Chapter 01

The Wonderful World of Science

Science:
Science is a way of thinking, observing and doing things to understand the world we live in
and uncover the secrets of the universe.

Scientific method:
The way to find out the real reason behind of anything is known as scientific method.
Science explains by the help of Scientific methods.

Scientists: Those people who follow the scientific method to solve problems or to discover
new things are known as scientists.
Scientist are solved many mysteries and explore the unknown and make life easier.

Curiosity: Curiosity is the mother of science.

Curiosity is very necessary to understand anything around us. Whenever we see things around
us, there is always something a new and exciting to discover.
For learning science, we have to be curious about asking questions, what, how and why?

Importance of science:
1). Science helps us to solve many mysteries. Learning science develops the capabilities to
finding solutions.
2). Science is everywhere.
Eg. Like ocean, mountains, desert, space, cooking in the kitchen, playground, houses, forest,
rainfall, etc. Science explains about them.
The transformation of caterpillar into a butterfly, seed germination and grow into a plant,
chicks convert into adults etc.
3). Science is like a giant and unending jigsaw puzzle.
4). Science provides the knowledge. Every new knowledge leads to more questions and things
to find out.
5). Science explains about the life, plants and animals.
6). Any new discovery is possible by science.

7). Science explains about life processes (breathing, respiration, digestion, excretion,
reproduction).
8). Science helps us find answers

1
to our questions following a step-by-step process. Ex. Observation, experiment, analysis etc.
9). Science is done in a team. All the scientist across the world work together.

*Remember it:
Enjoying the things around us, science is all about joyful exploration, enjoy the observation
around and never stop wondering about the amazing mysteries of the universe and asking
questions.
***

Chapter 02
Diversity in the Living World
Diversity:
There are different kinds of plants and animals around us. These different kind of life forms
are known as diversity.

Biodiversity: All the forms of plants and animals are termed as biodiversity.
Flora: All the plants are known as flora.
Fauna: All the animals are known as fauna.
Observation of different animals around us:
Name of the Place where Food they Eat They way they Any other
Animal they Live move Around observations
and Features
Crow Tree Insects, eggs, Fly and walk Carrying a twig
Roti in its beak.
Ant Nest in soil and Leaves, seeds, Walk They found
burrow insects everywhere.
Cow House Leaves, fodder, Walk They give milk.
grains, oilcakes.
Frog Water and land Insects Swim and jump They are called
both amphibians.
Insects Dark places Nectar, blood Fly
Turtle Land and water Insects, worms, Swim and walk
snails, small
fish, some fruits
Housefly Houses Rotting food, Fly They can walk.
over-ripe fruits,
feces.
Butterfly Plants Nectar Fly They are very
colorful.

2
 Snake Burrows Small birds, Slithering They have not
frogs, rats, legs.
lizards and eggs.

Plants:
• The organisms which have roots, stem, branches, leaves and flowers are
called plants.
• Plants are autotrophic which can synthesis their food themselves.

Fig: Parts of the plant

Grouping of the plants:

Plants can be divided on the basis of their…. Types of leaves, flowers, stems, roots, heights
and types of seeds.
Moreover, the thickness, hardness of the stem, leaves shape, colour, size and arrangement
are also helpful to categories them.

Table: Grouping of plants based on height and nature of stem.

S. Name of Height Nature of the stem Appearance of Plant
No the plant (Short/ branches group
. Medium
Green/Br Tender/Har Thick/Thi Close Highe
/
own d n to the r up
Tall)
groun on
d the
stem
1. Mango Tall Brown Hard Thick - Yes Tree
2. Rose Medium Brown Hard Thin Yes - Shrub
3. Tomato Short Green Tender Thin Yes - Herb
4. Neem Tall Brown Hard Thick - Yes Tree
5. Chili Short Green Tender Thin Yes - Herb

3
 6. China rose Medium Brown Hard Thin Yes - Shrub
7. Money Tall Green Tender Thin - - Climb
plant er
8. Watermel Short Green Tender Thin - - Creep
on er

Types of plants:
When we see around us, we find different kinds of plants.
These different kinds of plants can be divided in to five categories.
1). Trees:
The plants with hard, woody, thick stem and tall height are called trees.
The branches of the trees start higher up on the stem and away from the ground.
Height of the trees: Mainly more than 10 meters.

