NCERT Class 6 Science PDF

SCIENCE
TEXTBOOK FOR CLASS VI
2018-19
ISBN 81-7450-512-1
First Edition
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2018-19
FOREWORD
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005, recommends that children’s life
at school must be linked to their life outside the school. This principle marks a
departure from the legacy of bookish learning which continues to shape our system
and causes a gap between the school, home and community. The syllabi and
textbooks developed on the basis of NCF signify an attempt to implement this basic
idea. They also attempt to discourage rote learning and the maintenance of sharp
boundaries between different subject areas. We hope these measures will take us
significantly further in the direction of a child-centred system of education outlined
in the National Policy on Education (1986).
The success of this effort depends on the steps that school principals and
teachers will take to encourage children to reflect on their own learning and to
pursue imaginative activities and questions. We must recognise that, given space,
time and freedom, children generate new knowledge by engaging with the
information passed on to them by adults. Treating the prescribed textbook as the
sole basis of examination is one of the key reasons why other resources and sites
of learning are ignored. Inculcating creativity and initiative is possible if we
perceive and treat children as participants in learning, not as receivers of a fixed
body of knowledge.
These aims imply considerable change in school routines and mode of
functioning. Flexibility in the daily time-table is as necessary as rigour in
implementing the annual calendar so that the required number of teaching days
are actually devoted to teaching. The methods used for teaching and evaluation
will also determine how effective this textbook proves for making children’s life at
school a happy experience, rather than a source of stress or boredom. Syllabus
designers have tried to address the problem of curricular burden by restructuring
and reorienting knowledge at different stages with greater consideration for child
psychology and the time available for teaching. The textbook attempts to enhance
this endeavour by giving higher priority and space to opportunities for
contemplation and wondering, discussion in small groups, and activities requiring
hands-on experience.
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) appreciates
the hard work done by the Textbook Development Committee responsible for this
book. We wish to thank the Chairperson of the advisory group in Science and
Mathematics, Professor J.V. Narlikar and the Chief Advisor for this book,
Dr. N. Rathnasree for guiding the work of this committee. Several teachers
contributed to the development of this textbook; we are grateful to their principals
for making this possible. We are indebted to the institutions and organisations
which have generously permitted us to draw upon their resources, material and
personnel. We are especially grateful to the members of the National Monitoring
Committee, appointed by the Department of Secondary and Higher Education,
Ministry of Human Resource Development under the Chairpersonship of Professor
Mrinal Miri and Professor G.P. Deshpande, for their valuable time and contribution.
As an organisation committed to systemic reform and continuous improvement in
the quality of its products, NCERT welcomes comments and suggestions which will
enable us to undertake further revision and refinement.
Director
New Delhi National Council of Educational
December 2005 Research and Training
2018-19
2018-19
TEXTBOOK DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
CHAIRPERSON, ADVISORY GROUP IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

J.V. Narlikar, Emeritus Professor, Chairman, Advisory Committee Inter University Centre
for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCCA), Ganeshkhind, Pune University, Pune
CHIEF ADVISOR
N. Rathnasree, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Teen Murti House, New Delhi
MEMBERS
C. V. Shimray, Lecturer, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics, NCERT,
Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
D. Lahiry, Professor (Retd.), DESM, NCERT, BL-89, Sector 2, Salt Lake, Kolkata
G. P. Pande, Uttarakhand Seva Nidhi, Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan, Jakhan Devi, Almora,
Uttranchal
Harsh Kumari, Headmistress, CIE Experimental Basic School, Department of Education,
Delhi University, Delhi
J. S. Gill, Professor, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics, NCERT,
Jaishree Sikka, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, P.M.B. Gujarati Science College,
Indore
Kalyani Krishna, Reader, Department of Botany, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi,
Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi
Lalita C. Kumar, Reader (Chemistry), School of Science, Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU), Maidan Garhi, New Delhi
Neeraja Raghavan, Writer, Girl’s Education Plus, 302, East Mansion, 2 Hutchins Road,
Cooke Town, Bangalore
P.S. Yadava, Professor, Department of Life Sciences, Manipur University, Imphal
R. K. Parashar, Lecturer, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics, NCERT,
Rachna Garg, Lecturer, Central Institute of Educational Technology, NCER T,
Ranjana Agrawal, Principal Scientist and Head, Division of Forcasting Techniques,
Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, IARI Campus, Pusa, New Delhi
Sunila Masih, Teacher, Mitra GHS School, Suhagpur, P.O. Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh
Sunita Malhotra, Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Indira Gandhi National Open
University (IGNOU), Maidan Garhi, New Delhi
V. P. Srivastava, Reader, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics, NCERT,
MEMBER-COORDINATOR
R. Joshi, Lecturer (Selection Grade), DESM, NCERT, New Delhi
2018-19
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCER T)

acknowledges the valuable contribution of the individuals and organisations
involved in the development of Science Textbook for Class VI. The Council
acknowledges the valuable contribution of the following academics for reviewing
and refining the manuscripts of this book: Sushma Kiran Setia, Principal,
Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Hari Nagar (Clock Tower), New Delhi; Mohini Bindra,
Principal, Ramjas School, Pusa Road, New Delhi; D. K. Bedi, Principal, Apeejay
Senior Secondary School, Pitampura, Road No. 42, Sainik Vihar, New Delhi;
Chand Vir Singh, Lecturer (Biology), GBSS School, Rajouri Garden (Main),
New Delhi; Neelam Monga, TGT (Science), Kendriya Vidyalaya, Janakpuri,
New Delhi; Renuka Madan, TGT (Physics), Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute,
Subroto Park, Delhi Cantt; P.K. Bhattacharya, Professor (Retd) Consultant, DESM,
NCERT, New Delhi and Shukhvir Singh, Reader, DESM, NCERT, New Delhi.
The Council gratefully acknowledges the valuable contribution of the following
academics for the editing and finalisation of this book: Vinod Raina, Member
National Monitoring Committee, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Basement of YWA
Building, Hostel No. 2, G. Block, Saket, New Delhi; Professor Amitabha Mukherjee,
Director, Centre for Science Education and Communication (CSEC), 10 Cavalry
Lane, University of Delhi, Delhi; Savithri Singh, Principal, AND College, University
of Delhi, Govindpuri, New Delhi; M. M. Kapoor, Professor, CSEC, 10 Cavalry
Lane, University of Delhi, Delhi; R. M. Hallen, CSEC, 10 Cavalry Lane, University
of Delhi, Delhi; D. A. Misra, Principal (Retd), (As Nominee of CSEC) Directorate of
Education, B 203, Saraswati Vihar, New Delhi; Charu Varma, Lecturer,
(As Nominee of CSEC), DIET, FU Block, Pitampura, Delhi. The contributions of
Pramila Tanwar and Ashish K. Srivastava, Assistant Professors, are
acknowledged for being a part of the review of this textbook.
The Council gratefully acknowledges the valuable feedback and suggestions
received from Professor Arvind Kumar, Director, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science
Education (HBCSE), TIFR, V. N. Purve Marg, Mankhurd, Mumbai and the
academics at HBCSE and CSEC at various stages of development of the
manuscript of this textbook.
The dynamic leadership of Professor M. Chandra, Head, DESM, for providing
guidance in final editing of the manuscript and extending infrastructure facilities
is highly acknowledged. Special thanks are due to Shveta Uppal, Chief Editor;
and Vandana Singh, Consultant Editor for going through the manuscript and
suggesting relevant changes.
The Council also acknowledges the efforts of Deepak Kapoor, Computer Station
Incharge, Muhammad Aiyub Raza Misbahi, DTP Operator; Rajesh Kumar
‘Manjhi’, Copy Editor; Satish Kumar Mishra and Seema Yadav, Proof Readers.
The contribution of APC-office, administration of DESM, Publication
Department and Secretariat of NCERT is also acknowledged.
2018-19
A NOTE FOR STUDENTS
The team of Paheli and Boojho will be

with you as you journey through this
textbook. They love to ask questions.
All kinds of questions come to their
minds and they collect them in their
sacks. Sometimes, they may share
some of these questions with you, as
you read through the chapters.
Paheli and Boojho are also on the
lookout for answers to many
questions — sometimes the questions
seem answered after they discuss
them with each other, sometimes
through discussions with other
classmates, teachers or their parents.
Answers to some questions do not
seem available even after all these. They might need to experiment on their own,
read books in the library, send questions to scientists. Just dig and dig and dig
into all possibilities and see if the questions can be answered. Perhaps, they
would carry some of the unanswered questions in their sacks to higher classes.
What will really thrill them, would be your adding questions to their sacks
or answer to their questions. Sometimes activities are suggested in the textbook,
results or findings of these by different groups of students would be of interest to
other students and teachers. You can complete the suggested activities and send
your results or findings to Paheli and Boojho. Do keep in mind that activities
that involve using blades, scissors or fire need to be done strictly under the care
of your teachers. Stick to the precautions given and then enjoy doing all the
suggested activities. Mind, the book will not be able to help you much, if the
activities are not completed!
You can send your feedback for Paheli and Boojho at.
To
The Head
Department of Education in
Science and Mathematics,
NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg,
New Delhi 110016
2018-19
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
Part IV A (Article 51 A)
Fundamental Duties
Fundamental Duties – It shall be the duty of every citizen of India —
(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National
Flag and the National Anthem;
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for
freedom;
(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people
of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to
renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers,
wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so
that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
(k) who is a parent or guardian, to provide opportunities for education to his child or,
as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.
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CONTENTS
FOREWORD iii
A NOTE FOR STUDENTS vii
CHAPTER 1
FOOD: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? 1
C H A P T E R 2
COMPONENTS OF FOOD 8
C H A P T E R 3
FIBRE TO FABRIC 18
C H A P T E R 4
SORTING MATERIALS INTO GROUPS 26
C H A P T E R 5
SEPARATION OF SUBSTANCES 35
C H A P T E R 6
CHANGES AROUND US 46
C H A P T E R 7
GETTING TO KNOW PLANTS 52
C H A P T E R 8
BODY MOVEMENTS 66
C H A P T E R 9
THE LIVING ORGANISMS — CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITATS 79
C H A P T E R 10
MOTION AND MEASUREMENT OF DISTANCES 95
C H A P T E R 11
LIGHT, SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS 107
C H A P T E R 12
ELECTRICITY AND CIRCUITS 116
C H A P T E R 13
FUN WITH MAGNETS 125
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x
C H A P T E R 14
WATER 136
C H A P T E R 15
AIR AROUND US 147
C H A P T E R 16
GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT 155
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1 Food:
Where Does it Come From?
W
hat did you eat at home There seems to be so much variety
today? Find out what your in the food that we eat (Fig 1.1). What
friend ate today. Did you eat are these food items made of?
the same kind of food yesterday and Think about rice
today? We all eat different kinds of food cooked at home. We take
at different times, isn’t it? raw rice and boil it in
water. Just two materials
1.1 FOOD VARIETY
or ingredients are
Activity 1 needed to prepare a dish of boiled rice.
On the other hand, some food items
Ask your friends in the school about the
are made with many ingredients. To
items they would be eating during a day.
prepare vegetable curry, we need
See if you can also get this information
different kinds of vegetables, salt, spices,
from friends staying in different states
oil and so on.
of India. List all the items in your
notebook as given in Table 1.1, for as Activity 2
many friends as possible.
Choose some of the items you listed in
Table 1.1 What do we eat? Table 1.1 and try to find out what
Name of the
ingredients are used to prepare these,
Food items
student/friend eaten in a day by discussing with your friends and
elders at home. List them in Table 1.2.
Some examples are given here. Add
some more items to this list.
Table 1.2 Food items and their
ingredients
Food Item Ingredients
Roti/chapati Atta, water
Pulses, water, salt, oil/

Dal
ghee, spices
Fig. 1.1 Different food items
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What do we find? Do we find some ingredients common
for different food items? Discuss in class.
So, where do these ingredients come from?
1.2 FOOD MATERIALS AND SOURCES
It may be easy for us to guess the sources of some of the
ingredients that we listed in Table 1.2. Fruits and
vegetables, for instance (Fig. 1.2a). Where do they come
from? Plants, of course! What are the sources of rice or
(a) Plant sources
wheat? You may have seen paddy or wheat fields with rows
and rows of plants, which give us these grains (Fig. 1.3).
And then, there are food items like milk, eggs and meat,
which come from animals (Fig. 1.2b).
Activity 3 Fig. 1.2 Sources of

food ingredients
Let us take the food items listed earlier
and try to find out where they come from
(b) Animal sources
— the ingredients and their sources.
Some examples are shown in Table 1.3. Table 1.3 Ingredients used to
Fill in the blanks in Table 1.3 and add prepare food items and
more examples to this list. their sources
Food Item Ingredients Sources
Idli Rice Plant
Urad dal
Salt
Water
Chicken
Chicken Animal
curry
(a)
Spices
Plants/
Oil/ghee
Animals
Water
Kheer Milk Animal
Rice Plant
(b)
Fig. 1.3 Source of food grains Sugar
(a) Paddy field (b) Wheat grains transported
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What do we conclude from Activity
Flower
3? Plants are the sources of food
ingredients like grains, cereals,
vegetables and fruits. Animals provide Fruit
us with milk, meat products and eggs.
Stem
Cows, goats and buffaloes are some Leaf Shoot
system
common animals which give us milk.
Milk and milk products like butter,
cream, cheese and curd are used all over Node
the world. Can you name some other Internode { Bud

animals which give us milk?
1.3 PLANT PARTS AND ANIMAL
PRODUCTS AS FOOD Primary
root Root
Plants are one source of our food. Which Secondary system
root
parts of a plant?
We eat many leafy vegetables. We eat Fig. 1.4 Different edible parts of plants
fruits of some plants. Sometimes roots, flowers dipped in rice paste and fried?
sometimes stems and even flowers Try it!
(Fig 1.4). Have you ever eaten pumpkin Some plants have two or more edible
(eatable) parts. Seeds of mustard plants
give us oil and the leaves are
Paheli wants to know if any of our used as a vegetable. Can you think of
food comes from sources other the different parts of a banana plant that
than plants and animals. are used as food? Think of more
examples where two or more parts of a
single plant are used as food.
Table 1.4 Plant parts as food
Food item with plant Ingredients/source Plant part which gives

as the major source us the ingredient
1. Brinjal curry Brinjal Fruit

Chilli as spice (any other) Fruit
Oil from groundnut, mustard,
soybean, any other plant Seed
2.
3.
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Fig. 1.6 Chana (gram) and its sprouts
Do not try to taste unknown plants
around you to see if they are edible! covered with a wet cloth. The next day,
Some plants could be poisonous. see if the seeds have sprouted.
After washing these sprouted seeds,
Activity 4 you can eat them. They can also be
boiled. Add some spices and get a tasty
From all the food items you have listed
snack to eat.
in Table 1.3, choose those items whose Do you know where honey comes
ingredients are obtained from plants. from, or how it is produced? Have you
Which part of a plant? Identify these seen a beehive where so many bees keep
and list the food items and plant parts buzzing about? Bees collect nectar
as shown in Table 1.4. (sweet juices) from flowers, convert it
Activity 5
Take some dry seeds of moong or chana.
Put a small quantity of seeds in a
container filled with water and leave this
aside for a day. Next day, drain the water
completely and leave the seeds in the
vessel. Wrap them with a piece of wet
cloth and set aside. The following day,
do you observe any changes in the seeds?
Fig. 1.7 Beehive
into honey and store it in their hive
(Fig. 1.7). Flowers and their nectar may
be available only for a part of the year.
So, bees store this nectar for their use
all through the year. When we find such
Fig. 1.5 Whole moong and its sprouts
a beehive, we collect the food stored by
A small white structure may have grown the bees as honey.
out of the seeds. If so, the seeds have
sprouted (Fig. 1.5 and 1.6). If not, wash 1.5 WHAT DO ANIMALS EAT?
the seeds in water, drain the water and Do you have cattle or a pet that you take
leave them aside for another day, care of? A dog, cat, buffalo or a goat?
4 SCIENCE
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eat is also given. Fill in the blanks in
the table.
Activity 7
Have a look again at Table 1.5 and group
the animals entered here as follows.
Place animals which eat only plants or
plant products in Group 1. These are
Fig. 1.8 Squirrel eating nuts called herbivores. There are some
You will then surely be aware of the food, animals which eat other animals.
the animal eats. What about other Place these in Group 2. These animals
animals? Have you ever observed what are called carnivores. Do you find
a squirrel (Fig 1.8), pigeon, lizard or a some animals which eat both plants
small insect may be eating as their food? and animals? Place them in Group 3.
These are called omnivores. Prepare
Activity 6
a table as in Table 1.6 and enter
Several animals are listed in Table 1.5. these separately in the three columns,
For some of them, the type of food they as shown.
Table 1.6
Table 1.5 Animals and their Food
Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores
Name of the Food the
animal animal eats Cow Lion Dog
Grass, oilcake,
Buf falo hay, grains
Small animals,
Cat birds, milk
Rat
Lion
T iger
Spider
Paheli wants to know where you
House lizard
would place human beings,
Cow while filling Table 1.6.
Human beings
Butter fly
Crow
We know that there are many
Others
amongst us, who do not get sufficient
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food. We need to find ways by which will need to find ways to ensure that
more food can be produced in the this food is made easily available to each
country. That will not be enough; we one of us.
Ingredients
Edible
Nectar
Sprouted seeds
Herbivore
Car nivore
Omnivore
n There is a lot of variation in the food eaten in different regions of India.

n The main sources of our food are plants and animals.
n Animals which eat only plants are called herbivores.
n Animals which eat only animals are called carnivores.
n Animals which eat both plants as well as other animals are called
omnivores.
1. Do you find that all living beings need the same kind of food?
2. Name five plants and their parts that we eat.
3. Match the items given in Column A with that in Column B
Column A Column B
Milk, curd, paneer, ghee, eat other animals
Spinach, cauliflower, carrot eat plants and plant products
Lions and tigers are vegetables
Herbivores are all animal products
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4. Fill up the blanks with the words given:
herbivore, plant, milk, sugarcane, carnivore
(a) Tiger is a ____________________ because it eats only meat.
(b) Deer eats only plant products and so, is called ______________.
(c) Parrot eats only _________________ products.
(d) The ________________ that we drink, which comes from cows, buffaloes and
goats is an animal product.
(e) We get sugar from ___________________.
SUGGESTED PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. You must have seen a garden lizard around your home. Next time when-
ever you see it, observe carefully and find out what it takes for food. Is the
food different from that of a house lizard?
2. Make a list (with pictures, when possible) of food items generally taken by
people of different regions of India. Place these on a large outline map of
India to display in your classroom.
3. Find out the names of plants that grow in water and which are eaten
as food.
4. In Chapter 10, you will find out ways of measuring length of curved lines.
In your mathematics classes you will learn to prepare bar graphs. After
you learn these, try the following interesting project. Prepare some sprouts
of moong as discussed in the chapter. Wash them in water everyday and
drain all the water. Let them grow for a week until the whole of the seeds
grow into young plants. Measure the lengths of the sprouts everyday using
a string. Take care that they do not break. Prepare a bar graph of the
number of sprouts having lengths in different ranges.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
1. Does everyone around you get enough food to eat? If not, why?
2. What are the ways we can think of to avoid wastage of food?
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2 Components of Food
I
n Chapter 1, we made lists of the curd, butter milk and pickles. Some
food items that we eat. We also examples of meals from different regions
identified food items eaten in are given in Table 2.1. Select food items
different parts of India and marked you depicted on the map in Chapter 1.
these on its map. Add some more meals to this list and
A meal could consist of chapati, dal enter these in Table 2.1.
and brinjal curry. Another may be rice, Sometimes, we may not really have
sambar and a vegetable preparation of all this variety in our meals. If we are
lady’s finger (bhindi). Yet another meal travelling, we may eat whatever is
could be appam, fish curry and available on the way. It may not be
vegetables. possible for some of us, to eat such a
variety of items, most of the time.
There must be some reason though,
why meals usually consist of such a
distribution. Do you think that our body
needs different kinds of food for some
special purpose?
Activity 1 2.1 WHAT DO DIFFERENT FOOD
Our meals usually have at least one item ITEMS CONTAIN?
made of some kind of grain. Other items We know that each dish is usually made
could be a dal or a dish of meat and up of one or more ingredients, which
vegetables. It may also include items like we get from plants or animals. These
Table 2.1 Some common meals of different regions/states
Region/
Item of grain Item of Vegetables Others
State dal/meat
Rajma Sarson saag Curd, ghee
Punjab Makki (cor n) roti (Kidney beans) (Mustard leaf curry)
Andhra Tuar dal and Butter milk, ghee,

Pradesh Rice rasam (charu) Kunduru (dondakai) pickle (aavakai)
8 SCIENCE
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ingredients contain some components A dilute solution of iodine can be
that are needed by our body. These
prepared by adding a few drops of
components are called nutrients. The
major nutrients in our food are named tincture iodine to a test tube half filled
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins with water.
and minerals. In addition, food contains Copper sulphate solution can be
dietary fibres and water which are also
pr epar ed by dissolving 2 gram (g) of
needed by our body.
copper sulphate in 100 millilitre (mL)
Do all foods contain all these
nutrients? With some simple methods of water.
we can test whether cooked food or a 10 g of caustic soda dissolved in
raw ingredient contains one or more of 100 mL of water makes the required
these nutrients. The tests for presence
solution of caustic soda.
of carbohydrates, proteins and fats
are simpler to do as compared to the the form of starch and sugars. We can
tests for other nutrients. Let us do these easily test if a food item contains starch.
tests and record all our observations
in Table 2.2. Activity 2
For carrying out these tests, you will Test for Starch
need solutions of iodine, copper
Take a small quantity of a food item or
sulphate and caustic soda. You will also
need a few test tubes and a dropper. a raw ingredient. Put 2-3 drops of dilute
Try these tests on cooked food items iodine solution on it (Fig. 2.1). Observe
as well as raw materials. Table 2.2 shows if there is any change in the colour of
you a way to record the observations the food item. Did it turn blue-black?
from these tests. Some food items are
given in this table. You can conduct the
tests either with these or any other
available food items. Do these tests
carefully and do not try to eat or taste
any chemicals.
If the required solutions are not
available in readymade form, your
teacher can prepare them as given in
the box.
Let us begin by testing different
food items to see if they contain
carbohydrates. There are many
types of carbohydrates. The main
carbohydrates found in our food are in Fig. 2.1 Testing for starch
2018-19
A blue-black colour indicates that it test tube (Fig. 2.2). Shake well and let
contains starch. the test tube stand for a few minutes.
Repeat this test with other food items What do you see? Did the contents of
to find out which of these contain starch. the test tube turn violet? A violet colour
Enter all your observations in Table 2.2. indicates presence of proteins in the
food item.
Test for Protein
Now, you can repeat this test on other
Take a small quantity of a food item for
food items.
testing. If the food you want to
test is a solid, you first need to Table 2.2 Nutrients present in some
make a paste of it or powder it. food items
Grind or mash a small quantity
Food item Starch Protein Fat
of the food item. Put some of this (present) (present) (present)
in a clean test tube, add 10 drops
Raw potato Yes
of water to it and shake the
test tube. Milk Yes
Now, using a dropper, add Groundnut Yes
two drops of solution of copper
sulphate and ten drops of U ncooked
powdered
solution of caustic soda to the rice
Cooked rice
Dry coconut
Uncooked
tuar dal
(powdered)
Cooked dal
A slice of any
vegetable
A slice of any
fruit
Boiled egg
(white
portion)
Fig. 2.2 Testing for protein
10 SCIENCE
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Test for Fats fats and carbohydrates are also
Take a small quantity of a food item. called ‘energy giving foods’ (Fig. 2.3
Wrap it in a piece of paper and crush it. and Fig. 2.4).
Take care that the paper does not tear. Proteins are needed for the growth
Now, straighten the paper and observe and repair of our body. Foods
it carefully. Does it have an oily patch?
Sweet potato Potato Sugarcane
Hold the paper against light. Are you
able to see the light faintly, through Papaya
this patch?
An oily patch on paper shows that Wheat
the food item contains fat. The food Melon
items may sometimes contain a little
Mango
water. Therefore, after you have rubbed Rice
an item on paper, let the paper dry for a
while. If there were any water that may Bajra Maize
have come from food, it would dry up
Fig. 2.3 Some sources of carbohydrates
after some time. If no oily patch shows
up after this, the food item does not
contain any fat.
What do these tests show? Are fats,
proteins and starch present in all the
food items that you tested? Does a food
item contain more than one nutrient?
Nuts
Do you find any food item that does not
contain any of these nutrients?
We tested food items for three
Groundnuts Til
nutrients — carbohydrates, proteins
(a)
and fats. There are also other nutrients
like vitamins and minerals that are
present in different food items. Why do Meat
we need all these nutrients?
2.2 WHAT DO VARIOUS NUTRIENTS DO
FOR OUR BODY?
Carbohydrates mainly provide energy Eggs
to our body. Fats also give us energy.
Fish
In fact, fats give much more energy (b)
as compared to the same amount of Fig. 2.4 Some sources of fats: (a) plant sources
carbohydrates. Foods containing and (b) animal sources
2018-19
Gram Moong Tuar dal small quantities. Vitamin A keeps our
skin and eyes healthy. Vitamin C helps
Beans
body to fight against many diseases.
Vitamin D helps our body to use
calcium for bones and teeth. Foods that
are rich in different vitamins are shown
in Fig. 2.6 to Fig. 2.9.
Minerals are needed by our body in
small amounts. Each one is essential
Papaya
Peas Soyabeans
(a) Carrot
Meat
Mango
Fig. 2.6 Some sources of Vitamin A

Wheat Rice
Fish
Liver
Fig. 2.7 Some sources of Vitamin B

Paneer Eggs
Orange Guava
(b)
Fig. 2.5 Some sources of proteins: (a) plant Tomato
sources and (b) animal sources Green
Chilli
proteins are often called ‘body building
foods’ (Fig 2.5). Lemon
Vitamins help in protecting our body Amla
against diseases. Vitamins also help in Fig. 2.8 Some sources of Vitamin C
keeping our eyes, bones, teeth and gums
healthy. Fish
Vitamins are of different kinds
known by different names. Some of these
are Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D,
Vitamin E and K. There is also a group
of vitamins called Vitamin B-complex. Liver Egg
Our body needs all types of vitamins in Fig. 2.9 Some sources of Vitamin D
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Our body also Some sources of
iodine
prepares Vitamin D in the
presence of sunlight. Nowadays,
insufficient exposure to sunlight is
causing Vitamin D deficiency in
many people.
Ginger
Some sources of
phosphorous
for proper growth of body and to

maintain good health. Some sources of
different minerals are shown in Fig. 2.10.
Most food items, usually, have more
than one nutrient. You may have noticed
this, while recording your observations
in Table 2.2. However, in a given raw Some sources
material, one particular nutrient may of iron
be present in much larger quantity than
in others. For example, rice has more
carbohydrates than other nutrients.
Thus, we say that rice is a “carbohydrate
rich” source of food.
Besides these nutrients, our body
needs dietary fibres and water. Dietary Some sources
fibres are also known as roughage. of calcium
Roughage is mainly provided by plant
products in our foods. Whole grains and
pulses, potatoes, fresh fruits and
vegetables are main sources of roughage.
Roughage does not provide any nutrient
to our body, but is an essential
component of our food and adds to its
bulk. This helps our body get rid of
undigested food. Fig. 2.10 Sources of some minerals
2018-19
Water helps our body to absorb think that, what we need for a balanced
nutrients from food. It also helps in diet would depend on the amount of
throwing out some wastes from body as physical work that we do?
urine and sweat. Normally, we get most Prepare a chart of whatever you eat
of the water that our body needs from over a period of a week. Check whether
the liquids we drink — such as water, all the nutrients mentioned are present
milk and tea. In addition, we add water in one or the other food items being
to most cooked foods. Let’s see if there eaten within a day or so.
is any other source which provides water Pulses, groundnut, soyabean,
to our body. sprouted seeds (moong and Bengal
gram), fermented foods (South Indian
Activity 3
foods such as idlis), a combination of
Take a tomato or a fruit like lemon. Cut flours (missi roti, thepla made from
it into small pieces. Do your hands get cereals and pulses), banana, spinach,
wet while doing so? sattu, jaggery, available vegetables and
Carefully observe whenever other such foods provide many
vegetables and fruits are being cut, nutrients. Therefore, one can eat a
peeled, grated or mashed at your balanced diet without expensive food
home. Do you find any fresh vegetables materials.
or fruits that do not contain some Eating the right kind of food is not
amount of water? enough. It should also be cooked
We see that many food materials
themselves contain water. To some
extent, our body needs are met by this Paheli wonders whether animal
water. Apart from this, we also add water food also consists of these
while cooking many food items. different components and do
2.3 BALANCED DIET they also need a balanced diet?
The food we normally eat in a day is our
diet. For growth and maintenance of
good health, our diet should have all
the nutrients that our body needs, in
right quantities. Not too much of one
and not too little of the other. The diet properly so that its nutrients are not
should also contain a good amount of lost. Are you aware that some nutrients
roughage and water. Such a diet is called get lost in the process of cooking and
a balanced diet. preparations?
Do you think that people of all ages If the vegetables and fruits are
need the same type of diet? Do you also washed after cutting or peeling them, it
14 SCIENCE
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may result in the loss of some vitamins. in fats — fried food like samosa and poori
The skins of many vegetables and fruits (snacks), malai, rabdi and peda (sweets).
contain vitamins and minerals. Do you think he was right? No, of
Similarly, repeated washing of rice and course not! It can be very harmful for
pulses may remove some vitamins and us to eat too much of fat rich foods and
minerals present in them. we may end up suffering from a
We all know that cooking improves condition called obesity.
the taste of food and makes it easier to
2.4 DEFICIENCY DISEASES
digest. At the same time, cooking also
results in the loss of certain nutrients. A person may be getting enough food to
eat, but sometimes the food may not
Many useful proteins and considerable
contain a particular nutrient. If this
amounts of minerals are lost if excess
water is used during cooking and is continues over a long period of time, the
person may suffer from its deficiency.
then thrown away.
Deficiency of one or more nutrients can
Vitamin C gets easily destroyed by
heat during cooking. Would it not be cause diseases or disorders in our body.
Diseases that occur due to lack of
sensible to include some fruits and raw
nutrients over a long period are called
vegetables in our diet?
Boojho thought that fats would be deficiency diseases.
If a person does not get enough
the best foods to eat, all the time. A katori
proteins in his/her food for a long time,
(bowl) of fat will give much more energy
than a katori of carbohydrate rich food, he/she is likely to have stunted growth,
swelling of face, discolouration of hair,
isn’t it? So, he ate nothing but food rich
skin diseases and diarrhoea.
If the diet is deficient in both
carbohydrates and proteins for a long
period of time, the growth may stop
completely. Such a person becomes very
lean and thin and so weak that he/she
may not even be able to move.
Deficiency of different vitamins and
minerals may also result in certain
diseases or disorders. Some of these are
mentioned in Table 2.3.
All deficiency diseases can be
prevented by taking a balanced diet.
In this chapter, we asked ourselves
the reason why widely varying food from
different regions had a common
2018-19
Table 2.3 – Some diseases/disorders caused by
deficiency of vitamins and minerals
Balanced diet
Vitamin/ Deficiency
Symptoms Beriberi
Mineral disease/disorder
Poor vision, loss of Carbohydrates
vision in darkness
Vitamin A Loss of vision (night), sometimes Energy
complete loss of vision
Fats
Vitamin Weak muscles and
B1 Beriberi very little energy to Minerals
work
Nutrients
Bleeding gums,
Vitamin C Scurvy wounds take longer
time to heal Proteins
Bones become soft Roughage

Vitamin D Rickets
and bent
Scurvy
Bone and tooth Weak bones, tooth
Calcium decay decay Starch
Glands in the neck Vitamins

Iodine Goiter appear swollen,
mental disability in
children
Iron Anaemia Weakness
distribution. This distribution, we find, ensures that
our meals have a balance of the different nutrients
needed by the body.
n The major nutrients in our food are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins
and minerals. In addition, food also contains dietary fibres and water.
n Carbohydrates and fats mainly provide energy to our body.
n Proteins and minerals are needed for the growth and the maintenance
of our body.
n Vitamins help in protecting our body against diseases.
n Balanced diet provides all the nutrients that our body needs, in right
quantities, along with adequate amount of roughage and water.
n Deficiency of one or more nutrients in our food for a long time may cause
certain diseases or disorders.
16 SCIENCE
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1. Name the major nutrients in our food.
2. Name the following:
(a) The nutrients which mainly give energy to our body.
(b) The nutrients that are needed for the growth and maintenance of our body.
(c) A vitamin required for maintaining good eyesight.
(d) A mineral that is required for keeping our bones healthy.
3. Name two foods each rich in:
(a) Fats
(b) Starch
(c) Dietary fibre
(d) Protein
4. Tick (√) the statements that are correct.
(a) By eating rice alone, we can fulfill nutritional requirement of our body. ( )
(b) Deficiency diseases can be prevented by eating a balanced diet. ( )
(c) Balanced diet for the body should contain a variety of food items. ( )
(d) Meat alone is sufficient to provide all nutrients to the body. ( )
5. Fill in the blanks.
(a) ______________ is caused by deficiency of Vitamin D.
(b) Deficiency of ______________ causes a disease known as beri-beri.
(c) Deficiency of Vitamin C causes a disease known as ______________.
(d) Night blindness is caused due to deficiency of ____________ in our food.

