All living organisms require food.

The food gives energy to the organisms for

growth and maintenance of their body functions. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats,
vitamins and minerals are the components of food. These components of food
are necessary for our body and are called nutrients.

Nutrition is the process of taking food by an organism and its utilisation by the
body. Green plants prepare their own food while humans and animals are directly
or indirectly dependent on plants for their food.

Modes of Nutrition
On the basis of a different mode of nutrition, organisms are categorised into two
major types, i.e.

(i) Autotrophs (auto-self, trobpos-nourishment) Autotrophic nutrition is the

mode of nutrition in which organisms make their own food from the simple
substance (e.g. CO2 and H2O) by the process of photosynthesis. Therefore,
plants are called autotrophs.

(ii) Heterotrophs (heteros-other) Humans and animals do not contain

chlorophyll and are dependent on plants for their food in readymade form. Those
organisms which cannot prepare their own food and take food from green plants
or animals are called heterotrophs and the mode of nutrition is called
heterotrophic nutrition.

Photosynthesis: Food Making Process in Plants

The process by which autotrophic green plants make their own food from simple
inorganic substances (carbon dioxide and water) in the presence of sunlight and
green pigment or chlorophyll is known as photosynthesis.

Site of Photosynthesis
The process of photosynthesis takes place in green leaves, therefore leaves are
referred to as the food factories of plants. The. the photosynthetic process can
occur in other green parts of the plant-like stem but is not enough for meeting all
the needs of the plant.

Reactions Involved in Photosynthesis

The whole process of photosynthesis can be given by the following equation:
Cells
All living organisms are made from small building units of catted cells. Cells are
the structural and functional units of the body of all living organisms. They can
only be seen under a microscope. The cell has a thin outer boundary called cell
membrane, a distinct, centrally located spherical structure called nucleus and
jelly-the substance surrounding the nucleus called cytoplasm.

The inorganic raw material, i.e. CO2 is taken from the air through the tiny pores
present on the surface of leaves called stomata and water is absorbed through
the roots of plants (from the soil) and is transported to leaves by vessels which
act like pipes. These vessels form the continuous path from roots to leaves for
the movement of nutrients.

Green plants possess chlorophyll in their leaves which captures the energy of the
sunlight. This light energy is used to prepare food (starch). During the process,
oxygen is also released. Photosynthesis is the unique process in which solar
energy is captured by the leaves and stored in the plants in the form of food.
Thus, ‘Sun is the ultimate source of energy for all the living organisms.’

Products of Photosynthesis
The food produced by the process of photosynthesis is mainly carbohydrate. It
produces glucose as food material which later gets converted into starch. The
presence of starch in leaves indicates the occurrence of photosynthesis.
Importance of Photosynthesis
If the plants do not perform photosynthesis, there would be no food on earth.
Photosynthesis is also necessary for the production of oxygen gas in the
atmosphere which is necessary for the respiration of organisms. Therefore, it can
be said that no life is possible in the absence of photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis in Leaves of Various Colours

In green pants, chlorophyll absorbs light energy from the sun to perform
photosynthesis. Besides some green colour plants like Croton, maple, Colocasia,
etc., have leaves that are red, brown, violet colour (variegated). These colours are
present in large amounts and masks the green colour of chlorophyll in leaves.
Thus, these leaves also perform photosynthesis and synthesise starch in them.

Synthesis of Plant Food other than Carbohydrates

The starch or glucose is the simplest form of carbohydrate synthesised by the
plants which is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Sometimes these
simplest forms of carbohydrate are utilised to synthesise other food nutrients like
fats (oils), proteins, etc. Starch or glucose is rich in seeds like wheat, rice and
various parts of plants like potato tuber. Sometimes the starch or glucose is
stored in the form of oil in their seeds (oilseed), e.g. sunflower seed.

When the plant nutrient contains, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen along with
nitrogen elements, it is called protein. The element nitrogen comes from soil in
the form of nitrate by the actions of some bacteria present in soil and forms
amino acid which is then converted into proteins. Therefore, plants also make
fats and proteins as their food.
Other Modes of Nutrition in Plants
There are some plants which do not contain chlorophyll in them and thus, cannot
prepare their own food. These plants obtain their food from other plants or
animal, i.e. they are heterotrophic in nature.

Parasitic Plants
A parasitic plant is one that lines inside or outside the other organism and derive
their food from them. The plant (non-green) which obtains their food from other
organism is called a parasite and the living organism from whose body, food is
obtained is called host, e.g. amarbel or Cuscuta. It takes readymade food from
host through special type of roots called sucking roots which penetrate into host
plant and suck food material from the host.

Insectivorous Plants
There are some plants which can trap insects and digest them for their nutrition.
These plants are green in colour but lack nitrogen elements. To overcome this
problem, these plants eat insects. Hence they are called insectivorous plant or
carnivorous plants. These have specialised leaves, the apex of which forms a lid
that can open and close the mouth of pitcher. There are hair inside the pitcher
which are used to entangle the insects.

When an insect comes in contact of the lid, it gets closed and traps the insects.
The insect inside the pitcher is digested by digestive juices secreted by the
pitcher to obtain nitrogen compounds (amino acids) from them.
e.g. pitcher plant, sundew, Venus flytrap and bladderwort.
Since these can synthesise their own food but fulfil their nitrogen deficiency by
eating insects, therefore these are called as partial heterotrophs.

Saprotrophic Plants
The mode of nutrition in which organisms take their nutrients from dead and
decaying matter is called saprotrophic nutrition.
Plants which use the saprotrophic mode of nutrition are called saprotrophs, e.g.
fungi like mushrooms are non-green plants that grow on the dead and decaying
matter for their food. Bread moulds (fungi) and yeast are saprophytic plants.

Symbiotic Plants
Sometimes, two plants of different species live together and help each other in
obtaining food and shelter. This association is called symbiosis and such plants
are called symbiotic plants.
The relationship in which two different organisms live together and share shelter
and nutrients is called symbiotic relationship, e.g. lichens and Rhizobium.

Lichen is an association in which algae and a fungus live together. The fungus
provides shelter, water and minerals to the algae and in return, the algae provide
food which it prepares by photosynthesis.

