ShaniquahOnce upon a time, there lived a young handsome boy. His name was Clark. Clark was the stand-offish type, and didn't have many friends. His mother, however, was a social butterfly, who had so many friends that she couldn't even remember all their names. Clark didn't get out much, and he wasn't quite sure how to act around people, especially girls. This was okay, though, because a lot of Clark's time was taken up by his favorite sport, swimming.
Clark spent every waking hour swimming. He won every race he entered, and many said he was the best swimmer in the state. His mother, Suzanne, loved to brag about her son, claiming it would help him make more friends, but really it was her that was gaining fame and fake friendships. As you may guess, when the time for the swimming championships began that July, Suzanne felt there was never a better opportunity to get Clark out of the house and into the meet.
Suzanne began calling up her "connections" to see if she could garruntee a spot for her son in the final meet of the championships. It was then that she stumbled over an offer that she couldn't refuse. The deal was with a Olympic judge, Bill Smuch. He said if Suzanne would pay him a LARGE sum of money, then he could get Clark into the finals. Unfortunately, Suzanne didn't have that kind of money. She began to leave Bill Smuch's office empty-handed, when Bill made another offer. He had heard of Clark's great swimming abilities, and couldn't afford to lose the chance to coach him.
"If you agree to prove to me that your boy can win the state finals and therefor make me rich and famous," cried Mr. Smuch, "Then I will coach your son, absolutely free!"
Suzanne didn't have to even think over answer before she blurted out, "Yes! I'll send him to stay with you for three days in your house with the private pool, and over those three days he will prove himself worthy of your coaching!"
"ExcellentÉ" replied Bill Smuch
The next day, poor Clark, oblivious to what was happening, was sent to live with Mr. Bill Smuch for three days. After he dropped his things in his new room, they headed down to the pool.
As soon as they reached the pool room, Clark was in awe. The whole room was a light shade of blue, with white swimming lines on the walls, a reflection of the water. There were beautiful tropical plants all around, and the room smelled nothing like you expect a pool to smell. (You know, like chlorine and salt.) The room smelt of flowers and a cool breeze blew. Clark was the first to speak.
" Um, Mr. Smuch? Do I need to go change into my swimming suit?" Mr. Smuch raised his eyebrow.
"No, Clark. I don't need to know how you swim. I have seen you. I have heard of your records. No, I have no doubt you could win the swimming finals. What I really want to teach you is few basic facts about water that even you don't know. That way, you'll have all you need for swimming; the brains, and the body."
"OkayÉ", Clark hesitantly replied. "What are you going to teach me first?"
"Do you know the density of water, Clark?" Questioned Bill.
"Uh, the what of water?" Clark stammered. Bill Smuch hardly cracked a smile.
"Ahhh, well, there you are, Clark. That is your first assignment. Please give me the answer tomorrow." With that, Mr. Smuch turned on his heel and strolled out of the room. Clark returned to his bedroom.
"Oh no," thought Clark. "I had no idea how to figure this out! I wish I knew, because if I don't get the answer by the morning, then I will have lost my chance to train with the best coach of all time!" Just then, his wish was granted.
" Hey, baby! I'm here to teach you a thing or two about density!" laughed a cheerful voice from behind him. Clark turned.
"Who are you?" Clark asked curiously.
"Honey, leave the question asking up to me, okay? Now, let's talk about payment. Whatcha willing to give me if I teach you how to find the density of water?"
"Well, I don't have muchÉI could give you my favorite goggles." Offered Clark.
"That'll do. Hand them over."
s Clark handed them to the stranger, he began to get more and more excited. Then, the woman proceeded to teach him about density.
"This ain't rocket science, Clark. The formula for density is mass divided by volume equals density. H ere is the first step. Take a beaker, and weigh it. Let's say it weighed 29.7 grams. The add some water, let's say 10 mL, and weigh it. That would come out to about, ehhhh, 39.8 grams. The subtract the weight of the beaker alone form the weight of the beaker with water, and you'll have the mass of the water, which in this case would be 10.1 grams. You with me, Clark?"
"Yeah, I've got it!" Exclaimed Clark.