1. Prepare a diet chart to provide balance diet to a twelve year old child. The
diet chart should include food items which are not expensive and are com-
monly available in your area.
2. We have learnt that excess intake of fats is harmful for the body. What about
other nutrients? Would it be harmful for the body to take too much of proteins
or vitamins in the diet? Read about diet related problems to find answers to
these questions and have a class discussion on this topic.
3. Test the food usually eaten by cattle or a pet to find out which nutrients are
present in animal food. Compare results obtained from the whole class to
conclude about balanced diet requirements for different animals.
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3 Fibre to Fabric
P
aheli and Boojho won the first curtains, tablecloths, towels and
prize in a Science Quiz dusters were made from different kinds
competition held at their school. of fabrics. Even their school bags and
They were very excited and decided to the gunny bags were made from
use the prize money to buy clothes for some kind of fabric. They tried to
their parents. When they saw a large identify these fabrics as cotton, wool,
variety of cloth material, they got silk or synthetic. Can you also identify
confused (Fig. 3.1). The shopkeeper some fabrics?
explained that some clothes or fabrics
3.1 VARIETY IN FABRICS
were cotton and some were synthetic.
He also had woollen mufflers and Activity 1
shawls. There were many silk sarees as
Visit a nearby tailoring shop.
well. Paheli and Boojho felt very excited.
Collect cuttings of
They touched and felt these different
fabrics leftover after
fabrics. Finally, they bought a woollen
stitching. Feel and
muffler and a cotton saree.
touch each piece
After their visit to the cloth shop,
of fabric. Now,
Paheli and Boojho began to notice
try to label some
various fabrics in their surroundings.
of the fabrics as
They found that bed sheets, blankets, Fig.3.2 Enlarged view
cotton, silk, wool of a piece of fabric
or synthetic after
asking for help from the tailor.
Do you wonder what these different
fabrics are made of? When you look at
any fabric, it seems a continuous piece.
Now, look at it closely. What do you
notice (Fig. 3.2)?
Activity 2
Select a piece of cotton fabric you
labelled in Activity 1. Now, try to find a
loose thread or yarn at one of the edges
Fig. 3.1 A cloth shop and pull it out (Fig. 3.3). If no loose
18 SCIENCE
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You might have observed something
similar when you try to thread a
needle. Many a time, the end of the
thread is separated into a few thin
strands. This makes it difficult to pass
the thread through the eye of the
needle. The thin strands of thread that
we see, are made up of still thinner
Fig. 3.3 Pulling a thread from a fabric
strands called fibres.
Fabrics are made up of yarns and
yarns are visible, you can gently pull yarns are further made up of fibres.
one out with a pin or a needle. Where do these fibres come from?
We find that a fabric is made up of The fibres of some fabrics such as
yarns arranged together. What are these cotton, jute, silk and wool are obtained
yarns made of? from plants and animals. These are
3.2 FIBRE called natural fibres. Cotton and jute
are examples of fibres obtained from
Activity 3 plants. Wool and silk fibres are obtained
Take out a yarn from a piece of cotton from animals. Wool is obtained from the
fabric. Place this piece of yarn on the fleece of sheep or goat. It is also obtained
table. Now, press one end of the yarn from the hair of rabbits, yak and
with your thumb. Scratch the other end camels. Silk fibre is drawn from the
of the yarn along its length with your cocoon of silkworm.
nail as shown in Fig. 3.4. Do you find For thousands of years natural fibres
that at this end, the yarn splits up into were the only ones available for making
thin strands (Fig. 3.5)? fabrics. In the last hundred years or so,
fibres are also made from chemical
Boojho has seen in the

Fig.3.4 Splitting the yarn into thin strands museums, items like the
one shown here. These
were worn by warriors. He
wants to know if these
are made of some
kinds of fibre.
Fig. 3.5 Yarn split up into thin strands
FIBRE TO FABRIC 19
2018-19
substances, which are not obtained seen a cotton field that is ready for
from plant or animal sources. These are picking? It looks like a field covered with
called synthetic fibres. Some examples snow (Fig.3.6).
of synthetic fibres are polyester, nylon From these bolls, cotton is usually
and acrylic. picked by hand. Fibres are then
separated from the seeds by combing.
3.3 SOME PLANT FIBRES
This process is called ginning of cotton.
Cotton Ginning was traditionally done by hand
Have you ever made wicks for oil lamps? (Fig.3.7). These days, machines are also
What do you use for making these used for ginning.
wicks? This cotton wool is also used for
filling mattresses, quilts or pillows.
Take some cotton wool, pull it apart
and look at its edges. What do you
observe? The small, thin strands that
you see are made up of cotton fibres.
Where does this cotton wool come
from? It is grown in the fields. Cotton
plants are usually grown at places Fig. 3.7 Ginning of cotton
having black soil and warm climate. Can
you name some states of our country Jute
where cotton is grown? The fruits of the
Jute fibre is obtained from the stem of
cotton plant (cotton bolls) are about the
the jute plant (Fig 3.8). It is cultivated
size of a lemon. After maturing, the bolls
during the rainy season. In India, jute is
burst open and the seeds covered with
mainly grown in
cotton fibres can be seen. Have you ever
West Bengal, Bihar
and Assam. The
jute plant is
normally harvested
when it is at
flowering stage.
The stems of the
harvested plants
are immersed in
water for a few
days. The stems rot
and fibres are
Fig.3.6 Field of cotton plants separated by hand. Fig. 3.8 A jute plant
20 SCIENCE
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Fig. 3.9 Making yarn from cotton
To make fabrics, all these fibres are

first converted into yarns. How is
it done? Fig. 3.11 Charkha
3.4 SPINNING COTTON YARN clothes made of homespun yarn termed

You can try making cotton yarn yourself. as khadi and shun imported cloth made
in the mills of Britain. To popularise and
Activity 4
promote khadi, the Government of India
Hold some cotton wool in one hand. constituted a body called Khadi and
Pinch some cotton between the Village Industries Commission in 1956.
thumb and forefinger of the other hand. Spinning of yarn on a large scale is
Now, gently start pulling out the cotton, done with the help of spinning
while continuously twisting the fibres machines. After spinning, yarns are
(Fig. 3.9). Are you able to used for making fabrics.
make a yarn?
3.5 YARN TO FABRIC
The process of making yarn
from fibres is called spinning. There are many ways by which fabrics
In this process, fibres from a are made from yarns. The two main
mass of cotton wool are drawn processes are weaving and knitting.
out and twisted. This brings Weaving
the fibres together to form In Activity 2, you might have noticed
a yarn. that a fabric is made up of two sets of
A simple device used yarns arranged together. The process of
for spinning is a hand arranging two sets of yarns together to
spindle, also called takli make a fabric is called weaving. Let us
(Fig. 3.10). Another hand try to weave some paper strips.
operated device used for
spinning is charkha Activity 5
(Fig. 3.11). Use of charkha was Take two sheets of paper of different
popularised by Mahatma colours. Cut square pieces of length and
Gandhi as part of the width equal to 30 cm from each sheet.
Independence movement. He Fig. 3.10 Now, fold both the sheets into half. On
encouraged people to wear A Takli one sheet draw lines as shown in the
FIBRE TO FABRIC 21
2018-19
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Fig. 3.12 Weaving with paper strips

Fig 3.12 (a) and on the other as shown
in Fig.3.12 (b). Cut both the sheets
along the dotted lines and then unfold.
Weave the strips one by one through the
cuts in the sheet of paper as shown in
Fig.3.12 (c). Fig. 3.12 (d) shows the
pattern after weaving all the strips.
Fig 3.14 Knitting
used to make a piece of fabric (Fig. 3.14).

Have you ever pulled the yarn from a
torn pair of socks? What happens? A
single yarn gets pulled out continuously
as the fabric gets unravelled. Socks and
many other clothing items are made of
knitted fabrics. Knitting is done by
hand and also on machines.
Fig. 3.13 Handloom
In a similar manner, two sets of yarn

are woven to make a fabric. The yarns Paheli wants to know if you have
are much thinner than our paper strips, seen any fabrics that are made
of course! Weaving of fabric is done on of the fibres on the outer covering
looms (Fig. 3.13). The looms are either of coconut. What are these
hand operated or power operated. fibres normally used for?
Knitting
Have you noticed how sweaters are
knitted? In knitting, a single yarn is
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Weaving and knitting are used for is also a plant that gives natural fibres.
making different kinds of fabric. In ancient Egypt, cotton as well as flax
These fabrics are used for a variety of were cultivated near the river Nile and
clothing items. were used for making fabrics.
In those days, stitching was not
3.6 HISTORY OF CLOTHING MATERIAL
known. People simply draped the fabrics
Have you ever wondered what materials
around different parts of their body.
people used in ancient times for clothes?
Many different ways of draping fabrics
It appears that in those times people
were used. With the invention of the
used the bark and big leaves of trees or
sewing needle, people started stitching
animal skins and furs to cover
fabrics to make clothes. Stitched clothes
themselves.
have gone through many variations
After people began to settle in since this invention. But, is it not
agricultural communities, they learnt to amazing that even today saree, dhoti,
weave twigs and grass into mats and lungi or turban is used as an un-stitched
baskets. Vines, animal fleece or hair were piece of fabric?
twisted together into long strands. These Just as there is a large variety in the
were woven into fabrics. The early Indians food eaten all over our country, a large
wore fabrics made out of cotton that grew variety exists also in fabrics and
in the regions near the river Ganga. Flax clothing items.
Ginning Spinning
Cotton Rolls Fibre Yarn
Knitting Weaving
Fabric
Cotton wool
Fabric
Fibre
Knitting
Spinning
Weaving
Yar n
 There is a variety of clothing material or fabric, such as, cotton, silk,

wool and polyester.
FIBRE TO FABRIC 23
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 Fabrics are made from yarns, which in turn are made from fibres.
 Fibres are either natural or synthetic. Cotton, wool, silk and jute are
some natural fibres, while nylon and polyester are some examples of
synthetic fibres.
 Fibres like cotton and jute are obtained from plants.
 The process of making yarn from fibres is called spinning.
 Fabric from yarns is made by weaving and knitting.
1. Classify the following fibres as natural or synthetic:

nylon, wool, cotton, silk, polyester, jute
2. State whether the following statements are true or false:
a) Yarn is made from fibres.
b) Spinning is a process of making fibres.
c) Jute is the outer covering of coconut.
d) The process of removing seed from cotton is called ginning.
e) Weaving of yarn makes a piece of fabric.
f) Silk fibre is obtained from the stem of a plant.
g) Polyester is a natural fibre.
3. Fill in the blanks:
a) Plant fibres are obtained from_________ and ________ .
b) Animals fibres are __________ and ___________ .
4. From which parts of the plant cotton and jute are obtained?
5. Name two items that are made from coconut fibre.
6. Explain the process of making yarn from fibre.
1. Visit a nearby handloom or powerloom unit and observe the weaving or knitting
of fabric.
2. Find out if any crop is grown in your region for obtaining fibre. If yes, what is
it used for?
3. India has been a major producer of cotton and its fabric. India exports cotton
fabrics and items to many other countries. Find out, how it helps us?
24 SCIENCE
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4. Do you know that famous Sufi Saint and poet Kabir, was a weaver? Find out
about his life and teachings.
5. You can do an activity to identify the yarns of a fabric under the supervision
of your teacher or parents. Pull out six to eight yarns from the fabric. Hold one
end of the yarn with a tong and bring the other end over the flame of a candle.
Observe carefully. Do the yarns shrink away from the flame? Do the yarns
melt or burn? What type of odour is given off? Note down your observations.
If these are cotton yarns, they burn but do not shrink or melt. The burning
yarn gives an odour similar to burning paper. The silk yarn shrinks away
from the flame and burns but does not melt. It has the odour of charred meat.
The wool yarn also shrinks and burns but does not melt. It has a strong odour
of burning hair. The synthetic yarns shrink and burn. They also melt and
give out an odour similar to burning plastics.
Boojho knows that burning of

cotton yarn gives an odour similar
to burning paper. He is wondering
if he can assume that paper is also
made from plants.
FIBRE TO FABRIC 25
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4
4.1 OBJECTS AROUND
Sorting Materials into Groups
US
We have seen that our food and clothes we were looking for objects that are
have so much variety in them. Not just edible. We might include all the items
food and clothes, there is such a vast that we have listed in Tables 1.1, 1.2
variety of objects everywhere. We see and 1.3 in Chapter 1. We might also
around us, a chair, a bullock cart, a find that some of those round shaped
cycle, cooking utensils, books, clothes, objects we just listed out, are also in
toys, water, stones and many other this group.
objects. All these objects have different Let us say, we wish to make a group
shapes, colours and uses (Fig. 4.1). of objects that are made of plastics.
Look around and identify objects Buckets, lunch boxes, toys, water
that are round in shape. Our list may containers, pipes and many such
include a rubber ball, a football and a objects, may find a place in this group.
glass marble. If we include objects that There are so many ways to group objects!
are nearly round, our list could also In the above examples we have grouped
include objects like apples, oranges, and objects on the basis of their shape or the
an earthen pitcher (gharha). Suppose materials they are made from.
All objects around us are made of one
or more materials. These materials may
be glass, metal, plastics, wood, cotton,
paper, mud or soil. Can you think of
more examples of materials?
Activity 1
Let us collect as many objects as
possible, from around us. Each of us
could get some everyday objects from
home and we could also collect some
objects from the classroom or from
outside the school. What will we have
in our collection? Chalk, pencil,
notebook, rubber, duster, a hammer,
Fig. 4.1 Objects around us nail, soap, spoke of a wheel, bat,
26 SCIENCE
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matchbox, salt, potato. We can also list
objects that we can think of, but, cannot
Boojho wants to know, whether
bring to the classroom. For example,
we found some materials that
wall, trees, doors, tractor, road.
were used for making more than
Separate all objects from this
one type of an object.
collection that are made from paper or
wood. This way we have divided all objects
into two groups. One group has the
objects that are made from paper or wood Column 1 that are known to you. Now,
while the other group has the objects try and think of everyday objects you
that are not made of these materials. know, that are made mainly of these
Similarly, we could separate the things materials, and list them in Column 2.
that are used for preparing food.
Table 4.2 Different types of objects
Let us be a little more systematic. List that are made from the same
all objects collected, in Table 4.1. Try to material
identify the materials that each one is
made of. It would be fun to make this a Material Objects made of
these materials
large table – collecting information
about as many objects as possible. It Chair, table,
Wood plough, bullock cart
may seem difficult to find out the and its wheels, ...
materials out of which some of these
Books, notebooks,
objects are made. In such cases, discuss Paper newspaper, toys,
with your friends, teacher and parents calendars,...
to identify the materials. Leather
Table 4.1 Objects and the materials
Plastics
they are made of
Cotton
Objects Materials they are
made of
What do we find from these tables?
Plate (thali) (Satneyelo
, glass, plastics
ther) First, we grouped objects in many
Pen Plastics, metal different ways. We then found that
objects around us are made of different
materials. At times, an object is made of
a single material. An object could also
be made of many materials. And then
Activity 2 again, one material could be used for
Table 4.2 lists some common materials. making many different objects. What
You can also add more materials in decides which material should be used
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for making any given object? It seems Appearance
that we need to know more about Materials usually look different from
different materials. each other. Wood looks very different
4.2 PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS from iron. Iron appears different from
Have you ever wondered why a tumbler copper or aluminium. At the same time,
is not made with a piece of cloth? Recall there may be some similarities between
our experiments with pieces of cloth in iron, copper and aluminium that are not
Chapter 3 and also keep in mind that there in wood.
we generally use a tumbler to keep a Activity 3
liquid. Therefore, would it not be silly,
Collect small pieces of different materials –
if we were to make a tumbler out of cloth
paper, cardboard, wood, copper wire,
(Fig 4.2)! What we need for a tumbler is
aluminium sheet, chalk. Do any of these
glass, plastics, metal or other such
appear shiny? Separate the shiny
material that will hold water. Similarly,
materials into a group.
it would not be wise to use paper-like
Now, observe as the teacher cuts each
materials for cooking vessels.
material into two pieces and look at the
freshly cut surface (Fig. 4.3). What do
you notice? Does the freshly cut surface
of some of these materials appear shiny?
Include these objects also in the group
of shiny materials.
Do you notice such a shine or lustre
in the other materials, cut them anyway
as you can? Repeat this in the class with
as many materials as possible and make
a list of those with and without lustre.
Instead of cutting, you can rub the
surface of material with sand paper to
see if it has lustre.
Fig. 4.2 Using a cloth tumbler
We see then, that we choose a

material to make an object depending
on its properties, and the purpose for
which the object is to be used.
So, what are all the properties of
materials that would be important for
their usage? Some properties are Fig. 4.3 Cutting pieces of materials to see if they
discussed here. have lustre
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Materials that have such lustre are beakers. Fill each one of them about two-
usually metals. Iron, copper, aluminium thirds with water. Add a small amount
and gold are examples of metals. Some (spoonful) of sugar to the first glass,
metals often lose their shine and salt to the second and similarly, add
appear dull, because of the action of air small amounts of the other substances
and moisture on them. We therefore, into the other glasses. Stir the contents
notice the lustre, only on their freshly of each of them with a spoon. Wait for a
cut sur face. When you visit an few minutes. Observe what happens to
ironsmith or a workshop, look out for the substances added to water (Fig. 4.4).
freshly cut surfaces of metal rods to see Note your observations as shown
if they have lustre. in Table 4.3.
Hardness
When you press different materials with
your hands, some of them may be hard
to compress while others can be easily
compressed. Take a metal key and try
to scratch with it, the surface of a piece
of wood, aluminium, a piece of stone, a
nail, candle, chalk, any other material Fig. 4.4 What disappears, what doesn’t?
or object. You can easily scratch some
Table 4.3 Mixing different solid
materials, while some cannot be
materials in water
scratched so easily. Materials which can
be compressed or scratched easily are Substance
Disappears in water/
called soft while some other materials does not disappear
which are difficult to compress are called Disappears completely in
Salt water
hard. For example, cotton or sponge is
soft while iron is hard. Sugar
In appearance, materials can have
Sand
different properties, like lustre,
hardness, be rough or smooth. Can you Chalk
powder
think of other properties that describe
the appearance of a material? Sawdust
Soluble or Insoluble? You will notice that some substances

have completely disappeared or
Activity 4 dissolved in water. We say that these
Collect samples of some solid substances substances are soluble in water. Other
such as sugar, salt, chalk powder, sand substances do not mix with water and
and sawdust. Take five glasses or do not disappear even after we stir for a
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long time. These substances are We notice that some liquids get
insoluble in water. completely mixed with water. Some
Water plays an important role in the others do not mix with water and form
functioning of our body because it can a separate layer when kept aside for
dissolve a large number of substances. some time.
Do liquids also dissolve in water?
Activity 5
Collect samples of vinegar, lemon juice, Boojho suggests that we
mustard oil or coconut oil, kerosene or also check if the liquids that we
any other liquid. Take a glass tumbler. used in Activity 5, mix well with
Fill it up to half with water. Add a few some liquid other than water.
spoonfuls of one liquid to this and stir Paheli is curious to know
it well. Let it stand for five minutes. whether gases also dissolve
Observe whether the liquid mixes with in water.
water (Fig. 4.5). Repeat the same with
other liquids, as many different liquids
as are available to you. Write your Some gases are soluble in water
observations in Table 4.4. whereas others are not. Water, usually,
Table 4.4 Solubility of some has small quantities of some gases
common liquids in water dissolved in it. For example, oxygen gas
dissolved in water is very important for
Liquid Mixes well/
Does not mix the survival of animals and plants that
live in water.
Vinegar Mixes well
Objects may float or sink in
Lemon juice
water
Mustard oil While doing Activity 4, you might have
Coconut oil noticed that the insoluble solids
separated out from water. You may have
Kerosene
also noticed this with some liquids in
Activity 5. Some of these materials that
did not mix with water, floated to the
surface of water. Others may have sunk
to the bottom of the tumbler, right? We
notice many examples of objects that
(a) (b) float in water or sink (Fig. 4.6). Dried
Fig. 4.5 (a) Some liquids mix well with leaves fallen on the surface of a pond, a
water while (b) some others do not stone that you throw into this pond, few
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hide behind a glass window? Obviously
not, as your friends can see through that
and spot you. Can you see through all
the materials? Those substances or
materials, through which things can be
seen, are called transparent (Fig. 4.7).
Glass, water, air and some plastics are
Figure 4.6 Some objects float in water while
examples of transparent materials.
others sink in it
Shopkeepers usually prefer to keep
drops of honey that you let fall into a biscuits, sweets and other eatables in
glass of water. What happens to all transparent containers of glass or
of these?
Boojho would like you to give him
five examples each, of objects that float
and those that sink in water. What
about testing these same materials to
see if they float or sink in other liquids
like oil?
Transparency
Fig. 4.8 Transparent bottles in a shop
You might have played the game of hide
plastic, so that buyers can easily see
and seek. Think of some places where
these items (Fig. 4.8).
you would like to hide so that you are
On the other hand, there are some
not seen by others. Why did you choose
materials through which you are not
those places? Would you have tried to
able to see. These materials are called
opaque. You cannot tell what is kept
in a closed wooden box, a cardboard
carton or a metal container. Wood,
cardboard and metals, are examples of
opaque materials.
Do we find that we can group all
materials and objects, without any
confusion, as either opaque or
transparent?
Activity 6
Take a sheet of paper and look through
Fig. 4.7 Looking through opaque, transparent or it towards a lighted bulb. Make a note
translucent material of your observation. Now, put 2-3 drops
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of some oil and spread it on the sheet of whether palm of your hand is opaque,
paper. Look again towards the lighted transparent or translucent?
bulb through that portion of the paper We learnt that materials differ in their
on which the oil has been spread. Do appearance and the way they mix in
you find that the bulb is more clearly water or other liquids. They may float
visible than before? But, can you see or sink in water or may be transparent,
clearly through the oiled paper? Is opaque or translucent. Materials can be
everything on the other side of it visible? grouped on the basis of similarities or
Perhaps not. The materials through differences in their properties.
which objects can be seen, but not Why do we need to group materials?
clearly, are known as translucent. In everyday life, we often group materials
Remember the oily patch on paper when for our convenience. At home, we
we tested food items for presence of fats? usually store things in such a manner
That was translucent too. Can you that similar objects are placed together.
think of some more examples of Such an arrangement helps us to locate
translucent materials? them easily. Similarly, a grocer usually
We can therefore group materials as keeps all type of biscuits at one corner
opaque, transparent and translucent. of his shop, all soaps at another while
Paheli suggests grains and pulses are stored at some
covering the glass other place.
of a torch with your There is another reason why we find
palm at a dark such grouping useful. Dividing
place. Switch on materials in groups makes it convenient
the torch and to study their properties and also
observe the other observe any patterns in these properties.
Fig. 4.9 Does torch
light pass through side of the palm. We will study more about this in
your palm? She wants to know higher classes.
Hard Opaque
Insoluble Rough
Lustre Soluble
Material T ranslucent
Metals T ransparent
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 Objects around us are made up of a large variety of materials.
 A given material could be used to make a large number of objects. It is
also possible that an object could be made of a single material or of
many different types of materials.
 Different types of materials have different properties.
 Some materials are shiny in appearance while others are not. Some are
rough, some smooth. Similarly, some materials are hard, whereas some
others are soft.
 Some materials are soluble in water whereas some others are insoluble.
 Some materials such as glass, are transparent and some others such
as wood and metals are opaque. Some materials are translucent.
 Materials are grouped together on the basis of similarities and differences
in their properties.
 Things are grouped together for convenience and to study their
properties.
1. Name five objects which can be made from wood.

2. Select those objects from the following which shine:
Glass bowl, plastic toy, steel spoon, cotton shirt
3. Match the objects given below with the materials from which they could be
made. Remember, an object could be made from more than one material and a
given material could be used for making many objects.
Objects Materials
Book Glass
Tumbler Wood
Chair Paper
Toy Leather
Shoes Plastics
4. State whether the statements given below are True or False.

(i) Stone is transparent, while glass is opaque.
(ii) A notebook has lustre while eraser does not.
(iii) Chalk dissolves in water.
(iv) A piece of wood floats on water.
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(v) Sugar does not dissolve in water.
(vi) Oil mixes with water.
(vii) Sand settles down in water.
(viii) Vinegar dissolves in water.
5. Given below are the names of some objects and materials:
Water, basket ball, orange, sugar, globe, apple and earthen pitcher
Group them as:
(a) Round shaped and other shapes
(b) Eatables and non eatables
6. List all items known to you that float on water. Check and see if they will float on
an oil or kerosene.
7. Find the odd one out from the following:
a) Chair, Bed, Table, Baby, Cupboard
b) Rose, Jasmine, Boat, Marigold, Lotus
c) Aluminium, Iron, Copper, Silver, Sand
d) Sugar, Salt, Sand, Copper sulphate
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
1. You may have played a memory game with your friends. Several objects are
placed on a table, you are asked to observe them for a few minutes, go into
another room and write down the names of all objects that you can remember.
Play this game, with a difference! Ask all the participants in the game to
remember objects with some particular property while playing this memory
game — remember and write down the names of objects that were made of
wood or objects that are edible and so on. Have fun!
2. From a large collection of materials, make groups of objects having different
properties like transparency, solubility in water and other properties. In later
chapters you will also learn about properties of materials related to electricity
and magnetism. After making different groups from the collected materials,
try and find out if there are any patterns in these groups. For instance, do all
materials which have lustre conduct electricity?
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5 Separation of Substances
I
n our daily life, there are many
instances when we notice a substance
being separated from a mixture
of materials.
Tea leaves are separated from the
liquid with a strainer, while preparing
tea (Fig. 5.1).
Fig. 5.2 Butter is taken out by churning milk or

curd
than mango or guava? Imagine you are
given a glass of sand with salt mixed in
Fig. 5.1 Separating tea leaves with a strainer
it. Impossible, even to think of
Grain is separated from stalks, while
separating salt from this mixture by
harvesting. Milk or curd is churned to
picking out grains of sand by hand!
separate the butter (Fig. 5.2). As we
learned in Chapter 3, we gin cotton to
separate its seeds from the fibre. But, why would we need to
Perhaps you might separate substances like this
have eaten salted at all, is what Paheli wants
daliya or poha. If you to know.
found that it had
chillies in it, you may
have carefully taken
them out before eating.
Activity 1
Suppose you are given a basket In Column 1 of Table 5.1, are given a
containing mangoes and guavas and few processes of separation. The purpose
asked to separate them. What would you of separation and the way separated
do? Pick out one kind and place them components are used is mentioned in
in a separate container, right? Column 2 and 3 respectively. However,
Seems easy, but what if the materials the information given in Columns 2 and
we want to separate are much smaller 3 is jumbled up. Can you match each
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Table 5.1 Why do we separate substances?
Separation Purpose for which we do What do we do with the

process the separation separated components?
1) Separate a) To separate two different, i) We throw away the soild

stones from rice but useful components. component.
2) Chur ning milk b) To remove non-useful ii) We throw away the

to obtain butter components. impurities.
3) Separate tea c) To remove impurities or iii) We use both the

leaves har mful components. components.
process with its purpose and the way the sheet of paper? Are there pieces of
separated components are used? stone, husks, broken grain and particles
We see that, before we use a of any other grain in it? Now, remove
substance, we need to separate harmful with your hand the pieces of stone,
or non-useful substances that may be husks and other grains from it.
mixed with it. Sometimes, we separate This method of handpicking can
even useful components if we need to be used for separating slightly larger
use them separately. sized impurities like the pieces of dirt,
The substances to be separated may stone, and husk from wheat, rice or
be particles of different sizes or pulses (Fig. 5.3). The quantity of such
materials. These may be in any three
impurities is usually not very large.
states of matter i.e., solid, liquid or gas.
In such situations, we find that
So, how do we separate substances
handpicking is a convenient method of
mixed together if they have so many
separating substances.
different properties?
5.1 METHODS OF SEPARATION
We will discuss some simple methods of
separating substances that are mixed
together. You may come across some of
these methods being used in day to day
activities.
Handpicking
Activity 2
Fig. 5.3 Handpicking stones from grain
Bring a packet of food grain purchased
from a shop to the classroom. Now, Threshing
spread the grains on a sheet of paper. You must have seen bundles of wheat
Do you find only one kind of grain on or paddy stalks lying in fields after
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harvesting the crop. Stalks are dried in this mixture on a plate or a newspaper.
the sun before the grain is separated Look at this mixture carefully. Can the
from them. Each stalk has many grain two different components be made out
seeds attached to it. Imagine the easily? Are the sizes of particles of the
number of grain seeds in hundreds of two components similar? Would it be
bundles of stalk lying in the field! How possible to separate the components by
does the farmer separate grain seeds handpicking?
from those bundles of stalks? Now, take your mixture to an open
One may pluck mangoes or guavas ground and stand on a raised platform.
from the trees. But, grain seeds are Put the mixture in a plate or sheet of
much smaller than mangoes or guavas. paper. Hold the plate or the sheet of
So, plucking them from their stalks paper containing the mixture, at your
would be impossible. How does one shoulder height. Tilt it slightly, so that
separate grain seeds from their stalks? the mixture slides out slowly.
The process that is used to separate What happens? Do both the
grain from stalks etc. is threshing. In components — sand and sawdust (or
this process, the stalks are beaten to free powdered leaves) fall at the same place?
the grain seeds (Fig. 5.4). Sometimes, Is there a component that blows away?
Did the wind manage to separate the
two components?
This method of separating
components of a mixture is called
winnowing. Winnowing is used to
separate heavier and lighter components
of a mixture by wind or by blowing air.
direction of the air
soop
Fig. 5.4 Threshing

husk
threshing is done with the help of
bullocks. Machines are also used to
thresh large quantities of grain.
Winnowing
grain
Activity 3
Make a mixture of dry sand with
sawdust or powdered dry leaves. Keep Fig. 5.5 Winnowing
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This method is commonly used by
farmers to separate lighter husk particles
from heavier seeds of grain (Fig. 5.5).
The husk particles are carried away
by the wind. The seeds of grain get
separated and form a heap near the
platform for winnowing. The separated
husk is used for many purposes such
as fodder for cattles.
Sieving
Fig. 5.7 Pebbles and stones are removed from
Sometimes, we may wish to prepare a sand by sieving
dish with flour. We need to remove
to separate pebbles and stones from
impurities and bran that may be present
sand (Fig. 5.7).
in it. What do we do? We use a sieve
and pour the flour into it (Fig. 5.6). Activity 4
Sieving allows the fine flour particles
Bring a sieve and a small quantity of
to pass through the holes of the sieve
flour from home, to the class. Sieve the
while the bigger impurities remain on
flour to separate any impurities in it.
the sieve.
Now, make a fine powder of chalk pieces
In a flour mill, impurities like husk
and mix it with the flour. Can we
and stones are removed from wheat
separate the flour and the powdered
before grinding it. Usually, a bagful of
chalk by sieving?
wheat is poured on a slanting sieve. The
Sieving is used when components of
sieving removes pieces of stones, stalk
a mixture have different sizes.
and husk that may still remain with
wheat after threshing and winnowing. Sedimentation, Decantation
and Filtration
Sometimes, it may not be possible to
separate components of a mixture by
winnowing and handpicking. For
example, there may be lighter impurities
like dust or soil particles in rice or
pulses. How are such impurities
separated from rice or pulses before
cooking?
Fig. 5.6 Sieving
Rice or pulses are usually washed
You may have also noticed similar before cooking. When you add water to
sieves being used at construction sites these, the impurities like dust particles
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get separated. These impurities go into strainer. Did all the tea leaves remain
water. Now, what will sink to the bottom in the strainer? This process is called
of the vessel — rice or dust? Why? Have filtration (Fig. 5.1). Which method of
you seen that the vessel is tilted to pour separating tea leaves from prepared tea
out the dirty water? is better, decantation or filtration?
When the heavier component in a Let us now consider the example
mixture settles after water is added to of water that we use. Do all of us, at
it, the process is called sedimentation. all times, get safe water to drink?
When the water (along with the dust) is Sometimes, water supplied through taps
removed, the process is called may be muddy. The water collected from
decantation (Fig. 5.8). Let us find a ponds or rivers may also be muddy,
few other mixtures that can be separated especially after rains. Let us see if we
through sedimentation and can use some method of separation to
decantation. remove insoluble impurities like soil
The same principle is used for from the water.
separating a mixture of two liquids that
Activity 5
do not mix with each other. For example,
oil and water from their mixture can be Collect some muddy water from a pond
separated by this process. If a mixture of or a river. If it is not available, mix some
such liquids is allowed to stand for some soil to water in a glass. Let it stand for
time, they form two separate layers. The half an hour. Observe the water
component that forms the top layer can carefully and note your observations.
then be separated by decantation. Does some soil settle at the bottom
Let us again consider a mixure of a of water? Why? What will you call this
solid and liquid. After preparing tea, process?
what do you do to remove the tea leaves? Now, slightly tilt the glass without
Usually, we use stainer to remove tea disturbing the water. Let the water from
leaves. Try decantation. It helps a little. the top flow into another glass (Fig. 5.8).
But, do you still get a few leaves in your What will you call this process?
tea? Now, pour the tea through a Is the water in the second glass still
muddy or brown in colour? Now filter
mixture
(soil + water) it. Did the tea strainer work? Let us try
filtering the water through a piece of
cloth. In a piece of cloth, small holes or
pores remain in between the woven
undissolved
material threads. These pores in a cloth can be
(soil) used as a filter.
Fig. 5.8 Separating two components of a mixture If the water is still muddy, impurities
by sedimentation and decantation can be separated by a filter that has even
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smaller pores. A filter paper is one such
filter that has very fine pores in it.
Fig. 5.9 shows the steps involved in
using a filter paper. A filter paper folded
in the form of a cone is fixed onto a
funnel (Fig. 5.10). The mixture is then
poured on the filter paper. Solid
particles in the mixture do not pass
through it and remain on the filter.
Fig. 5.11 Heating a beaker containing salt water
see any change in the colour of water?