Replenishment of Nutrients in Soil

Crops require a lot of nitrogen to make proteins. After the harvest, the soil
becomes deficient in nitrogen. Plants cannot use the nitrogen gas available in the
atmosphere directly. The action of certain bacteria can convert this nitrogen into
a form readily used by plants. Rhizobium bacteria live in the root nodules of
leguminous plants. These bacteria take nitrogen gas from the atmosphere and
convert it into water-soluble nitrogen compounds making it available to the
leguminous plants for their growth.
In return, leguminous plants provide food and shelter to the bacteria as
Rhizobium cannot prepare its food. They, thus have a symbiotic relationship. This
association is very important for the farmers, as they do not need to add nitrogen
fertilisers to the soil in which leguminous plants are grown.
 All animals require food for obtaining energy, growth, repair of damaged parts
and functioning of the body. The process of taking food by an animal and its
utilisation in the body is called animal nutrition.

Plants can prepare their own food by the process of photosynthesis but animals
get their food from plants, either directly by eating plants or indirectly by eating
other animals that eat plants. Some animals eat both plants and other animals.

Animal nutrition includes nutrient requirements mode of intake of food and its
utilisation in the body.

The components of food such as carbohydrates are complex substances which

cannot be utilised by the body. So, they are broken down into simpler
substances. The process of breakdown of complex components of food into
simpler substances is called digestion. There are two methods of digesting food,
i.e. physical method (including chewing and grinding of food in mouth) and
chemical method (addition of digestive juices to the food by the body itself).

Different Ways of Taking Food

Different types of animals show different modes of nutrition. Some animals filter
tiny food particles and feed upon them, while some swollen the animals they prey
upon. The mode of nutrition in different animals depends upon the special
structure or organ for taking food inside the body.

Various modes of feeding in different Animals

Name of the animal Kinds of food Modes of feeding

Snail Algae Scraping from rocks

Ant Plant material and other animals Biting and chewing

Eagle Flesh of prey Tearing

Humming Bird Nectar from flower Sucking

Lice Blood from the skin of scalp Sucking

Mosquito Blood from animals Sucking

Butterfly Nectar from flower Syphoning

Housefly Filth and refuses Sucking

Amoeba Tiny aquatic animals Capturing and Swallowing

Snake (Python) Animal as a whole Swallowing

Starfish
It is a marine animal which is covered by hard shells of calcium carbonate. It has
a unique mode of nutrition. It opens the shell of its prey and pops out its stomach
through its mouth surrounding the soft body of its prey. The starfish after
capturing its prey brings bach its stomach inside its own body. This food is then
digested slowly by starfish.

Digestion in Humans
The food components pass through a continuous canal and get digested in each
compartment. This is called an alimentary canal, it is ‘the tract or canal running
from mouth to anus of human being where digestion and absorption of food take
place.’
The alimentary canal can be divided into various compartments:

 The buccal cavity

 Food pipe or oesophagus
 Stomach
 Small intestine
 Large intestine ending in the rectum
 The anus

The main digestive glands which secrete digestive juices are

 salivary gland
 liver
 pancreas

Various processes involved in utilisation of food in humans are

 The process of taking food into the body is called ingestion.

 The process by which the food containing large insoluble substances is
broken down into small water-soluble substances is called digestion. There
are two methods of digesting food, i.e. physical method (including chewing
and grinding of food in mouth) and chemical method (addition of digestive
juices to the food by the body itself).
 The process by which the digested food passes through the intestinal wall
into the bloodstream is called absorption.
 The process by which the absorbed food is taken in body cells and used for
energy, growth and repair is called assimilation.
 The process by which the undigested food is removed from the body is
called egestion.

Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are large insoluble substances which cannot
pass through the walls of our intestine and get absorbed in that form. Therefore,
these substances are broken down into small water-soluble substances. This is
done by the process of digestion.

The carbohydrates get broken down into simple sugar called glucose, while fats
in fatty acid and glycerol and proteins get broken down into amino acids during
digestion. These simpler compounds are easily absorbed by the walls of small
intestine into the blood.

Human Digestive System

The system that consists of the digestive tract along with glands is called the
digestive system. Now, let us know what happens to the food in different parts of
the digestive tract.

1. Mouth and Buccal Cavity

The process of ingestion starts from the mouth or buccal cavity. As we ingest,
food the salivary glands present in the mouth start its digestion. The teeth
present in the buccal cavity cut the food into small pieces by chewing and
grinding it. Salivary glands secrete a watery liquid, saliva. This saliva contains
digestive enzymes which help in partial digestion of food (starch). The tongue
helps in mixing saliva with food. This partially digested food is swallowed by the
tongue and passed down to oesophagus or food pipe.

Teeth
The food is cut by the teeth inside the mouth. Teeth mechanically break the food
into small pieces. These teeth vary in appearance. Each tooth is rooted in a
separate socket in the gums.
There are four types of teeth:

 Incisors These are four chisel-shaped incisors at centre of each jaw for
biting and cutting the food.
 Canines These are two large pointed teeth just behind incisors in each jaw,
for piercing and tearing the food.
 Premolars These are four (two on each side) large premolars with the flat
surface behind the canines in each jaw, for grinding and chewing.
 Molars In an adult, these are six (three on each side) large molars with the
flat surface behind the premolars in each jaw, for grinding.

Milk Teeth and Permanent Teeth

In human beings, teeth grow twice. The sets of teeth that grow during infancy
(when one is a small baby), are called milh teeth. These are also called as
temporary teeth. These teeth get loosen and fall off at the age of 6-8 years. When
milh teeth fall off, a new sets of teeth grow in their place. This second set of teeth
is called permanent teeth because these remain till the old age. But if these teeth
fall down, no new teeth arise on its place.

Sweets and Tooth Decay

The tooth is covered by white, hard outer covering of tooth called enamel below
which dentine is present. It is similar to bone which protects the pulp cavity
having nerves and blood vessels. Bacteria are present in our mouth but they are
not harmful to us. However, if we do not clean our teeth and mouth after eating,
many harmful bacteria also begin to live and grow in it. These bacteria breakdown
the sugars present from the leftover food and release acids. The acids gradually
damage the teeth. This is called tooth decay.

