CLASS 3 GENERAL SCIENCE

Comprehensive Complete Academic Notes & Introductory Science Activity Guide

Chapter 1: Living and Non-Living Things

The world around us is made up of two types of things: living things and non-living things. God created natural
things, while humans built man-made structures.

1.1 Features of Living Things

Living things have special characteristics that separate them from non-living things:

• Living things breathe: Humans and most animals breathe air using lungs. Fish use gills, insects use tiny air
holes, and plants breathe through tiny mouth-like pores on their leaves called stomata.
• Living things need food and water: Food helps them grow and gives them energy. Animals look for food,
while green plants make their own food using sunlight.
• Living things grow: A tiny baby grows into an adult. A small seed grows into a giant tree. Non-living things like
toys or rocks never grow.
• Living things move: Animals move from place to place to look for food and stay safe from danger. Plants
cannot walk, but they show small movements, like a sunflower turning toward the Sun.
• Living things feel: When we touch something hot, we pull our hand back instantly. Animals feel heat, cold, and
pain. Some plants, like the Touch-me-not plant, close their leaves tightly when touched.
• Living things reproduce: They produce babies of their own kind. Humans and many animals give birth to
babies, birds lay eggs, and plants produce seeds to grow into new plants.

Non-Living Things: Things that do not breathe, do not need food, do not grow, do not move on their own, do
not feel, and do not reproduce (e.g., tables, pencils, cars, mountains).

Chapter 2: Parts of a Plant

Just like our body has different parts, a plant has different organs that do special jobs. A plant has two main parts:
the Root System (under the ground) and the Shoot System (above the ground).

2.1 The Root System

Roots grow deep inside the soil. Their main jobs are to hold the plant firmly in the ground and absorb water and
minerals from the soil. Roots are divided into two types:

• Tap Root: One thick main root that grows straight down, with smaller roots growing out of its sides (e.g., carrot,
radish, mustard).

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 • Fibrous Root: A bunch of many tiny, thin roots that look like a cluster and grow together from the base of the
stem (e.g., grass, rice, onion).

2.2 The Shoot System

The shoot system contains the parts we can see above the ground:

1. The Stem: The backbone of the plant. It holds the plant straight and carries water and food up and down from
the roots to the leaves. Stems can be soft and green (herbs) or thick, hard, and woody (trunks of trees).
2. The Leaf: Known as the kitchen of the plant. Leaves are green because of a substance called chlorophyll.
They use sunlight, air, and water to cook food for the plant.
3. Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds: Flowers are the most colorful and beautiful part of a plant. Flowers grow into juicy
fruits, and fruits protect the seeds inside them. A seed contains a baby plant inside it.

Chapter 3: Eating Habits of Animals

Animals cannot make their own food like plants. They must eat plants or other animals to survive and get energy.

3.1 Categories of Animals Based on Food

Type of
What They Eat Special Body Feature Examples
Animal

Only plants, grass, and Sharp front biting teeth; flat back grinding Cow, goat, rabbit,
Herbivores
fruits teeth. deer

Sharp, curved, pointed teeth or claws to Lion, tiger, wolf,

Carnivores Flesh of other animals
tear flesh. eagle

A mix of teeth suited for eating all types of Human, bear, crow,
Omnivores Both plants and flesh
food. dog

3.2 How Animals Eat

Different animals have different ways of taking in food:

• Chewing the Cud: Cows and sheep swallow their food quickly without chewing much. Later, they bring it back
up into their mouth and sit quietly to chew it smoothly for a long time.
• Gnawing: Animals like rabbits and rats have very sharp front teeth to bite into hard nuts and seeds. This is
called gnawing.
• Swallowing Whole: Snakes and frogs do not chew their food because they do not have chewing teeth. They
swallow their prey entirely whole.
• Sucking: Butterflies have a long, thin straw-like pipe in their mouth to suck sweet juice (nectar) from flowers.
Mosquitoes and leeches suck blood.

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Chapter 4: Birds — Feathers, Beaks, and Feet

Birds are unique flying animals with feathers, wings, beaks, and no teeth.