Can you see any salt in the beaker, after
stirring? Heat the beaker containing the
salt water (Fig. 5.11). Let the water boil
Fig. 5.9 Folding a filter Fig. 5.10 Filtration
away. What is left in the beaker?
paper to make a cone using a filter paper In this activity, we used the process
of evaporation, to separate a mixture of
Fruit and vegetable juices are usually water and salt.
filtered before drinking to separate the The process of conversion of water
seeds and solid particles of pulp. The into its vapour is called evaporation.
method of filtration is also used in the The process of evaporation takes place
process of preparing cottage cheese continuously wherever water is present.
(paneer) in our homes. You might have Where do you think, salt comes
seen that for making paneer, a few drops from? Sea water contains many salts
of lemon juice are added to milk as it mixed in it. One of these salts is the
boils. This gives a mixture of particles common salt. When sea water is allowed
of solid paneer and a liquid. The paneer to stand in shallow pits, water gets
is then separated by filtering the mixture heated by sunlight and slowly turns into
through a fine cloth or a strainer. water vapour, through evaporation. In
Evaporation a few days, the water evaporates
completely leaving behind the solid salts
Activity 6 (Fig. 5.12). Common salt is then
Add two spoons of salt to water in obtained from this mixture of salts by
another beaker and stir it well. Do you further purification.
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notice steam coming out from the spout
of the kettle?
Take a metal plate with some ice on
it. Hold the plate just above the spout
of the kettle as shown in Fig. 5.13. What
do you observe? Let all the water in the
kettle boil off.
When the steam comes in contact
with the metal plate cooled with ice, it
Fig. 5.12 Obtaining salt from sea water condenses and forms liquid water. The
water drops that you observed falling
Use of more than one method from the plate, were due to condensation
of separation of steam. The process of conversion of
We have studied some methods for water vapour into its liquid form is
separation of substances from their called condensation.
mixtures. Often, one method is not Did you ever see water drops
sufficient to separate the different condensed under a plate that has been
substances present in a mixture. In such used to cover a vessel containing milk
a situation, we need to use more than that has just been boiled?
one of these methods. After all the water has evaporated,
Activity 7 what is left behind in the kettle?
We have thus, separated salt, sand
Take a mixture of sand and salt. How and water using processes of
will we separate these? We already saw
decantation, filtration, evaporation and
that handpicking would not be a condensation.
practical method for separating these. Paheli faced a problem while
Keep this mixture in a beaker and
recovering salt mixed with sand. She
add some water to it. Leave the beaker has mixed a packet of salt in a small
aside for some time. Do you see the sand
settling down at the bottom? The sand
can be separated by decantation or
filtration. What does the decanted liquid
contain? Do you think this water
contains the salt which was there in the
mixture at the beginning?
Now, we need to separate salt and
water from the decanted liquid. Transfer
this liquid to a kettle and close its lid.
Heat the kettle for some time. Do you Fig. 5.13 Evaporation and condensation
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amount of sand. She then tried the
method suggested in Activity 7, to
recover the salt. She found, however,
that she could recover only a small part
of the salt that she had taken. What
could have gone wrong?
Can water dissolve any
amount of a substance?
In chapter 4, we found that many Fig 5.14 Dissolving salt in water
substances dissolve in water and form would have remained mixed with the
a solution. We say that these substances sand and could not be recovered. She
are soluble in water. What will happen could solve her problem by using a
if we go on adding more and more of larger quantity of water.
these substances to a fixed quantity of Suppose, she did not have sufficient
water? quantity of water to dissolve all the salt
in the mixture. Is there some way that
Activity 8
water could be made to dissolve more
You will need a beaker or a small pan, a salt before the solution gets saturated?
spoon, salt and water. Pour half a cup Let us try and help Paheli out.
of water in the beaker. Add one
teaspoonful of salt and stir it well, until
Activity 9
the salt dissolves completely (Fig 5.14). Take some water in a beaker and mix
Again add a teaspoonful of salt and stir salt in it until it cannot dissolve any
well. Go on adding salt, one teaspoonful more salt. This will give you a saturated
at a time, and stir. solution of salt in water.
After adding a few spoons of salt, do Now, add a small quantity of salt to
you find that some salt remains this saturated solution and heat it. What
undissolved and settles at the bottom do you find? What happens to the
of the beaker? If yes, this means that undissolved salt in the bottom of the
no more salt can be dissolved in the beaker? Does it dissolve, now? If yes,
amount of water we have taken. The can some more salt be dissolved in this
solution is now said to be saturated. solution by heating it?
Here is a hint as to what might have Let this hot solution cool. Does the
gone wrong when Paheli tried to recover salt appear to settle at the bottom of the
large quantity of salt mixed with sand. beaker again?
Perhaps the quantity of salt was much The activity suggests that larger
more than that required to form a quantity of salt can be dissolved in water
saturated solution. The undissolved salt on heating.
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Does water dissolve equal amounts Table 5.2
of different soluble substances? Let us
Number of spoons of
find out. Substance substance that
Activity 10 dissolved in water
Take two glasses and pour half a cup Salt

of water in each of them. Add a teaspoon Sugar
of salt to one glass and stir till the salt
dissolves. Go on adding salt, one
teaspoon at a time, till the solution We have discussed a few methods of
saturates. Record the number of spoons separating substances. Some of the
of salt that dissolved in the water, in methods of separation presented in this
Table 5.2. Now, repeat the same chapter are also used in a science
activity with sugar. Repeat this with laboratory.
some other substances that are soluble We also learnt that a solution is
in water. prepared by dissolving a substance in a
What do you notice from Table 5.2? liquid. A solution is said to be saturated
Do you find that water dissolves different if it cannot dissolve more of the
substances in different amounts? substance in it.
Chur ning Saturated solution

Condensation Sedimentation
Decantation Sieving
Evaporation Solution
Filtration Threshing
Handpicking Winnowing
 Handpicking, winnowing, sieving, sedimentation, decantation and

filtration are some of the methods of separating substances from their
mixtures.
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 Husk and stones could be separated from grains by handpicking.
 Husk is separated from heavier seeds of grain by winnowing.
 Difference in the size of particles in a mixture is utilised to separate
them by the process of sieving and filtration.
 In a mixture of sand and water, the heavier sand particles settle down
at the bottom and the water can be separated by decantation.
 Filtration can be used to separate components of a mixture of an insoluble
solid and a liquid.
 Evaporation is the process in which a liquid gets converted into its vapour.
Evaporation can be used to separate a solid dissolved in a liquid.
 A saturated solution is one in which no more of that substance can be
dissolved.
 More of a substance can be dissolved in a solution by heating it.
 Water dissolves different amount of soluble substances in it.
1. Why do we need to separate different components of a mixture? Give two

examples.
2. What is winnowing? Where is it used?
3. How will you separate husk or dirt particles from a given sample of pulses before
cooking.
4. What is sieving? Where is it used?
5. How will you separate sand and water from their mixture?
6. Is it possible to separate sugar mixed with wheat flour? If yes, how will you do it?
7. How would you obtain clear water from a sample of muddy water?
8. Fill up the blanks
(a) The method of separating seeds of paddy from its stalks is called ___________.
(b) When milk, cooled after boiling, is poured onto a piece of cloth the cream
(malai) is left behind on it. This process of separating cream from milk is an
example of ___________.
(c) Salt is obtained from seawater by the process of ___________.
(d) Impurities settled at the bottom when muddy water was kept overnight in a
bucket. The clear water was then poured off from the top. The process of
separation used in this example is called ___________.
9. True or false?
(a) A mixture of milk and water can be separated by filtration.
(b) A mixture of powdered salt and sugar can be separated by the process of
winnowing.
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(c) Separation of sugar from tea can be done with filtration.
(d) Grain and husk can be separated with the process of decantation.
10. Lemonade is prepared by mixing lemon juice and sugar in water. You wish to
add ice to cool it. Should you add ice to the lemonade before or after dissolving
sugar? In which case would it be possible to dissolve more sugar?
1. Visit a nearby dairy and report about the processes used to separate cream
from milk.
2. You have tried a number of methods to separate impurities like mud from
water. Sometimes, the water obtained after employing all these processes could
still be a little muddy. Let us see if we can remove even this impurity completely.
Take this filtered water in a glass. Tie a thread to a small piece of alum.
Suspend the piece of alum in the water and swirl. Did the water become clear?
What happened to the mud? This process is called loading. Talk to some elders
in your family to find out whether they have seen or used this process.
THINGS TO SEE
“The winnowers”, painted by Gustav Courbet in 1853

Reproduced with permission from Museè de Beaus Arts, Nantes, France
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6 Changes Around us
W
hat a fun would it be if you Can some of the changes be grouped
suddenly get some magical together?
powers to change things How can we group various changes?
around you. What are the things you It might help, if we find some similarities
would want to change? between them.
6.1 C AN ALL C HANGES A LWAYS B E
REVERSED?
Activity 1
Take a balloon and blow it. Take care
that it does not burst. The shape and
size of the balloon have changed
(Fig. 6.1). Now, let the air escape the
balloon.
We do not have magical powers, of

course. But, we can still change a few
things around us, perhaps many things.
Can you list a few things you can
change around you, with no magic
involved?
Many changes are taking place
around us on their own. In the fields,
the crops change from time to time.
Fig 6.1 A balloon changes its size and shape on
Sometimes, leaves fall from trees, change blowing air into it
colour and dry out. The flowers bloom
and then wither away. Are any changes Activity 2
happening in your body? Your nails Take a piece of paper and fold it as
grow, your hair grows, you grow taller shown in Fig.6.2. You have changed the
and your weight increases as you grow. sheet of paper into a toy aeroplane. You
Did you realise earlier that so many may have lots of fun in flying this plane.
changes are taking place around you all Once you are tired of it, unfold the
the time? paper again.
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Activity 4
Take the same balloon, which you used
in Activity 1. Blow it to its full size and
tie its mouth with a string tightly. Prick
it with the pointed tip of your pencil.
Oops! It burst.
Fig 6.2 A toy aeroplane made by folding paper
Activity 5
Activity 3 Take the same piece of paper, which you
Take some dough and make a ball. Try used in Activity 2. Draw an aeroplane
to roll out a roti (Fig. 6.3). May be you on it and cut along its outline (Fig.6.4).
are not happy with its shape and
wish to change it back into a ball of
dough again.
Fig. 6.4 An aeroplane cut out of paper
Activity 6
Fig 6.3 A ball of dough and a rolled out roti Roll out a roti from the ball of dough
again and bake it on a tawa (Fig.6.5).
Now, think about the three changes
you observed in Activity 1, 2 and 3.
What do they have in common?
Was it possible to get the balloon back
to its original shape and size?
Was the size of the paper same as
Fig 6.5 A roti
before and after making an aeroplane?
Was it possible to get back the ball of Suppose, you are asked the same
dough again? three questions which you answered
What do you conclude? In each of after Activity 3. What would your
the three activities, is it possible to get answers be, now?
back to the material with which we We see that, the changes which have
started our activity? If the answer is yes, occurred in the Activity 4, 5 and 6 can
it means that the changes occurring in not be reversed.
these activities can be reversed. Now, let You use a pencil and an eraser. With
us repeat the same activities with repeated use, their shape and size
a difference. change. Can we reverse this change?
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You must have seen a potter working 6.2 COULD THERE BE OTHER WAYS
on his wheel. He shapes a lump of clay TO BRING A CHANGE?
into a pot. Can this change be reversed? We all have seen the tools which are used
He then bakes the pot in an oven. Now, to dig the soil (Fig. 6.6 ). Have you ever
can this change be reversed? seen how the iron blade in these tools
Some common changes are given in is fixed to the wooden handle?
Table 6.1. Which of these changes, do The iron blade of these tools has a
you think can be reversed? ring in which the wooden handle is
We find that one way we can group fixed. Normally, the ring is slightly
changes is to see if they can be smaller in size than the wooden handle.
reversed. To fix the handle, the ring is heated and
Table 6.1 Some common changes it becomes slightly larger in size
(expands). Now, the handle easily fits
into the ring. When the ring cools down
it contracts and fits tightly on to
the handle.
Fig. 6.6 Tools are often heated before fixing

wooden handles
Such a change is also used for fixing

the metal rim on a wooden wheel of a
cart as shown in Fig.6.7. Again the
metal rim is made slightly smaller than
the wooden wheel. On heating, the rim
expands and fits onto the wheel. Cold
water is then poured over the rim, which
contracts and fits tightly onto the wheel.
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Paheli wants to know if
you have ever seen a
blacksmith making some
tools. How does a
blacksmith change a
piece of iron into different tools? A
piece of iron is heated till it becomes
red-hot. It then becomes soft and is
beaten into a desired shape. What
Fig. 6.7 Cart wheel with metal rim fixed to it change has taken place in iron, on
being heated?
When we heat water in a pan, it
begins to boil after some time. If we Activity 7
continue to heat further, the quantity
of water in the pan begins to decrease. Take a small candle and measure its
The water changes into its vapour. length with a scale. Now, fix it at a
In Activity 7, Chapter 5 you have suitable place and light it. Let it burn
observed that water vapour gets changed for some time. Now blow out the candle
into liquid water when it is cooled. We and measure its length again (Fig.6.8).
all have noticed melting of ice. Ice melts Can the change in the length of the
when it is heated. What does it change candle be reversed? If we were to take
into? Is it possible to change this water some wax in a pan and heat it, can this
back into ice? change be reversed (Fig. 6.9)?
Let us observe some more changes.
Fig.6.8 Burning of a
candle
Boojho has often noticed that road
construction workers heat a black
material (tar) for repairing a road.
He wants to know whether the
change caused in tar, by
heating, can be reversed?
Fig.6.9 Heating wax
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Repeat Activity 7 with an incense the change due to dissolving salt in
stick. Wait till it burns away completely. water be reversed?
What are the changes that occur in the Paheli asks if you have ever seen curd
incense stick? The stick burns to being set. A small quantity of curd is
produce some new material. These are added to warm milk. The milk is stirred
ash and some gases. We cannot see and is set aside for a few hours at a warm
these gases but can sense them due to place. In a few hours, the milk changes
their pleasant smell. Can this change into curd. Can this change be reversed?
be reversed? And what about the We find that a few ways to bring about
change, which occurred in the a change in a substance could be, by
matchstick you used for lighting the heating it or by mixing it with some
candle or incense stick? other substance. We also find that some
So far we have discussed the changes changes can be reversed, while some
occurring in a given object or its others cannot be reversed. There must
material. What about the changes be many other ways of changing things
that occur when two substances are around us. It is possible that some of
mixed together? them could be reversed. Thus, changes
In Chapter 4, we dissolved salt in around us could be grouped as those
water. Do you think a change occured that can be reversed or cannot be
in salt or in water? Is it possible to reversed. In higher classes, you will
reverse this change? Wait, in Chapter learn more about the ways in which
5, we learnt how to separate salt from changes can be made and the way these
its solution in water. So, can we say that can be grouped.
Changes
Contraction
Evaporation
Expansion
Melting
 Some changes can be reversed and some cannot be reversed.

 A change may occur by heating a substance or by mixing it with some
other.
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1. To walk through a waterlogged area, you usually shorten the length of your
dress by folding it. Can this change be reversed?
2. You accidentally dropped your favourite toy and broke it. This is a change you
did not want. Can this change be reversed?
3. Some changes are listed in the following table. For each change, write in the
blank column, whether the change can be reversed or not.
S. No. Change Can be reversed (Yes/ No)
1. The sawing of a piece of wood
2. The melting of ice candy
3. Dissolving sugar in water
4. The cooking of food
5. The ripening of a mango
6. Souring of milk
4. A drawing sheet changes when you draw a picture on it. Can you reverse this
change?
5. Give examples to explain the difference between changes that can or cannot be
reversed.
6. A thick coating of a paste of Plaster of Paris (POP) is applied over the bandage
on a fractured bone. It becomes hard on drying to keep the fractured bone
immobilised. Can the change in POP be reversed?
7. A bag of cement lying in the open gets wet due to rain during the night. The
next day the sun shines brightly. Do you think the changes, which have occurred
in the cement, could be reversed?

1. Take a lemon, a paintbrush and a piece of paper. Cut the lemon and squeeze
out its juice in a cup. Dip the brush in the lemon juice and write a message
on the paper. Let the paper dry and you find that the letters of your message
become invisible. Now, press the paper with hot iron or warm it by holding it
above the flame of a candle (Take care that it does not catch fire). As the
paper gets warm, invisible letters change into dark brown colour. Identify the
changes that can be reversed in this process.
2. Observe preparation of dishes at your home. Identify two changes that can
be reversed.
3. Maintain a record for one year of the seasonal changes in vegetables, clothing,
nature and events around you. Identify the changes that can or cannot be
reversed.
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7 Getting to Know Plants
G
o outside and observe all the the school, in the parks and gardens,
plants around you (Fig. 7.1). isn’t it?
Do you see that some plants Let us get to know the different
are small, some very big, while some parts of any plant. This will help us
are just patches of green on
the soil? Some have green
leaves, while some others have
reddish ones. Some have huge
red flowers, some have tiny
blue ones, while some have
none. We do see a variety of
plants existing all around us
— near our homes, in the
school ground, on the way to
Fig. 7.1 A Nature walk!
understand the differences between

plants of different kinds. Can you label
the stem, branch, root, leaf, flower and
fruit of the plant shown in Fig.7.1?
Colour the parts of the plant.
7.1 HERBS, SHRUBS AND TREES
Activity 1
Look closely at the stem and branches
of:
1. Plants much smaller than you.
2. Plants that are about your size, and
3. Plants which are much taller than
you.
Feel their stem and try to bend them
Fig. 7.2 Parts of a plant gently to see if they are tender or hard.
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Table 7.1 Categories of plants
Take care that the stem does not break. 2 and 3 for many more plants.
Hug the tall plants to see how thick their Fill Column 4 later after studying
stems are! the section.
We also need to notice from where the Based on these characters most
branches grow in some plants — close to plants can be classified into three
the ground or higher up on the stem. categories: herbs, shrubs and trees. An
We will now group all the plants we example of each is shown in Fig.7.3.
observed, in Table 7.1. Some examples
are shown. You can fill the Columns 1,
Suggestion: Student can work in

groups of 4-5 so that a minimum
number of plants are harmed/
damaged.
You may also use weeds with soft (a)
stems for the activities. Do you know
what weeds are? In crop fields, lawns,
or in pots, often some unwanted
plants or weeds start growing. Have
you seen farmers removing these (b) (c)
weeds from their fields?
Fig.7.3 (a) Herb, (b) shrub and (c) tree
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Plants with green and tender stems
are called herbs. They are usually short
and may not have many branches
[Fig.7.3 (a)].
Some plants develop branches near
the base of stem. The stem is hard but
not very thick. Such plants are called
shrubs [Fig .7.3(b)].
Some plants are very tall and have
hard and thick stem. The stems have
branches in the upper part, much above
the ground. Such plants are called trees Fig. 7.4 Creepers Fig. 7.5 Climbers
[Fig.7.3(c)].
Based on the above characteristics two trees, shrubs, herbs or creepers
can you now classify the plants listed growing in your house or school.
by you and complete column 4 in
7.2 STEM
Table 7.1?
Observe closely the stems of different
plants around you. Note down different
structures/parts borne by
Paheli wonders what kind of stem — the the stem. Compare you
money plant, beanstalk, gourd plants and observations with the that of
grape vines have. Do observe some of these
your friends. What do you
plants. How are these different from a herb,
a shrub or a tree? Why do you find? Stems bear leaves,
think some of them need support branches, buds, flowers
to climb upwards? and fruits.
Activity 2
We would require a glass, water, red/
Plants with weak stems that cannot blue ink and a soft stem. Pour water to
stand upright but spread on the ground fill one-third of the glass. Add a few
are called creepers (Fig.7.4), while those drops of red/blue ink to the water. Cut
that take support and climb up are called the base of the stem and put it in the
climbers (Fig.7.5). These are different glass as shown in Fig.7.6.
from the herbs, shrubs and trees. Observe the set-up. Does the colour
Perhaps there are some plants in appear in the stem? You will find that
your school or at home that you take the colour rises in the stem. If this is
care of. Write down the names of any kept for a longer period, the colour
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Lamina Stem
Petiole
Fig. 7.8 A leaf
Let us get to know the leaf better by

taking its impression! If you thought
Fig. 7.6 Stem in a glass with coloured water
that leaves cannot sign, here is an
appears in the veins of leaves also. How activity which will make you think again.
do you think the colour reached there?
Activity 3
From this activity, we see that the
stem helps in upward movement of Put a leaf under a white sheet of paper
water. The water and minerals go to or a sheet in your notebook. Hold it in
leaves and other plant parts attached to place as shown in Fig. 7.9. Hold your
the stem. pencil tip sideways and rub it on the
portion of the paper having the leaf below
it. Did you get an impression with some
lines in it? Are they similar to those on
the leaf?
These lines on
the leaf are called
(a) (b) veins. Do you see
Fig. 7.7 (a) Water moves up the stem and a prominent line
reaches leaves in the middle of the
(b) Enlarged view of open end of stem
leaf? This is called
7.3 LEAF the midrib. The
design made by Fig. 7.9 Taking an
Observe the leaves of some plants impression of a leaf
around you and draw them in your veins in a leaf is
notebook. Are all the leaves of same size, called the leaf venation. If this design is
shape and colour? net-like on both sides of midrib, the
How are leaves attached to the stem? venation is reticulate [Fig. 7.10 (a)]. In
The part of leaf by which it is attached the leaves of grass you might have seen
to the stem is called petiole. The broad, that the veins are parallel to one another.
green part of the leaf is called lamina This is parallel venation [(Fig. 7.10 (b)].
(Fig. 7.8). Can you identify these parts Observe the venation in as many leaves
of the leaves in plants around you? Do as you can without removing them from
all the leaves have petioles? the plant. Draw the pattern and write
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Midrib Veins Transparent
polythene
cover/bag
(a) (b)
Fig. 7.10 Leaf venation (a) reticulate and
(b) parallel Fig. 7.11 What does the leaf do?
names of some plants having reticulate evaporate if we had not tied a polythene
and parallel venation. cover? What makes the water appear on
Shall we now find out some of the the polythene bag? In Chapter 5, we
functions of a leaf? noticed water changing into different
Activity 4 forms in some of our activities. Can you
think of these and name the process that
We will require a herb, two transparent makes water drops appear on the
polythene bags and thread. polythene cover?
Do this activity during day time on a Leaves also have another function.
sunny day. Use a healthy, well watered Let us study this.
plant that has been growing in the sun.
Enclose a leafy branch of the plant in a
Activity 5
polythene cover and tie up its mouth as We would require a leaf, spirit, a beaker,
shown in Fig. 7.11. Tie up the mouth of test tube, burner, water, a watch glass
another empty polythene cover and keep and iodine solution for this activity.
it also in the sun. Take a leaf in a test tube and pour
After a few hours, observe the inner spirit to completely immerse the leaf.
surface of the covers. What do you see?
Green
Are there any droplets of water? How do
leaf Iodine
you think they got there? [Don’t forget solution
to remove the polythene bag after the
activity!] Purplish
Water comes out of leaves in the form coloured
leaf
of vapour by a process called
transpiration. Plants release a lot of water
into the air through this process. We will
learn more about this in Chapter 14.
Why did we tie a cover around the
leaves? Would we have seen the water Fig. 7.12 What does the leaf contain?
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Note: Since the activity involves the
use of spirit and heating, it is advised
that it is demonstrated by the teacher
in the class.
Now, place the test tube in a beaker half

filled with water. Heat the beaker till all
the green colour from the leaf comes out
into the spirit in the test tube. Take out
the leaf carefully and wash it in water.
Fig. 7.13 Watering the plants
Place it on a watch glass and pour some
iodine solution over it (Fig. 7.12). Which part of the plant is in the soil?
What do you observe? Compare your Let us learn more about this part from
observations with those done in the following activities.
Chapter 2, when you tested food for
presence of different nutrients. Does this Activity 6
mean that the leaf has starch in it? You would require two pots, some soil,
In Chapter 2, we saw that a slice of khurpi (for digging), blade or a pair of
raw potato also shows the presence of scissors and water. This activity is to be
starch. Potatoes get this starch from done in groups of 4-5 students.
their leaves and store it. Leaves prepare Select two plants of the same kind
their food in the presence of sunlight from an open ground and dig them out
and a green coloured substance present
with roots. Take care that their roots do
in them. For this, they also use water
not break. Plant one of them in pot A
and carbon dioxide. This process is
[Fig. 7.14 (a)]. Cut off the roots from the
called photosynthesis. Oxygen is given
out in this process. The food prepared
by leaves ultimately gets stored in
different parts of plant.
We have seen that the stem supplies
leaf with water. The leaf uses the water
to make food. The leaves also lose water
through transpiration. How do the stem
and leaves get water? That is where the
roots come in!
7.4 ROOT A B
Look at Fig. 7.13. Who do you think is (a) (b)

watering their plant correctly, Paheli or
Fig. 7.14 (a) Plant with roots, and
Boojho? Why? (b) without roots
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other plant and plant it in pot B [Fig. holding the plant firmly to the soil. They
7.14 (b)]. Water them regularly. Observe anchor the plant to the soil.
the plants after a week. Are both plants You have seen that there are different
healthy? kinds of stems and leaves. Do the roots
Both the plants are watered also show a variety? Let us find out.
regularly, but, one is without roots, isn’t
Activity 8
it? Does this activity help you
understand an important function of the Study Fig. 7.16 (a) and (b) carefully.
root? Now, look at the roots of the gram plants
Let us do an activity to study another you have pulled out from the cotton in
function of root. the previous activity. Do they look like
the roots shown in Fig. 7.16 (a) or those
Activity 7 in Fig. 7.16 (b)? How about the roots of
We would require seeds of gram and
maize, cotton wool, katori (bowl) and
some water.
Take two katoris (bowl). Place some
wet cotton in them. Put 3 or 4 seeds of
gram in one and maize in the other.
Keep the cotton wet by sprinkling (a) (b)
water every day, until the sprouts have
Fig 7.16 (a) Roots of_______________
grown into young plants. After a week
(b) Roots of_______________
try to separate the young plants from
the cotton (Fig. 7.15). maize plant? Write ‘gram’ or ‘maize’ in
the blank spaces in the figure after
matching the roots with the figures.
In what way are the roots of gram
and maize similar? In what way are they
different? There seem to be two different
types of roots, isn’t it? Are there also
other types of roots? Let us find out.
Activity 9
Fig. 7.15 Young plants grown on cotton
Go to an open ground where many wild
Was it easy to separate the cotton plants are growing. Dig out a few, wash
from the roots? Why? the soil off the roots and observe them.
In Activity 6, we could not pull out Do you find that all of them have either
the plants from the soil, right? We dug the kind of roots shown in Fig. 7.17 (a)
them out. This is because roots help in or as in Fig. 7.17 (b)?
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a very interesting way? In Table 7.2, can
you match the type of leaf venation and
the type of roots for some plants you have
studied in all the activities so far?
Table 7.2 Types of roots and types of
leaf venation
Name of Type of leaf Type of

plant venation roots
(a) (b)
Fig. 7.17 (a) Taproot and (b) fibrous roots We have learnt that roots absorb
water and minerals from the soil and
For roots of the kind shown in
the stem conducts these to leaves and
Fig.7.17 (a), the main root is called tap
other parts of the plant. The leaves
root and the smaller roots are called
lateral roots. Plants with roots as shown prepare food. This food travels through
in Fig. 7.17 (b) do not have a main root. the stem and is stored in different parts
All roots seem similar and these are of plant. We eat some of these as roots—
called fibrous roots. like carrot, radish, sweet potato, turnip
Separate the plants you have and tapioca. We also eat many other
collected into two groups. In group (a) parts of a plant where food is stored.
put those that have tap roots and in Do you agree that stem is like a street
group (b) those that have fibrous roots. with two way traffic (Fig. 7.18)? Write
Look at the leaves of the plants in Group the name of material that goes up in
(a). What kind of venation do they have? the stem and that which comes down.
What kind of venation do you see for
plants of Group (b)?
Do you notice that leaf venation and
the type of roots in a plant are related in
Boojho has a brilliant idea! If he

wants to know what kind of roots a
plant has, he need not pull it out.
He just has to look at its leaves! Fig. 7.18. Stem as two-way traffic street
In the next section, we will study

about the structure of a flower.
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7.5 FLOWER These are the petals. Different flowers
You are shown three branches of a rose have petals of different colours.
in Fig 7.19 (a), (b) and (c). Which one Where do you think the petals are in a
will help you best to recognise the plant? closed bud? Which is the most prominent
part in a bud? Did you see that this part
is made of small leaf-like structures? They
Petals
Sepals
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 7.20 Bud and flower
Fig 7.19 Rose: (a) A leafless branch
(b) A branch with leaves
(c) A branch with leaves and flowers are called sepals. Take a flower and
observe its petals and sepals. Now,
Which colour did you use for the answer the following questions:
flower in Fig. 7.19 (c)? Are all flowers How many sepals does it have?
colourful? Have you ever seen flowers Are they joined together?
on grass, wheat, maize, mango or What are the colours of the petals
guava? Are those brightly coloured? and the sepals?
Let us study a few flowers. How many petals does the flower have?
When choosing flowers to study, avoid Are they joined to one another or are
using marigold, chrysanthemum or they separate?
sunflower. You will learn in higher Do the flowers with joint sepals have
classes that they are not single flowers, petals that are separate or are they also
but groups of flowers. joined together?
Fill the table based on the
observations of the whole class
Activity 10
(Table 7.3). Add observations to this
We would require one bud and two fresh table, from a field trip to a locality where
flowers each, of any of the following– there are plants with flowers. Fill the
datura, china rose, mustard, brinjal, last two columns later.
lady’s finger, gulmohur. Also a blade, a To see the inner parts of the flower
glass slide or a sheet of paper, a clearly, you have to cut it open, if its
magnifying glass and water. petals are joined. For example, in datura
Observe Fig. 7.20 carefully. Look at and other bell-shaped flowers, the petals
the prominent parts of the open flower. have to be cut lengthwise and spread
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Table 7.3 Observations on flowers
Name of Number Number Are the Are the Stamens – are Pistil –
flower/ and colour and colour sepals joined petals joined they free or Present/
plant of sepals of petals or separate? or separate? joined to petals absent
Rose Many 5 (Colour?) Separate Free Present