Therefore, tooth decay is defined as the process of rotting of tooth and formation
of cavity or holes in it which leads to the toothache.

When the holes or cavity reaches to the pulp cavity, it causes pain. If these
cavities are not treated on time it causes severe toothache and may result in
tooth loss.
Tooth decay can be prevented by adopting the following measures.

 One should rinse and clean its teeth thoroughly after every meal.
 We should clean our teeth with the help of datun or brush and toothpaste,
twice a day.
 We should use dental floss which is a special strong thread. It is moved
between two teeth to take out trapped food particles.
 Dirty fingers or unwashed objects must be avoided to put in the
 We should avoid the use of sweets, chocolates, toffees, ice-cream, be
avoided.

Tongue
It is a muscular organ attached at the back to the floor of the buccal cavity. It is
free from the front and can help in mixing saliva with the food, swallowing the
food, talking or speaking and tasting with the help of taste buds for sweet, salt,
sour and bitter food. Salivary glands secrete saliva which breaks down starch
into sugars.

2. The food pipe or Oesophagus

It is the tube-like structure which connects the mouth to the stomach and runs
along neck and chest. It carries slightly digested food from the mouth to the
stomach. Food is pushed downward by a wave like movement of the wall of
foodpipe as a result of alternate contraction and relaxation. This movement is
called peristalsis.

The chewed food that enters the oesophagus from mouth and is passed down to
stomach is called bolus.
Sometimes, food is not accepted by our stomach and is vomited out because the
food moves in the opposite direction, i.e. from stomach to mouth by anti-
peristaltic movement in oesophagus.

Our windpipe (that carries air from nostril to our lungs) and foodpipe runs
adjacent to each other. Air and food share a common passage in the throat. When
we swallow food, a flap-like valve closes the passage of the windpipe and guides
the food into the foodpipe. But if we laugh or talk while eating, the windpipe
remains open and food particle enters into the windpipe and we experience
hiccups, cough or choking si characteristic ‘gulping sound’ repeatedly and
coughing clears the blockage of windpipe

3. The Stomach
The stomach was first discovered by an American doctor William Beaumont in
1822 accidentally in the man named Alexis St. Martin. It is a thick walled bag-like
structure which is present on the left side of the abdomen. Its shape is like
flattened U and it is the widest part of the alimentary canal. The semi-digested
food from oesophagus enters into stomach where further digestion takes place.

The churning of food into stomach takes place for three hours. The food is
broken down into smaller pieces and forms semi-solid paste. The inner lining of
stomach secretes mucus, hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes or juices. The
function of mucus is to protect the lining of stomach from the action of
hydrochloric acid. The secretion of hydrochloric acid makes the medium acidic
inside the stomach. It kills the harmful bacteria present in the food and also helps
in the digestion of proteins in the stomach. The partially digested food which
moves from stomach to the small intestine is called chyme.

4. The Small Intestine

It is highly coiled long tube with length of about 7.5 metres. The small intestine is
a narrow tube which receives secretions from the liver and pancreas. The wall of
small intestine also secretes digestive juices. The complete digestion of food
takes place inside the small intestine and the food components are also absorbed
here.

The largest gland of the body, i.e. liver is the reddish-brown coloured gland,
situated in the upper part of the abdomen on the right side. It secretes bile juices
which is stored in a sac-like structure called as gall bladder. The bile helps in the
digestion of fats. It breaks the fat molecules into tiny droplets so that its further
breakdown into simpler compounds, becomes easy. The complete digestion of
fats is done by pancreatic juice.

The pancreas is a large cream coloured gland which is located just below the
stomach and secretes pancreatic juices. It breaks down fats into simpler
compounds like fatty acid and glycerol, carbohydrate into simple sugars and
proteins into simpler amino acids. The intestinal juices secreted by the walls of
small intestine also help in the digestion of carbohydrate and proteins into
simpler and water soluble substance. Now, the food is said to be digested. This
digested food is now absorbed by the walls of small intestine.
Absorption in the Small Intestine
The blood vessels in the walls of the intestine absorb the digested and water
soluble substance to produce energy for growth and development of animals.
The inner walls of small intestine have thousands of finger-like outgrowths called
villi. These villi help in increasing the surface area of small intestine for the
absorption of digested food. Villi possess a network of thin and small blood
vessels close to its surface. These blood vessels absorb the digested food
material and transport it to the different organs of the body where these are used
to build repair the body and to provides energy.

The glucose breaks down into carbon dioxide and water and releases huge
amount of energy with the help of oxygen inside the cell. Fatty acid and glycerol
help in building the component of cells and form fats which is stored in the body
as food reserve while amino acid is used in growth and repair of the body. The
undigested food material is not absorbed by the small intestine and it passes
from here to the large intestine.

5. Large Intestine
It is a 1.5-meter long tube. It is wider and shorter than the small intestine. The
undigested semi-solid food is passed from small intestine to large intestine. The
large intestine absorbs water and salt from the undigested food. The remaining
waste material then passes to the rectum and remains there for some time in the
form of semi-solid faeces. This waste faecal matter is then removed through the
anus from the body by the process called egestion.

Diarrhoea
It is a condition in which a person passes out watery stools frequently. It is a
disease which is caused by an infection, food poisoning or indigestion. It usually
occurs In children and may be fatal. In this condition, there is a loss of water and
salts from the body of a person through frequent watery stools. This loss of water
from the body of a person through watery stool is called dehydration and it may
be fatal under severe conditions. Diarrhoea should never be neglected. In order to
prevent dehydration, the person suffering from diarrhoea should be given a
solution of sugar and salt in the clean water for several times in a day.

This solution is called Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS). The ORS makes up the
loss of water and salt in the body and sugar provides energy which helps in the
recovery of disease. The dehydration of body can be prevented during diarrhoea
by giving ORS solution regularly to the patients. In the mean time, the doctors
should be called for medicines to cure of diarrhoea.

Digestion in Grass-Eating Animals

The herbivorous animals such as cow, buffaloes, etc eat grass. These animals
quickly swallow the grass and store it in a part of stomach called rumen. The food
is not chewed completely. Rumen possess cellulose digesting bacteria which
breakdown the food by fermentation. This partially digested food or grass present
in the rumen of cow is called cud.