Examples: Mango, Neem, Peepal, Banyan, Guava, Babool, Khejri, Royal Palm, Gulmohar,
Drumstick, Almond etc.

2). Shrubs:
The plants which are hard but not thick as trees are called
shrubs.
The branches of shrubs start from the close to the ground.
Height of the shrubs: More than 1 m to 5 meters.

Examples: Rose, Lemon, China rose, Jasmine etc.

Fig: A Shrub plant

3). Herbs:
Some plants with small, soft and green stems are called herbs.
Branches of these plants are rises from the lower.

Fig: Some herb plants

4
The height of herbs is lower than 1 meter.
Ex. Tomato, Spinach, Coriander, Mint, Tulsi etc.

4). Climbers:
Some plants with weak stems need support to climb and grow are called climbers.
Ex. Money plants, Pumpkin, Bottle guard etc.

5). Creepers:
Some plants creep along the ground are called creepers.

Example: Water melon, Musk melon, Cucumber, Dhoob grass etc.

Leaf-venation:
The distribution of lateral veins giving the special structure to the leaf, this is called leaf-
venation.

There are two types of leaf-venations.

1). Reticulate leaf-venation:

The net like structure is made by veins in the leaf is
called reticulate leaf-venation.

Reticulate leaf-venation is found in most of trees and

Dicot plants.
Eg. Mango, Hibiscus (China rose), Neem, Jackfruits,
Banyan, Peepal, Chilli, Tomato etc.
Fig: Reticulate leaf-venation

2). Parallel leaf-venation

The leaf-venation in which the lateral veins are parallel to
the midrib, is called parallel leaf-venation.
Eg. All grasses, Banana, Palm, Bamboo, Date palm, Wheat,
Rice, Corn etc.
Fig: Parallel leaf-venation

Roots:
• Roots are found in the below the ground.
• These go down deep in the surface.

Types of the roots:

5
Roots are two types. (1) Taproot (2) Fibrous root

1). Taproot:
The root which has a main root and some smaller roots in its lateral
is called taproot.
• The smaller root is called lateral root.

• Lateral roots are thread-like structure.

• But these are very important in absorption of water and

minerals.
Fig: Taproot

Ex. The roots of most of trees.

Ex. Mango, Peepal, Chilli, Jackfruit, Neem etc.

2). Fibrous root:

The root which do not have any main branch but have small and
dense is called fibrous root.

• The roots of Monocot plants are fibrous roots.

Ex. Grasses, Wheat, Rice, Corn, Bamboo, Date palm etc.

Fig: Fibrous root

Importance of roots:
i). Roots absorb water and minerals from the soil.
ii). Roots help in holding the plant firmly in the soil.
iii). They are said to anchor the plant to soil.
iv). Some roots store the food. These roots are edible.
Eg. Carrot, radish, sweet potato, turnip and tapioca etc.

Important facts:
*The plant which has reticulate leaf-venation, its type of root will Taproot.

*The plant which has parallel leaf-venation, its type of root will Fibrous.

Table: Types of leaf-venation and roots.

S. Name of Plant Types of leaf-venation Type of root
No. (Reticulate/Parallel) (Taproot/Fibrous)
1. Lemon grass Parallel Fibrous

6
 2. Mango Reticulate Taproot
3. Neem Reticulate Taproot
4. Grasses Parallel Fibrous
5. Hibiscus Reticulate Taproot
6. Sadabahar Reticulate Taproot
7. Chickpea (Chana) Reticulate Taproot

Types of seed: Two types.

i). Monocots (Monocotyledons)
ii). Dicots (Dicotyledons)

i). Monocots:
The seed which cannot be split into two parts are called monocots.
Examples: Maize, wheat, rice, millet etc.
These plants are known as monocot plants.

These plants have parallel leaf-venation and fibrous roots.

ii). Dicots:
The seeds which can split into two parts are called dicots.
Examples: All pulses (Chickpea/Chana, Moong, Arhar etc.), Mustard, Coriander etc.
These plants are known as dicot plants.
These plants have reticulate leaf-venation and taproots.