(Colour?)
out so that the inner parts can be seen

clearly (Fig. 7.21).
Remove the sepals and petals to see
the other parts. Study the Fig. 7.22
carefully, compare your flower with the Anther
(yellow
illustration and identify the stamens and colour)
pistil in your flower.
Filament
Look at Fig 7.23 carefully. It shows (cream
different kinds of stamens present in colour)
different flowers. Can you recognise the Fig. 7.23 Parts of a stamen
two parts of the stamens in your flower?
How many stamens are there in your The innermost part
flower? Draw one stamen and label of flower is called the Stigma
its parts. pistil. If you cannot see Style
it completely, remove
the remaining stamens.
Identify the parts of the
Ovary
pistil with the help of
Fig. 7.24.
Draw a neat,
labelled diagram of the Fig. 7.24 Parts
Fig. 7.21 A bell-shaped flower
pistil of your flower. of a pistil
Anthers
(yellow Activity 11
colour)
Let us now study the structure of ovary
(Fig. 7.24). It is the lowermost and
Pistil swollen part of the pistil. We will cut this
Stamens
(cream (green part to study what is inside! Look at Fig.
colour) colour)
7.25 (a) and (b) carefully to understand
Fig. 7.22 Parts of a flower how to cut the ovary of a flower.
2018-19
Observe the inner parts of the ovary
using a lens (Fig. 7.26). Do you see some
small bead like structures inside the
ovary? They are called ovules. Draw and
label the inner parts of the ovary in your
notebook.
Try to find out the names of as many
flowers as you can by asking the
gardener or any other person.
Remember, not to pluck more flowers
than you need. Based on what you have
filled in Table 7.3, answer the following
(a) (b) questions.
Do all flowers have sepals, petals,
Fig. 7.25 Cutting an ovary (a) longitudinal cut
and (b) transverse cut
stamens and pistils? Are there flowers that
do not have one or more of these? Are
Cut the ovary in two different ways there flowers which have parts other than
as shown in Fig. 7.25. To prevent them these?
from drying, put a drop of water on Did you find any flower which has
each of the two pieces of the ovary, you no difference between sepals and petals?
have cut. Did you find any flower in which the
number of stamens is different from the
Ovules
number of petals?
Do you now agree that the structure
of the flower is not always the same?
The number of sepals, petals, stamens
and pistils may also be different in
different flowers. Some of these parts
may even be absent at times!
We have studied some features and
functions of leaves, stems and roots.
We studied the structure of different
flowers. We will learn about the function
Fig. 7.26 Inner structure of an ovary of flowers in higher classes. We will also
(a) longitudinal cut, (b) transverse cut learn about fruits in higher classes.
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Climbers Petiole
Conduct Photosynthesis
Creepers Pistil
Fibrous roots Reticulate venation
Herbs Sepal
Lamina Shrubs
Lateral roots Stamen
Midrib Taproot
Ovule T ranspiration
Parallel Venation T rees
Petal Veins
n Plants are usually grouped into herbs, shrubs and trees based on their
height, nature of stem and branches.
n The stem bears leaves, flowers and fruits.
n Leaf usually has a petiole and lamina.
n The pattern of veins on the leaf is called venation. It can be reticulate or
parallel.
n Leaves give out water vapour through the process of transpiration.
n Green leaves make their food by the process of photosynthesis using
carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight.
n Roots absorb water and minerals from the soil. They also anchor the
plant firmly in the soil.
n Roots are mainly of two types: tap root and fibrous root.
n Plants having leaves with reticulate venation have tap roots while plants
having leaves with parallel venation have fibrous roots.
n The stem conducts water from roots to the leaves (and other parts) and
food from leaves to other parts of the plant.
n The parts of a flower are sepals, petals, stamens and pistil.
2018-19
1. Correct the following statements and rewrite them in your notebook.
(a) Stem absorbs water and minerals from the soil.
(b) Leaves hold the plant upright.
(c) Roots conduct water to the leaves.
(d) The number of petals and stamens in a flower is always equal.
(e) If the sepals of a flower are joined together, its petals are also joined
together.
(f) If the petals of a flower are joined together, then the pistil is joined to the
petal.
2. Draw (a) a leaf, (b) a taproot and (c) a flower, you have studied for Table 7.3.
3. Can you find a plant in your house or in your neighborhood, which has a long
but weak stem? Write its name. In which category will you place it?
4. What is the function of a stem?
5. Which of the following leaves have reticulate venation?
Wheat, tulsi, maize, grass, coriander (dhania), China rose
6. If a plant has fibrous root, what type of venation do its leaves have?
7. If a plant has leaves with reticulate venation, what kind of roots will it have?
8. Is it possible for you to find out whether a plant has taproot or fibrous roots by
looking at the impression of its leaf on a sheet of paper?
9. What are the parts of a flower.
10. From the following plants, which of them have flowers?
Grass, maize, wheat, chilli, tomato, tulsi, peepal, shisham, banyan, mango, jamun,
guava, pomegranate, papaya, banana, lemon, sugarcane, potato, groundnut
11. Name the part of plant which produces food. Name the process.
12. In which part of a flower, you will find the ovary?
13. Name two plants in which one has joined sepals and the other has separate
sepals.
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SUGGESTED PROJECT AND ACTIVITIES
1. BECOME A LEAF EXPERT
Do this activity with a number of leaves over a period of few weeks. For every
leaf that you wish to study, pluck it and wrap it in a wet cloth and take it
home. Now, place the leaf between the folds of a newspaper and place a
heavy book on it. You can also put it under your mattress or a trunk! Take
out the leaf after a week. Paste it on a paper and write a poem or story about
it. With your leaf collection pasted in a book, you can become an expert about
leaves!
2. Names of plant parts are hidden in this grid. Search them by going up, down,
diagonally, forward or backward. Have fun!
O V U L E L Y T S T E M
V E I N W Q H E R B P I
A N I M A L Z E X R N D
R F I L A M E N T M U R
Y A R A B L C O D B E I
L E E U O F O L G H I B
A L H I I R J A L K U R
T M T N O T P P Q R R A
E E N S T U F E H V W N
P Y A M G I T S Z Z N C
F L O W E R E H T N A H
S T A M E N N S E P A L
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8 Body Movements
S
it absolutely still. Observe the Table 8.1 How do animals move
movements taking place in your from place to place?
body. You must be blinking your
Body part used How does
eyes, time to time. Observe the for moving
Animal from place to thm
e animal
movements in your body as you ove?
place
breathe. There are so many movements
that happen in our bodies. Cow Legs Walk
When you are writing in your Humans
notebook which part of the body are you
Snake Whole body Slither
moving? Or, when you turn and look at
your friend? Different parts of your body Bird
move while you remain at the same Insect
place, in these examples. You also move
from one place to another — you get up Fish
and go to your teacher or to the school
compound, or go home after school. You
walk, run, skip, jump and move from Walk, run, fly, jump, creep, crawl,
place to place. slither and swim – these are only a few
Let us see how animals move from of the ways in which animals move from
place to place by filling up Table 8.1, one place to another. Why are there so
after discussing with our friends, many differences in the way that
teachers and parents. animals move from place to place? Why
is it that many animals walk while a
snake slithers or crawls and a fish
swims?
Boojho wonders about movements
in plants. He knows they do not
8.1 HUMAN BODY AND ITS MOVEMENTS
move from place to place, but, do Let us look closely at some of our own
they show any other kind of movements to begin with, before looking
movements? at all these varieties of movements in
animals.
Do you enjoy doing physical exercise
at school? How do you move your hands
and legs while doing different exercises?
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Let us try some of the many movements, Why is it that we are able to move a
our body is capable of. few parts of our body easily in various
Bowl an imaginary ball at an directions and some only in one
imaginary wicket. How did you move direction? Why are we unable to move
your arm? Did you rotate it at the some parts at all?
shoulder in a circular movement? Did
Activity 1
your shoulder also move? Lie down and
rotate your leg at the hip. Bend your Place a scale length-wise on your arm
arm at the elbow and the leg at the knee. so that your elbow is in the centre
Stretch your arm sideways. Bend your (Fig. 8.1).
arm to touch your shoulder with your Ask your friend to tie the scale and
fingers. Which part of your arm did you your arm together. Now,
bend? Straighten your arm and try to try to bend your elbow.
bend it downwards. Are you able to Are you able to do it?
do it?
Try to move the various parts of your
body and record their movements in
Fig. 8.1 Can you bend your
Table 8.2. arm now?
Table 8.2 Movements in our body

Movement
Body Part
Rotates Rotates Bends Lifts Does not
completely partly/turns move at all
Neck Yes
Wrist
Finger
Knee
Ankle
Toe
Back
Head
Elbow
Ar m Yes
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Did you notice that we are able to bend Bowl
or rotate our body in places where two
parts of our body seem to be joined Ball
together — like elbow, shoulder or neck?
These places are called joints. Can you
name more such joints? If our body has Paper Cylinder
no joints, do you think it would be
possible for us to move in any way at all?
What exactly is joined together at Fig. 8.2 Making a ball and socket joint
these joints?
Does the ball rotate freely inside the bowl?
Press your fingers against the top of
Does the paper cylinder also rotate?
your head, face, neck, nose, ear, back of
Now, imagine that the paper cylinder
the shoulder, hands and legs including
is your arm and the ball is its end. The
the fingers and toes.
bowl is like the part of the shoulder to
Do you get a feel of something hard
which your arm is joined. The rounded
pressing against your fingers? The hard
end of one bone fits into the cavity
structures are the bones. Repeat this
(hollow space) of the other bone
activity on other parts of your body. So
many bones! (Fig.8.3). Such a joint allows movements
Bones cannot be bent. So, how do in all directions. Can you name another
we bend our elbow? It is not one long such joint you can think of, recollecting
bone from the upper arm to our wrist. It the body movements we tried at the
is different bones joined together at the beginning of this section?
elbow. Similarly, there are many bones
present in each part of the body. We Ball and
Socket Joint
can bend or move our body only at those
points where bones meet.
There are different types of joints in Thigh Bone
our body to help us carry out different Hip Bone
movements and activities. Let us learn
about some of them.
Fig. 8.3 A ball and socket joint
Ball and socket joints
Pivotal Joint
Activity 2
The joint where our neck joins the head
Roll a strip of paper into a cylinder. Make is a pivotal joint (Fig. 8.4). It allows us
a small hole in an old rubber or plastic to bend our head forward and backward
ball (under supervision) and push the and turn the head to our right or left.
paper cylinder into it as shown in Try these movements. How are these
Fig. 8.2. You can also stick the cylinder movements different from those of our
on the ball. Put the ball in a small bowl. arm that can rotate a complete circle in
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Pivotal joint
Fig. 8.4 A pivotal joint

its ball and socket joint? In a pivotal
Fig. 8.6 Hinge joints of the knee
joint a cylindrical bone rotates in a ring.
movement at the elbow in Activity 1.
Hinge joints What we have constructed in Fig. 8.4 is
Open and close a door a few times. different from a hinge, of course. But, it
Observe the hinges of the door carefully. illustrates the direction in which a hinge
They allow the door to move back allows movement. The elbow has a hinge
and forth. joint that allows only a back and forth
Activity 3 movement (Fig. 8.5). Can you think of
more examples of such joints?
Let us look at the kind of movement
allowed by a hinge. Make a cylinder with Fixed joints
cardboard or thick chart paper, as Some joints between bones in our head
shown in Fig. 8.5. Attach a small pencil are different from those we have
to the cylinder by piercing the cylinder discussed so far. The bones cannot move
at the centre, as shown. Make a hollow at these joints. Such joints are called
half cylinder from cardboard such that fixed joints. When you open your
the rolled up cylinder can fit inside it mouth wide, you can move your lower
easily. The hollow half cylinder with the jaw away from your head, isn’t it? Try
rolled up cylinder sitting inside it, allows to move your upper jaw, now. Are you
movement like a hinge. Try to move the able to move it? There is a joint between
rolled up cylinder. How does it move? the upper jaw and the rest of the head
How is this movement different from which is a fixed joint.
what we saw with our constructed ball We discussed only some of the joints
and socket joint? We saw this kind of that connect parts of our body.
What gives the different parts of the
body their different shapes?
If you wanted to make a doll, what
will you make first? Perhaps a
framework to give the doll shape before
making its outer structure, isn’t it? All
Fig. 8.5 Directions of movement allowed by a hinge the bones in our body also form a
like joint framework to give a shape to our body.
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Similarly, feel the bones of your ankle
The human skeleton is composed of
and knee joints and compare these with
around 305 bones at birth. The
the X-ray images (Fig. 8.8).
number of bones in the skeleton
changes with age. It decreases to 206
bones by adulthood after some bones
have fused together.
This framework is
called the skeleton
(Fig. 8.7.)
How do we know
that this is the shape
of a human skeleton? Fig 8.8 X-ray images of ankle and knee joints
How do we know the Bend your fingers. Are you able to
shapes of the different bend them at every joint? How many
bones in our body? We bones does your middle finger have?
can have some idea Feel the back of your palm. It seems to
about the shape and have many bones, isn’t it (Fig. 8.9)? Is
number of bones in your wrist flexible? It is made up of
some parts of our body several small bones called carples. What
by feeling them. One will happen if it has only one bone?
way we could know
this shape better
would be to look at X-
Fig. 8.7 The ray images of the
Human skeleton human body.
Did you or anyone in your family
ever have an X-ray of any part of your
body taken? Sometimes when we are
hurt, or have an accident, doctors use
these X-ray images to find out about Fig. 8.9 Bones of the hand
any possible injuries that might
have happened to the bones. The X-
Activity 4
rays show the shapes of the bones in Take a deep breath and hold it for a
our bodies. little while. Feel your chest bones and the
Feel the bones in your forearm, back bone by gently pressing the middle
upper arm, lower leg and upper leg. Try of the chest and back at the same time.
to find the number of bones in each part. Count as many ribs (bones of the chest)
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Fig. 8.12 Shoulder bones
Fig. 8.10 The rib cage bones on the back are prominent where
the shoulders are? They are called
as possible. Observe Fig. 8.10 carefully
shoulder bones (Fig. 8.12).
and compare with what you feel of the
Observe Fig. 8.13 carefully. This
chest bones. We see that the ribs are
structure is made of pelvic bones. They
curiously bent. They join the chest bone
enclose the portion of your body
and the backbone together to form a
below the stomach. This is the part
box. This is called the rib cage. There
you sit on.
are 12 ribs on each side of chest. Some
important internal parts of our body lie
protected inside this cage.
Ask some friends to touch their toes
without bending their knees. Starting
from the neck, move your
fingers downwards on the
back of your friend. What Fig. 8.13 Pelvic bones
you feel is the backbone. It The skull is made up of many bones
is made up of many small joined together (Fig. 8.14). It encloses
bones called vertebrae. The and protects a very important part of
backbone consists of 33 the body, the brain.
vertebrae (Fig. 8.11). The rib We discussed many bones and
cage is joined to these bones. the joints of our skeleton. There are
If backbone was made
up of only one long bone,
will your friend be able to
bend?
Make your friend stand
with both hands pressed to
Fig. 8.11 the wall and ask her to push
The backbone the wall. Do you notice two Fig. 8.14 The skull
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some additional parts of the skeleton
that are not as hard as the bones and
which can be bent. These are called
cartilage.
Feel your ear. Do you find any hard
bony parts that can be bent (a)
(Fig. 8.15)? There do not seem to be any
bones here, isn’t it? Do you notice
anything different between the ear lobe (b)
and the portions above it (Fig. 8.16), as
you press them between your fingers?
Fig. 8.17 Two muscles work together to move
a bone
observe a swollen region is the upper

arm? This is a muscle. The muscle
bulged due to contraction (it became
smaller in length). Now bring your arm
back to its normal position. What
happened to the muscle? Is it still
Fig. 8.15 Upper part Fig. 8.16
of ear has cartilage The ear lobe contracted? You can observe similar
contraction of muscles in your leg when
You do feel something in the upper parts you walk or run.
of the ear that is not as soft as the ear
When contracted, the muscle
lobe but, not as hard as a bone, isn’t it?
becomes shorter, stiffer and thicker. It
This is cartilage. Cartilage is also found
pulls the bone.
in the joints of the body.
Muscles work in pairs. When one of
We have seen that our skeleton is
them contracts, the bone is pulled in
made up of many bones, joints and
cartilage. You could feel, bend and move that direction. The other muscle of the
many of them. Draw a neat figure of the pair relaxes. To move the bone in the
skeleton in your notebook. opposite direction, the relaxed musle
We have learnt about the bones in our contracts to pull the bone towards its
body and about joints that help us move original position, while the first relaxes.
in different ways. What makes the bones A muscle can only pull. It cannot push.
move the way they do? Let us find out. Thus, two muscles have to work together
Make a fist with one hand, bend your to move a bone. (Fig. 8.17)
arm at the elbow and touch your Are muscles and bones always
shoulder with the thumb (Fig. 8.17). Do required for movement? How do other
you see any change in your upper arm? animals move? Do all animals have
Touch it with the other hand. Do you bones? What about an earthworm or a
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snail? Let us study the manner of contractions, the earthworm can move
movement, that is, the gait of some through soil. Its body secretes a slimy
animals. substance to help the movement.
How does it fix parts of its body to
8.2 “GAIT OF ANIMALS”
the ground? Under its body, it has a
Earthworm large number of tiny bristles (hair like
structures) projecting out. The bristles
Activity 5 are connected with muscles. The bristles
Observe an earthworm moving on soil help to get a good grip on the ground.
in a garden. Gently lift it and place it The earthworm, actually, eats its way
on a piece of blotting or filter paper. through the soil! Its body then throws
Observe its movement (Fig. 8.18). Then away the undigested part of the material
place it on a smooth glass plate or any that it eats. This activity of an earthworm
slippery surface. Observe its movement makes the soil more useful for plants.
now. Is it different from that on paper?
Snail
In which of the above two surfaces do
you find that the earthworm is able to Activity 6
move easily?
Observe a snail in your garden or in field.
The body of an earthworm is made
Have you seen the rounded structure it
up of many rings joined end to end. An
carries on its back (Fig. 8.19)?
Fig. 8.19 A snail

Fig. 8.18 Movement of earthworm This is called the shell and it is the
earthworm does not have bones. It has outer skeleton of the snail, but is not
muscles which help to extend and made of bones. The shell is a single unit
shorten the body. During movement, and does not help in moving from place
the earthworm first extends the front to place. It has to be dragged along.
part of the body, keeping the rear Place the snail on a glass plate and
portion fixed to the ground. Then it fixes watch it. When it starts moving,
the front end and releases the rear end. carefully lift the glass plate along with
It then shortens the body and pulls the the snail over your head. Observe its
rear end forward. This makes it move movements from beneath.
forward by a small distance. Repeating A thick structure and the head of the
such muscle expansions and snail may come out of an opening in
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the shell. The thick structure is its foot,
made of strong muscles. Now, carefully
tilt the glass plate. The wavy motion of
the foot can be seen. Is the movement of
a snail slow or fast as compared to an
earthworm?
Cockroach
Activity 7
Observe a cockroach (Fig. 8.20). Fig. 8.21 Skeleton of a bird
Cockroaches walk and climb as well
bony parts of the forelimbs are modified
as fly in the air. They have three pairs
as wings. The shoulder bones are strong.
of legs. These help in walking. The body
The breastbones are modified to hold
is covered with a hard outer skeleton.
muscles of flight which are used to move
This outer skeleton is made of number
the wings up and down (Fig. 8.21).
Fish
Activity 8
Make a paper boat. Put it in water and
Fig. 8.20 A cockroach push it with one narrow end pointing
forward [Fig. 8.22 (a)]. Did it go into the
of plates joined together and that water easily? Now hold the boat
permits movement. sideways and push it into the water
There are two pairs of wings attached from the broad side [Fig. 8.22 (b)]. Are
to the body behind head. The you able to make the boat move in water
cockroaches have distinct muscles — when you push it from this side?
those near the legs move the legs for
walking. The body muscles move the
wings when the cockroach flies.
Birds
Birds fly in the air and walk on the (a)
ground. Some birds like ducks and

swans also swim in water. The birds can
fly because their bodies are well suited
for flying. Their bones are hollow and
light. The bones of the hind limbs are (b)
typical for walking and perching. The Fig. 8.22 Playing with boats
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Fish also have other fins on their
body which mainly help to keep the
balance of the body and to keep
direction, while swimming. Did you ever
notice that under water divers wear fin
like flippers on their feet, to help them
move easily in water?
Fig. 8.23 Fish

How do snakes move?
Have you noticed that the shape of a Have you seen a snake slither? Does it
boat is somewhat like a fish (Fig 8.23)? move straight(Fig. 8.25)?
The head and tail of the fish are smaller Snakes have a long backbone. They
than the middle portion of the body – have many thin muscles. They are
the body tapers at both ends. This body connected to each other even though they
shape is called streamlined. are far from one another. Muscles also
The shape is such that water can flow interconnect the backbone, ribs and skin.
around it easily and allow the fish to The snake’s body curves into many
move in water.The skeleton of the fish loops. Each loop of the snake gives it a
is covered with strong muscles. During forward push by pressing against the
swimming, muscles make the front part ground. Since its long body makes
of the body curve to one side and the many loops and each loop gives it this
tail part swings towards the opposite push, the snake moves forward very fast
side. The fish forms a curve as shown and not in a straightline.
in Fig. 8.24. Then, quickly, the body and We have learned about the use of
tail curve to the other side. This makes bones and muscles for the movements
a jerk and pushes the body forward. A of different animals. Paheli and Boojho
series of such jerks make the fish swim have many questions in their sacks
ahead. This is helped by the fins of about the different movements in
the tail. animals. So must you be having many
unanswered questions buzzing in your
Fig. 8.24 Movement in Fish Fig. 8.25 Movement in a snake
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minds? The ancient Greek philosopher place? Why two legs for humans and
Aristotle, in his book Gait of Animals, four for cows and buffaloes? Many
asked himself these questions. Why do animals seem to be having an even
different animals have the body parts number of legs, why? Why is the
that they do have and how do these bending of our legs different from that
body parts help animals to move the of our arms?
way they do? What are the similarities So many questions and perhaps
and differences in these body parts we have looked for some answers
between different animals? How many through our activities in this chapter
body parts are needed by different and we need to look for many
animals for moving from place to more answers.
Yoga — For Better Health

Yoga is an invaluable gift of the ancient Indian tradition. The United Nations
declared 21 June as International Day of Yoga. Yoga keeps a person healthy. It
helps in keeping the backbone erect, enabling you to sit straight and not
slouch. Many postures in yoga require you to lift your own weight, which help
in making the bones strong and help ward off osteoporosis. It also helps in
relieving joint pain, which is mostly observed in elderly people. It tunes all
muscles in the body and keeps them active. It keeps the heart healthy and
makes it work more efficiently. Certain yoga postures should be performed
under the supervision of a trained person.
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Backbone Muscle
Ball and socket joint Outer skeleton
Bristles Pelvic bones
Cartilage Pivotal joint
Cavity Rib cage
Fixed joint Shoulder bones
Gait of animals Skeleton
Hinge joint Streamlined
n Bones and cartilage form the skeleton of the human body. It gives the
frame and shape to the body and helps in movement. It protects the
inner organs.
n The human skeleton comprises the skull, the back bone, ribs and the
breast bone, shoulder and hipbones, and the bones of hands and legs.
n The bones are moved by alternate contractions and relaxations of two
sets of muscles.
n The bone joints are of various kinds depending on the nature of joints
and direction of movement they allow.
n Strong muscles and light bones work together to help the birds fly. They
fly by flapping their wings.
n Fish swim by forming loops alternately on two sides of the body.
n Snakes slither on the ground by looping sideways. A large number of
bones and associated muscles push the body forward.
n The body and legs of cockroaches have hard coverings forming an outer
skeleton. The muscles of the breast connected with three pairs of legs
and two pairs of wings help the cockroach to walk and fly.
n Earthworms move by alternate extension and contraction of the body
using muscles. Tiny bristles on the underside of the body help in gripping
the ground.
n Snails move with the help of a muscular foot.
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(a) Joints of the bones help in the ——————— of the body.
(b) A combination of bones and cartilages forms the _______ of the body.
(c) The bones at the elbow are joined by a ______________________ joint.
(d) The contraction of the _____________ pulls the bones during movement.
2. Indicate true (T) and false (F) among the following sentences.
(a) The movement and locomotion of all animals is exactly the same. ( )
(b) The cartilages are harder than bones. ( )
(c) The finger bones do not have joints. ( )
(d) The fore arm has two bones. ( )
(e) Cockroaches have an outer skeleton. ( )
3. Match the items in Column I with one or more items of Column II.
Column I Column II
Upper jaw have fins on the body
Fish has an outer skeleton
Ribs can fly in the air
Snail is an immovable joint
Cockroach protect the heart
shows very slow movement
have a streamlined body
4. Answer the following:

(a) What is a ball and socket joint?
(b) Which of the skull bones are movable?
(c) Why can our elbow not move backwards?

We discussed the many movements our bodies are capable of. Healthy bones,
muscles, joints and cartilages are needed by the body for all these movements.
Some of us suffer from conditions that could make these movements not so easy. In
a whole class activity, try to find ways that one would manage everyday activities, if
any one of our body movements was not possible. In Activity 1, for instance, you
tied a scale on your arm and disabled the elbow movement. Think of other ways of
restricting normal body movements and find ways that everyday activities could
then be managed.
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9 The Living Organisms —
Characteristics and Habitats
P
aheli and Boojho went on of some kind or the other (Fig. 9.1). Paheli
vacation to many places of started thinking and reading about far
interest. One such trip took away places. She read that people have
them to the river Ganga in Rishikesh. even found tiny living organisms in the
They climbed the mountains of the openings of volcanoes!
Himalayas, where it was very cold. They
saw many kinds of trees on these
mountains — oaks, pines and deodars,
very different from the ones near their
home on the plains! In yet another trip,
they travelled to Rajasthan and moved
on camels through the hot desert. They
collected different kinds of cactus plants
from this trip. Finally, they went on a
trip to Puri and visited the sea beach,
Fig. 9.1 Search for living organisms
dotted with casuarina trees. While
recollecting all the fun that they had on 9.1 ORGANISMS AND THE
these trips, a thought struck them. All SURROUNDINGS WHERE THEY LIVE
these places were so different from one Another thought that occurred to Paheli
another, some were cold, some very hot and Boojho was about the kinds of living
and dry, and some places so humid. And organisms that were present in different
yet all of them had many organisms locations that they had visited. The
(living creatures) of various kinds. deserts had camels, the mountains had
They tried to think of a place on Earth goats and yak. Puri had some other
where there may not be any living creatures — crabs on the beach and
creatures. Boojho thought of places near such a variety of fish being caught by
his home. Inside the house, he tried the the fishermen at the sea! And then,
cupboards. He had thought that there there did seem to be some creatures like
may not be any living organisms here, ants that were present in all these
but he found one tiny spider in the different locations. The kinds of plants
cupboard. Outside the home too, there found in each of these regions were so
did not seem to be any place, he could different from the plants of the other
think of, that did not have living creatures regions. What about the surroundings
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in these different regions? Were they will discuss the table as we travel
the same? through many more interesting places.
Activity 1 9.2 HABITAT AND ADAPTATION
Let us start with a forest. Think of all What do you find from the plants and
the plants, animals and objects that can animals listed in Activity 1? Did you find
be found there. List them in Column 1 a large variety in them? Look at what you
of Table 9.1. List things, animals and have entered in the column for the desert
plants, found in the other regions that and the column for the sea in Table 9.1.
are also shown in the table. You can Did you list very different kind of
collect the examples scattered through organisms in these two columns?
this chapter to fill Table 9.1. Discuss What are the surroundings like, in
also with your friends, parents and these two regions?
teachers, to find more examples to fill In the sea, plants and animals are
the tables. You can also consult many surrounded by saline (salty) water. Most
interesting books in libraries that talk of them use the air dissolved in water.
of animals, plants and minerals of There is very little water available in
different regions. the desert. It is very hot in the day time
T ry and include many plants, and very cold at night in the desert. The
animals and objects, big and small, in animals and plants of the desert live on
each of the columns in this table. What the desert soil and breathe air from the
kind of objects will we find that may not surroundings.
be animals or plants? Perhaps parts of The sea and the desert are very
plants like dried leaves, or parts of different surroundings and we find very
animals, like bones. We may also find different kind of plants and animals in
different kinds of soils and pebbles. these two regions, isn’t it? Let us look
Water in the oceans may have salts at two very different kind of organisms
dissolved in it as discussed in Chapter from the desert and the sea – a camel
5. There could be many more objects. and a fish. The body structure of a camel
As we go through the chapter, keep helps it to survive in desert conditions.
adding more examples to Table 9.1. We Camels have long legs which help to
Table 9.1 Animals, plants and other objects found in different surroundings
In the forest On mountains In the desert In the sea Any other?
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keep their bodies away from the heat of We have taken only two examples
the sand (Fig. 9.2). They excrete small from a very wide variety of animals and
amount of urine, their dung is dry and plants that live on the Earth. In all this
they do not sweat. Since camels lose variety of organisms, we will find that
very little water from their bodies, they they have certain features that help
can live for many days without water. them live in the surroundings in which
Let us look at different kinds of fish. they are normally found. The presence
Some of these are shown in Fig. 9.3. of specific features or certain habits,
There are so many kinds of fish, but, do which enable an organism to live
you see that they all have something naturally in a place is called adaptation.
common about their shape? All the ones Adaptation of organisms differ
shown here have the streamlined shape depending on their place of dwelling.
that was discussed in Chapter 8. This That is why a fish cannot live out of
shape helps them move inside water. water and a camel cannot live in sea.
Fish have slippery scales on their bodies. The place where organisms live is
These scales protect the fish and also called habitat. Habitat means a dwelling
help in easy movement through water. place (a home). The habitat provides
We discussed in Chapter 8, that fish food, water, air, shelter and other needs
have flat fins and tails that help them to organisms. Several kinds of plants
to change directions and keep their body and animals live in the same habitat.
balance in water. Gills present in the The plants and animals that live on
fish help them to use oxygen dissolved land are said to live in terrestrial
in water. habitats. Some examples of terrestrial
We see that the features of a fish help habitats are forests, grasslands, deserts,
it to live inside water and the features of coastal and mountain regions. On the
a camel help it to survive in a desert. other hand, the habitats of plants and
Fig. 9.2 Camels in their surroundings Fig. 9.3 Different kinds of fish
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There are some changes that can happen in an organism over a short period of
time to help them adjust to some changes in their surroundings. For instance,
if we live in the plains and suddenly go to high mountain regions, we may
experience difficulty in breathing and doing physical exercise for some days.
We need to breathe faster when we are on high mountains. After some days,
our body adjusts to the changed conditions on the high mountain. Such small
changes that take place in the body of a single organism over short periods, to
overcome small problems due to changes in the surroundings, are called
acclimatisation. These changes are different from the adaptations that take
place over thousands of years.
animals that live in water are called water for a day. Divide the soaked seeds
aquatic habitats. Lakes, rivers and into four parts. Keep one part
oceans are some examples of aquatic completely submerged in water for 3-4
habitats. There are large variations days. Do not disturb the dry seeds and
among terrestrial habitats like forests, those submerged in water. Keep one part
grasslands, deserts, coastal and of soaked seeds in a sunny room and
mountain regions located in different another in a completely dark
parts of the world. region like a cupboard that does not
The organisms, both plants and allow any light to come in. Keep the last
animals, living in a habitat are its biotic part in very cold surroundings, say, in
components. The non-living things such a refrigerator or with ice around them.
as rocks, soil, air and water in Rinse them and replace the water every
the habitat constitute its abiotic day. What do you notice, after a few
components. Are sunlight and heat days? Do the seeds in all the five
biotic or abiotic components? conditions germinate uniformly? Do you
We know that some plants grow from find slower or no germination in any of
seeds. Let us look at some abiotic factors these?
and their effect on seeds as they grow Do you realise that abiotic factors like
into young plants. air, water, light and heat are important
Activity 2 for the growth of plants. In fact, abiotic
factors are important for all living
Recall Activity 5 in Chapter 1 — we made organisms.
sprouts from moong and chana seeds. We find that organisms exist in very
When the seed turned into a sprout, it cold as well as very hot climates, isn’t
is said to have germinated. This is the it? How do they manage to survive?
beginning of life of a new plant. Adaptation is the method by which
Collect some dry moong seeds. Keep organisms get well adjusted to the
20-30 seeds aside and soak the rest in climate.
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Adaptation does not take place in a
short time because the abiotic factors of
a region also change very slowly. Those
organisms which cannot adapt to these
changes die, and only the adapted ones
survive. Organisms adapt to different
abiotic factors in different ways. This
results in a wide variety of organisms in
different habitats.
Let us look at some habitats,
understood the abiotic factors and the
adaptations of animals in these habitats. Fig. 9.4 Desert animals in burrows
9.3 A JOURNEY THROUGH DIFFERENT

