Question

Why does this happen ?
(a) Coconut oil thickens in winter.
(b) Kerosene left open in a dish disappears.
(c) The fragrance of incense sticks lighted in one corner of a room spreads to the other corner.
(d) What you see in the picture.

Answer 1

a. Coconut oil is made up of two types of fat- saturated and unsaturated fats. It contains 90% saturated fats and 10% unsaturated fats. It remains liquid at higher temperatures but turns into solid as the temperatures drop in winters. This property of coconut oil is attributed to the higher content of saturated fats. Oils like mustard oil, sunflower oil remain liquid even in winters because they contain less amount of saturated fats as compared to coconut oil.

b. Kerosene left open in a dish disappears because it is a volatile compound. It quickly evopurates if it is kept in open.

c. When the incense stick is lighted, it releases smoke which contains the fragrance. Smoke is a form of gas which quickly spreads in the entire room along with the fragrance and thus making the entire room fragrant.

d. The picture shows two things which are present in tub of water. One is a balloon which floats on the surface of the water while the other is an apple which sinks to the bottom of the tub. The balloon floats on the surface of the water because it has less denity as compared to the density of the water whereas the apple sinks to the bottom of the tub because it has more density than water.