Remember it:
S. Type of leaf- Type of root Type of Example
NO. venation seed
1. Reticulate Taproot Dicot Mustards, all pulses
2. Parallel Fibrous Monocot All grains (wheat,
rice, millet, maize)

Grouping of the animals:

7
Animals are categorized by their movement, shape, size, structure, colour, and other features.
Some other base of their grouping by their living places (habitats), food habits etc.
Let’s observe the movement of different kinds of animals.

Table: Movements in animals and their body parts involved.

S. No. Name of the animal Type of movement Body parts used for
movement
1. Ant Walks Legs
2. Goat Walks and jumps Legs
3. Pigeon Walks and flies Legs and wings
4. Housefly Flies Legs and wings
5. Fish Swims Fins
6. Turtle Swims and walk Legs
7. Frog Swims and jumps Legs
8. Snake Slithers Whole body (muscles)
9. Insects Flies Wings
10. Octopus Swims Arms
11. Snail Crawls Foot
12. Kangaroo/rabbit Hops Legs

Some Important Notes:

A). Habitat:
The place where plants and animals live is called their habitat.

Types of habitat:
Two types.
i). Terrestrial habitats
ii). Aquatic habitats
i). Terrestrial habitats
The land where plants and animals live are called terrestrial habitats.

Terrestrial habitats may be many kinds.

Ex. Forests, Deserts, Mountains, Grasslands, Coastal, man-made (agriculture fields) etc.
Some special characteristics (features) of Desert habitats:

• They are very hot during the day and very cold at night.

8
 • The plants and animals of these areas can tolerate and survive in these conditions.

Some special characteristics (features) of Desert habitats:

• Mountains are extremely cold regions with occur snowfall.

ii). Aquatic habitats
The water where plants and animals live are called terrestrial habitats.
Ex. Ponds, Lake, Swamps, Rivers, Sea, Oceans etc.

Table: Animals and Plants found in different surroundings (habitats):

S. In the Desert On Mountains In the In the Forest Pond/Lake
No. Ocean (Grassland)
1. Camel Mountain Goat Fish Lion Frog
2. Snake Snow Leopard Shark Deer Turtle
3. Rat Sheep Whale Hare Duck
4. Cactus Deodar tree Hydrilla Wild mango Algae
plant
5. Babool Rhododendrons - Sal Weeds

Importance of habitats:
i). A habitat provides air, water, food, shelter and other needs to the plants and animals.
ii). Habitat plays an important role in shaping the biodiversity of a particular area.

B). Amphibians:
The plants and animals that live in both places land and water are called amphibians.
Ex. Plants: Mosses, Liverworts etc.

Animals: Frogs, Toads, Hyla, Salamanders etc.

C). Adaptations:
The special features that enables plants and animals to survive in a particular region are called
adaptations.
Different animals and plants have different adaptations to live in their habitats.

9
Adaptations in some animals:
i). Adaptation in Fish/whales: These live in water.
They have streamlined body and fins which helps them to swim in water.

ii). Goats that live on grassy and plain areas:

They move with the help of legs.

iii). Goats that live on mountain areas:

They have strong hooves to walk and run on rocky areas and slopes of mountain.
They have also dense and long hairs which protect them from cold.

iv). Camel that live in hot desert (Rajasthan):

They have some special features as follows:

• They have long legs. Long legs protect them from heat.
• They have also wide hooves which help them walking and
running on sand.
• Camel have one hump. They store extra food in their humps.
Humps help to survive the scarcity of food.

• Camel have long neck which reach to branches of trees.

• Camel can drink a lot of water in one time and can live without water for longer
days.

v). Camel that live in cold desert (Ladakh):

Camel of cold desert have some special features as follows:

• They have two humps. They store some extra food on them. Humps help them to
survive in the winter when food not available easily.

10
 • Long hair from head to neck protects from cold.
• The legs of these camel are shorter which help them to walk
easily in mountains.

Adaptations in some plants:

i). Adaptations in Trees of mountains:
These trees care conical in shape and have flexible and sloping branches.
Ex. Deodar, Christmas tree, Pinus tree etc.

ii). Adaptations in Cactus (desert plant):

• Cactus plants have thick and fleshy stems which store water.
• Cactus plant does not loose water easily through transpiration.

iii). Adaptations in Rhododendrons:

a). Rhododendrons are found in the forest of Nigiris (South India).

• They have beautiful bright flowers.

• They are shorter height and have smaller leaves to survive through the heavy winds
on mountain tops.
b). Rhododendrons of the mountains of Sikkim:
These Rhododendrons are teller.