HABITATS
Some Terrestrial Habitats
Deserts
We discussed the abiotic factors of a
desert and the adaptations in camels.
What about other animals and plants
that are found in deserts? Do they
have the same kind of adaptations?
There are desert animals like rats Fig. 9.5 Some typical plants that grow in desert
and snakes, which do not have long legs
Leave the potted plants in the sun and
that a camel has. To stay away from the
observe after a few hours. What do you
intense heat during the day, they stay
in burrows deep in the sand (Fig 9.4). see? Do you notice any difference in the
amount of water collected in the two
These animals come out only during the
polythene bags?
night, when it is cooler.
Fig. 9.5 shows some typical plants Desert plants lose very little water
through transpiration. The leaves in
that grow in a desert. How are these
desert plants are either absent, very
adapted to the desert?
small, or they are in the form of spines.
Activity 3 This helps in reducing loss of water from
Bring a potted cactus and a leafy plant the leaves through transpiration. The
to the classroom. Tie polythene bags to leaf-like structure you see in a cactus
some parts of the two plants, as was is, in fact, its stem (Fig. 9.5).
done for Activity 4 in Chapter 7, where Photosynthesis in these plants is
we studied transpiration in plants. usually carried out by the stems. The
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stem is also covered with a thick waxy also present on mountains. They may
layer, which helps to retain water in the have different kind of adaptations to
tissues of cacti. Most desert plants have survive on the mountains.
roots that go very deep into the soil for Animals living in the mountain regions
absorbing water. are also adapted to the conditions there
Mountain regions (Fig. 9.7). They have thick skin or fur to
protect them from cold. For example, yaks
These habitats are normally very cold
have long hair to keep them warm. Snow
and windy. In some areas, snowfall may
leopard has thick fur on its body
take place in winters.
There is a large variety of plants and
animals living in the mountain regions.
Have you seen the kind of trees shown
in Fig. 9.6?
(a)
Fig. 9.6 Trees of a mountain habitat

If you live in a mountain region or
have visited one, you may have seen a (b)
large number of such trees. But, have
you ever noticed such trees naturally
growing in other regions?
How are these trees adapted to the
conditions prevailing in their habitat?
These trees are normally cone shaped
and have sloping branches. The leaves Fig. 9.7 (a) Snow
of some of these trees are needle-like. leopard, (b) yak
and (c) mountain
This helps the rainwater and snow to goat are adapted to
slide off easily. There could be trees with mountain habitats
shapes very different from these that are (c)
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including feet and toes. This protects its survive? It’s light brown colour helps it
feet from the cold when it walks on the to hide in dry grasslands when it hunts
snow. The mountain goat has strong for prey (animals to eat). The eyes in
hooves for running up the rocky slopes front of the face allow it to have a correct
of the mountains. idea about the location of its prey.
As we go up in the mountainous A deer is another animal that lives in
regions, the surroundings change and forests and grasslands. It has strong teeth
we see different kinds of adaptations at for chewing hard plant stems of the
different heights. forest. A deer needs to know about the
presence of predators ( animals like lion
Grasslands
that make it their prey ) in order to run
A lion lives in a forest or a grassland
away from them and not become their
and is a strong animal that can hunt
prey. It has long ears to hear movements
and kill animals like deer. It is light
of predators. The eyes on the side of its
brown in colour. Look at the picture of
head allow it to look in all directions for
a lion and that of a deer (Fig. 9.8). How
danger. The speed of the deer helps them
are the eyes placed in the face for these
to run away from the predators.
two animals? Are they in the front or
There are many other features of a
on the side of the face? Lions have long
lion, a deer or other animals and plants
claws in their front legs that can be
that help them to survive in their
withdrawn inside the toes. Do the
habitat.
features of a lion help it in any way to
Some Aquatic Habitats
Oceans
We already discussed how fish are
adapted to live in the sea. Many other
sea animals have streamlined bodies to
help them move easily in water. There
are some sea animals like squids and
(a) octopus, which do not have this
streamlined shape. They stay deeper in
the ocean, near the seabed and catch
any prey that moves towards them.
However, when they move in water they
make their body shapes streamlined.
These animals have gills to help them
use oxygen dissolved in water.
(b) There are some sea animals like
Fig. 9.8 (a) Lion and (b) deer dolphins and whales that do not have
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gills. They breathe in air through (Fig. 9.9). In terrestrial plants, roots
nostrils or blowholes that are located normally play a very important role in the
on the upper parts of their heads. This absorption of nutrients and water from
allows them to breathe in air when they the soil. However, in aquatic plants, roots
swim near the surface of water. They can are much reduced in size and their main
stay inside the water for a long time function is to hold the plant in place.
without breathing. They come out to the The stems of these plants are long,
surface from time to time, to breathe in hollow and light. The stems grow up to
air. Did you ever see this interesting the surface of water while the leaves and
activity of dolphins in television flowers, float on the surface of water.
programme or films on ocean life? Some aquatic plants are submerged
in water. All parts of such plants are
Ponds and lakes
under water. Some of these plants have
Have you seen plants growing in ponds,
narrow and thin ribbon-like leaves.
lakes, rivers and even some drains? Go
These can bend in the flowing water. In
on a field trip to a nearby pond, if possible,
some submerged plants, leaves are often
and try to observe the kinds of plants that
highly divided, through which the water
are seen there. Observe the leaves, stems
can easily flow without damaging them.
and roots of these plants.
Frogs usually live in ponds. Frogs
Some of these plants have their roots
can stay both inside the water as well
fixed in the soil below the water
as move on land. They have strong back
legs that help them in leaping and
catching their prey. They have webbed
feet which help them swim in water.
We have discussed only a few common
animals and plants compared to the wide
variety that live in different habitats. You
may have also noticed the very wide
variety in plants around you, when you
prepared a herbarium as part of the
suggested activities in Chapter 7.
Imagine the kind of variety that you
could see in a herbarium of leaves of
plants from all regions of the Earth!
Fig. 9.9 Some aquatic plants float on water. 9.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANISMS
Some have their roots fixed in the soil at the
bottom. Some aquatic plants are We went on a journey through different
submerged in water. habitats and discussed many plants and
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animals. In Activity 1, we listed objects, Paheli and Boojho found the poem
plants and animals found in different very funny, because they knew that a
surroundings. Suppose we stop a while chair or a table is not alive and it cannot
and think which examples in our list talk or walk.
are living? Let us think of examples from Chair, table, stone or a coin are not
a forest. Trees, creepers, small and big alive. Similarly, we do know that we are
animals, birds, snakes, insects, rocks, alive and so are all the people of the
soil, water, air, dry leaves, dead animals, world. We also see animals around us
mushrooms and moss may be only some that are so full of life — dogs, cats,
of the objects that are present in the monkeys, squirrels, insects and many
forest. Which of these are living? others.
Think of objects that you can see How do we know that something is
around you at this moment and group living? Often, it is not so easy to decide.
them as living and non-living. In some We are told that plants are living, but
cases, it is easy for us to know. For they do not move like a dog or a pigeon.
example, we know that objects like chair On the other hand, a car or a bus can
or table are not alive. Paheli was reading move, still we consider them as non-
this rhyme from Complete Nonsense living. Plants and animals appear to
written by Edward Lear: grow in size with time. But then, at
times, clouds in the sky also seem to
grow in size. Does it mean that clouds
are living? No! So, how does one
distinguish between living and non-
Chair, living things? Do living things have
id th e T a ble to the
Sa ware,
ardly be a some common characteristics that
’You can h th e heat,
s u ff er from t! make them very different from the
’H o w I on my fee
n d fr o m chilblains
’A lk, non-living?
a little wa
’If we took li tt le talk!
e m ig h t have a You are a wonderful example of a living
’W air!’
s take the
’Pray let u th e Chair. being. What characteristics do you have
th e T able to
S a id e table, which make you different from a non-
e C hair to th !
S a id th re not able
o w y o u know we a living thing? List a few of these
’N lk,
shly you ta
’How fooli w e cannot wa
lk!’
characteristics in your notebook. Look at
h e n y o u know ,
’W a sigh
able with your list and mark those characteristics
Said the T to try,
t c a n d o no harm that you have listed, which may also be
’I you,
a s m a ny legs as
’I ’v e n two?’ found in animals or plants.
h y c a n ’t we walk o
’W
Some of these characteristics are
perhaps common to all living things.
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Do all organisms need food? noticed pups grow
In Chapters 1 and 2, we learnt that all into adults. A chick
living things need food and how hatched from an
essential it is to animals and to us. We egg, grows into
have also learnt that plants make their a hen or a cock.
own food by the process of (Fig 9.11).
photosynthesis. Animals depend on Plants also grow.
plants or other animals for their food. Look around you
Food gives organisms the energy and see a few plants
needed for them to grow. Organisms also of a particular type.
need energy for other life processes that Some are very small
Fig. 9.11 A chicken
go on inside them. and young, some grows into an adult
Do all organisms show are bigger. They
growth? may all be in different stages of growth.
Look at the plants after a few days and
Does the kurta you had four years back,
weeks. You may find that some of them
still fit you? You cannot wear it any
have grown in size. Growth seems to be
more, isn’t it? You must have grown
taller during these years. You may not common to all living things.
realise it, but you are growing all the Do you think, non-living things show
time and in few more years you will growth?
become an adult. (Fig 9.10). Do all organisms respire?
Young ones of animals also grow Can we live without breathing? When
into adults. You would surely have we inhale, the air moves from outside to
the inside of our body. When we breathe
out, the air moves from inside our body
to outside. Breathing is part of a process
called respiration. In respiration, some
of the oxygen of the air we breathe in, is
used by the body. We breathe out carbon
dioxide produced in this process.
The process of breathing in animals
like cows, buffaloes, dogs or cats is
similar to humans. Observe any one of
these animals while they are taking rest,
and notice the movement of their
abdomen. This slow movement indicates
Fig. 9.10 A baby grows into an adult that they are breathing.
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Respiration is necessary for all living surroundings. Your favourite food,
organisms. It is through respiration that bright light and a thorn, in the above
the body finally obtains energy from the situations are some examples of changes
food it takes. in your surroundings. All of us respond
Some animals may have different immediately to such changes. Changes
mechanisms for the exchange of gases, in our surroundings that makes us
which is a part of the respiration process. respond to them, are called stimuli.
For example, earthworms breathe Do other animals also respond to
through their skin. Fish, we have learnt, stimuli? Observe the behaviour of
have gills for using oxygen dissolved in animals, when food is served to them.
water. The gills absorb oxygen from the Do you find them suddenly becoming
air dissolved in water. active on seeing the food? When you
Do plants also respire? Exchange of move towards a bird, what does it do?
gases in plants mainly takes place Wild animals run away when bright
through leaves. The leaves take in air light is flashed towards them. Similarly,
through tiny pores in them and use the cockroaches begin to move to their
oxygen. They give out carbon dioxide to hiding places if the light in the kitchen
the air. is switched on at night. Can you give
We learnt that in sunlight, plants some more examples of responses of
use carbon dioxide to produce food and animals to stimuli?
give out oxygen. The amount of oxygen Do plants also respond to stimuli?
released in the process of food Flowers of some plants bloom only at
preparation by plants is much more night. In some plants flowers close after
than the oxygen they use in respiration. sunset. In some plants like Mimosa,
Respiration in plants takes place day commonly known as ‘touch-me-not’,
and night. leaves close or fold when someone
touches them. These are some examples
Do all organisms respond to
of responses of plants towards changes
stimuli?
in their surroundings.
How do you respond, if you suddenly
step on a sharp object like a thorn, while Activity 4
walking barefoot? How do you feel when Place a potted plant in a room a little
you see or think about your favourite away from a window through which
food? You suddenly move from a dark sunlight enters some time during the
place into bright sunlight. What day (Fig. 9.12). Continue watering the
happens? Your eyes shut themselves plant for a few days. Does the plant grow
automatically for a moment till upright, like plants out in the open?
they adjust to the changed bright Note the direction in which it bends, if
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Do all organisms
reproduce their own
kind?
Have you ever seen nests of
some birds like pigeons?
Many birds lay their eggs in
the nest. Some of the eggs hatch and
young birds come out of them
(Fig. 9.13).
Fig. 9.12 Plant respond to light
it is not growing upright. Do you think,

this may be in response to some
(a) (b)
stimulus?
Fig. 9.13 (a) Birds lay eggs which after hatching
All living things respond to changes produce (b) young ones
around them.
Animals reproduce their own kind.
Living organisms and excretion The mode of reproduction may be
All organisms need food. Not all the different, in different animals. Some
food that is eaten is completely used, animals produce their young ones
only a part of it is utilised by the body. through eggs. Some animals give birth
What happens to the rest? This has to to the young ones (Fig. 9.14).
be removed from the body as wastes. Our Plants also reproduce. Like animals,
body produces some wastes in other life plants also differ in their mode of
processes also. The process of getting reproduction. Many plants reproduce
rid of wastes by organisms is known as through seeds. Plants produce seeds,
excretion.
Do plants also excrete? They do, but
not as seen in animals. The mechanisms
in plants are a little different. Some plants
find it possible to store the waste products
within their parts in a way that they do
not harm the plant as a whole. Some
plants remove waste products as
secretions.
Excretion is another characteristic Fig. 9.14 Some animals which give birth to
common to all organisms. their young ones
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Living things produce more of their
own kind through reproduction. It
takes place in many different ways, for
different organisms.
Do all organisms move?
In Chapter 8, we discussed the various
ways in which animals move. They move
Fig. 9.15 A seed from a plant germinates into a
new plant from one place to another and also show
other body movements.
which can germinate and grow into new What about plants? Do they also
plants (Fig.9.15). move? Plants are generally anchored in
Some plants also reproduce through soil so they do not move from one place
parts other than seeds. For example, a to another. However, various substances
part of a potato with a bud, grows into a like water, minerals and the food
new plant (Fig 9.16). synthesised by them move from one part
of the plant to other. Have you noticed
any other kind of movement in plants?
Opening or closing of flowers? Do you
recall how some plants show movement
in response to certain stimuli?
We also have some non-living
things moving, of course. A bus, car, a
small piece of paper, clouds and so on.
Fig. 9.16 A new plant grows from a bud of potato Is there something different in these
Plants also reproduce through movements from the movements of
cuttings. Would you like to grow a plant living beings?
in this way yourself? There is such a variety of living
organisms, but, all of them show some
Activity 5 common characteristics, as we have
Take a cutting from a rose or a menhdi discussed. Yet another common
plant. Fix it in the soil and water it characteristic is that living beings die.
regularly. What do you observe, after a Because organisms die, particular types
few days? of organisms can survive over thousands
It may not be easy to grow plants from of years only if they reproduce their own
cuttings. Do not be disappointed if your kind. One single organism may
cutting does not grow. Talk to a gardener, die without ever reproducing, but, the
if possible, on the care to be given to type of organism can exist only if there
cuttings to make them grow into plants. is reproduction.
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We see that, all living things seem to stay in a shop for months and not show
have some common characteristics. any growth or some of the other
They all need food, respire, respond to characteristics of life. However, we bring
stimuli, reproduce, show movement, the same seed and plant it in soil, water
grow and die. it and it turns into a whole plant. Did
Do we find some non-living things that the seed — need food, did it excrete,
also show some of these characteristics? grow or reproduce when it was in the
Cars, bicycle, clocks and the water in shop for many months?
the river move. The moon moves in the We see that there can be cases when
sky. A cloud grows in size right in front we cannot easily say that a thing has all
of our eyes. Can such things be called the characteristics that we have discussed,
living? We ask ourselves, do these objects for it to be called living.
also show all the other characteristics
“What then is life?”
of living things?
Push your hand deep inside a sack of
In general, something that is living
wheat. Do you find it is warm inside?
may have all the characteristics that we
There is some heat being produced
have discussed, while non-living things
inside the sack of wheat. The seeds
may not show all these characteristics
respire and in that process give out
at the same time.
some heat.
Is this always true? Do we always find
We see that respiration is a process
that living things definitely show all the
that takes place in seeds even when
characteristics of the living that we have
some of the other life processes may not
discussed? Do we always find that non- be very active.
living things may show only some of these It may not be very easy to answer
characteristics and never all of them? our question — “what then is life”?
To understand this a little better, let However, looking at all the diversity of
us look at a specific example. Consider living beings around us, we can
any seed, say, moong. Is it living? It can conclude that “life is beautiful”!
Adaptation Habitat
Aquatic habitat Living
Biotic component Reproduction
Excretion Respiration
Growth Stimulus
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 The surroundings where plants and animals live, is called their habitat.
 Several kinds of plants and animals may share the same habitat.
 The presence of specific features and habits, which enable a plant or an
animal to live in a particular habitat, is called adaptation.
 There are many types of habitats, however, these may be broadly grouped
as terrestrial (on the land) and aquatic (in water).
 There is a wide variety of organisms present in different habitats.
 Plants, animals and microorganisms together constitute biotic
components.
 Rocks, soil, air, water, light and temperature are some of the abiotic
components of our surroundings.
 Living things have certain common characteristics — they need food,
they respire and, excrete, respond to their environment, reproduce, grow
and show movement.
1. What is a habitat?
2. How are cactus adapted to survive in a desert?
3. Fill up the blanks
(a) The presence of specific features, which enable a plant or an animal to live
in a particular habitat, is called .
(b) The habitats of the plants and animals that live on land are called
habitat.
(c) The habitats of plants and animals that live in water are called
habitat.
(d) Soil, water and air are the ———— factors of a habitat.
(e) Changes in our surroundings that make us respond to them, are
called .
4. Which of the things in the following list are nonliving?
Plough, Mushroom, Sewing machine, Radio, Boat, Water hyacinth, Earthworm
5. Give an example of a non-living thing, which shows any two characteristics of
living things.
6. Which of the non-living things listed below, were once part of a living thing?
Butter, Leather, Soil, Wool, Electric bulb, Cooking oil, Salt, Apple, Rubber
7. List the common characteristics of the living things.
8. Explain, why speed is important for survival in the grasslands for animals
that live there. (Hint: There are few trees or places for animals to hide in
grasslands habitats.)
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1. Many magazines and newspapers talk about possibility of life outside the
Earth. Read these articles and have a discussion in the class about what
could be defined as life outside Earth.
2. Visit a local zoo and find out what special arrangements are made for the
animals that have been brought there from different habitats.
3. Find out where are the habitats of the polar bear and the penguin. For each
animal, explain two ways in which it is well adapted to its habitat.
4. Find out which animals live in the foot-hills of the Himalayas. Find out if the
types and varieties of animals and plants changes as one goes higher into
the mountain regions of the Himalayas.
5. Make a habitat album. Try to obtain pictures of animals and plants that you
have listed in Activity 1 and paste these under different habitat sections in
the album. Draw the leaf shapes and structures for trees found in these
different regions and include these in the album. In addition, draw the
patterns of branching found in trees of these different regions and include
these also in the album.
What is
its
name
and
habitat
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10 Motion and Measurement of
Distances
T
here was a general discussion imitated the shapes of the animals living
among the children in Paheli and in water. Recall our discussions of this
Boojho's class about the places streamlined shape of fish in Chapters
they had visited during the summer 8 and 9.
vacations. Someone had gone to their Invention of the wheel made a great
native village by a train, then a bus, and change in modes of transport. The
finally a bullock cart. One student had design of the wheel was improved over
travelled by an aeroplane. Another spent thousands of years. Animals were used
many days of his holidays going on to pull carts that moved on wheels.
fishing trips in his uncle's boat. Until the beginning of the 19th
The teacher then asked them to read century, people still depended on
newspaper articles that mentioned animals, boats and ships to transport
them from place to place. The invention
about small wheeled vehicles that moved
of steam engine led to the development
on the soil of Mars and conducted
of new means of transport. Railroads
experiments. These vehicles were taken
were made for steam engine driven
by spacecraft all the way to Mars!
carriages and wagons. Later came
Meanwhile, Paheli had been reading
stories about ancient India and wanted
to know how people travelled from one
place to another in earlier times.
10.1 STORY OF TRANSPORT
Long ago people did not have any means
of transport. They used to move only on
foot and carry goods on their back. Later
on they began to use animals for
transportation.
For transport through water, routes,
boats were used from ancient times. To
begin with, boats were simple logs of
wood in which a hollow cavity could be
made. Later, people learnt to put
together different pieces of wood and
give shapes to the boats. These shapes Fig 10.1 Some means of transportation
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automobiles such as motor cars, trucks On the teacher's suggestion, they
and buses. Motorised boats and ships were decided to measure the length of the
used as means of transport on water. The desk, make a mark exactly in the middle
early years of 1900 saw the development of it and draw a line to separate the two
of aeroplanes. These were later improved halves of the desk.
to carry passengers and goods. Electric Both Paheli and Boojho are very fond
trains, monorail, supersonic aeroplanes of playing gilli danda with their friends.
and spacecraft are some of the Boojho brought a set of gilli and danda
contributions of the 20th century. with him.
Fig. 10.1 shows some of the different Here is how they tried to measure
modes of transport. Place them in the the length of the desk using the danda
correct order — from the earliest modes and the gilli (Fig. 10.2).
of transport to the most recent. The desk seems to be having a
Are there any of the early modes of length equal to two danda lengths and
transport that are not in use today? two lengths of the gilli. Drawing a line
in the middle of the desk leaves each
10.2 HOW WIDE IS THIS DESK?
of them happy with a half of the desk
How did people know how far they have
equal to a danda and a gilli in length.
travelled?
After a few days, the marked line gets
How will you know whether you can
wiped out. Boojho now has a new set
walk all the way to your school or whether
of gilli and danda as he lost his old
you will need to take a bus or a rickshaw
one. Here is how, the length of the
to reach your school? When you need to
desk seems to measure using the gilli
purchase something, is it possible for you
and danda (Fig. 10.3).
to walk to the market? How will you know
the answers to these questions?
It is often important to know how far
a place is, so that we can have an idea
how we are going to reach that place —
walk, take a bus or a train, a ship, an
aeroplane or even a spacecraft! Fig. 10.2 Measuring the length of a desk with
gilli and danda
Sometimes, there are objects whose
length or width we need to know.
In Paheli and Boojho's classroom,
there are large desks which are to be
shared by two students. Paheli and
Boojho share one desk, but, frequently
end up objecting that the other is using Fig. 10.3 Measuring the length of the desk with
a larger share of the desk. a different set of gilli and danda
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Hello! Now, when measured with the before such standard scales were made
new set of gilli and danda, the desk and he has been trying to follow different
length seems to be about two danda methods of measuring distances.
lengths, one gilli length with a small There are so many occasions when we
length still left out. This is less than one come across a need to measure lengths
gilli length. Now what? and distances. The tailor needs to measure
What would you suggest Paheli and the length of the cloth to know if it is
Boojho do, to measure the length of the enough to stitch a kurta. A carpenter
whole desk? Can they use a cricket needs to measure the height and width
wicket and bails to measure the length of a cupboard to know how much wood
or do you think that this might create he would need to make its door. The
the similar problem? farmer needs to know the length and
One thing they could do is to take a breadth or the area of his land to know
small length of string and mark two points how much seed he can sow and how
on it. This will be a string length. They much water would be needed for his crops.
can measure the width of the desk in Suppose, you are asked how tall you
string lengths (Fig. 10.4). How can they are? You want to tell the length of a
use the string to measure distances less straight line from the top of your head
than the length of a string? They can fold to the heel of your feet.
1 1 1 How long is this room?
the string and mark it into , and
How wide is this desk?
2 4 8
'string lengths'. Now, perhaps Paheli and How far is it from Delhi to Lucknow?
Boojho can measure the exact length of How far away is the Moon from the
the desk using the string. Earth?
You would say that they should use All these questions have one thing
the scale in their geometry box and solve in common. They all concern distance
their problem? Yes, Of course! between two places. The two places may
Boojho has been reading about the be close enough, like the two ends of a
way people used to measure distances table or they may be far apart, like
Jammu and Kanyakumari.
Let us do a few measurements to see
what exactly we need to do, when we
measure distances or lengths.
10.3 SOME MEASUREMENTS
Activity 1
Fig. 10.4 Measuring the length of the desk with Work in groups and each of you do this
string lengths activity one by one. Using your foot as a
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unit of length, measure the length and Table 10.2 Measuring width of a table
breadth of the classroom. It is possible
Who measured the Number of
that while measuring these you may find width of the table? handspans
some part remains to be measured as it
is smaller than your foot. Use a string
to measure the length of a part of your
foot as you did before. Record your
observations in Table 10.1.
Table 10.1 Measuring length and
breadth of classroom with some known quantity. This known
fixed quantity is called a unit. The result
Name of Length of the Width of the of a measurement is expressed in two
student classroom classroom
parts. One part is a number. The other
part is the unit of the measurement. For
example, if in Activity 1, the length of
the room is found to be 12 lengths of
your foot, then 12 is the number and
Activity 2 'foot length' is the unit selected for the
Work in a group and each of you use measurement.
your handspan as a unit to measure Now, study all the measurements
the width of a table or a desk in the recorded in Table 10.1 and 10.2. Are all
classroom (Fig. 10.5). the measurements for the room using
everybody's foot, equal? Are everybody's
measurement, by handspan, of the
width of the table equal? Perhaps the
results could be different as the length
of your handspan and that of your
friends may not be the same. Similarly,
the length of the foot may be slightly
Fig. 10.5 Measuring the width of a table with a different for all the students. Therefore,
handspan when you tell your measurement using
Here too, you may find that you your handspan or length of foot as a
need string lengths equal to your unit to others, they will not be able to
handspan and then fractions of understand how big the actual length
this string length to make the is, unless they know the length of your
measurement. Record all observations handspan or foot.
in Table 10.2. We see therefore, that some standard
We see that, measurement means the units of measurement are needed, that
comparison of an unknown quantity do not change from person to person.
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10.4 STANDARD UNITS OF have caused confusion in measurement.
MEASUREMENTS In 1790, the French created a standard
In ancient times, the length of a foot, unit of measurement called the
the width of a finger, and the distance metric system.
of a step were commonly used as For the sake of uniformity, scientists
different units of measurements. all over the world have accepted a set of
The people of the Indus valley standard units of measurement. The
civilisation must have used very good system of units now used is known as
measurements of length because we see the International System of Units (SI
units). The SI unit of length is a metre.
evidence in excavations of perfectly
A metre scale is shown in Fig.10.6. Also
geometrical constructions.
shown is the 15 cm scale in your
A cubit as the length from the elbow
geometry box.
to the finger tips was used in ancient
Each metre (m) is divided into 100
Egypt and was also accepted as a unit
equal divisions, called centimetre (cm).
of length in other parts of the world.
Each centimetre has ten equal divisions,
People also used the "foot" as a unit
called millimetre (mm). Thus,
of length in different parts of the world.
1 m = 100 cm
The length of the foot used varied
1 cm = 10 mm
slightly from region to region.
For measuring large distances, metre
People measured a “yard” of cloth by
is not a convenient unit. We define a
the distance between the end of the
larger unit of length. It is called
outstretched arm and their chin. The
kilometre (km).
Romans measured with their pace
1 km = 1000 m
or steps. Now, we can repeat all our
In ancient India, small length measurement activities using a
measurements used were an angul standard scale and measure in SI units.
(finger) or a mutthi (fist). Even today, we Before we do that, we do need to know
can see flower sellers using their forearm the correct way of measuring lengths
as a unit of length for garlands in many and distances.
towns of India. Many such body parts
continue to be in use as unit of length, 10.5 CORRECT MEASUREMENT OF
when convenient. LENGTH

However, everyone's body parts could In our daily life we use various types of
be of slightly different sizes. This must measuring devices. We use a metre scale
Fig.10.6 A metre scale and a 15 cm scale
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for measuring length. A tailor uses a taking measurements from the zero
tape, whereas a cloth merchant uses a mark of the scale. You can use any
metre rod. For measuring the length of other full mark of the scale, say,
an object, you must choose a suitable 1.0 cm [Fig.10.8 (b)]. Then you must
device. You cannot measure the girth of subtract the reading of this mark
a tree or the size of your chest using a from the reading at the other end.
metre scale, for instance. Measuring For example, in Fig.10.8 (b) the
tape is more suitable for this. For small reading at one end is 1.0 cm and
measurements, such as the length of at the other end it is 14.3 cm.
your pencil, you can use a 15 cm scale Therefore, the length of the object is
from your geometry box. (14.3-1.0) cm = 13.3 cm.
In taking measurement of a length,
we need to take care of the following:
1. Place the scale in contact with the
object along its length as shown in
Fig.10.7.
2. In some scales, the ends may be
broken. You may not be able to see
(a)
the zero mark clearly (Fig.10.8 (a)].
In such cases, you should avoid
(b)
Fig. 10.8 (a) Incorrect and (b) correct method of
(a) placing the scale with broken edge
3. Correct position of the eye is also im-

portant for taking measurement.
Your eye must be exactly in front of
the point where the measurement is
to be taken as shown in Fig.10.9.
Position 'B' is the correct position
of the eye. Note that from position
(b) 'B', the reading is 7.5 cm. From po-
Fig. 10.7 Method of placing the scale along the sitions 'A' and 'C', the readings may
length to be measured (a) correct and (b) incorrect be different.
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(A) (B) (C) at the results in column 3 where the
measurements are done using a
standard scale. The results may be close
to each other now, but, are they exactly
equal? If not, why do you think there is
a difference? After all, everybody is using
the same scale and not different hand
spans. This could be due to small errors
in taking observations. In higher classes
Fig. 10.9 B is the proper position of the eye for we will learn about the importance of
taking reading of the scale knowing and handling such errors in
measurement.
Activity 3
10.6 MEASURING THE LENGTH OF A
Measure the height of your classmate CURVED LINE
using hand span and then by using a We cannot measure the length of a
metre scale. For this, ask your classmate curved line directly by using a metre
to stand with his back against a wall. scale. We can use a thread to measure
Make a mark on the wall exactly above the length of a curved line.
his head. Now, measure the distance
from the floor to this mark on the wall Activity 4
with your handspan and then with a Use a thread to measure the length of
metre scale. Let all other students mea- the curved line AB (Fig.10.10). Put a
sure this length in a similar way. Record knot on the thread near one of its ends.
all observations in Table 10.3. Place this knot on the point A. Now,
Table 10.3 Measurement of height place a small portion of the thread along
the line, keeping it taut using your
Who measured Height in Height in fingers and thumb. Hold the thread at
the height? handspans cm
this end point with one hand. Using the
other hand, stretch a little more portion
of the thread along the curved line. Go
Study carefully results obtained by

different students. The results in B
A
column 2 may be different from each
other as the length of the handspan may
Fig.10.10 Measuring the length of a curved line
be different for different students. Look with a thread
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on repeating this process till the other How did you decide whether an object
end B of the curved line is reached. is in motion or at rest?
Make a mark on the thread where it You might have noticed that the bird
touches the end B. Now stretch the is not at the same place after some time,
thread along a metre scale. Measure the while the table is at the same place. On
length between the knot in the beginning this basis, you may have decided
and the final mark on the thread. This whether an object is at rest or in motion.
gives the length of the curved line AB. Let us look at the motion of an ant
We see that we need a lot of care to closely.
ensure that we are measuring distances
and lengths correctly. And, we need
Activity 6
some standard units and devices with Select a place where you find ants.
which we measure these distances and Spread a large sheet of white paper on
can convey our results to others. the ground and keep a little sugar on it.
10.7 MOVING THINGS AROUND US Ants are likely to be attracted to the
sugar and you will find many ants
Activity 5
crawling on the sheet of paper soon. For
Think of some objects you have seen any one ant, try and make a small mark
recently. List them in Table 10.4. These with a pencil near its position when it
may include a school bag, a mosquito, has just crawled on to the sheet of paper
a table, people sitting on chairs or people (Fig. 10.11). Keep marking its position
moving about. The list may also have a after a few seconds as it moves along on
butterfly, a dog, a cow, your hands, a the sheet of paper. After some time,
small baby, a fish in water, a house, a shake the paper free of the sugar and
factory, a piece of stone, a horse, a ball, the ants. Connect the different points
a bat, a moving train, a sewing machine, you have marked, with arrows, to show
a wall clock or the hands of a clock. the direction in which the ant was
Make your list as large as you can.
Which of these are moving? Which
are at rest?
Table10. 4 Objects at rest and in motion
Objects at rest Objects in motion
House A flying bird
Table Second's hand of the

clock
Clock
Fig. 10.11 Motion of an ant
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moving. Each point you have marked In all these examples we see that the
shows where the ant moved to, in objects move along a straight line. This
intervals of a few seconds. type of motion is called rectilinear
Motion seems to be some kind of a motion.
change in the position of an object
with time, isn't it?
Activity 7
In Activity 5, where did you place Take a stone, tie a thread to it and whirl
objects like a clock, a sewing machine it with your hand. Observe the motion
or an electric fan in your grouping of of the stone. We see that the stone moves
objects? Are these objects moving from along a circular path.
one place to other? No? Do you notice In this motion, the distance of the
movement in any of their parts? The stone from your hand remains the same.
blades of the fan or the hands of a This type of motion is called circular
clock— how are they moving? Is their motion.
movement similar to that of an ant or a
train? Let us now look at some types of
motion to help us understand these
differences.
10.8 TYPES OF MOTION
You may have observed the motion of a
vehicle on a straight road, march-past
of soldiers in a parade or the falling
of a stone (Fig. 10.12). What kind
of motion is this?
(a)
Sprinters in a
100-metre race
also move along a
straight track. Can
you think of more
such examples from (b) (c)
your surroundings? Fig. 10.13 Some objects in circular motion
(a)
The motion of a point marked on the

blade of an electric fan or the hands of
a clock are examples of circular motion
(Fig. 10.13).
The electric fan or the clock by
(b) themselves are not moving from one
Fig.10.12 Some examples of rectilinear motion place to another. But, the blades of the
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fan rotate and so do
the hands of a
clock. If we mark a
point anywhere on
the blades of a fan or
on the hands of a
clock, the distance of
this point from the
centre of the fan or
the clock, will remain the same as
they rotate. (a)
In some cases, an object repeats its
motion after some time. This type of
motion is called periodic motion. Take
the stone tied with a string that you
used in Activity 7. Now, hold the string
in your hand and let the stone hang
from it. This is a pendulum. Pull the (b) (c)
stone to one side with the other hand
and let it go. Now the pendulum is in
motion. It is an example of periodic
motion. A branch of a tree moving to
and fro, motion of a child on a swing,
strings of a guitar or the membrane of
(d) (e)
drums (tabla) being played, are all
examples of periodic motion where an Fig. 10.14 Examples of periodic motion
object or a part of it repeats its motion after

a fixed interval of time (Fig. 10.14).
Did you observe a sewing machine
Boojho is not sure why we say that as a part of Activity 5? You must have
the distance of the stone from your observed that it remains at the same
hand is the same when we whirl it location while its wheel moves with a
around. Can you help him circular motion. It also has a needle that
understand this? Remember moves up and down continuously, as
that the stone is held long as the wheel rotates, isn't it? This
with a string. needle is undergoing a periodic motion.
Have you observed closely, the
motion of a ball along the ground? Here,
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the ball is rolling on the ground – position of an object with time.
rotating as well as moving forward along The change in this position can
the ground. Thus, the ball undergoes a be determined through distance
rectilinear motion as well as rotational measurements. This allows us to know
motion. Can you think of other how fast or slow a motion is. The
examples where objects undergo movement of a snail on the ground, a
combinations of different types of butterfly flitting from flower to flower, a
motion? river flowing, an aeroplane flying, moon
We did many measurement activities going around the Earth and blood
and discussed some kinds of motion. flowing inside our bodies show that there
We saw that motion is a change in the is motion everywhere around us!
Circular motion
Distance
Measurement
Motion
Periodic motion
Rectilinear
motion
SI units
Units of
measurement
n Different modes of transport are used to go from one place to another.