"Okay. So then you divide that number by the volume of the water, which is 10 mL, since that's how much you put in the beaker. The result would be 1.01g/mL, which is rounded to 1 g/mL. And 1g/mL is the density of water!"
"So the formula is mass divided by volume equals density, and the density of water is 1g/mL?" Asked an anxious Clark.
"You got it! Thanks for the goggles!" laughed the mysterious woman, and in a poof, she was gone.
The next morning after breakfast, Clark reported his answer to Mr. Smuch, and explained how he had gotten his answer. Mr. Smuch was very impressed.
"Okay, so here is today's question. The temperature of that pool is 59 degrees Fahrenheit. How many degrees Celsius is it? Remember, you must answer tomorrow!" Mr. Smuch left Clark to ponder the question.
Clark was quite confused. He had never done conversions like this before! He wished that the strange yet helpful woman would appear again today. As soon as the though crossed his mind, she was standing at his side.
"What'll you give me if I teach you the formula for this conversion of Fahrenheit into Celsius?" whispered the woman.
"I'll give the money my mom gave me for a new swimming suit." Answered Clark.
"Perfect!" said the woman. "Now here is the equation: You take the number in Fahrenheit, I guess it's 59 degrees, and you plug it into the equation 5 divided by 9, times the number which is the answer to the equation Fahrenheit minus 32. So if you have 59 degrees Fahrenheit, and you subtract 32 degrees, that gives you 27 degrees. 5 divided by 9 is .555555, ect. So .555555 times 27 is 14.99999, (or 15) degrees Celsius. The temperature of the pool is 15 degrees Celsius!
"Thank you so much!" smiled Clark.
"My pleasure. Now I need to go shopping!" said the woman as she left the room.
Once again, the next morning, Clark explained his answer to Mr. Smuch, and once again, his answer was right.
"Okay," said Mr. Smuch, "This is the final question. It should be rather easy compared to the prior ones. If you answer correctly, then I will be your coach, and you will win at finals! The question is, what is the boiling point of water? You think that over, Clark! Bye!"
"Hum, boiling point of waterÉ if only I could have a little helpÉ," thought Clark.
POOF! There stood the lady once again.
"All right, Clark, what are you offering me for my answer this time?" Asked the woman with a somewhat greedy tone.
Clark thought and thought, but he could think of anything else he would be willing to give her.
"I know," stated the woman. "We'll play a little game. I'll tell you the answer to your question. Then, if you can guess my name, you owe me nothing more. But if you can't guess my name, then you must give me your trophy when you win at finals."
Reluctantly, Clark agreed.
"Well, this is really a trick question. You see, the boiling point of water varies depending what elevation you are at. The higher above sea level you are, the lower the temperature of the boiling point, because there is less pressure on the water, and the other way around. At sea level, the boiling point is 212 degrees Fahrenheit."
"Thanks!" said Clark gratefully.
"After you answer the question tomorrow, I'll come back, and see if you can guess my name." The woman was gone. Clark chuckled quietly under his breath.
The next morning, the boy explained his answer.
"My. My," grinned Mr. Smuch, " You certainly are bright. I thought I'd stump you with that last question!"
Just as she said she would, the woman appeared.
"Clark, can you guess my name?" she asked.
"Who are you?!" Mr. Smuch cried out.
"Don't worry, Mr. Smuch." Said Clark calmly. " Let's seeÉ. UmmmmmmmÉÉ could it beÉÉ. Shaniquah?"
"Dang it! How did you know?" asked the irritated woman.
"Because you have a name tag on that says, "Hi, my name is"É. And you've written in Shaniquah!" laughed Clark, thrilled with his own wit.
In a huff, Shaniquah ripped off her name tag, and disappeared. Mr. Smuch, relieved that the woman had evacuated his home, began to beam.
"Clark, you and I are going to make an excellent team! Why, maybe you could even make it to the Olympics somedayÉ."
"Wait, Mr. Smuch," interrupted Clark. "I think from now on, I'm just going to swim on the side. After these past three days, I've decided I want to be a scientist or a mathematician!! But thanks for everything!"
And so, that day, Clark left Mr. Smuch's house with the best gift of all. Not a trophy or a medal, but knowledge. With that knowledge, he lived happily ever after. The end.