This cud is brought back into the mouth of the cow from the rumen into small
lumps and animal chews it again. This process is called rumination and animals
are called ruminants.

When this cud is thoroughly chewed in the mouth of the cow, it is swallowed
again. This time the chewed cud does not go back to rumen but enter into the
other compartments of cow’s stomach and then into the small intestine for
complete digestion and absorption of food. The cellulose digesting bacteria are
not present in the body of human being, therefore human beings and other
carnivore cannot digest cellulose present in plant food items.

Feeding and Digestion in Amoeba

Amoeba is a microscopic single-celled organism, which is found in pond water. It
is a very simple animal and cannot be seen by naked eyes. Amoeba has a cell
membrane, a rounded dense nucleus and many small bubble-like vacuoles in its
cytoplasm. These vacuoles are of two types, i.e. food vacuole and contractile
vacuole. Food vacuole contains food surrounded by water while contractile
vacuole contains liquid or water and controls water regulation activity in Amoeba.
Its shape is not fixed, i.e. it constantly changes its shape and position. The body
of Amoeba has finger-like projections, called pseudopodia or false feet. It
captures food and helps in locomotion of Amoeba.

The food of Amoeba are microscopic organisms like tiny plants and animals
present in pond water. When Amoeba senses its food, it pushes out pseudopodia
around the food particle and engulfs it. The two pseudopodia join around the
food particle and trap the food particle with a little water forming vacuole around
food, thus the food gets trapped. Digestive juices present inside the vacuole, acts
on the food and break it into simpler substances. This digested food is then
absorbed and is used for growth, maintenance and multiplication of Amoeba. The
undigested food residue is expelled outside by the vacuole. The basic process of
digestion of food and release of energy is as similar to the other organisms.
Fibres are very thin, thread-like strands from which fabrics (or cloths) are made.
Some examples of fibres are cotton, wool, silk, flax, jute, nylon, polyester and
polyacrylic. The fibres are spun into yarn (long continuous thread) which can
then be woven on a loom to make a fabric (or cloth). Yam is a kind of long,
twisted thread. Yarn is made from fibres by the process of spinning.

There are two types of fibres, i.e. natural fibre and man-made fibre (nylon, rayon).
Some of our clothes are made from yarn derived from the animal fibre. These are
the types of natural fibres as they are obtained from nature. Natural fibres are the
fibres which are obtained from natural sources like plants and animals.

In Class VI, we have learnt about some fibres obtained from plants. In this
chapter, we will study about some fibres obtained from animals. Wool and silk
fibres are obtained from animals. Wool is obtained from the fleece (hair) of sheep
or yak and silk fibres come from cocoons of the silk moth.

Wool
The wool comes from animals like sheep, goat, yak, camel, llama and alpaca. The
wool yielding animals bear a thick coat of hair on their body. The hair which gives
us wool and keeps them warm during the cold winter season. The hair (wool) on
the body of wool-yielding animals trap a lot of air. Air spaces between the wool
fibres trap air. Since the air is a poor conductor of heat. So, the air trapped in hair
shields the body from cold and keeps them warm in winter. The hair close to our
skin, i.e. hair on our body and arms are soft and the hair on our head is coarse
hair. Like us, the hairy skin of sheep has two types of fibres that form its fleece
(or wool), i.e.

 the coarse beard hair and

 the fine soft under-hair close to the skin.

The fine soft under-hair provide the fibre for making wool. To obtain breeds of
sheep that possess only fine under hair, their parents are carefully chosen. This
process of selecting parents for obtaining special characters in their offspring
such as soft under hair in sheep is termed as selective breeding. Such sheep give
not only better quality of wool but the yield per sheep is also higher.

Animals that Yield Wool

Wool commonly available in the market is sheep wool. Several breeds of sheep
are found in different parts of our country. However, the fleece of sheep is not the
only source of wool, there are other sources of wool also.
Other sources of wool are

 Yak wool is common in Tibet and Ladakh.

  Angora wool is obtained from angora goats in hilly regions such as Jammu
and Kashmir.
 The underfur of Kashmiri goat is soft and it is woven into fine shawls called
pashmina shawls.
 The fur (hair) on the body of camels is used as wool.
 Llama and Alpaca found in South America are also yielding wool.

Name of the state where

Name of a breed of sheep Quality of wool
found
Lohi Good quality wool Rajasthan, Punjab

Rampur bushier Brown fleece Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh

Nali Carpet wool Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab

Bakharwal For woollen shawls Jammu and Kashmir

Marwari Coarse Wool Gujarat

Patanwadi For hosiery Gujarat

Some Indian breeds of sheep which provide wool

From Fibres to Wool

The wool comes mainly from sheep. For obtaining wool, sheep are reared and
bred, their hair is cut and processed into wool. We will first discuss the rearing
and breeding of sheep.
Rearing and Breeding of Sheep
Rearing of sheep means to look after the sheep by providing them feed (food),
shelter and health care. The persons who look after the sheep (or rearers) are
called shepherds. Sheep are herbivores and prefer to eat grass and leaves. So,
shepherds take their herds of sheep to the countryside for grazing. Apart from
grazing, sheep rearers also feed them a mixture of pulses, corn, jowar, oil cakes
(material left after taking out oil from seeds) and minerals. In winter, sheep are
kept indoors and fed on leaves, grain and dry fodder.

Step II: The fleece of sheep (or cut the hair of sheep) contains dust, dirt, dried
sweat and grease, etc. So, the sheared hair of sheep is thoroughly cleaned by
washing with soap (or detergent) and a lot of water in tanks. This process of
washing of sheared hair is called scouring. Scouring makes the fleece of sheep
clean. The scoured fleece is then dried. Now-a-days scouring is done by
machines.

Step III: After scouring, sorting is done. The process of separating the fleece of
a sheep into sections according to the quality of woollen fibres (such as fine,
coarse, long, short, etc) is called sorting. In sorting, the hairy skin is sent to a
factory where hair of different textures is separated or sorted. Every section of
wool obtained after sorting contains the same quality wool. The same quality
wool obtained is then mixed together

Step IV: The small fluffy fibres, called burrs, are picked out from the hair (burrs
are soft, fluffy fibres in wool).
(After this, the fibres are scoured again and dried. The wool obtained after this is
ready to be drawn into fibres).