n In ancient times, people used length of a foot, the width of a finger, the
distance of a step as units of measurement. This caused confusion and
a need to develop a uniform system of measurement arose.
n Now, we use International System of Units ( SI units). This is accepted
all over the world.
n Metre is the unit of length in SI unit.
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n Motion in a straight line is called rectilinear motion.
n In circular motion an object moves such that its distance from a fixed
point remains the same.
n Motion that repeats itself after some period of time is called periodic motion.
1. Give two examples each, of modes of transport used on land, water and air.
(i) One metre is ______________ cm.
(ii) Five kilometre is ______________ m.
(iii)Motion of a child on a swing is ______________.
(iv) Motion of the needle of a sewing machine is ______________.
(v) Motion of wheel of a bicycle is______________.
3. Why can a pace or a footstep not be used as a standard unit of length?
4. Arrange the following lengths in their increasing magnitude:
1 metre, 1 centimetre, 1 kilometre,1 millimetre.
5. The height of a person is 1.65 m. Express it into cm and mm.
6. The distance between Radha's home and her school is 3250 m. Express this
distance into km.
7. While measuring the length of a knitting needle, the reading of the scale at one
end is 3.0 cm and at the other end is 33.1 cm. What is the length of the needle?
8. Write the similarities and differences between the motion of a bicycle and a
ceiling fan that has been switched on.
9. Why would you not like to use a measuring tape made of an elastic material like
rubber to measure distance? What would be some of the problems you would
meet in telling someone about a distance you measured with such a tape?
10. Give two examples of periodic motion.

1. Draw a map of your classroom. Roll a ball on the floor. In your map mark the
points where the ball started and where it stopped. Show also the path it
moved along. Did the ball move along a straight line?
2. Using string and a scale, let each student measure the length of his/her foot.
Prepare a bar graph of the foot length measurements that have been obtained
for the whole class.
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11 Light, Shadows and
Reflections
W
e see so many objects around all, it is an opaque object. If you are
us. On the way to school we able to see clearly through an object, it
see things like buses, cars, is allowing light to pass through it and
cycles, trees, animals and sometimes is transparent. There are some objects
flowers. How do you think, we see through which we can see, but not very
objects? clearly. Such objects are known as
Think of the same places at night translucent.
time if it were completely dark. What will
Activity 1
you see? Suppose you go inside a
completely dark room. Are you able to Look around yourself and collect as
see any objects in the room? many objects as you can — an eraser,
But, when you light a candle or a plastic scale, pen, pencil, notebook,
torch you can see the objects present in single sheet of paper, tracing paper or a
the room, isn’t it? Without light, things piece of cloth. Try to look at something
cannot be seen. Light helps us see far away, through each of these objects
objects. (Fig. 11.1). Is light from a far away object
The torch bulb is an object that gives able to travel to your eye, through any
out light of its own. The Sun, is another of the objects?
familiar object that gives its own light. Record your observations in a table
During the day, its light allows us to as shown in Table 11.1.
see objects. Objects like the sun that We see that a given object or material
give out or emit light of their own are could be transparent, translucent or
called luminous objects.
What about objects like a chair, a
painting or a shoe? We see these when
light from a luminous object (like the
Sun, a torch or an electric light) falls on
these and then travels towards our eye.
11.1 T RANSPARENT , O PAQUE AND
TRANSLUCENT OBJECTS
Recall our grouping objects as opaque,
transparent or translucent, in Chapter Fig. 11.1 Observing objects that do or do not
4. If we cannot see through an object at allow light to pass through them
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Table 11.1
View through the object Object is opaque/
Object/material possible (fully/ partially/ transparent/
not at all) translucent
Pencil
Rubber ball
Sheet of writing paper Not very sure?
opaque depending on whether it allows the outline of the shadow while you are
light to pass through it completely, holding the object. Draw outlines of the
partially or not at all. shadows of other objects in a similar
way.
11.2 WHAT EXACTLY ARE SHADOWS?
Now, ask some other friends to
Activity 2 identify the objects from these outlines
Now, one by one hold each of the opaque of shadows. How many objects are they
objects in the sunlight, slightly above able to identify correctly?
the ground. What do you see on the Do you observe your shadow in a
ground? You know that the dark patch dark room or at night when there is no
formed by each on the ground is due light? Do you observe a shadow when
to its shadow. Sometimes you can there is just a source of light and
identify the object by looking at its nothing else, in a room? It seems we
shadow (Fig. 11.2). need a source of light and an opaque
Spread a sheet of paper on the object, to see a shadow. Is there anything
ground. Hold a familiar opaque object else required?
at some height, so that its shadow is Activity 3
formed on the sheet of paper on the
This is an activity that you will have to
ground. Ask one of your friends to draw
do in the dark. In the evening, go out in
an open ground with a few friends. Take
a torch and a large sheet of cardboard
with you. Hold the torch close to the
ground and shine it upwards so that its
light falls on your friend's face. You now
have a source of light that is falling on
an opaque object. If there were no trees,
building or any other object behind your
Fig. 11.2 Sometimes shadow of an object gives friend, would you see the shadow of
an idea about its shape your friend's head? This does not mean
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a building, or other such surfaces act
as a screen for the shadows you observe
in everyday life.
Shadows give us some information
about shapes of objects. Sometimes,
shadows can also mislead us about the
shape of the object. In Fig. 11.4 are a few
shadows that we can create with our
Fig. 11.3 A shadow is obtained only on a hands and make-believe that they are
screen shadows of different animals. Have fun!
that there is no shadow. After all, the Activity 4

light from the torch is not able to pass Place a chair in the school ground on a
through his body to the other side. sunny day. What do you observe from
Now, ask another friend to hold the the shadow of the chair?
cardboard sheet behind your friend. Is Does the shadow give an accurate
the shadow now seen on the cardboard picture of the shape of the chair? If the
sheet (Fig. 11.3)? chair is turned around a little, how does
Thus, the shadow can be seen only the shape of the shadow change?
on a screen. The ground, walls of a room, Take a thin notebook and look at its
shadow. Then, take a rectangular box
and look at its shadow. Do the two
shadows seem to have a similar shape?
Take flowers or other objects of
different colours and look at their
shadows. A red rose and a yellow rose,
for instance. Do the shadows look
different in colour, when the colours of
the objects are different?
Take a long box and look at its
shadow on the ground. When you move
the box around, you may see that the
size of the shadow changes. When is the
shadow of the box the shortest, when
the long side of the box is pointed
towards the Sun or when the short side
is pointing towards the Sun?
Let us use this long box, to prepare
Fig 11.4 Shadows of animals hidden in your hand a simple camera.
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11.3 A PINHOLE CAMERA objects you wish to look at through your
You might think that we need a lot of pinhole camera are in bright sun shine.
stuff to make a camera? Not really. If we Move the smaller box forward or
just wish to make a simple pin hole backward till you get a picture on the
camera. tracing paper pasted at the other end.
Are these pinhole images different
Activity 5 from their shadows?
Take two boxes of cardboard such that Look through your pinhole camera
one can slide into another with no gap at the vehicles and people moving on
in between them. Cut open one side of the road in bright sunlight.
each box. On the opposite face of the Do the pictures seen in the camera
larger box, make a small hole in the show the colours of the objects on the
middle [Fig. 11.5 (a)]. In the smaller box, other side? Are the images erect or
cut out from the middle a square with a upside down? Surprise, surprise!
side of about 5 to 6 cm. Cover this open Let us now image the Sun, with our
square in the box with tracing paper pinhole camera. We need a slightly
(translucent screen) [Fig. 11.5 (b)]. Slide different set up for this. We just need a
the smaller box inside the larger one large sheet of cardboard with a small
with the hole, in such a way that the pinhole in the middle. Hold the sheet
up in the Sun and let its shadow fall on
side with the tracing paper is inside
a clear area. Do you see a small circular
[Fig. 11.5 (c)]. Your pinhole camera is
image of the Sun in the middle of the
ready for use.
shadow of the cardboard sheet?
Holding the pinhole camera look
Look at these pinhole images of the
through the open face of the smaller
Sun when an eclipse is visible from your
box. You should use a piece of black
location. Adjust your pinhole and
cloth to cover your head and the pinhole
screen to get a clear image before the
camera. Now, try to look at some distant
eclipse is to occur. Look at the image as
objects like a tree or a building through
the eclipse begins. You will notice a part
the pinhole camera. Make sure that the
(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 11.5 A sliding pin hole camera
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of the image of the Sun gradually Paheli has another thought. Surely,
becoming darker as the eclipse starts. all these results that we are seeing,
Never ever look directly at the Sun. formation of shadows and pinhole
That could be extremely harmful for images are possible only if light moves
the eyes. in a straight path?
There is an interesting pinhole
Activity 6
camera in nature. Sometimes, when we
pass under a tree covered with large Let us use a piece of a pipe or a long
number of leaves, we notice small rubber tube. Light a candle and fix it
patches of sunlight under it (Fig. 11.6). on a table at one end of the room. Now
These circular images are, in fact, standing at the other end of the room
pinhole images of the Sun. The gaps look at the candle through the pipe
between the leaves, act as the pinholes.
These gaps are all kinds of irregular
shapes, but, we can see circular images
of the Sun. Try to locate images of the
(a)
(b)
Fig. 11.7 Looking through a pipe pointed
(a) towards and (b) a little away from a candle
Fig. 11.6 A natural pinhole camera. Pinhole
[Fig. 11.7 (a)]. Is the candle visible? Bend
images of the Sun under a tree!
the pipe a little while you are looking at
Sun when an eclipse occurs next. That the candle [Fig. 11.7 (b)]. Is the candle
could be so much fun! visible now? Turn the pipe a little to your
Boojho has this thought. We saw right or left. Can you see the candle now?
upside down images of people on the What do you conclude from this?
road, with our pinhole camera. What This suggests that light travels along
about the images of the Sun? Did we a straight line, isn’t it? That is why,
notice them to be upside down or when opaque objects obstruct it, a
anything like that? shadow forms.
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11.4 MIRRORS AND REFLECTIONS adjust the direction of the torch so that
We all use mirrors at home. You look into the patch of light falls on another friend
the mirror and see your own face inside standing in the room.
the mirror. What you see is a reflection This activity suggests that a mirror
of your face in the mirror. We also see changes the direction of light that falls
reflections of other objects that are in on it.
front of the mirror. Sometimes, we see Here is an activity that shows light
reflections of trees, buildings and other travelling along straight lines and
objects in the water of a pond or a lake. getting reflected from a mirror.
Activity 7 Activity 8
This activity should be done at night or Fix a comb on one side of a large thermo
in a dark room. Ask one of your friends Col sheet and fix a mirror on the other
to hold a mirror in his/her hand at one side as shown in Fig. 11.9. Spread a
corner of the room. Stand at another dark coloured sheet of paper between
corner with a torch in your hand. Cover the mirror and the comb. Keep this in
the glass of torch with your fingers and sunlight or send a beam of light from a
switch it on. Adjust your fingers with a torch through the comb.
small gap between them so that you can What do you observe? Do you get
get a beam of light. Direct the beam of a pattern similar to that shown
the torch light onto the mirror that your in Fig. 11.9?
friend is holding. Do you see a patch of This activity gives us an idea of the
light on the other side (Fig. 11.8)? Now, manner in which light travels and gets
reflected from a mirror.
Fig. 11.9 Light travelling in a straight line and

Fig. 11.8 A mirror reflects a beam of light getting reflected from a mirror
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 Opaque objects do not allow light to pass through them.
 Transparent objects allow light to pass through them and we can see through
these objects clearly.
 Translucent objects allow light to pass through them partially.
 Shadows are formed when an opaque object comes in the path of light.
 Pinhole camera can be made with simple materials and can be used to
image the Sun and brightly lit objects.
 Light travels in straight line.
 Mirror reflection gives us clear images.
1. Rearrange the boxes given below to make a sentence that helps us understand
opaque objects.
OWS AKE OPAQ UE O BJEC T SM

SHAD
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2. Classify the objects or materials given below as opaque, transparent or
translucent and luminous or non-luminous:
Air, water, a piece of rock, a sheet of aluminium, a mirror, a wooden board, a
sheet of polythene, a CD, smoke, a sheet of plane glass, fog, a piece of red hot
iron, an umbrella, a lighted fluorescent tube, a wall, a sheet of carbon paper,
the flame of a gas burner, a sheet of cardboard, a lighted torch, a sheet of
cellophane, a wire mesh, kerosene stove, sun, firefly, moon.
3. Can you think of creating a shape that would give a circular shadow if held in
one way and a rectangular shadow if held in another way?
4. In a completely dark room, if you hold up a mirror in front of you, will you see a
reflection of yourself in the mirror?
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
1. Make a row of your friends — A, B, C and D, standing in a line. Let one friend
stand in front facing them and holding out a mirror towards them (Fig. 11.10).
Now, each person can tell who they are able to see in the Mirror. A,B, C, or D.
If, A is able to see B in the mirror then, can B also see A in the mirror? Similarly,
for any two pairs amongst A,B,C, or D?
If A is not able to see B in the mirror, then, is B able to see A in the mirror?
Similarly, for any two pairs amongst A,B,C, or D?
Fig. 11.10
This activity tells us something about the way light travels and gets reflected
from mirrors. You will learn more about this in higher classes.
2. Daayan-Baayan—Take a comb in your right hand and bring it up to your hair
and look at yourself in the mirror. There is your familiar face, grinning at you 
Wait, try and find out which is the hand holding the comb, in your mirror
reflection. Is it the right hand or the left? You were holding it in your right hand,
isn't it?
While a pinhole camera seems to be giving us upside down images, a mirror
seems to be turning right hand into left hand and the left into right hand. We
will learn more about this in the higher classes.
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3. Magic Device—In the chapter on
symmetry in your Mathematics
textbook, you might have made an
interesting device Kaleidoscope, that
uses reflections. Now, let us make
another device, a periscope, that uses
reflections to see around corners! Ask
one of your freinds to stand in the
corridor just out side the entrance to
the classroom with a mirror in hand.
Ask another friend also holding a mirror,
to stand in the middle of classroom in
front of the entrance. Now ask your Fig. 11.11 Seeing around corners!
friends to ajust their mirrors in such a
way that the image of object on the other side of the corridor becomes visible to
you while you are standing inside the class (Fig. 11.11).
You can make a simple periscope by placing two mirrors in a ‘Z’ shaped box as
shown in Fig. 11.12.
Mirror 1
Fig. 11.12 A periscope
Mirror 2

1. Opaque objects cast shadows, isn't it? Now, if we hold a transparent object in
the Sun, do we see anything on the ground that gives us a hint that we are
holding something in our hand?
2. We saw that changing colour of opaque objects does not change the colour of
their shadows. What happens if we place an opaque object in coloured light?
You can cover the face of a torch with a coloured transparent paper to do this.
(Did you ever notice the colours of evening shadows just as the Sun is setting?)
THINGS TO READ
Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" and in particular, the story of "How the Leopard
got its spots" where he mentions stripy, speckly, patchy-blatchy shadows. Here
are a few lines from this story, that has a lot of shadows.
...after ever so many days, they saw a great, high, tall forest full of tree trunks
all 'sclusively speckled and sprottled and spottled, dotted and splashed and
slashed and hatched and cross-hatched with shadows. (Say that quickly aloud,
and you will see how very shadowy the forest must have been.)
'What is this,' said the Leopard, 'that is so 'sclusively dark, and yet so full of
little pieces of light?'
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12 Electricity and Circuits
W
e use electricity for many are also used in alarm clocks,
purposes to make our tasks wristwatches, transistor radios, cameras
easier. For example, we use and many other devices. Have you ever
electricity to operate pumps that lift carefully looked at an electric cell? You
water from wells or from ground level might have noticed that it has a small
to the roof top tank. What are other metal cap on one side and a metal disc
purposes for which you use electricity? on the other side (Fig. 12.1). Did you
List some of them in your notebook. notice a positive (+) sign and a negative
Does your list include the use of (–) sign marked on the electric cell? The
electricity for lighting? Electricity
makes it possible to light our homes,
roads, offices, markets and factories
even after sunset. This helps us to
continue working at night. A power station
provides us with electricity. However, the Fig.12.1 An Electric Cell
supply of electricity may fail or it may not
metal cap is the positive terminal of the
be available at some places. In such
electric cell. The metal disc is the
situations, a torch is sometimes used for
negative terminal. All electric cells have
providing light. A torch has a bulb that
two terminals; a positive terminal and a
lights up when it is switched on. Where
negative terminal.
does the torch get electricity from?
An electric cell produces electricity
12.1. ELECTRIC CELL from the chemicals stored inside it.
Electricity to the bulb in a torch is When the chemicals in the electric cell
provided by the electric cell. Electric cells are used up, the electric cell stops
You might have seen the danger sign shown here displayed on poles,
Caution
electric substations and many other places. It is to warn people that
electricity can be dangerous if not handled properly. Carelessness in
handling electricity and electric devices can cause severe injuries and
sometimes even death. Hence, you should never attempt to experiment
with the electric wires and sockets. Also remember that the electricity
generated by portable generators is equally dangerous. Use only electric
cells for all activities related to electricity.
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Filament
Caution: Never join the two terminals
of the electric cell without connecting
them through a switch and a device
like a bulb. If you do so, the chemicals
in the electric cell get used up very fast
and the cell stops working.
Terminals way that they do not touch each other.

(a) (b) The electric bulbs used at home also
have a similar design.
Fig.12.2 (a) Torch bulb and (b) its inside view
Thus, both the electric cell and the
producing electricity. The electric cell bulb have two terminals each. Why do
then has to be replaced with a new one. they have these two terminals?
A torch bulb has an outer case of
12.2. A BULB CONNECTED TO
glass that is fixed on a metallic base [Fig.
AN ELECTRIC CELL
12. 2 (a)]. What is inside the glass case
of the bulb? Let us try to make an electric bulb light
up using an electric cell. How do we do
Activity 1 that?
Take a torch and look inside its bulb.
Activity 2
You can also take out the bulb with the
help of your teacher. What do you Take four lengths of electric wire with
notice? Do you find a thin wire fixed in differently coloured plastic coverings.
the middle of the glass bulb [Fig. 12.2 Remove a little of the plastic covering
(b)]? Now switch the torch on and from each length of wire at the ends.
observe which part of the bulb is This would expose the metal wires at
glowing. the ends of each length. Fix the exposed
The thin wire that gives off light is parts of two wires to the cell and the
called the filament of the bulb. The other two of the bulb as shown in
filament is fixed to two thicker wires, Fig. 12.3 and Fig. 12.4.
which also provide support to it, as
shown in Fig. 12.2 (b). One of these thick
wires is connected to the metal case at
the base of the bulb [Fig. 12.2 (b)]. The
other thick wire is connected to the
metal tip at the centre of the base. The
base of the bulb and the metal tip of the
base are the two terminals of the bulb.
These two terminals are fixed in such a Fig.12.3 Electric cell with two wires attached to it
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Write 'Yes' or 'No' for each arrangement
in your notebook.
Now, carefully look at the
arrangements in which the bulb glows.
Compare these with those in which the
bulb does not glow. Can you find the
reason for the difference?
Keep the tip of your pencil on the
wire near one terminal of the electric cell
Fig.12.4 Bulb connected to two wires
for the arrangment in Fig. 12.5 (a). Move
You can stick the wires to the bulb the pencil along the wire all the way to
with the tape used by electricians. Use the bulb. Now, from the other terminal
rubber bands or tape to fix the wires to of the bulb, move along the other wire
the cell. connected to the cell. Repeat this
Now, connect the wires fixed to the exercise for all the other arrangements
bulb with those attached to the cell in in Fig. 12.5. Did the bulb glow for the
six different ways as have been shown in arrangements in which you could not
Fig. 12.5 (a) to (f). For each arrangement, move the pencil from one terminal to
find out whether the bulb glows or not. the other?
(a) (b) (c)
(d) (e) (f)

Fig.12.5 Different arrangements of electric cell and bulb
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12.3 AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT An electric bulb may fuse due to
In Activity 2 you connected one terminal many reasons. One reason for a bulb to
of the electric cell to the other terminal fuse is a break in its filament. A break
through wires passing to and from the in the filament of an electric bulb means
electric bulb. Note that in the a break in the path of the current
arrangements shown in Fig. 12. 5 (a) between the terminals of the electric cell.
and (f), the two terminals of the electric Therefore, a fused bulb does not light
cell were connected to two terminals of up as no current passes through its
the bulb. Such an arrangement is an filament.
example of an electric circuit. The electric Can you now explain why the bulb
circuit provides a complete path for did not glow when you tried to do so
electricity to pass (current to flow) with the arrangements shown in Fig.
between the two terminals of the electric 12.5 (b), (c), (d) and (e)?
cell. The bulb glows only when current Now we know how to make a bulb
flows through the circuit. light up using an electric cell. Would
In an electric circuit, the direction of you like to make a torch for yourself?
current is taken to be from the positive Activity 3
to the negative terminal of the electric
Take a torch bulb and a piece of wire.
cell as shown in Fig.12.6. When the
Remove the plastic covering at the two
ends of the wire as you did before. Wrap
one end of a wire around the base of an
electric bulb as shown in Fig. 12.7. Fix
the other end of the wire to the negative
terminal of an electric cell with a rubber
band. Now, bring the tip of the base of
the bulb, that is, its other terminal in
contact with the positive terminal of the
Fig.12.6 Direction of current in an electric
circuit
terminals of the bulb are connected with

that of the electric cell by wires, the
current passes through the filament of
the bulb. This makes the bulb glow.
Sometimes an electric bulb does not
glow even if it is connected to the cell.
This may happen if the bulb has fused.
Look at a fused bulb carefully. Is the
filament inside it intact? Fig. 12.7 A home-made torch
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a drawing pin into the ring at one
end of the safety pin and fix it on the
Paheli has another thermo Col sheet as shown in Fig. 12.8.
arrangement of the cell Make sure that the safety pin can be
and the bulb. Will the rotated freely. Now, fix the other drawing
torch bulb glow in pin on the thermo Col sheet in a way
the following that the free end of the safety pin can
arrangement? touch it. The safety pin fixed in this way
would be your switch in this activity.
cell. Does the bulb glow? Now move the

bulb away from the terminal of the
electric cell. Does the bulb remain
lighted? Is this not similar to what you
do when you switch your torch on or
off?
12.4 ELECTRIC SWITCH Fig 12.9 An electric circuit with a switch
We had an arrangement for switching Now, make a circuit by connecting

on or off our home made torch by an electric cell and a bulb with this
moving the base of the bulb away from switch as shown in Fig.12.9. Rotate the
the tip of the cell. This was a simple safety pin so that its free end touches
switch, but, not very easy to use. We the other drawing pin. What do you
can make another simple and easier observe? Now, move the safety pin away.
switch to use in our circuit. Does the bulb continue to glow?
The safety pin covered the gap
Activity 4
between the drawing pins when
You can make a switch using two you made it touch two of them. In
drawing pins, a safety pin (or a paper this position the switch is said to be 'on'
clip), two wires and a small sheet of (Fig. 12.10). Since the material of the
thermo Col or a wooden board. Insert safety pin allows the current to pass
Fig. 12.8 A simple switch Fig. 12.10 A switch in ‘on’ position
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through it, the circuit was complete. this position, the switch is said to be
Hence, the bulb glows. 'off' as in Fig. 12.9.
On the other hand, the bulb did not A switch is a simple device that either
glow when the safety pin was not in breaks the circuit or completes it. The
touch with the other drawing pin. The switches used in lighting of electric
circuit was not complete as there was a bulbs and other devices in homes work
gap between the two drawing pins. In on the same principle although their
designs are more complex.
Boojho has drawn the inside
of the torch as in Fig. 12.11. 12.5 E LECTRIC C ONDUCTORS AND
When we close the switch, INSULATORS

the circuit is completed and In all our activities we have used metal
the bulb glows. Can you wires to make a circuit. Suppose we use
draw a red line on the figure a cotton thread instead of a metal wire
indicating the complete circuit? to make a circuit. Do you think that the
bulb will light up in such a circuit?
What materials can be used in electric
circuits so that the current can pass
through them? Let us find out.
Reflector
Activity 5
Disconnect the switch from the electric
circuit you used for Activity 4. This would
leave you with two free ends of wires as
shown in Fig. 12.12 (a). Bring the free
ends of the two wires close, to let them
touch each other. Does the bulb light up?
You can now use this arrangement to test
whether any given material allows current
to pass through it or not.
(a) (b)
Fig. 12.12 (a) A conduction tester (b) Testing
whether the bulb glows when the tester is in
Fig. 12.11 Inside view of a torch contact with a key
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Collect samples of different types of Insulators do not allow electric current
materials such as coins, cork, rubber, to pass through them. With the help of
glass, keys, pins, plastic scale, wooden Table 12.1, name the materials that are
block, aluminium foil, candle, sewing conductors of electricity and also those
needle, thermo Col, paper and pencil which are insulators.
lead. One by one bring the free ends of Conductors ______, ______, _________
the wires of your tester in contact with Insulator _________, _______, ________
two ends of the samples you have What do you conclude? Which
collected [Fig. 12.12 (b)]. Make sure that materials are conductors and which are
the two wires do not touch each other insulators? Recall the objects that we
while you are doing so. Does the bulb grouped as those having lustre, in
glow in each case? Chapter 4. Are they the conductors? It
Make a table in your notebook now seems easy to understand why
similar to Table.12.1, and record your copper, aluminum and other metals are
observations. used for making wires.
Table 12.1 Conductors and insulators Let us recall Activity 4 in which we
made an electric circuit with a switch
Object used in Material Bulb
place of the it is glows? (Fig.12.9). When the switch was in the
switch made of (Yes/No) open position, were the two drawing pins
Key Metal Yes not connected with each other through
the thermo Col sheet? But, thermo Col,
Eraser Rubber No
you may have found is an insulator.
Scale Plastic What about the air between the gap?
Matchstick Wood
Since the bulb does not glow when there
is only air in the gap between the drawing
Glass bangle Glass pins in your switch, it means that air is
Iron nail Metal also an insulator.
Conductors and insulators are
What do you find? The bulb does not equally important for us. Switches,
glow when the free ends of the wires are
electrical plugs and sockets are made of
in contact with some of the materials you
conductors. On the other hand, rubber
have tested. This means that these and plastics are used for covering
materials do not allow the electric current
electrical wires, plug tops, switches and
to pass through them. On the other hand,
other parts of electrical appliances,
some materials allow electric current to which people might touch.
pass through them, which is indicated
by the glowing bulb. Materials which Caution: Your body is a conductor of
allow electric current to pass through electricity. Therefore, be careful when
them are conductors of electricity. you handle an electrical appliance.
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n Electric cell is a source of electricity.
n An electric cell has two terminals; one is called positive (+ ve) while the
other is negative (– ve).
n An electric bulb has a filament that is connected to its terminals.
n An electric bulb glows when electric current passes through it.
n In a closed electric circuit, the electric current passes from one terminal of
the electric cell to the other terminal.
n Switch is a simple device that is used to either break the electric circuit or
to complete it.
n Materials that allow electric current to pass through them are called
conductors.
n Materials that do not allow electric current to pass through them are called
insulators.
Bulb
Conductors
Electric cell
Electric circuit
1. Fill in the blanks :

(a) A device that is used to break an electric circuit is called _______________.
(b) An electric cell has _______________ terminals.
2. Mark 'True' or 'False' for following statements:
(a) Electric current can flow through metals.
(b) Instead of metal wires, a jute string can be
used to make a circuit.
(c) Electric current can pass through a sheet
of thermo Col.
3. Explain why the bulb would not glow in the
arrangement shown in Fig. 12.13.
Fig. 12.13
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4. Complete the drawing shown in Fig 12.14 to
indicate where the free ends of the two wires
should be joined to make the bulb glow.
5. What is the purpose of using an electric switch?
Name some electrical gadgets that have switches
built into them.
6. Would the bulb glow after completing the circuit
shown in Fig. 12.14 if instead of safety pin we
use an eraser? Fig. 12.14
7. Would the bulb glow in the circuit shown in Fig. 12.15?
Fig. 12.15
8. Using the "conduction tester" on an object it was found that the bulb begins to
glow. Is that object a conductor or an insulator? Explain.
9. Why should an electrician use rubber gloves while repairing an electric switch
at your home? Explain.
10. The handles of the tools like screwdrivers and pliers used by electricians for
repair work usually have plastic or rubber covers on them. Can you explain
why?
SOME SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

