The Case of the Growing Ears
Have you ever noticed that older people sometimes have very large ears? It's not your imagination! Scientists have discovered that our ears actually get longer as we get older. While some people think it's because our ear cartilage keeps growing, most scientists believe it's actually gravity's fault. Over many years, gravity slowly pulls on our earlobes, stretching them out bit by bit! Learn more!
Wee Ones
If you look at your own ears today, and then look at them again tomorrow morning, is it likely or unlikely that they will have grown as big as an elephant's ears?
Little Kids
A young girl has ears that are 45 millimetres long. By the time she grows up, her ears will grow 5 millimetres more. How many millimetres long will they be then?
Big Kids
A famous study found that ears grow about 0.22 millimetres every single year. If your ears grew at this rate for 100 years, how many millimetres longer would they be? (Hint: just shift the decimal point two places to the right!)
The Sky's the Limit
Scientists found that about 1/2 of our ear growth is actually caused by gravity pulling on our lobes. Can you name the percentage that is the same as 1/2?