Step V: The natural fleece or hair of sheep (or goat) is white, brown or black in
colour. The white woollen fibre obtained by sorting can be dyed in different
colours.

Step VI: The fibres are straightened, combed and rolled into yarn. The long
woollen fibres are spun (or twisted) into thick yarn called wool which is used for
knitting sweaters, etc.
The short woollen fibres are spun into fine yarn and then woven on a loom to
make woollen clothes (like shawls, etc).

Finally, we conclude that the sheep’s hair is sheared off from the body, scoured,
sorted, dyed, combed and spun to obtain wool (for knitting sweaters) and woollen
yarn (for weaving cloth). The quality of woollen cloth depends on the breed of
sheep from which wool is obtained.

Occupational Hazard
The wool industry is an important source of livelihood for many people in our
country. The people who do the job of sorting (separating) the fleece of sheep
into fibres of different qualities are called sorters. The sorter’s job is very risky
because sometimes, they get infected by the bacteria called anthrax which cause
a deadly blood disease called sorter’s disease. The risks faced by people working
in any industry due to the nature of their work are called occupational hazard.
Sorter’s disease is an occupational disease.

Silk
Silk is a natural fibre which is obtained from an insect (called silk moth). So, silk
fibres are also animal fibres. Silkworms spin the silk fibres. The silk fibre is made
up of a protein. Silk is the strongest natural fibre.

Sericulture
Sericulture means ‘silk farming’. The rearing of silkworms for obtaining silk is
called sericulture. Sericulture is a very old occupation in India. India produces a
lot of silk on a commercial scale. Before we discuss the process of obtaining silk,
it is necessary to know the interesting life history of the silk moth.
Life History of Silk Moth Formation of Silkworm
The female silk moth lays eggs on mulberry leaves. The eggs are hatched into
very small larvae within a week. The larvae of silk moth are called caterpillar or
silkworm. The silkworms feed on the leaves of mulberry tree and grow bigger in
size.

Development of Cocoon
When the silkworm (or caterpillar) is ready to enter the next stage of its
development called pupa, it first weaves a net to hold itself. Then, it swings its
head from side to side. During these movement of head, the silkworm secrets
fibre made of protein which hardens on exposure to air and becomes silk fibre (or
silk thread). Soon the silkworm (or caterpillar) covers itself by silk fibres and
turns into pupa. This covering is known as cocoon. The silkworm continues to
develop in the form of pupa inside the cocoon to form the silk moth.

Production of Silk
In order to produce silk, the silkworm developing inside the cocoon (as pupa) is
not allowed to mature into an adult silk moth. So, as soon as the cocoon is
formed, it is used to obtain silk fibres and the developing silkworm (as pupa) gets
killed. Some of the silkworms (as pupae) are however, allowed to live and mature
into silk moths so that they can lay eggs to produce more silkworms.

There is a variety of silk moths which look very different from one another and
the silk yarn they yield is different in texture (coarse, smooth, shiny, etc). Thus,
tassar silk, kosa silk, mooga silk, etc are obtained from cocoons spun by different
types of moths. The most common silk moth is the mulberry silk moth. The silk
obtained from the cocoons of mulberry silk moth is called mulberry silk. Mulberry
silk is soft, lustrous (shiny) and elastic and can be dyed in beautiful colours.
Pure and Artificial Silk
Pure silk is obtained from the cocoons of silkworm and it is made up of protein.
Artificial silk is obtained from wood pulp and it is made of modified plant material
‘cellulose’. Just like silk, wool is also made up of proteins. So, a piece of woollen
fabric also burns giving the smell of burning hair. The thread which burns giving
a smell of burning paper will be cotton fibres. Cotton and paper both are
carbohydrates. Paper is made of cellulose obtained from wood pulp. So, on
burning cotton and paper both give similar smell.

From Cocoon to Silk

For obtaining silk, silk moths are reared and their cocoons are collected to get
silk thread.

Rearing Silkworms
A female silk moth lays hundred of eggs at a time. The eggs are stored carefully
on strips of paper or cloth and sold to silkworm farmers. The farmers keep eggs
under hygienic condition. They warm them to a suitable temperature for the
larvae to hatch from egg.

The larvae are kept in clean bamboo trays along with young and freshly chopped
mulberry leaves. After 25-30 days, the silkworms stop eating and start spinning
the cocoons. Small racks or twigs may be provided in the trays to which cocoons
get attached.
Processing Silk
The cocoons are collected and boiled in water to kill the insect inside them. The
resulting fibre is known as raw silk. The silk fibres separate out.

Reeling the Silk

The process of taking out fibres from the cocoon for use as silk is known as
reeling the silk. Reeling is done in special machines. Silk fibres are spun into silk
threads which are woven into silk cloth by weavers.

Discovery of Silk
The discovery of silk was made in China a long time bach. According to an old
Chinese legend, the empress Si-tung-Chi was ashed by the emperor Huang-ti to
find the cause of the damaged leaves of mulberry trees growing in their garden.
The empress found white worms eating up mulberry leaves. She also noticed that
they were spinning shiny cocoons around them. Accidentally, a cocoon dropped
into her cup of tea and a tangle of delicate threads separated from the cocoon.
Silk industry began in China and was kept a closely guarded secret for hundreds
of years. Later on, traders and travellers introduced silk to other countries. The
route they travelled is still called the ‘silk route’.

Even today, China leads the world in silk production. India is also among the
leading silk producing countries of the world. In India, a large number of women
are engaged in various activities related to the silk product such as the rearing of
silkworms, reeling of silk from cocoons and processing of raw silk into fabrics.

Hot and Cold

In our daily routine, we come across a number of objects, out of which some are
hot while other objects are cold, e.g. when a frying pan kept on a burning gas
stove becomes hot but the handle of the pan is cold. Even among the hot objects,
some objects may be hotter than the other. In the same manner, among the cold
objects, some objects may be colder than the other. So, if I ask you how you
decide the relative hotness or coldness of objects, then your answer will be’by
simply touching the objects’. But our sense of touch is not enough in telling us
whether an object is really hot or cold so, this can be understood by performing a
simple activity.