1. Imagine there were no electric supply for a month. How would that affect your
day to day activities and others in your family? Present your imagination in
the form of a story or a play. If possible stage the play written by you or your
friends in school.
2. For your friends, you may set up a game "How steady is your hand?". You will
need a cell, an electric bulb, a metal key, two iron nails ( about 5 cm in length),
about one and a half metre long thick metal wire (with its plastic insulation
scraped off ) and few pieces of connecting wires. Fix two nails nearly one metre
apart on a wooden board so that these can be used as a hook. Fix the wire
between the nails after inserting it through the loop of the key. Connect one
end of this wire to a bulb and a cell. Connect the other terminal of the cell to
the key with a wire. Ask your friend to move the loop along the straight wire
without touching it. Glowing of the bulb would indicate that the loop of the key
has touched the wire.
3. Read and find out about Alessandro Volta who invented the electric cell. You
may also find out about Thomas Alva Edison who invented the electric bulb.
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13 Fun with Magnets
P
aheli and Boojho went to a place sticking to the holder. In some pencil
where a lot of waste material was boxes, the lid fits tightly when we close
piled into huge heaps. Something it even without a locking arrangement.
exciting was happening! A crane was Such stickers, pin holders and pencil
moving towards the heap of junk. The boxes have magnets fitted inside
long hand of the crane lowered a block (Fig. 13.2). If you have any one of these
over a heap. It then began to move. items, try to locate the magnets hidden
Guess, what? Many pieces of iron junk in these.
were sticking to the block, as it moved
away (Fig. 13.1)!
Fig. 13.2 Some common items that have

magnets inside them
Fig. 13.1 Picking up pieces of iron from waste
They had just read a very interesting How Magnets Were Discovered
book on magnets and knew immediately It is said that, there was a shepherd
that there must be a magnet attached named Magnes, who lived in ancient
to the end of the crane that was picking Greece. He used to take his herd of
up iron from the junk yard. sheep and goats to the nearby
You might have seen magnets and mountains for grazing. He would take
have even enjoyed playing with them. a stick with him to control his herd. The
Have you seen stickers that remain stick had a small piece of iron attached
attached to iron surfaces like almirahs at one end. One day he was surprised
or the doors of refrigerators? In some to find that he had to pull hard to
pin holders, the pins seem to be free his stick from a rock on the
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Fig. 13.4 Magnets of different shapes
magnets are prepared in different

shapes. For example, bar magnet, horse-
shoe magnet, cylindrical or a ball-ended
magnet. Fig.13.4 shows a few such
Fig.13.3 A natural magnet on a hillside! magnets.
mountainside (Fig. 13.3). It seemed as Activity 1
if the stick was being attracted by the
Take a plastic or a paper cup. Fix it on a
rock. The rock was a natural magnet stand with the help of a clamp as shown
and it attracted the iron tip of the in Fig. 13.5. Place a magnet inside the
shepherd's stick. It is said that this is cup and cover it with a paper so that
how natural magnets were discovered. the magnet is not visible. Attach a
Such rocks were given the name thread to a clip made of iron. Fix the
magnetite, perhaps after the name of that other end of the thread at the base of
shepherd. Magnetite contains iron. the stand. (Mind you, the trick involved
Some people believe that magnetite was here, is to keep the length of the thread
first discovered at a place called sufficiently short.) Bring the clip near
Magnesia. The substances having the the base of the cup. The clip is raised in
property of attracting iron are now known air without support, like a kite.
as magnets. This is how the story goes.
In any case, people now have
discovered that certain rocks have the
property of attracting pieces of iron. They
also found that small pieces of these
rocks have some special properties.
They named these naturally occurring
materials magnets. Later on the process
of making magnets from pieces of iron
was discovered. These are known as Fig. 13.5 Effect of magnet - a paper clip
artificial magnets. Nowadays artificial hanging in air!
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13.1 MAGNETIC AND NON-MAGNETIC materials from which these objects are
MATERIALS made. Is there any material common in
all the objects that were attracted by
Activity 2 the magnet?
Let us walk in the footsteps of Magnes. We understand that magnet attracts
Only, this time, we will change the certain materials whereas some do not
positions of the magnet and the iron. get attracted towards magnet. The
There will be a magnet at the end of our materials which get attracted towards
shepherd's stick. We can attach a small a magnet are magnetic – for example,
magnet to a hockey stick, walking stick iron, nickel or cobalt. The materials
or a cricket wicket with a tape or some which are not attracted towards a
glue. Let us now go out on a "Magnes magnet are non-magnetic. What
walk" through the school playground. materials did you find to be non-
What does our "Magnes stick" pick up magnetic from Table 13.1? Is soil a
from the school ground? What about magnetic or a non-magnetic material?
objects in the classroom?
Collect various objects of day-to-day
use from your surroundings. Test these
with the "Magnes stick". You can also
Boojho has this question for you.
take a magnet, touch these objects with
A tailor was stitching buttons on
it and observe which objects stick to the
his shirt. The needle has slipped
magnet. Prepare a table in your
from his hand on to the floor.
notebook as shown in Table 13.1. and
Can you help the tailor to
record your observations.
find the needle?
Look at the last column of Table 13.1
and note the objects that are attracted
by a magnet. Now, make a list of
Table 13.1 Finding the objects attracted by magnet
Material which the object is made of Attracted by Magnes

Name of (Cloth/plastic/ aluminium/ wood/ stick/ magnet
the object glass/ iron/ any other (Yes/No)
Iron ball Iron Yes
Scale Plastic No
Shoe Leather ?
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Activity 3 If you fill this table and send it to
Rub a magnet in the sand or soil. Pull Paheli and Boojho, they can compare
out the magnet. Are there some particles the amount of iron filings found in soil
of sand or soil sticking to the magnet? from different parts of the country. They
Now, gently shake the magnet to remove can share this information with you.
the particles of sand or soil. Are some 13.2 POLES OF MAGNET
particles still sticking to it? These might We observed that iron filings (if they are
be small pieces of iron (iron filings) present) stick to a magnet rubbed in the
picked up from the soil. soil. Did you observe anything special
Through such an activity, we can about the way they stick to the magnet?
find out whether the soil or sand from a
given place contains particles that have Activity 4
iron. Try this activity near your home, Spread some iron filings on a sheet of
school or the places you visit on your paper. Now, place a bar magnet on this
holidays. Does the magnet with iron sheet. What do you observe? Do the iron
filings sticking to it, look like any one filings stick all over the magnet? Do you
of those shown in Fig. 13.6? observe that more iron filings get attracted
Make a table of what you find. to some parts of the magnet than others
(Fig. 13.7)? Remove the iron filings
(a)
sticking to the magnet and repeat the
(b)
(c)
Fig. 13.6 Magnet with (a) many iron filings

(b) few iron filings and Fig. 13.7 Iron filings sticking to a bar magnet
(c) no iron filings sticking to it.
activity. Do you observe any change in
Table 13.2 Magnet rubbed in sand.
the pattern with which the iron filings
How many iron filings?
get attracted by different parts of the
Name of location fD id you find iron magnet? You can do this activity using
ilings sticking to
(Colony and the magnet? pins or iron nails in place of iron filings
town/ city/ and also with magnets of different shapes.
village) ( M any/ very few/
none) Draw a diagram to show the way iron
filings stick to the magnet. Is your drawing
similar to that shown in Fig. 13.6 (a)?
We find that the iron filings are
attracted more towards the region close
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Paheli has this puzzle for you.
You are given two identical bars
which look as if they might be
made of iron. One of them is a
magnet, while the other is a
simple iron bar. How will
you find out, which one
is a magnet?
to two ends of a bar magnet. Poles of a Fig. 13.8 The chariot with direction finding statue
magnet are said to be near these ends.
Let us make such a direction finder
Try and bring a few magnets of different
for ourselves.
shapes to the classroom. Check for the
location of the poles on these magnets Activity 5
using iron filings. Can you now mark the Take a bar magnet. Put a mark on one
location of poles in the kind of magnets of its ends for identification. Now, tie a
shown in Fig. 13.4? thread at the middle of the magnet so
13.3 FINDING DIRECTIONS that you may suspend it from a wooden
stand (Fig. 13.9). Make sure that the
Magnets were known to people from
magnet can rotate freely. Let it come to
ancient times. Many properties of
rest. Mark two points on the ground to
magnets were also known to them. You
show the position of the ends of the
might have read many interesting
stories about the uses of magnets. One magnet when it comes to rest. Draw a
such story is about an emperor in China
named Hoang Ti. It is said that he had
a chariot with a statue of a lady that
could rotate in any direction. It had an
extended arm as if it was showing the
way (Fig. 13.8). The statue had an
interesting property. It would rest in
such a position that its extended arm
always pointed towards South. By
looking at the extended arm of the
statue, the Emperor was able to locate
directions when he went to new places Fig. 13.9 A freely suspended bar magnet
on his chariot. always comes to rest in the same direction
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line joining the two points. This line
shows the direction in which the magnet
In which direction is the main
was pointing in its position of rest. Now,
gate of your school situated from
rotate the magnet by gently pushing one
your classroom?
end in any direction and let it come to
rest. Again, mark the position of the two
ends in its position of rest. Does the
magnet now point in a different end or the North pole of the magnet. The
direction? Rotate the magnet in other other end that points towards the South
directions and note the final direction is called South seeking end or the South
in which it comes to rest. pole of the magnet. All magnets have two
Do you find that the magnet always poles whatever their shape may be.
comes to rest in the same direction? Usually, north (N) and south (S) poles
Now can you guess the mystery behind are marked on the magnets.
the statue in the Emperor's chariot? This property of the magnet is very
Repeat this activity with an iron bar useful for us. For centuries, travellers
and a plastic or a wooden scale instead have been making use of this property
of a magnet. Do not use light objects for of magnets to find directions. It is said
this activity and avoid doing it where that in olden days, travellers used to find
there are currents of air. Do the other directions by suspending natural
materials also always come to rest in the magnets with a thread, which they
same direction? always carried with them.
We find that a freely suspended bar Later on, a device was developed
magnet always comes to rest in a based on this property of magnets. It is
particular direction, which is the North- known as the compass. A compass is
South direction. Use the direction of the usually a small box with a glass cover
rising sun in the morning to find out on it. A magnetised needle is pivoted
the rough direction towards east, where inside the box, which can rotate freely
you are doing this experiment. If you (Fig. 13.10). The compass also has a dial
stand facing east, to your left will be
North. Using the Sun for finding
directions may not be very exact, but, it
will help to make out the direction
North from the South, on your line.
Using this you can figure out which end
of the magnet is pointing to the North
and which points to the South.
The end of the magnet that points
towards North is called its North seeking Fig. 13.10 A compass
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with directions marked on it. The more time. Remember that the pole of
compass is kept at the place where we the magnet and the direction of its
wish to know the directions. Its needle movement should not change. You can
indicates the north-south direction also use an iron nail, a needle or a blade
when it comes to rest. The compass is and convert them into a magnet.
then rotated until the north and south You now know how to make a
marked on the dial are at the two ends magnet. Would you like to make your
of the needle. To identify the north-pole own compass?
of the magnetic needle, it is usually
Activity 6
painted in a different colour.
Magnetise an iron
13.4 MAKE YOUR OWN MAGNET needle using a bar
There are several methods of making magnet. Now, insert
magnets. Let us learn the simplest one. the magnetised
Take a rectangular piece of iron. Place needle through a
it on the table. Now take a bar magnet small piece of cork or
and place one of its poles near one edge foam. Let the cork
of the bar of iron. Without lifting the float in water in a
bar magnet, move it along the length of bowl or a tub. Make Fig. 13.12 A
the iron bar till you reach the other end. compass in a cup
sure that the needle
Now, lift the magnet and bring the pole does not touch the water (Fig. 13.12).
(the same pole you started with) to the Your compass is now ready to work.
same point of the iron bar from which Make a note of the direction in which
you began (Fig. 13.11). Move the magnet the needle points when the cork is
again along the iron bar in the same floating. Rotate the cork, with the needle
direction as you did before. Repeat this fixed in it, in different directions. Note
process about 30-40 times. Bring a pin the direction in which the needle points
or some iron filings near the iron bar to when the cork begins to float again
check whether it has become a magnet. without rotating. Does the needle always
If not, continue the process for some point in the same direction, when the
cork stops rotating?
13.5 A TTRACTION AND R EPULSION

BETWEEN MAGNETS
Let us play another interesting game
with magnets. Take two small toy cars
and label them A and B. Place a bar
magnet on top of each car along its
Fig.13.11 Making your own magnet length and fix them with rubber bands
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A B C D
Fig. 13.13 Do opposite poles attract each other? Fig. 13.14 Repulsion between similar poles?
(Fig. 13.13). In car A, keep the south with their rear sides facing each other.
pole of the magnet towards its front. Record your observations in each case.
Place the magnet in opposite direction What do we find from this activity?
in car B. Now, place the two cars close Do two similar poles attract or repel each
to one another (Fig. 13.13). What do you other? What about opposite poles — do
observe? Do the cars remain at their they attract or repel each other?
places? Do the cars run away from each This property of the magnets can also
other? Do they move towards each other be observed by suspending a magnet
and collide? Record your observations and bringing one by one the poles of
in a table as shown in Table 13.3. Now, another magnet near it.
place the toy cars close to each other
such that the rear side of car A faces
the front side of car B (Fig 13.14). Do
Boojho has this question for you.
they move as before? Note the direction What will happen if a magnet is
in which the cars move now. Next, place
brought near a compass?
the car A behind car B and note the
direction in which they move in each
case. Repeat the activity by placing cars
A Few Cautions
Table 13.3 Magnets loose their properties if they
are heated, hammered or dropped from
How do the
cars move? some height (Fig. 13.15). Also, magnets
Move towards/ become weak if they are not stored
Position of the cars away from
each other/ properly. To keep them safe, bar
not move at all
Front of car A facing
the front of car B
Rear of car A facing
the front of car B
Car A placed behind
car B
Rear of car B facing Fig. 13.15 Magnets lose their property on
rear of car A heating, hammering and droping
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Fig. 13.16 Store your magnets safely
magnets should be kept in pairs with For horse-shoe magnet, one should keep
their unlike poles on the same side. a piece of iron across the poles.
They must be separated by a piece of Keep magnets away from cassettes,
wood while two pieces of soft iron should mobiles, television, music system,
be placed across their ends (Fig. 13.16). compact disks (CDs) and the computer.
Compass
Magnet
Magnetite
North pole
South pole
 Magnetite is a natural magnet.

 Magnet attracts materials like iron, nickel, cobalt. These are called magnetic
materials.
 Materials that are not attracted towards magnet are called non-magnetic.
 Each magnet has two magnetic poles—North and South.
 A freely suspended magnet always aligns in N-S direction.
 Opposite poles of two magnets attract each other whereas similar poles
repel one another.
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1. Fill in the blanks in the following
(i) Artificial magnets are made in different shapes such as __________,
__________ and ____________.
(ii) The Materials which are attracted towards a magnet are called________.
(iii) Paper is not a ______ material.
(iv) In olden days, sailors used to find direction by suspending a piece of
___________.
(v) A magnet always has __________ poles.
2. State whether the following statements are true or false:
(i) A cylindrical magnet has only one pole.
(ii) Artificial magnets were discovered in Greece.
(iii) Similar poles of a magnet repel each other.
(iv) Maximum iron filings stick in the middle of a bar magnet when it is brought
near them.
(v) Bar magnets always point towards North-South direction.
(vi) A compass can be used to find East-West direction at any place.
(vii) Rubber is a magnetic material.
3. It was observed that a pencil sharpener gets attracted by both the poles of a
magnet although its body is made of plastic. Name a material that might have
been used to make some part of it.
4. Column I shows different positions in which one pole of a magnet is placed near
that of the other. Column II indicates the resulting action between them for
each situation. Fill in the blanks.
Column I Column II
N-N _________
N - _________ Attraction
S-N _________
_________ - S Repulstion
5. Write any two properties of a magnet.

6. Where are poles of a bar magnet located?
7. A bar magnet has no markings to indicate its poles. How would you find out
near which end is its north pole located?
8. You are given an iron strip. How will you make it into a magnet?
9. How is a compass used to find directions?
10. A magnet was brought from different directions towards a toy boat that has
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been floating in water in a tub. Affect observed in each case is stated in
Column I. Possible reasons for the observed affects are mentioned in
Column II. Match the statements given in Column I with those in Column II.
Column I Column II
Boat gets attracted towards the magnet Boat is fitted with a magnet with north
pole towards its head
Boat is not affected by the magnet Boat is fitted with a magnet with south
pole towards its head
Boat moves towards the magnet if north Boat has a small magnet fixed along its
pole of the magnet is brought near its length
head
Boat moves away from the magnet when Boat is made of magnetic material
north pole is brought near its head
Boat floats without changing its direction Boat is made up non-magnetic material
SOME SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

1. Using a compass, find the direction in which windows and entrance to your
house or classroom open.
2. Try to place two equal sized bar magnets one above the other such that their
north poles are on the same side. Note what happens and write your
observations in your note book.
3. Few iron nails and screws got mixed with the wooden shavings while a
carpenter was working with them. How can you help him in getting the nails
and screws back from the scrap without wasting his time in searching with
his hands?
4. You can make an intelligent doll, which picks up the things it likes (Fig.
13.17). Take a doll and attach a small magnet in one of its hands. Cover this
hand with small gloves so that the magnet is not visible. Now, your intelligent
doll is ready. Ask your friends to bring different objects near the doll's hand.
Knowing the material of the object you can tell in advance whether the doll
would catch it or not.
Fig. 13.17 An intelligent doll

THINGS TO READ
‘Gulliver's Travels’ which has this fantasy of the whole island of Laputa, floating
in air. Could magnets be involved?
2018-19
14 Water
S
uppose for some reason your each activity by you and other family
family gets only one bucket of members. You may use a mug, a glass,
water everyday for a week. a bucket or any other container to
Imagine what would happen? Would you measure the amount of water used.
be able to cook, clean utensils, wash Table 14.1 Estimation of the
clothes or bathe? What are the other amount of water used by your
activities you would not be able to do? family in a day
What would happen if we do not have Amount of
Activity water used
easy access to water for a long period
of time? Drinking
Apart from drinking, there are
Brushing
so many activities for which we use
Bathing
water (Fig. 14.1). Do you have an idea
about the quantity of water we use in a Washing utensils
single day? Washing clothes
Toilets
Cleaning floor
Any other
Total water used in

a day by a family
You now have a rough idea as to how

much water your family uses in a day.
Fig. 14.1 Uses of water Can you estimate the amount of water
used by you for personal cleanliness in
14.1 HOW MUCH WATER DO WE USE? a day. Using this information, calculate
Activity 1 the amount of water needed by your
family in a year. Now, divide this amount
List all the activities for which you use by the number of members of your
water in a day. Some activities are listed family. This will give an idea of the
in Table 14.1. Make a similar table in amount of water needed by one member
your notebook. Throughout the day, of your family in a year. Find the number
measure the amount of water used for of people that live in your village or town.
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You may now get an idea of the amount water from a river, spring, pond, well or
of water needed by your village or town a hand pump”. Some others might say,
in a year. “We get water from taps”. Have you ever
wondered where water in the taps comes
from? Water that we get from taps is also
Boojho wonders whether people
drawn from a lake or a river or a well
living in different regions of our
(Fig. 14.2). It is then supplied through
country get the same amount of
a network of pipes.
water. Are there regions where
people do not get adequate amount
of water? How do they manage?
You have listed a number of activities

for which you use water. Do you think,
our water requirement is limited to
activities like these? We use wheat, rice,
pulses, vegetables and many other food
items everyday. We know that some of
Fig. 14.2 Water in taps comes from rivers,
the fibres that we use for making fabric lakes, borewell or wells
come from plants. Is water not needed
Each of us may be getting water into
to grow these? Can you think of some
our homes in different ways. But, finally,
more uses of water? Water is used in
all of us get water from the same sources
industries for producing almost all the
such as ponds, lakes, rivers and wells.
things that we use. So, we need water
We have discussed some of the
not only for our daily activities but also
sources of water. Where does the water
for producing many things.
come from, to fill these ponds, lakes,
rivers and wells?
Paheli wants to tell you that
about two glasses of water
are required to produce Boojho wants you to imagine a
each page of a book. day in your life when water supply
through taps is not available. So,
you have to fetch it yourself from
14.2 WHERE DO WE GET WATER a far away place. Would you
FROM? use the same amount of water
Where do you get the water that you as on any other day?
use? Some of you may say, “We draw
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That is where the water cycle
comes in!
14.3 WATER CYCLE
Disappearing Trick of Water
How many times have you noticed that
water spilled on a floor dries up after
some time? The water seems to disappear.
Similarly, water disappears from wet
Fig. 14.3 Oceans cover a major part of the earth clothes as they dry up (Fig. 14.4). Water
Do you know that about two thirds from wet roads, rooftops and a few other
of the Earth is covered with water? Most places also disappears after the rains.
of this water is in oceans and seas Where does this water go?
(Fig. 14.3).
The water in the oceans and seas has
many salts dissolved in it — the water
is saline. So, it is not fit for drinking
and other domestic, agricultural and
industrial needs. You might have heard
the famous lines of the poem “Rime of
the Ancient Mariner” written by S.T.
Coleridge in 1798:
“Water water every where
Nor any drop to drink” Fig. 14.4 Clothes drying on a clothes-line
Here the poet has described the Do you remember Activity 6 in

plight of sailors on a ship lost in the Chapter 5 in which water with salt
ocean. dissolved in it was heated? What did we
Yet, oceans play an important role find? The water evaporated and the salt
in supplying the water that we use. Do was left behind. This activity gives us
you find this surprising? After all, the an idea that, on heating, water changes
water that we use is not salty. Many of into its vapour. We also realise from this
us live in places far away from the activity, that water vapour does not carry
oceans. Does the water supply in these away the salt with it. Water vapours so
places also depend on the oceans? How formed become a part of the air and
does the ocean water reach ponds, lakes, cannot usually be seen. We also found
rivers and wells, which supply us water? that heating is essential to convert water
How come the water from these sources into its vapour. However, we have seen
is not saline anymore? that water changes into its vapour also
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from the fields, roads, rooftops and the shade, though it could have taken
other land areas. We also discussed in more time? Does the heat from the
Chapter 5 that to obtain salt, water from sunlight reach here? Yes, during the
the sea is left in shallow pits to let the daytime all the air surrounding us gets
water evaporate. From where does this heated. This warm air provides heat for
water get the heat it needs to evaporate? evaporation of water in the shade. Thus,
Let us find out. evaporation takes place from all open
surfaces of water. As a result, water
Activity 2
vapour gets continuously added to air.
Take two similar plates. Place one of the However, evaporation of water is a slow
plates in sunlight and keep the other process. That is why we rarely notice its
under shade. Now, pour equal amount loss from a bucket full of water. In
of water in each of the plates (Fig. 14.5). sunlight, evaporation takes place faster.
You can use a cap of a bottle to measure On heating water on a burner, its
water. Make sure that water does not evaporation takes place even faster. Is
spill over. Observe the two plates after there any other process through which
every 15 minutes. Does the water seem water vapour gets transferred into air?
to disappear? From which plate does it
disappear first? What is the source of
Loss of Water by Plants
heat for this evaporation? You have learnt in Chapter 7 that plants
During the daytime, sunlight falls on need water to grow. Plants use a part of
the water in oceans, rivers, lakes and this water to prepare their food and
ponds. The fields and other land areas
also receive sunlight. As a result, water
from all these places continuously
changes into vapour. However, the salts Boojho has been reading about
dissolved in the water are left behind. transpiration. He asked himself -
In Activity 2, did you find that water how much water is lost through
also disappeared from the plate kept in transpiration by wheat plants
that give us one kilogram of
wheat? He found out that this is
nearly 500 litres, that is, roughly
25 large sized buckets full of
water. Can you now imagine the
amount of water lost by plants
of all the forests, crops and
grasslands together?
Fig.14.5 Evaporation of water in sunlight and in

shade
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retain some of it in their different parts.
Remaining part of this water is released
by the plants into air, as water vapour Paheli has noticed dew on leaves of
through the process of transpiration. Do grass on winter mornings. Did you
you remember observing transpiration notice something similar on leaves
of water by plants in Activity 4 in or metal surfaces like iron grills and
Chapter 7? gates on a cold morning? Is this
Water vapour enters the air through also due to condensation? Do you
the processes of evaporation and see this happening on hot
transpiration. Is it lost for ever? No, we summer mornings?
get it back again, as we will see.
How are clouds formed?
Activity 3 The process of condensation plays an
important role in bringing water back
Take a glass half filled with water. Wipe
to the surface of earth. How does it
the glass from the outside with a clean
happen? As we go higher from the
piece of cloth. Add some ice into the
surface of the earth, it gets cooler. When
water. Wait for one or two minutes.
the air moves up, it gets cooler and
Observe the changes that take place on
cooler. At sufficient heights, the air
the outer surface of the glass (Fig.14.6).
becomes so cool that the water vapour
From where do water drops appear
present in it condenses to form tiny
on the outer side of the glass? The cold
drops of water called droplets. It is these
surface of the glass containing iced water,
tiny droplets that remain floating in air
cools the air around it, and the water
and appear to us as clouds (Fig. 14.7).
vapour of the air condenses on the
It so happens that many droplets of
surface of the glass. We noticed this
water come together to form larger sized
process of condensation in Activity 7 in
Chapter 5.
Ice
Water
droplets
Fig. 14.6 Drops of water appear on outer

surface of the glass containing water with ice Fig. 14.7 Clouds
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Boojho has noticed fog near the
ground in winter mornings. He
wonders if this is also condensation
of water vapour near the
ground. What do you
think?
Fig. 14.8 Rainwater flows down in the form of

drops of water. Some drops of water streams and rivers
become so heavy that they begin to fall.
The rainwater also fills up the lakes
These falling water-drops are, what we
and ponds. A part of the rainwater gets
call rain. In special conditions, it may
absorbed by the ground and seems to
also fall as hail or snow.
disappear in the soil. Some of this water
Thus, water in the form of vapour
is brought back to the air by the process
goes into air by evaporation and
of evaporation and transpiration. The
transpiration, forms clouds, and then
rest seeps into the ground. Most of this
comes back to the ground as rain, hail
water becomes available to us as ground
or snow.
water. Open wells are fed by ground
14.4 BACK TO THE OCEANS water. Ground water is the source for
What happens to the water that rain and many lakes as well. It is also this ground
snow bring to different regions of earth? water which is drawn by a handpump
Almost all land surfaces are above the or a tubewell. The more handpumps or
level of oceans. Most of the water that tubewells that are used in an area, the
falls on the land as rain and snow deeper we need to dig to find this ground
sooner or later goes back to the oceans. water. The loss in the level of ground
This happens in many ways. water due to over use, is worrisome.
Snow in the mountains melts into Paheli wants to share a concern with
water. This water flows down the you. In those areas where the land has
mountains in the form of streams and little or no vegetation, the rainwater flows
rivers (Fig. 14.8). Some of the water that away quickly. Flowing rainwater also
falls on land as rain, also flows in the takes the top layer of the soil away with
form of rivers and streams. Most of the it. There are few areas where most of the
rivers cover long distances on land and land is covered with concrete. This
ultimately fall into a sea or an ocean. reduces the seepage of rainwater into the
However, water of some rivers flows ground which ultimately affects the
into lakes. availability of ground water.
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We now know that water brought
back to the surface of the earth by rain,
hail or snow, goes back to oceans. Thus,
water from the ocean and surface of the
earth goes into air as vapour; returns
as rain, hail or snow and finally goes
back to the oceans. The circulation of
water in this manner is known as the
water cycle (Fig.14.9). This circulation
of water between ocean and land is a
continuous process. This maintains the
Fig. 14.10 A scene after heavy rains
supply of water on land.
In our country, most of the rainfall
14.5 WHAT IF IT RAINS HEAVILY? occurs during the monsoon season.
The time, duration and the amount of Rains bring relief especially after hot
rainfall varies from place to place. In summer days. The sowing of many crops
some parts of the world it rains depends on the arrival of monsoon.
throughout the year while there are However, excess of rainfall may lead
places where it rains only for a few days. to many problems (Fig. 14.10). Heavy
Fig. 14.9 Water cycle
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heard about droughts occurring in some
parts of our country or the world. Are
you aware of the difficulties faced by
the people living in these areas? What
happens to the animals and the
vegetation in these conditions? Try and
find out about this by talking to your
parents and neighbours and by
reading about it from newspapers
Fig. 14.11 A scene of a flooded area
and magazines.
rains may lead to rise in the level of water 14.7 HOW CAN WE CONSERVE WATER?
in rivers, lakes and ponds. The water
Only a small fraction of water available
may then spread over large areas causing
on the Earth is fit for use of plants,
floods. The crop fields, forests, villages,
animals and humans. Most of the water
and cities may get submerged by water
is in the oceans and it cannot be used
(Fig. 14.11). In our country, floods cause
directly. When the level of the ground
extensive damage to crops, domestic
water decreases drastically, this can not
animals, property and human life.
be used any more. The total amount of
During floods, the animals living in
water on Earth remains the same, but,
the water also get carried away with the
the water available for use is very limited
waters. They often get trapped on land
and is decreasing with over usage.
areas and die when floodwater recedes.
The demand for water is increasing
Rains also affect the animals living in
day-by-day. The number of people using
the soil.
water is increasing with rising
14.6 WHAT HAPPENS IF IT DOES NOT population. In many cities, long queues
RAIN FOR A LONG PERIOD? for collection of water are a common site
Can you imagine what would happen if (Fig. 14.12). Also, more and more water
it does not rain in a region for a year or is being used for producing food and by
more? The soil continues to lose water the industries. These factors are leading
by evaporation and transpiration. Since
it is not being brought back by rain,
the soil becomes dry. The level of water
in ponds and wells of the region goes
down and some of them may even dry
up. The ground water may also become
scarce. This may lead to drought.
In drought conditions, it is difficult
to get food and fodder. You might have Fig. 14.12 A queue for collecting water
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to shortage of water in many parts of
the world. Hence, it is very important
that water is used carefully. We should
take care not to waste water.
14.8 RAINWATER HARVESTING
One way of increasing the availability
of water is to collect rainwater and store
it for later use. Collecting rainwater in
this way is called rainwater harvesting.
The basic idea behind rainwater
Fig. 14.13 Rooftop rainwater harvesting
harvesting is “Catch water where it falls”.
What happens to the rainwater that the rooftop to a storage tank, through
falls in places that are mostly covered pipes. This water may contain soil
with concrete roads and buildings? It from the roof and need filtering
flows into the drains, isn't it? From there before it is used. Instead of collecting
water goes to rivers or lakes, which could rainwater in the tank, the pipes
be far away. A lot of effort will then be can go directly into a pit in the
required to get this water back into our ground. This then seeps into the
homes as the water did not seep into soil to recharge or refill the ground
the ground. water (Fig. 14.13).
Here two techniques of rainwater 2. Another option is to allow water
harvesting are discussed to go into the ground directly
1. Rooftop rainwater harvesting: In this from the roadside drains that
system the rainwater is collected from collect rainwater.
Clouds Hail
Condensation Ocean
Drought Rainwater harvesting
Evaporation Snow
Flood Water vapour
Ground water Water cycle
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n Water is essential for life.
n Water vapour gets added to air by evaporation and transpiration.
n The water vapour in the air condenses to form tiny droplets of water, which
appear as clouds. Many tiny water droplets come together and fall down as
rain, snow or hail.
n Rain, hail and snow replenish water in rivers, lakes, ponds, wells and soil.
n The circulation of water between ocean and land is known as the
water cycle.
n Excessive rains may cause floods while lack of it for long periods may
cause droughts.
n The amount of usable water on earth is limited so it needs to be used
carefully.
1. Fill up the blanks in the following:

(a) The process of changing of water into its vapour is called _________________.
(b) The process of changing water vapour into water is called _________________.
(c) No rainfall for a year or more may lead to _________________ in that region.
(d) Excessive rains may cause _________________.
2. State for each of the following whether it is due to evaporation or condensation:
(a) Water drops appear on the outer surface of a glass containing cold water.
(b) Steam rising from wet clothes while they are ironed.
(c) Fog appearing on a cold winter morning.
(d) Blackboard dries up after wiping it.
(e) Steam rising from a hot girdle when water is sprinkled on it.
3. Which of the following statements are “true” ?
(a) Water vapour is present in air only during the monsoon. ( )
(b) Water evaporates into air from oceans, rivers and lakes but not from the
soil.( )
(c) The process of water changing into its vapour, is called evaporation.( )
(d) The evaporation of water takes place only in sunlight.( )
(e) Water vapour condenses to form tiny droplets of water in the upper layers of
air where it is cooler.( )
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4. Suppose you want to dry your school uniform quickly. Would spreading it near
an anghiti or heater help? If yes, how?
5. Take out a cooled bottle of water from refrigerator and keep it on a table. After
some time you notice a droplets of water around it. Why?
6. To clean their spectacles, people often breathe out on glasses to make them
wet. Explain why the glasses become wet.
7. How are clouds formed?
8. When does a drought occur?

