or islands is a clever idea, Plus, climate e. nsiv expe exploring this, but it would be difficult and important y reall it’s so change causes lots of other problems too, n. we reduce carbon emissions to slow it dow Send your experiments, ideas, photos, reviews and questions to Y@whizzpopbang.com or Y, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Don’t forget to include your name, age and address. We can’t return any post, sorry.

Get problem solving to earn your Epic Engineer badge.

Write a report or a review to earn your Science Reporter badge.

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whizzpopbang.com 31

Test your m um/ dad/dog to

see what they know!

1 3 5 7

How much can you remember from this issue?

Test your knowledge with our super-duper quiz. Just tick the answers you think are correct, mark them using the answers on page 34 and then add up your score. If you need some help, check out the hints at the bottom of the page.

What was Grace Hopper’s nickname?

2 4

What surprising thing did spies hide seismometers in? a) Fake poo

a) Grace the Great

b) Fake sick

b) Saving Grace

c) Their underpants

c) Amazing Grace

How many skin cells do you shed each minute?

hine Whose flying mac e design could mak r? drones quiete in’s a) Albert Einste b) Leonardo da

Vinci’s

’s c) Thomas Edison

When did scientists realise that fingerprints could be used to identify criminals? a) 1780

6

a) 5 b) 50 c) 5 00

What is the olfactory cortex? a) The part of the brain

that processes smells

b) The part of the brain

b) 1880

that solves crimes

c) 1 980

c) A group of old factories

How have spies tricked iris recognition scanners? a) By wearing an eye patch

Why was the tarantula wearing a disguise?

Because it was a spy-der!

8

y wearing contact lenses b) B

Which of these is found at the back of your eye?

I scored...

a) The retina b) The cornea c) The lens

c) By wearing glasses and a fake moustache Need a hint? Find the answers by reading these pages…

1) Page 29 2) Page 27 3) Page 4 4) Page 12 5) Page 15 6) Page 13 7) Page 35 8) Page 24

1-3: Prime puzzle solver!

4-6: Super sleuth!

7-8: Top secret agent!

B I R T H DAY COMPETITION

!

IN

10

th

W

It’s Whizz Pop Bang magazine’s 10th birthday! To celebrate, we’re offering our wonderful readers the chance to win an awesome Sublime Science Party at your home! To enter, simply answer the question below.

Bang Whizz Pop ld. so is 10 year times has y n a m w Ho the Sun? it orbited es a) 3650 tim es b) 280 tim s c) 10 time

Sublime Science Party

Sublime Science Parties are fun, hands-on and packed with awesome science – perfect for ages 5–12.

There will be bubbling potions, gooey slime making and spectacular science experiments galore!

The winner will receive a Gold Sublime Science Party at your home on a date of your choice, within a year, subject to availability. Winners living outside areas covered will instead receive a Gold Science Party in a Box. See sublimescience.com for more information.

WINNER

Issue 119 competition winners Thank you to everyone who entered our Creepy crawly competition. The answer was ‘HORNED DUNG BEETLES’.

These six lucky winners will each receive a copy of Beastie Bros: The Cabbage Juice Crime by David O’Connell.

Zachary Argent, aged 9 Luca Faulkner, aged 7 Roddy Mackinnon, aged 6½

Siân Marbrow, aged 8 Séamus Saunders, aged 7½ Violet Treadwell, aged 12

Send your entry to win@whizzpopbang.com with ‘10th birthday competition’ as the subject of your email. Alternatively, post it to 10th birthday competition, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ. Please don’t forget to include your name, age and address. Deadline: September 8th 2025. Full terms and conditions available at whizzpopbang.com.

Sorry we are unable to return any post.

whizzpopbang.com 33

S E K O J

ou What do y who ne call someo ogs? spies on fr d!

James Pon

Who hides in a bakery at Christmas?

A mince spy!

What do you ca ll alligator in a ve an st?

An Investi-gat or!

Why did the spy cross the road? which How do you know on? side she is really Page 6 – Caesar cipher

Page 11 – True/Untrue

Whizz Pop Bang

TRUE: Sniffer dogs can tell the difference between identical twins by picking up tiny differences in their smells.