Temperature and Thermometer

The degree of hotness or coldness of the object is known as the temperature of
an object. The temperature of an object is an only property that indicates which
object is hot and which one is cold. A high temperature of a body indicates that it
is very hot whereas a low temperature of the object indicates that it is quite cold,
e.g. the temperature of boiling water is quite high, so boiling water appears to be
very hot. On the other side, the temperature of melting ice is quite low. So, ice
appears to be very cold on touch.

It is measured by using an instrument called thermometer, which has a scale

marked on it which is used to read the temperature, e.g. the scale in laboratory
thermometer is marked along the length of thermometer’s tube between 0° mark
and 100° mark into 100 equal divisions. So, each division is called a degree. The
temperature of an object should always be stated with its unit. So, the most
common unit for measuring temperature is degree Celsius (°C). Both the clinical
thermometer and laboratory thermometer are mercury thermometers. So, when a
particular amount of heat is supplied to the thermometer bulb consisting of
mercury (by the hot body whose temperature is to be measured), then the
mercury expands and get rises in the glass tube of the thermometer. This fact is
used in measuring the temperature.

Clinical Thermometer
It is the thermometer which is used for measuring the temperature of the human
body. In case of fever, it is used by a doctor (or at home) to measure the
temperature of the patient. This thermometer consists of a long glass tube having
a thin and uniform bore. There is a glass bulb at one end of the glass tube which
consists of mercury as shown in the figure given below:

Features of a Clinical Thermometer

There is a very short range of temperature of a clinical thermometer, i.e. from
35°C to 42°C. The short range of a clinical thermometer is because of the fact that
the temperature of human body normally does not go below 35°C or above 42°C.

Just above the bulb containing mercury, a clinical thermometer has a kink in its
glass tube which is to prevent the back flow of mercury into the thermometer
bulb when the thermometer bulb is removed from the mouth of a patient. This
kink prevents the mercury level in the thermometer tube from falling on its own.
Due to this, we can read the correct body temperature of the patient even after
removing the thermometer bulb from his mouth.

Note: After noting the body temperature, the level of mercury can be brought
down by giving jerk to the thermometer tube.
As mercury is very toxic and is difficult to dispose off, so thermometer must be
handled carefully. Clinical thermometer should not be used to measure the
temperature of objects other than the human body. It should not be kept in the
sun or near a flame, otherwise, it may break. Nowadays, digital thermometers are
used which do not use mercury.

Reading a Clinical Thermometer

There are following steps to read the temperature on a thermometer.
Step I: Firstly, wash the thermometer with an antiseptic solution and if in case,
the antiseptic solution is not available, then wash it with clean water.
Step II: Gently, hold the thermometer tube in your hand and give it a jerk in such
a way that the mercury thread in the thermometer tube falls below the reading of
35°C.
Step III: Now, put the bulb of the thermometer under the tongue of the patient for
about one minute. Then take out the thermometer from the patient’s mouth.
Step IV: In order to read the temperature, hold the thermometer horizontally in
your hand and rotate it slowly. When we see a magnified image of the mercury
thread in its tube, then a position will come. Now, read the temperature on
thermometer tube in level with the top of the mercury thread.

Note: After noting the body temperature, the level of mercury can be brought
down by giving jerk to the thermometer tube.
As mercury is very toxic and is difficult to dispose off, so thermometer must be
handled carefully. Clinical thermometer should not be used to measure the
temperature of objects other than the human body. It should not be kept in the
sun or near a flame, otherwise, it may break. Nowadays, digital thermometers are
used which do not use mercury.

Reading a Clinical Thermometer

There are following steps to read the temperature on a thermometer.
Step I: Firstly, wash the thermometer with an antiseptic solution and if in case,
the antiseptic solution is not available, then wash it with clean water.
Step II: Gently, hold the thermometer tube in your hand and give it a jerk in such
a way that the mercury thread in the thermometer tube falls below the reading of
35°C.
Step III: Now, put the bulb of the thermometer under the tongue of the patient for
about one minute. Then take out the thermometer from the patient’s mouth.
Step IV: In order to read the temperature, hold the thermometer horizontally in
your hand and rotate it slowly. When we see a magnified image of the mercury
thread in its tube, then a position will come. Now, read the temperature on
thermometer tube in level with the top of the mercury thread.
Precautions while Reading the Thermometer
A clinical thermometer should not be used for any object other than the human
body. There are some following precautions which are to be observed while
reading a clinical thermometer.

 Wash the clinical thermometer before and after using preferably with an
antiseptic solution.
 Be ensure that the mercury level before using the clinical thermometer
should be below 35°C.
 The clinical thermometer should be read by keeping the level of mercury
along the line of sight.
 While reading the clinical thermometer, it should never be held by the bulb.
 The clinical thermometer should be carefully handled.

Laboratory Thermometer
A device which is used for measuring the temperature in a science laboratory is
called a laboratory thermometer.
This thermometer is made up of a long glass tube having a thin bore. The
graduation marked on the tube of a laboratory thermometer can measure the
temperature from -10°C to 110°C, this is known as the range of a laboratory
thermometer. Also, determine how much a small division on this thermometer
reads (this is also known as least count of the thermometer), it is due to the fact
that this information is required to read the thermometer correctly.

These are the special thermometers which automatically record the maximum
and minimum temperature of the day. The maximum S and minimum temperature
of the last day reported in weather reports in TV and newspapers are measured
by the maximum-minimum thermometers.

Reading a Laboratory Thermometer

There are following steps to read the temperature on a thermometer.
Step I: First of all, take some hot water in a beaker.
Step II: Now, try to hold the laboratory thermometer from its glass tube and
immerse the bulb of the thermometer in hot water taken in the beaker. Notice that
the bulb of the thermometer should not touch the sides or the bottom of the
beaker as shown in the figure.
Step III: Here, we will observe the shining thread of mercury moving up in the
thermometer tube. After some time, the mercury will stop rising and stand at one
place.
Now, read the temperature on the thermometer tube which corresponds to the top
of the mercury thread. This will give us the temperature of hot water taken in the
beaker.