1. List three activities in which you can save water. For each activity describe
how you would do it.
2. Collect pictures relating to floods or droughts from old magazines or
newspapers. Paste them in your notebook and write about the problems that
people would have faced.
3. Prepare a poster on ways of saving water and display it on your school notice
board.
4. Write a few slogans of your own on the topic ‘Save Water’.
5. Can the interlinking of rivers be a solution for mitigation of flood? Discuss.
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15 Air Around us
W
e have learnt in Chapter 9 that
all living things require air.
But, have you ever seen air?
You might not have seen air, but, surely
you must have felt its presence in so
Fig. 15.2 Making a simple firki
many ways. You notice it when the
leaves of the trees rustle or the clothes Move it a little, back and
hanging on a clothes-line sway. Pages forth. Observe, what happens.
of an open book begin fluttering Does the firki rotate? What makes a firki
when the fan is switched on. The moving rotate — moving air, isn’t it?
air makes it possible for you to fly your Have you seen a weather cock
kite. Do you remember Activity 3 in (Fig. 15.3)? It shows the direction in
Chapter 5 in which you separated the which the air is moving at that place.
sand and sawdust by winnowing?
Winnowing is more effective in moving
air. You may have noticed that during
storms the wind blows at a very high
speed. It may even uproot trees and blow
off the rooftops.
Have you ever played with a firki
(Fig. 15.1)?
Fig. 15.3 A weather cock
15.1 IS AIR PRESENT EVERYWHERE

AROUND US?
Close your fist — what do you have in
it? Nothing? Try the following activity
Fig. 15.1 Different types of firki to find out.
Activity 1 Activity 2
Let us make a firki of our own, following Take an empty open bottle. Is it really
the instructions shown in Fig. 15.2. empty or does it have something inside?
Hold the stick of the firki and place it Turn it, upside down. Is something
in different directions in an open area. inside it, now?
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Fig. 15.4 Experiments with an empty bottle
Now, dip the open mouth of the bottle

into the bucket filled with water as
shown in Fig. 15.4. Observe the bottle.
Does water enter the bottle? Now tilt the
bottle slightly. Does the water now enter Fig. 15.5 Mountaineers carry oxygen cylinders
the bottle? Do you see bubbles coming with them
out of the bottle or hear any bubbly Now can you think, mountaineers
sound? Can you now guess what was carry oxygen cylinders with them, while
in the bottle?
climbing high mountains (Fig. 15.5)?
Yes! You are right. It is “air”, that was
present in the bottle. The bottle was not 15.2 WHAT IS AIR MADE UP OF?
empty at all. In fact, it was filled Until the eighteenth century, people
completely with air even when you thought that air was just one substance.
turned it upside down. That is why you Experiments have proved that it is really
notice that water does not enter the not so. Air is a mixture of many gases.
bottle when it is pushed in an inverted What kind of a mixture is it? Let us find
position, as there was no space for air out about some of the major
to escape. When the bottle was tilted, components of this mixture, one by one.
the air was able to come out in the form
of bubbles, and water filled up the empty
Water vapour
space that the air has occupied. We have learnt earlier that air contains
This activity shows that air occupies water vapour. We also saw that, when
space. It fills all the space in the bottle. air comes in contact with a cool surface,
It is present everywhere around us. Air it condenses and drops of water appear
has no colour and one can see through on the cooled surfaces. The presence of
it. It is transparent. water vapour in air is important for the
Our earth is surrounded by a thin water cycle in nature.
layer of air. This layer extends up to Oxygen
many kilometres above the surface of
the earth and is called atmosphere. As Activity 3
we move higher in the atmosphere, the In the presence of your teacher, fix two
air gets rarer. small candles of the same length on a
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the candle blew out? This indicates the
presence of some component in the air,
Glass tumbler which does not support burning. The
major part of air (which does not
support burning candle) is nitrogen.
Carbon dioxide
Candle
In a closed room, if there is some
Fig. 15.6 Air has oxygen material that is burning, you may
have felt suffocation. This is due to
excess of carbon dioxide that may be
accumulating in the room, as the
burning continues. Carbon dioxide
Fig. 15.6 Air has oxygen makes up a small component of the air
around us. Plants and animals consume
table. Light both the candles. Cover one oxygen for respiration and produce
of the candles with an inverted glass carbon dioxide. Plant and animal matter
tumbler. Observe both the candles also consumes oxygen on burning and
carefully. produces mainly carbon dioxide and a
Do both the candles continue to burn few other gases. It is advisable not to
or go off? burn dry leaves and discarded remains
You must have observed that the of the crop, which pollute our
candle covered with glass tumbler got surroundings.
extinguished after some time, whereas
the other candle continued burning. Dust and smoke
What can be the reason for this? The burning of fuel also produces
Think about it. smoke. Smoke contains a few gases and
It seems that the candle got fine dust particles and is often harmful.
extinguished because the component That is why you see long chimneys in
inside of the glass tumbler, which factories. This takes the harmful smoke
supports burning, is limited. Most of the and gases away from our noses, but,
component is used up by the burning brings it closer to the birds flying up in
candles. However, the other candle is the sky!
getting continued supply of air. This Dust particles are always present
component of air, which supports in air.
burning, is known as oxygen. Activity 4
Nitrogen Find a sunny room in your school/
In Activity 3 did you observe that air is home. Close all the doors and windows
still present in the glass bottle even after with curtains pulled down to make the
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Fig. 15.7 Observing presence of dust in air with Fig.15.8 Policemen regulating traffic at a crowded
sunlight crossing often wear a mask
room dark. Now, open the door or a prevent dust particles from getting into
window facing the sun, just a little, in the respiratory system.
such a way that it allows sunlight to Do you recall being scolded by your
enter the room only through a slit. parents when you breathe through your
Look carefully at the incoming beam mouth? If you do that, harmful dust
of sunlight. particles may enter your body.
Do you see some tiny shining We may conclude, then, that air
particles moving in the beam of sunlight contains some gases, water vapour and
(Fig. 15.7)? What are these particles?
dust particles. The gases in air are
During winters you might have
mainly nitrogen, oxygen, small amount
observed similar beam of sunlight filter
of carbon dioxide, and many other
through the trees in which dust particles
gases. However, there may be some
appear to dance merrily around!
This shows that air also contains
dust particles. The presence of dust
particles in air varies from time to time,
Paheli wants to know, why
and from place to place.
the transparent glass of
We inhale air when we breathe
windows, if not wiped off
through our nostrils. Fine hair and
regularly, appears hazy?
mucus are present inside the nose to
Boojho wants to know, why
during an incident of
Boojho is asking you, why
fire, one is advised to
do you think, the policeman
wrap a woollen blanket
in Fig. 15.8 is wearing a
over a burning object.
mask?
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carbon dioxide,
water vapour
and other gases
Here is a question from Paheli, “Will
the tiny air bubbles seen before the
oxygen
water actually boils, also appear if
Nitrogen we do this activity by reheating
boiled water kept in an air tight
bottle?” If you do not know
the answer you may try doing
it and see for yourself.
Fig.15.9 Composition of air
variations in the composition of air from

place to place. We see that air contains of the container. Do you see tiny bubbles
mostly nitrogen and oxygen. In fact, on the inside (Fig. 15.10)?
these two gases together make up 99% These bubbles come from the air
of the air. The r emaining 1% is dissolved in water. When you heat the
constituted by carbon dioxide and a few water, to begin with, the air dissolved in
other gases and water vapour (Fig. 15.9). it escapes. As you continue heating, the
15.3 H OW DOES O XYGEN B ECOME water itself turns into vapour and finally
AVAILABLE TO ANIMALS AND PLANTS begins to boil. We learnt in Chapters 8
LIVING IN WATER AND SOIL? and 9, that the animals living in water
use the dissolved oxygen in water.
Activity 5 The organisms that live in soil also
Take some water in a glass or metal need oxygen to respire, isn’t it? How do
container. Heat it slowly on a tripod they get the air they need, for
stand. Well before the water begins to respiration?
boil, look carefully at the inner surface Activity 6
Take a lump of dry soil in a beaker or a
glass. Add water to it and note what
happens (Fig. 15.11). Do you see
bubbles coming out from soil? These
bubbles indicate the presence of air in
the soil.
When the water is poured on the
lump of soil, it displaces the air which
is seen in the form of bubbles. The
organisms that live inside the soil and
Fig. 15.10 Water contains air the plant roots respire in this air. A lot
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and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
is maintained through respiration in
plants and animals and by the
photosynthesis in plants. This shows
the interdependence of plants and
animals.
We can now appreciate, how important
air is for life on earth. Are there any other
uses of air? Have you heard about a
Fig. 15.11 Soil has air in it windmill? Look at Fig. 15.12.
of burrows and holes are formed in deep
soil by the animals living in the soil.
These burrows also make spaces
available for air to move in and out of
the soil. However, when it rains heavily,
water fills up all the spaces occupied by
the air in the soil. In this situation,
animals living in the soil have to come
out for respiration. Could this be the
reason why earthworms come out of the
soil, only during heavy rains?
Have you ever wondered why all the
oxygen of atmosphere does not get used
up though a large number of organisms
are consuming it? Who is refilling the
oxygen in the atmosphere? Fig. 15.12 A windmill
15.4 HOW IS THE OXYGEN IN THE The wind makes the windmill
ATMOSPHERE REPLACED? rotate. The windmill is used to draw
In Chapter 7, we read about water from tubewells and to run flour
photosynthesis. In this process, plants mills. Windmills are also used to
make their own food and oxygen is generate electricity. Air helps in the
produced along with it. Plants also movements of sailing yachts, gliders,
consume oxygen for respiration, but parachutes and aeroplanes. Birds,
they produce more of it than they bats and insects can fly due to the
consume. That is why we say plants presence of air. Air also helps in the
produce oxygen. dispersal of seeds and pollen of
It is obvious that animals cannot live flowers of several plants. Air plays an
without plants. The balance of oxygen important role in water cycle.
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Atmosphere
Carbon dioxide
Composition of air
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Smoke
Windmill
n Air is found everywhere. We cannot see air, but we can feel it.
n Air in motion is called wind.
n Air occupies space.
n Air is present in water and soil.
n Air is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapour and a few
other gases. Some dust particles may also be present in it.
n Oxygen supports burning and is necessary for living organisms.
n The envelope of air that surrounds the earth is known as atmosphere.
n Atmosphere is essential for life on earth.
n Aquatic animals use dissolved air in water for respiration.
n Plants and animals depend on each other for exchange of oxygen and carbon
dioxide from air.
1. What is the composition of air?

2. Which gas in the atmosphere is essential for respiration?
3. How will you prove that air supports burning?
4. How will you show that air is dissolved in water?
5. Why does a lump of cotton wool shrink in water?
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6. The layer of air around the earth is known as ___________.
7. The component of air used by green plants to make their food, is ___________.
8. List five activities that are possible due to the presence of air.
9. How do plants and animals help each other in the exchange of gases in the
atmosphere?

1. On a clear glass window facing towards an open area, fix a small rectangular
strip of paper. Remove the strip after a few days. Do you notice a difference
between the rectangular section that was left covered with paper and the
rest of the glass window? By repeating this exercise every month, you can
have an idea about the amount of dust present in air around you at different
times of the year.
2. Observe the leaves of trees, shrubs or bushes planted by the roadside. Note
whether their leaves have some dust or soot deposited over them. Take similar
observations with the leaves of trees in the school compound or in a garden.
Is there any difference in deposition of soot on leaves of trees near the roadside?
What could be the possible reasons for this difference? Take a map of your
city or town and try to identify regions in the map where you have noticed
very thick layer of soot on the plants by the roadside. Compare with results
obtained by other classmates and mark these areas on the map. Perhaps
the results from all the students could be summarised and reported in
newspapers.
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16 Garbage in, Garbage out
W
e throw out so much rubbish A Step towards Cleanliness
or garbage everyday from our
homes, schools, shops and
offices. The grains, pulses, biscuits, milk
or oil purchased in shops, are packed
The Prime Minister of India launched
in plastic bags or tins. All these the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
wrapping material go out as garbage. The aim of this mission is to create
We sometimes buy things that are an open defecation-free India by
rarely used and often thrown into 2 October 2019.
the garbage.
We generate so much garbage in our Children from Paheli and Boojho’s
school did a project called ‘Dealing with
day-to-day activities! We often throw
Garbage’. We will learn about some of
groundnut shells on public places, in
the things they learnt through this
buses or trains, after eating the nuts.
project.
We throw away the ticket when we get
off a bus. A child might go on 16.1 DEALING WITH GARBAGE
sharpening pencils just for fun. If we Safai karamcharis collect the garbage in
make mistakes or spill ink on our trucks and take it to a low lying open
notebook, we tear off the sheet and area, called a landfill (Fig. 16.1).
throw it away. And we also throw away There the part of the garbage that
many domestic wastes such as broken can be reused is separated out from the
toys, old clothes, shoes and slippers. one that cannot be used as such. Thus,
What if the garbage is not removed
from our homes and surroundings? How
do you think, this will harm us? When
safai karamcharis take the garbage from
the bins, where does the garbage go and
what happens to it? Is it possible for all
of this garbage to be changed into
something that will not harm us? Can
we contribute towards this in any way?
We will look for answers to these
questions, in this chapter. Fig. 16.1 A landfill
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the garbage has both useful and non-
useful components. The non-useful
component is separated out. It is then
spread over the landfill and then
covered with a layer of soil. Once the
landfill is completely full, it is usually
converted into a park or a play ground.
For the next 20 years or so, no building
is constructed on it. To deal with
some of the useful components of
garbage, compost making areas are
developed near the landfill. What is
compost? Let us learn about it, from the
Fig. 16.2 Putting garbage heaps in pits
following activity.
as A, B, C and D. Put one heap from
Group 1 and one heap from Group 2
Paheli did wonder as to what into two separate plastic bags. Tie the
could be useful garbage? Why mouth of these two bags tightly. Put all
was it thrown away in the first the four heaps in separate pits and
place? Is there some garbage that cover them with soil (Fig. 16.2). You
is not actually garbage? can also use four pots to bury these
garbage heaps.
Remove the soil after four days and
observe the changes in the garbage. A
Activity 1 black colour and no foul smell indicates
Collect the garbage from your house that rotting of garbage is complete. Put
before it is thrown into the dustbin. the heaps again in the pits and cover
Separate it into two groups, so that with the soil. Observe again after every
they have: two days and note your observations as
Group 1: Garbage from the kitchen — suggested. Did the garbage.
like fruit and vegetable peels, egg shells, (i) rot completely and not smell?
waste food, tea leaves. Include (ii) rot only partially?
newspapers, dry leaves and paper bags (iii) rot almost completely, but still
in this group. smells bad?
Group 2: Pieces of cloth, polythene (iv) not change at all?
bags, broken glass, aluminium wrappers, Garbage in which heap was seen to
nails, old shoes and broken toys. rot and which did not?
Now divide the contents of each group Enter options (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) in
into two separate heaps. Label them the columns of Table 16.1 based on your
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Table 16.1 What has happened to you see why it is necessary for
the garbage heaps? us to separate waste into two
groups as we did in Activity 1,
Garbage After 4 After 6 After 2 After 4
heap days days weeks weeks before we throw it?
Have you noticed garbage
A
heaps of dried leaves on the
B roadside? Most of the time
C
these are burnt (Fig. 16.3).
Farmers too often burn the
D husk, dried leaves and part of
observations. If you make any other crop plants in their fields after
observations, do not forget to write all harvesting. Burning of these, produces
these down in your notebook. Do not smoke and gases that are harmful to
remove and burn the garbage that did our health. We should try to stop such
not rot. practices. These wastes could be
If the garbage was found to rot converted into useful compost.
completely and did not smell, mix it in
the soil where you sow your favourite
plants. This would provide nutrients to
the plants.
You must have observed from this
activity that some things in the garbage
rot. They form manure which is used
for the plants. The rotting and
conversion of some materials into
manure is called ‘composting’.
In some cities and towns, Fig. 16.3 Burning of leaves produce harmful
municipalities provide separate dustbins gases
for collecting two kinds of garbage.
Here are some of the observations
Usually one is coloured blue and the
and thoughts, noted by Paheli and
other green. The blue bin is for materials
Boojho, from their project “Dealing
that can be used again — such as
with Garbage”.
plastics, metals and glass. Did you
notice that these are the materials that
do not rot in the garbage heaps? The Boojho noted in his notebook: Do
not burn leaves! You will not be
green bins are for collecting kitchen and
able to tolerate the fumes!
other plant or animal wastes. You may
have noticed that this type of wastes rot
completely when buried in the soil. Do
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vegetable wastes including peels of fruits
Paheli made a note in her over this layer of sand.
notebook: Why has the One can also use green leaves, pieces
government not made of dried stalks of plants, husk or pieces
burning of leaves a theft? of newspaper or carboard to spread over
the layer of sand. However, shiny or
Not theft really ☺. She must have plastic coated paper should not be used
meant “illegal”. She wanted that the for this purpose. Dried animal dung
government should make a law against could also be used as a spread over sand
the burning of leaves and other plant or wire mesh.
wastes anywhere in India. Sprinkle some water to make this
layer wet. Take care not to use excess of
16.2 VERMICOMPOSTING water. Do not press the layer of waste.
We can be friends of plants by supplying Keep this layer loose so that it has
them with compost. We will also be very sufficient air and moisture.
good friends to ourselves by making Now, your pit is ready to welcome the
compost. redworms. Buy some redworms and put
Talking of friends, do you know that them in your pit (Fig. 16.4). Cover them
earthworms are called farmer’s friend? loosely with a gunny bag or an old sheet
Let us find out how a type of earthworm of cloth or a layer of grass.
called redworm is used for composting.
This method of preparing compost
with the help of redworms is called
vermicomposting. We can try to make
manure by vermicomposting at school.
Activity 2
Let us dig a pit (about 30 cm deep) or
keep a wooden box at a place, which is
neither too hot nor too cold. What about
a place which does not get direct
sunlight? Let us now make a Fig. 16.4 Redworms
comfortable home for our redworms in
Your redworms need food. You can give
the pit or the box. them vegetable and fruit wastes, coffee
Spread a net or chicken mesh at the and tea remains and weeds from the
bottom of the pit or the box. You can fields or garden (Fig. 16.5). It might be
also spread 1 or 2 cm thick layer of sand a good idea to bury this food about
as an alternative. Now, spread some 2-3 cm inside the pit. Do not use wastes
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Fig. 16.5 Food for redworms
that may contain salt, pickles, oil,

vinegar, meat and milk preparations as Fig. 16.6 Vermicomposting
food for your redworms. If you put these towards this part of the pit, vacating the
things in the pit, disease-causing small other part. Remove the compost from
organisms start growing in the pit. Once the vacated part and dry it in the sun
in a few days, gently mix and move the for a few hours. Your vermicompost is
top layers of your pit. ready for use!
Redworms do not have teeth. They The part left in the pit has most of
have a structure called ‘gizzard’, which the worms in it. You can use these for
helps them in grinding their food. preparing more compost or share them
Powdered egg shells or sea shells could with another user.
be mixed with the wastes. This would Use this excellent vermicompost in
help redworms in grinding their food. A your pots, gardens or fields. Is this not
redworm can eat food equal to its own like getting the ‘best out of waste’? Those
weight, in a day. of you who have agricultural fields can
Redworms do not survive in very hot try vermicomposting in large pits. You
or very cold surroundings. They also can save a lot of money that is spent on
need moisture around them. If you take buying expensive chemical fertilizers
good care of your worms, in a month’s and manure from the market.
time their number will double.
Observe the contents of the pit 16.3 THINK AND THROW
carefully after 3-4 weeks. Do you now How much of garbage do you think, is
see loose, soil-like material in the pit? thrown out by each house everyday? You
Your vermicompost is ready (Fig. 16.6). can make an estimate by using a bucket
Put some wastes as food in one corner as a measure. Use a 5-10 litre bucket to
of the pit. Most of the worms will shift collect the garbage from your home for
2018-19
One morning Nanu went looking for
his grandmother (Nani). He saw that she
was applying a thick paste on a basket.
Nanu asked, “Nani, What are you doing?
What is this paste?”
“This is papier-mâchè, a paste made
of clay and paper in which I have also
mixed some rice husk”, replied Nani.
“But, why are you putting it on the
basket?”, asked Nanu.
“To make it stronger”, said Nani and
Fig. 16.7 Neighbourhood garbage dump
added “would you like to learn this from
me?” Nanu was not very keen and ran
a few days. In how many days does the outside to play. He was only interested
bucket become full? You know the in tearing up papers to make planes. In
number of members in your family. If fact he also started tearing up papers
you find out the population of your city from Shyam’s files!
or town, can you now estimate the Shyam collected all the pieces of
number of buckets of garbage that may paper Nanu had used, wondering what
be generated in a day in your city or to do about him! He just did not listen
town? We are generating mountains of to anyone!
garbage everyday, isn’t it (Fig. 16.7)? It was Nanu’s birthday in a few days.
Let us read a story about a village Shyam planned to invite Nanu’s friends.
where there is less garbage and more Nanu took out money from his mud pot
wisdom. Nanu studies in Class VI. He is and went to the market. He bought some
very fond of making paper planes. His paper hats for his friends. He asked the
mother is very annoyed when he tears shopkeeper for a polythene bag to keep
off sheets from new notebooks to make the hats, who gave him a paper bag
aeroplanes, but Nanu does not care. instead of polythene. Nanu also bought
Once Nanu went to his aunt’s village, many other items like biscuits and
along with his mother. He was amazed toffees. He found it difficult to carry all
at the variety of things his cousin Shyam of these things as no shopkeeper was
had made. Files from old charts, ready to give a polythene bag. Shyam
greeting cards decorated with flowers had told him to carry a cloth bag with
made from pencil shavings, mats from him and he was sorry he did not listen
old clothes, baskets from used old to him. Somehow, he managed to reach
polythene bags were some of the items home with all his purchases (Fig. 16.8).
Nanu liked. Shyam had even made a Nanu’s friends enjoyed the feast on
diary from invitation cards! his birthday and played many games.
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2018-19
Talk to one such child and find out:
What do they do with the rubbish
they collect? Where do they take it?
Does he/she go to school? What
about his/her friends?
If they do not go to school, find out
the possible reasons.
Can you help this child to read and
write?
Have you ever helped at home to sell
old newspapers, glass and metal
things, plastic bags and your old
notebooks to a garbage dealer? Talk to
Fig. 16.8 Nanu with bags full of purchases
him and find out what he does with all
All his friends wore the shiny paper hats the garbage.
Nanu had bought! Would you like to make paper from
Shyam had made beautiful papier- old and discarded paper like Shyam?
mâchè masks for Nanu’s friends. He had Let us learn to do this.
a special gift for Nanu as well. A
photoframe and a greeting card made 16.4 RECYCLING OF PAPER
from the paste of all the pieces of paper You will require pieces of old newspapers,
Nanu had thrown away! It was a new magazines, used envelopes, notebooks,
experience for Nanu. All his friends went or any other paper. Do not use shiny,
home with their masks. Nanu was too plastic coated paper. You will also need
excited to finish his meal and look at a frame fitted with a wire mesh or a net.
his gifts. You can also use a large sized sieve in
Nanu returned home, after his place of a frame.
holidays were over. How different his Tear the paper into small pieces. Put
town was from Shyam’s village! There them in a tub or a bucket and pour water
were no rag pickers in the village as it in it. Let the pieces of paper remain
was neat and clean. But now he stopped submerged in water for a day. Make a
making faces when he saw the rag thick paste of paper by pounding it.
picking children near his house. Now, spread the wet paste on the wire
You might have seen some children, mesh fixed to the frame. Pat it gently to
sorting the garbage near your house or make the thickness of layer of the paste
at other places. Observe the children at as uniform as possible. Wait till water
work and find out how they separate drains off. If required spread an old cloth
useful material from the garbage. They or a sheet of newspaper on the paste to
are actually helping us. let it soak up the extra water.
2018-19
Now, carefully remove the layer of We often use plastic bags to store
paste from the frame, spread it on a sheet cooked food items. Sometimes these bags
of newspaper in the sun. Keep the may not be suitable for keeping eatables.
corners of the newspaper sheet pressed Consuming food packed in such plastic
by putting some weights so that these bags could be harmful to our health.
do not curl up. Many a time shopkeepers use plastic
You can add food colour, pieces of bags that have been used earlier for
dry leaves or flower petals or pieces of some other purpose. Sometimes bags
coloured paper in the paste before collected by rag pickers are also used
spreading it. It would help you to get a after washing them. Use of such recycled
recycled paper with beautiful patterns plastic bags to keep food items could be
on it. harmful for our health. For storing
Can we recycle everything, just as we eatables we must insist on use of plastic
recycle paper? bags that are approved for such a use.
All kind of plastics give out harmful
16.5 PLASTICS – BOON OR A CURSE?
gases, upon heating or burning. These
Some kind of plastics can be recycled,
gases may cause many health problems,
but, not all of them. Did you notice
including cancer, in humans. The
that polythene bags and some plastics
government has also laid down
did not rot in Activity 1? You might now
guidelines for recycling of plastics.
easily understand why polythene bags
create a big problem in garbage disposal.
It may be a little difficult to imagine Paheli would like to suggest that
our life without plastics. Shall we list a containers used for storing
few things we use that are made of poisonous substances should
plastics? Toys, shoes, bags, pens, be recycled separately and that
combs, tooth brushes, buckets, bottles, such recycled plastics
and water pipes — the list is very long. are not used to make
Can you name a few parts of a bus, car, plastic bags.
radio, television, refrigerator and a
scooter that are made of plastics? You must have noticed that people
The use of plastics in itself might not often fill garbage in plastic bags and
create so much of a problem. Problems then throw it away. When stray animals
arise when we use plastics excessively look for food in these bags, they end up
and are ignorant about ways of swallowing these. Sometimes, they die
disposing their waste. This is what is due to this.
happening all around us! We might even The plastic bags thrown away
be acting irresponsibly, knowing well carelessly on roads and other places get
about its harmful effects. into drains and the sewer system. As a
162 SCIENCE
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result, drains get choked and the water 6. We do not put garbage in plastic bags
spills on the roads. During heavy rains, and throw it away.
it might even create a flood like situation. 7. We use vermicomposting at home and
There is a lot of harm that too much use deal with our kitchen waste usefully.
of plastics can do! 8. We recycle paper.
What can we do to minimise over use 9. We use both sides of the paper to
of plastics and deal with garbage? write. We use a slate for rough work.
1. We make a minimum use of plastic
We use blank sheets of paper left in
bags. We re-use the bags whenever it
our notebooks for rough work.
is possible to do so without any
10.We make our family, friends and
adverse affects.
others to follow proper practices for
2. We insist shopkeepers use paper
disposing different kinds of wastes.
bags. We carry a cloth or a jute bag
when we go out for shopping. Think about some more ways to
3. We do not use plastic bags to store minimise overuse of plastics and
eatables. discuss.
4. We do not throw plastic bags here The most important point to know
and there, after use. and think about is that — more garbage
5. We never burn plastic bags and other we generate, more difficult it will be to
plastic items. get rid of it.
Waste
Let us refuse
Garbage
plastic.
Landfill
Compost
Ver micomposting
Recycling
n Landfill is an area where the garbage collected from a city or town is

dumped. The area is later converted into a park.
n Converting plant and animal waste including that from kitchen, into
manure, is called composting.
2018-19
n The method of making compost from kitchen garbage using redworms is
called vermicomposting.
n Paper can be recycled to get useful products.
n Plastics cannot be converted into less harmful substances by the process
of composting.
n We need to generate less waste and find ways of dealing with the increasing
amount of garbage in our surroundings.
1. (a) Which kind of garbage is not converted into compost by the redworms?
(b) Have you seen any other organism besides redworms, in your pit? If yes, try
to find out their names. Draw pictures of these.
2. Discuss :
(a) Is garbage disposal the responsibility only of the government?
(b) Is it possible to reduce the problems relating to disposal of garbage?
3. (a) What do you do with the left over food at home?
(b) If you and your friends are given the choice of eating in a plastic plate or a
banana leaf platter at a party, which one would you prefer and why?
4. (a) Collect pieces of different kinds of paper. Find out which of these can be
recycled.
(b) With the help of a lens look at the pieces of paper you collected for the above
question. Do you see any difference in the material of recycled paper and a
new sheet of paper ?
5. (a) Collect different kinds of packaging material. What was the purpose for which
each one was used? Discuss in groups.
(b) Give an example in which packaging could have been reduced?
(c) Write a story on how packaging increases the amount of garbage.
6. Do you think it is better to use compost instead of chemical fertilisers? Why?
ACTIVITIES FOR DEALING WITH GARBAGE

1. Collect old and discarded objects and material like glass bottles, plastic bottles,
coconut husk, wool, bed sheets, greeting cards and any other thing. Can you
make something useful out of these, instead of throwing them? Try.
2. Prepare a detailed project report on compost making activity you did in school.
164 SCIENCE
2018-19
A MATTER OF CONCERN!
In autumn lots of leaves are burnt in cities like Delhi. Some of the gases produced
by burning leaves are similar to the gases released by the vehicles moving on
the roads.
Instead of burning, if we make compost from these leaves, we can reduce the
use of chemical fertilizers.
The green areas which should have fresh air, actually become full of harmful
gases due to burning of leaves.
If you find any one is burning the leaves bring it to notice of municipal authorities
or write to newspapers about it.
Generate social pressure against burning of leaves. Ensure that fallen leaves
are not burnt but used for making compost.
Write to the ‘Tree Authority’ of your city or state to declare burning of leaves as
an offence.
2018-19
2018-19

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SCIENCE

TEXTBOOK FOR CLASS VI

PD 750T RPS NCERT Campus

108, 100 Feet Road

Navjivan Trust Building

CHAIRPERSON, ADVISORY GROUP IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCER T)

The team of Paheli and Boojho will be

Food Item Ingredients

Roti/chapati Atta, water

Pulses, water, salt, oil/

Fig. 1.1 Different food items

Activity 3 Fig. 1.2 Sources of

the world. Can you name some other Internode { Bud

Food item with plant Ingredients/source Plant part which gives

1. Brinjal curry Brinjal Fruit

FOOD: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? 3

FOOD: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? 5

n There is a lot of variation in the food eaten in different regions of India.

Milk, curd, paneer, ghee, eat other animals

Spinach, cauliflower, carrot eat plants and plant products

Lions and tigers are vegetables

Herbivores are all animal products

SUGGESTED PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

FOOD: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? 7

Andhra Tuar dal and Butter milk, ghee,

Fig. 2.2 Testing for protein

Fig. 2.6 Some sources of Vitamin A

Fig. 2.7 Some sources of Vitamin B

for proper growth of body and to

Bones become soft Roughage

Glands in the neck Vitamins

SUGGESTED PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

Boojho has seen in the

Fig. 3.5 Yarn split up into thin strands

To make fabrics, all these fibres are

3.4 SPINNING COTTON YARN clothes made of homespun yarn termed

Fig. 3.12 Weaving with paper strips

used to make a piece of fabric (Fig. 3.14).

Fig. 3.13 Handloom

In a similar manner, two sets of yarn

 There is a variety of clothing material or fabric, such as, cotton, silk,

1. Classify the following fibres as natural or synthetic:

SUGGESTED PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

Boojho knows that burning of

SORTING MATERIALS INTO GROUPS 27

We see then, that we choose a

Soluble or Insoluble? You will notice that some substances

SORTING MATERIALS INTO GROUPS 29

SORTING MATERIALS INTO GROUPS 31

1. Name five objects which can be made from wood.

4. State whether the statements given below are True or False.

SORTING MATERIALS INTO GROUPS 33

Fig. 5.2 Butter is taken out by churning milk or

Separation Purpose for which we do What do we do with the

1) Separate a) To separate two different, i) We throw away the soild

2) Chur ning milk b) To remove non-useful ii) We throw away the

3) Separate tea c) To remove impurities or iii) We use both the