4.1 Types of Feathers

A bird's body is covered in hundreds of feathers. They have three main types of feathers:

1. Down Feathers: Small, soft, and fluffy feathers that sit close to the skin to keep the bird's body warm.
2. Body Feathers: Give the bird its nice shape and cover its body.
3. Flight Feathers: Long, strong feathers found on the wings and tail that help the bird lift off and steer in the sky.

4.2 Beaks and Their Shapes

Birds do not have teeth, so they use their hard beaks to catch food and eat it:

• Short, hard, pointed beak: For crushing hard grains and seeds (e.g., sparrow, pigeon).
• Sharp, hooked beak: For tearing the flesh of small animals (e.g., eagle, vulture).
• Chisel-shaped beak: For poking holes into hard tree trunks to find hidden insects (e.g., woodpecker).
• Broad, flat beak with holes: For scooping up muddy water, letting the water leak out of the side holes while
keeping small fish and worms inside (e.g., duck).

Chapter 5: Our Body — An Amazing Machine

Our body is made of many parts working together. It contains basic building blocks called cells, which join together
to make tissues and organs.

5.1 Organ Systems

Groups of internal organs that work together to do a major job form an organ system:

• Skeletal System: A framework of bones that gives shape and support to our body, protecting our soft inner
organs.
• Muscular System: Made of muscles attached to our bones, helping our body move around.
• Digestive System: Breaks down the food we eat into simple nutrients so our body can absorb them for energy.
• Respiratory System: Helps us breathe air in and out. It includes the nose, windpipe, and lungs.
• Circulatory System: The heart pumps blood through thin tubes to carry food and oxygen to all parts of the
body.
• Nervous System: Made of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. It controls everything we do, like thinking,
learning, and feeling pain.

5.2 Our Five Sense Organs

Sense organs help us see and feel the world around us. We have five sense organs:

1. Eyes: Help us see colors, shapes, and sizes of things.

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2. Ears: Help us hear soft, loud, sweet, or sharp sounds.
3. Nose: Helps us smell good perfumes or bad, stinky waste air, and helps us breathe.
4. Tongue: Helps us taste food (Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter) and helps us speak.
5. Skin: Covers our whole body and helps us feel touch, heat, cold, and pain.

Chapter 6: Housing, Clothing, and Safety

We need a safe place to live and proper clothes to protect ourselves from the outside environment.

6.1 Types of Houses

• Kutcha Houses: Made of mud, straw, wood, and dry leaves. They are found mostly in villages, are not very
strong, and are temporary (e.g., huts).
• Pucca Houses: Made of strong bricks, cement, iron rods, and stone. They are found mostly in cities, are very
strong, and are permanent (e.g., bungalows, apartments).
• Special Houses:
◦ Igloos: Made of hard blocks of ice and snow, built in freezing places.
◦ Houseboats: Floating wooden houses built on lakes for tourists.
◦ Caravans: Houses on wheels that can move from place to place.

6.2 Safety Rules

Important Safety Rules to Follow:

1. At Home: Never play with sharp items like knives or scissors. Do not touch electric switches or wires with
wet hands.
2. On the Road: Always walk on the footpath. Cross the busy road only at the zebra crossing when the traffic
light turns green for pedestrians.
3. In School: Do not run up or down the stairs. Do not climb or jump on desks and chairs.

Chapter 7: Water and Weather

Water is essential for life, and it changes its form constantly due to changes in the weather.

7.1 Three Forms of Water

Water is a unique substance that exists in three physical forms: Ice (Solid), Water (Liquid), and Water Vapor /
Steam (Gas).

• Melting: Heating solid ice turns it into liquid water.

• Evaporation: Heating liquid water turns it into invisible water vapor gas.
• Condensation: Cooling hot water vapor turns it back into liquid water drops.
• Freezing: Cooling liquid water inside a freezer turns it into solid ice.

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 7.2 The Water Cycle
In nature, the water in rivers, lakes, and oceans is continually heated by the hot Sun. This water changes into water
vapor gas and rises high into the sky through evaporation. Up in the cold sky, it cools down and forms tiny water
drops through condensation, creating clouds. When the clouds get too heavy with water, they fall back down to the
Earth as rain. This continuous natural cycle is called the Water Cycle.

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