Note: To measure the human body temperature a laboratory thermometer cannot

be used because as soon as we tahe out the bulb of the laboratory thermometer
from the mouth of a patient, the mercury level wilt starts falling quickly (due to
cooling of its bulb by air). So, this will provide a wrong value of the body
temperature.

Precautions in Using a Laboratory Thermometer

 While -measuring temperature, the laboratory thermometer should be held

vertically.
  The thermometer bulb should be surrounded from all sides by the
substance whose temperature is to be measured.
 The thermometer reading should be taken while its bulb is still in touch with
the substance whose temperature is being measured and by keeping the
mercury level along the line of sight.
 The thermometer should not be held by the bulb.
 The thermometer should be carefully handled.
 We should note down the temperature reading by keeping the thermometer
bulb immersed in hot water because if the thermometer bulb is taken out of
hot water, then its mercury thread will start falling and this will give a wrong
reading for the temperature of hot water.

Digital Thermometer
There are most of the common thermometers like mercury thermometers which
use a liquid metal called mercury for their working. Mercury is a toxic substance
(a poisonous substance) and thus it is very difficult to dispose of safely, if a
thermometer breaks. So, there is a lot of concern over the use of mercury in
thermometers. Also, during these days, digital thermometers are available which
do not use mercury.

Transfer of Heat
Heat flows from a hot object to a cold object or heat flows from an object at the
higher temperature to another object which is at a lower temperature. This flow of
heat is known as the transfer of heat, e.g. if you dip a steel spoon into a cup of
hot tea, then we will find that the temperature of spoon rises and it becomes hot.
In this case, some of the heat contained in hot tea has been transferred to spoon
which is placed inside it.

When the two objects attain the same temperature, then the flow of heat stops.
This means that no heat will be transferred from one object to another if the
temperature of the two objects is the same.
There are three ways through which heat can be transferred from a hot object to a
cold object.

 By conduction (in solid, heat is transferred by conduction)

 By convention (in liquid and gases, heat is transferred by convection)
 By radiation (in free space or vacuum, heat is transferred by radiation)
Let us discuss all the three ways of heat transfer.

1. Conduction
The mode of transfer of heat from hotter part of a material to its colder part or
from a hot material to a cold material in contact with it, without the movement of
material as a whole, is known as conduction. In all the solids, heat is transferred
by the process of conduction.
Conductor and Insulator of Heat
Materials which allow heat to be conducted through them easily are conductors
of heat. Those metals such as iron, copper, silver, aluminium, etc., are good
conductors of heat.

Bad conductors of heat are those materials which do not allow heat to be
conducted through them easily. These materials are also known as insulators of
heat. Wood, plastic and glass are insulators of heat.

Uses of Good and Bad Conductors of Heat

During the winter season, we generally wear woollen clothes. If we compare them
with cotton clothes, then we will find that the wool fibres have much more space
between them. These get filled with air which is a bad conductor of heat. Hence,
being an insulator, both wool and air together prevent the heat from our bodies
from escaping out.

Also, jute and sawdust are bad conductors of heat. We cover the ice with a jute
cloth of sawdust to prevent it from gaining heat from the surroundings and
melting.

The double walls of the refrigerators having space inside which is filled with an
insulating material, prevent the heat of the surroundings from reaching the inside
of the refrigerator.

The two thinner blankets (one on top of the other) during the winter season are
very much effective because the air layer trapped between the thinner blankets
creates insulation and provides the protection from cold.

Sometimes, there are two things which are at the same temperature. It seems like
they are at different temperatures, one being cold and the other being warm. This
happens because some things are a good conductor of heat while others are
poor conductors of heat.

e.g. during winter season, a metal object kept in a room feels very cold to touch
but a wooden object in the same room feels warmer to touch. Metal object is a
good conductor of heat. So, when we touch the metal object, it conducts away
heat from our hand quickly. And by losing heat, our hand feels cold. On the other
side, the wooden object (being a poor conductor of heat) does not allow the heat
of our hand to escape and hence feels warmer to touch.
The water (or most liquids) and air (or gases) are bad conductors of heat.

2. Convection
The mode of transfer of heat from the hotter part of a fluid (liquid or gas) to its
colder parts by the movement of the liquid (or gas) itself is known as convection.
The transfer of heat by convection can take place only in liquids and gases. It is
due to the reason that the particles in liquids and gases can move about freely.

So, the transfer of heat by convection cannot take place in solids because the
particles in the solids are fixed at a place and cannot move about freely. It is also
not occurred in empty space or vacuum because there are no particles of any
kind in empty space which can move and transfer heat.

Convection in Water
Water is a poor conductor of heat. So, due to this reason, it cannot transfer heat
by conduction but it transfers heat by the process of convection.

Convection in Air
Air is a very poor conductor of heat, Air transfers heat from its hotter parts to the
colder parts by the process of convection.

Sea and Land Breezes

The blowing of sea breeze and land breeze in coastal areas is generally occurred
due to the convection of heat in air.

In coastal areas during the day time, the breeze generally flows from the sea
towards the land and during the night time, blows from the land towards the sea.
Sea and land breezes are actually convection of heat.

During the day, the land heats up more than water. Due to this, the air over the
land becomes hotter and lighter and rises up. So, the air from the sea which is
cooler and heavier rushes to take the place created by hot rising air. Therefore, a
sea breeze blows during the day.

During the night, the land loses heat faster than water and becomes cooler and
the air over the sea is now warmer due to which, it rises up and the cooler air
over the land rushes to take its place. Therefore, we observe a land breeze at
night.

3. Radiation
The mode of transfer of heat through which heat energy from a hot body to a cold
body by means of heat rays without any material medium between them is known
as radiation, e.g. the sun’s heat reaches the earth by the process of radiation. The
sun is very far away from the earth, and there is mainly an empty space (vacuum)
between the sun and the earth even, then the heat from the sun reaches the earth.
This is due to the fact that the sun being extremely hot, emits invisible heat
radiation (or infrared rays) in all directions.

These radiations travel through the vacuum between the sun and the earth at a
very high speed and ultimately, reach us on the earth. Therefore, we can say that
the transfer of heat from a hot object to a cold object by the process of radiation
does not require any medium.

