THE ECONOMY

The best-known index of the U.S. stock market had its biggest one-day loss this month. The very next day, it posted its biggest gain. What does that mean? How does the stock market work? Money and finance are much more complicated than centuries ago, when people swapped gold and silver, farm animals and grains for other items they needed. But metals, livestock and grains are still traded on world markets. To learn more about money and the economy, use the direct links on The Times’ Launch Point Web site. https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/

Here are the best sites for getting your schoolwork done or for just having fun.

LEVEL 1

KidsBank.Com: Learn about the history of money as well as what a check is and why banks pay interest. Test your knowledge with several quizzes, try out the special calculators, or ask Mr. Money a question.

https://www.kidsbank.com/index_3.html

Lemonade Stand: Manage a virtual lemonade stand, and make business decisions based on weather forecasts, pricing strategies and advertising.

https://www.littlejason.com/lemonade/index.html

Kids’ Page: Do you know whose images are on coins and dollar bills? Try these quizzes to test your knowledge, and also learn some tips to save money.

https://www.tntelco.org/KIDS.htm

LEVEL 2

Will I Ever Be Able to Fill My Piggy Bank? Learn about balancing a checkbook, figuring out a paycheck and determining what rate of compounded interest pays more: annual or semiannual.

https://www.richmond.edu/~ed344/96/math/banking.html

Financial Planning: Learn why it’s important for young people to understand money. Read tips on how to organize a financial plan for your future, as well as learn about stocks, bonds, mutual funds and money markets.

https://tqd.advanced.org/3478/

Investing for Kids: Play the “ThinkQuest Stock Game,” and use real data from Wall Street to buy and sell stocks. This site has information for beginning, intermediate and advanced investors.

https://tqd.advanced.org/3096/

LEVEL 3

National Budget Simulation: Try to balance the national budget. Learn about national spending items, and experience the compromises that citizens and legislators must make.

https://garnet.berkeley.edu:3333/budget/budget.html

EduStock: Participate in a stock market tutorial, and use your knowledge to play the stock simulation game. Includes profiles of some of the most successful companies in the nation.

https://tqd.advanced.org/3088/

Bureau of the Public Debt: What is the difference between debt and deficit? How is public money spent? Find the answers to those questions and more at this site.

https://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opd.htm

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This week’s column was designed by Ronni Rowland and Anna Manring.

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

Who is the person shown on the dollar coin?

Clue: Use Kids’ Page

Tell Us What You Want to Know

Got a paper or project coming up? Just curious about something? Send us a topic, and we’ll consider it for a future Launch Point column. Write to us at The Times Orange County, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. E-mail us at educ@latimes.com or leave a phone message at (714) 966-4550.

Answer to last week’s Quest:

“The Littlest Knight” filled the cup with kindness and solved the dragon’s riddle.