Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Then you can look for the Automobile article in

the A volume.

You can also search for your topic in the index. If

there is an article on your topic the index will tell

you which volume and page number to go to to

find that article. Sometimes a topic does not have

its own article, but you can still find information

about that topic in the encyclopedia. The index

can tell you where you can find that information.

For example, if you look up the topic “dragon” in

the index you will see that there is information

about dragons in the article called “Animals,

Legendary” even though there is no article on

dragons.

Car

#see Automobile.

 

Article Features

In addition to the text of the articles, there are

many special features that add information.

Most articles have at least one photograph, illustration,

or map. Many have more than one.

At the end of most articles, there is a feature called

“More to explore.” This feature tells you which

articles to go to to get more information about the

topic or about something that was mentioned in

the article.

“Did You Know?” boxes provide quick facts about

many different articles throughout the set.

Certain articles have additional special features.

The continents, countries, U.S. states, and

Canadian provinces have colored backgrounds to

tell you what kind of unit it is. The continents are

purple, the countries are yellow, and the states and

provinces are green. These articles also have fact

boxes. The fact boxes contain basic information,

including population and area figures.

Some of the countries also have timelines of major

events in the country’s history.

The U.S presidents have timelines of major events

in the lives of each president.

4 How to Use the Britannica Student Encyclopedia BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

kept slaves of their own. These slaves

worked on large farms that supplied

food for the army and the royal court.

The empire grew larger and stronger

throughout the 1700s. After Great Britain

and other countries outlawed the

slave trade in the 1800s Dahomey

started selling palm oil instead of slaves.

At the end of the 1800s France conquered

Dahomey. The French combined

it with other regions to form a colony

that was also called Dahomey. This

colony gained its independence in 1960.

It kept the name of Dahomey until

1975, when it became Benin.

#More to explore

Benin • Slavery

Daisy

Daisies are flowers with flat petals that

surround a round center. Daisies belong

to the aster family, which also includes

chrysanthemums, dahlias, marigolds,

sunflowers, and zinnias.

Common types of daisy include the

oxeye daisy; the English, or true, daisy;

and the Shasta daisy. These daisies grow

in Europe, North America, and other

parts of the world. Oxeye and English

daisies grow in gardens and in the wild.

The Shasta daisy is mainly a garden

plant.

Daisy plants often grow to about 2 to 3

feet (61 to 91 centimeters) tall. Two

types of flower make up each flower

head. Ray flowers are what people call

petals. The ray flowers may be long or

short. Tiny disk flowers make up the

center. The center may be flat or

rounded. Depending on the type of

daisy, the flower heads are from 1 to 4

inches (2.5 to 10 centimeters) wide.

Oxeye and Shasta daisies have a ring of

white ray flowers around a bright yellow

center. The ray flowers of the English

daisy may be white, purple, pink, or red.

#More to explore

Flower • Marigold • Plant • Sunflower

Dakar

Population

(2002 estimate)

1,983,093

Dakar is the capital of Senegal, a country

in West Africa. It is the largest city in

People often use colorful daisies to brighten

flower arrangements.

Daisies are

perennials,

which means

that they

bloom year

after year

without having

to be

replanted.

6 Daisy BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Daisies are

perennials,

which means

that they

bloom year

after year

without having

to be

replanted.

Africa

Africa is the world’s second largest continent.

More than 50 countries make up

the continent. More than one eighth of

the world’s population lives there.

Land and Climate

Africa’s landscape is varied. The northern

and western parts of the continent

are generally lower and more level than

the eastern and southern areas. Africa is

the oldest continent. Therefore most of

its mountains are not as high as those on

other continents. They have been worn

down over millions of years by wind and

water.

Africa’s most striking feature is a series

of great rifts, or troughs, in the east

known as the Rift Valley system. These

rifts span two continents, from western

Asia through eastern Africa. In Africa

they are deep, long, narrow valleys.

The world’s longest river, the Nile, flows

through northern Africa. The continent’s

other long rivers include the

Congo in central Africa, the Niger in the

west, and the Zambezi in the south.

Eastern Africa has a chain of lakes

known as the great lakes.

The continent is crossed midway by the

equator. This means that most of

Africa—the middle portion—lies within

the tropics, an area where it is hot yearround.

In the lowlands near the equator,

rain falls throughout the year. To the

north and south of this rainy area are