*Remember it:
Some same plants or animals may exhibit different features in different regions to survive the
conditions of those regions.

D). Sacred Groves:

The traditionally protected forests by local people are known as scared groves.
These may be small or large. Local people protect them. In these forests, there are different
kinds of plants (including medicinal plants) and animals found. These are found all over India.
Local people do not cut the trees and not harm the animals. These are their collective
responsibilities.
In Rajasthan these are locally known as Bani or Auran.

E). Project Tiger:

In India, project tiger was launched in 1973 for protecting the tigers.

F). Cheetah Re-introduction Project:

It was initiated in 2022.

11
G). The Great Indian Bustard:
It is state bird of Rajasthan. It is found in desert Rajasthan. It is also protected by in their
habitats. Because it is going to declined due to over-hunting.

H). Salim Ali:

Salim Ali was most popular bird specialist of India. He is also known as “Birdman of India”. He
wrote 10 books on birds. He worked in Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur), Ranganathittu
Bird Sanctuary, MP and Karnataka etc.

I). Silent Valley:

It was a real story of a forest in the kerala. Where local people protect the forest and make it
biodiversity reach forest.

J). Janaki Ammal:

She was an Indian Botanist who worked for preservation of plant biodiversity.
***

Chapter 03
Mindful Eating: A Path to a Healthy Body

We all eat food everyday and food is very essential part of our life. Without food, we are
unable to survive for long time.

Food in different regions:

Table: Some Traditional Food Items in various States of our country.
S. State Locally Grown Traditional Food Beverages
No. Crops Items Eaten
1. Punjab Maize, Whaet, Makki di Roti, Lassi, Chhach
Chickpea (Chana), Sarson da Saag, (buttermilk),
Pulses Chhole Bhature, Milk, Tea.
Parantha, Halwa,
Kheer
2. Rajasthan Bajra (millet), Wheat, Daal Bati aur Chhach, Rabri,
Pulses, Mustard Churma, Khichri
Rajre ki Roti
3. Karnataka Rice, Ragi, Urad, Idli, Dosa, Sambhar, Buttermilk,
Coconut Coconut chutney, Coffee, tea
Ragi Mudde, Palya,
Rasam, Rice

12
 4. Manipur Rice, Bamboo, Soya Rice, eromba Black tea
bean (chutney), Utti
(Yellow peas and
green onion curry),
Singju, Kangsoi

Nutrients
The components which are needed by our body are called nutrients.
Nutrients are found in ingredients of food. Ingredients may be get from plants and animals
both.

Components (nutrients) of the Food:

i). Carbohydrates ii). Fats, iii). Proteins, iv). Vitamins, v). Minerals

i). Carbohydrates- Energy giving foods

• Carbohydrates are the main sources of our food.
• We include it in our food more than other components of the food.
• It mainly provides energy. So, carbohydrates are also called Energy giving foods.
Food Source of carbohydrates:
Wheat, rice, millet, maize, mango, watermelon, muskmelon, Potato, sugarcane, sweet
potato, papaya, banana, pineapple etc.

Fig: Food Source of carbohydrates:

ii). Fats- Energy giving food

• Fats are the sources of the energy to our body.
• Fats provide much energy than carbohydrates.
• So, along with carbohydrates, fats are called Energy giving foods.

Source of fats are two types:

13
i). Plant sources; ii). Animal sources
i). Plant sources: These are obtained from plants and their products.
• Examples- Oils (mustard, olive, sunflower, coconut, soybean, til etc.), nuts (almond,
cashew), groundnuts etc.
ii). Animal sources: These are obtained from animals and their products.
• Examples- Milk, butter, ghee, cream, fish, meat, eggs etc.

Fig: Plant sources of fat Fig: Animal sources of fat

iii). Proteins- Body Building Food

• Proteins are needed for the growth and repair of our body.

• Foods containing proteins are often called Body building foods.

Sources of proteins- Two types

i). Plant sources:
All pulses (Chana, Moong, Urd, Arhar, Tuar), Pea, Beans, Soybeans, Groundnuts etc.
ii) Animal sources:
Eggs, milk, paneer, fish, meat etc.

Fig: Plant sources of proteins Fig: Animal sources of proteins

14
15