Page 6 – Number code I love science Page 7 – Pigpen cipher Sneakers Page 7 – Coded letter The hidden message is ‘Meet me in the garden at four on Thursday’. Extra points if you spotted that Terence Stag is an anagram of Secret Agent!

Page 8 – Observation skills test There are eight differences.

Answers

Page 13 – Forensic challenge

Page 22 – Mystery maze

All the evidence points to suspect 3.

The secret word is ESPIONAGE – that means secretly collecting and reporting information, i.e. spying!

Page 14 – Fingerprint look and find There are 21 fingerprints on pages 14 and 15.

P WHY DO FORENSIC SCIENTISTS WEAR FUNNY SUITS?

Nowadays, forensic science uses lots of modern technology, but people have been using science to solve crimes for hundreds of years. Seven hundred years ago in China, an investigator matched wounds on a body with a sickle (a tool used to cut wheat). He lined up suspects with their sickles. None of the sickles had visible blood on them, but one of them attracted flies. This was the murder weapon!

It’s important that forensic scientists don’t leave any misleading evidence – like their own fingerprints or fibres from their clothes – at the crime scene while they’re examining it, so they wear gloves and disposable suits.

They also make sure the area is taped off so no one else can contaminate it.

G

FINGERPRINT LAB

GORY STORY

A

You will need A soft pencil Sticky tape Some plain paper A magnifying glass The fingerprint cards on page 17

E S P I O N A G E

What you do

1. Cut out the fingerprint cards.

HOW DO FORENSIC SCIENTISTS FIND EVIDENCE?

2. Rub the pencil on the plain paper.

3. Press a finger onto the pencil markings and then onto the sticky side of some sticky tape. Peel the tape off your finger and stick it onto the fingerprint card in the correct place.

Some evidence is lying around – but other evidence is microscopic. The scientists collect tiny bits of evidence using tweezers or vacuum cleaners. Evidence is bagged up for study in the lab.

How many fingerprints are hidden on pages 14 and 15.

Check your answer on page 34.

Why did the robber take a shower?

So he could make a clean getaway!

Scientists first realised that fingerprints could be used for identification and criminal investigations in 1880.

WHAT IF THE CRIMINAL CLEANS UP THE CRIME SCENE?

Some criminals try. But scientists find tiny clues that the criminal missed.

They use special powder to show hidden fingerprints and have tests for bloodstains that you can’t see. One test uses a substance called luminol.

A blood protein called haemoglobin speeds up a chemical reaction, causing the liquid to glow in the dark.

4. Repeat with the rest of the fingers on the same hand.

O

5. Get family or friends to record their fingerprints too!

You should find

E

The soft graphite in the pencil sticks to the unique pattern of ridges on your fingertips (called friction ridges). When you touch the sticky tape, the pattern is transferred to it.

Forensic scientists look for patterns in fingerprints, like these.

Arch

Arch

Whorl

Loop

Y

Riley

Emmi

Gakk

Scientists use soft brushes and very fine powders to reveal fingerprints on surfaces.

There are lots of different powders available, including a magnetic powder designed to enhance the details of faint fingerprints and even a fluorescent powder that glows when a UV light is shined on it.

whizzpopbang.com 15

Page 18 – Riddle The guard is asking for the number of letters in the number he gives them. The number nine has four letters, so their answer should be four.

Page 23 – True/Untrue TRUE: Most mazes can be solved by following one ‘wall’ with your hand, even if it means winding in and out of a few dead ends.

Page 32 – Quiz 1) c 2) a 3) b 4) c 5) b 6) a 7) b 8) a

No two irises are the same – not even in identical twins. Iris scanning is a biometric technology that identifies people by the unique patterns in the coloured part of the eye. It’s even more accurate than fingerprinting. Special infrared cameras take detailed pictures of the iris, which are then converted into digital codes to check who you are.

EYE SPY Iris recognition can be used to restrict entry to top-secret locations. Sneaky spies have tricked the scanners by wearing contact lenses with fake irises or using high-quality photos of eyes, but new technology is making this much harder to do.

© Shutterstock.com

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