In our daily life activities, we have many situations where heat is transferred by
radiation through air, e.g.

 Depending on the temperature of surroundings, our body too gives heat to

the surroundings or receives heat from the surroundings by radiation.
 If a hot utensil filled with hot milk is kept away from the flame, then it cools
down by transferring its heat to the surroundings by radiation.
 If we stand next to a burning fire, then we will feel the heat of the fire falling
on our face. The heat is transferred from the fire to our face by the process
of radiation.

Clothes
During hot summer days, people prefer to wear white clothes or light coloured
clothes because light coloured clothes absorb less heat from the sun and hence,
keep us cool and comfortable in hot weather while in the cold winter days people
prefer to wear dark clothes because the dark coloured clothes absorb more heat
rays from the sun and keep us warm in winter season.

Thus, we can say that dark coloured objects absorb heat better and also emit
heat better than light coloured objects. Now, let us try to study this concept on
the basis of the given activity.

In the winters, we use woollen clothes. Wool is a poor conductor of heat.

Moreover, there is air trapped in between the wool fibres. This air prevents the
flow of heat from our body to the cold surroundings. So, we feel warm.
Acids, bases and salts are the three important groups of chemical substances
that are used by us in different ways. Some of the acids, bases and salts occur in
nature and they can be made artificially in factories also.

Edible substances and their tastes

Substance Taste (Sour/Bitter/Any other)

Lemon Juice Sour

Orange Juice Sour

Vinegar Sour

Curd Sour

Tamarind(imli) Sour

Sugar Sweet

Common Salt Salty

Amla Sour
 Baking Soda Bitter

Grapes Sweet/Sour

Name of Acid Found in

Acetic Acid Vinegar

Formic Acid Ant’s Sting

Citric Acid Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, etc..

Lactic Acid Curd

Oxalic Acid Spinach

Ascorbic Acid(Vitamin C) Amla, Citrus fruits

Tartaric Acid Tamarind, grapes, unripe mangoes, etc..

Acids and Bases
The word acid has been derived from a Latin word ‘acidus’ which means ‘sour’.
Thus, all sour substances essentially contain acids. Substances like lemon juice,
orange juice, unripe mango and curd taste sour. They taste sour because they
contain substances called acids in them. The chemical nature of such substances
is acidic. The acids in these substances are natural acids.
However, there are other substances like baking soda it does not taste sour.

It means that it has no acids in it. It is bitter in taste. And if prepare a solution of
baking soda in water and rub it between your fingers, it feels soapy. Substance
like these which are bitter in taste and feel soapy on touch are known as bases.
The chemical nature of such substances is said to be basic. All the acids
mentioned in table occur in nature.

Bases and their Sources

Name of Base Found in

Calcium Hydroxide Lime Water

Ammonium Hydroxide Window Cleaner

Sodium Hydroxide/Potassium Hydroxide Soap

Magnesium Hydroxide Milk of Magnesia

Natural Indicators Around Us

It is not safe to taste every substance to find out if it is acidic or basic. There are
some special substances that have different colours in acidic and basic
mediums. These substances are known as indicators. The indicators change their
colour when added to a solution containing an acidic or a basic substance.

Some naturally occurring indicators are litmus, turmeric, China rose petals
(gudhal) and red cabbage juice. These indicators show different colours in acidic
and basic media. They are used to test whether a substance is acidic or basic in
nature.

Litmus- A Natural Dye

A naturally occurring indicator, i.e. litmus is obtained from certain lichens (small
plants) and used as a dilute solution. Litmus has mauve (purple) colour in water.
In an acidic solution, it turns red. When it is added to a basic solution, it turns
blue. Usually, it is available as a red and blue litmus paper.

Turmeric is Another Natural Indicator

Turmeric is a bright yellow powder obtained from a plant. It is is called ‘Haldi’ in
Hindi. Turmeric contains a yellow dye. Turmeric turns red in basic solution. It is
used as indicator in the form of turmeric paper.

China Rose as an Indicator

China rose is a natural indicator. It is called ‘Gudhal’ in Hindi. It is a extracted
from the red flowers of China rose plant with water.

Acid Rain
The rain containing excess of acids called an acid rain. The rain becomes acidic
because carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide dissolve in rain
drops to form carbonic acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid respectively. It can
cause damage to buildings, historical monuments, plants and animals.
This happens as follows:

 Acid rain makes the water of lakes, ponds and rivers too acidic due to which
fish and other aquatic animals get killed.
 Acid rain eats up the leaves of the trees gradually. By losing leaves, the
trees die. Acid rain also damages crop plants in the fields.
 Acid rain damages the metal structures like steel bridges, etc when it falls
on them.
 Acid rain damages the surfaces of buildings and monuments made up of
marble.

Neutralisation
Acids and bases are chemically opposite substances. So, when an acid is mixed
with a base, they neutralise (or cancel) the effect of each other. When an acid
solution and a base solution are mixed in suitable amounts, both the acidic
nature of the acid and the basic nature of the base are destroyed. The resulting
solution is neither acidic nor basic. So, the reaction between an acid and base is
known as neutralisation. In the process of neutralisation, salt and water are
produced with the evolution of heat.

Salt produced in the reaction may be acidic, basic or neutral in nature. The
evolved heat raises the temperature of the reaction mixture.
Acid + Base → Salt + Water (Heat is evolved)
e.g. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) (Acid) + Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (Base) → Sodium
chloride (NaCl) (Salt) + Water (H2O)

If dilute sulphuric acid is added to lime water (which is a base), then

neutralisation reaction takes place and the reaction mixture becomes hot.
We are going to use an indicator which you have not used so far. It is called
phenolphthalein.

Note: Phenolphthalein is an indicator used in the neutralisation process. When

the solution is basic, phenolphthalein gives a pink colour but if the solution is
acidic, it remains colourless.

Neutralisations in Everyday Life

The neutralisation reactions involving acids and bases play a very important role
in our everyday life. The treatment of an ant’s sting, remedy for indigestion, soil
treatment and the treatment of factory wastes, all involve neutralisation reaction.

Indigestion
Our stomach produces hydrochloric acid. This hydrochloric acid helps in
digesting our food. Sometimes, excess of hydrochloric acid is produced in the
stomach which causes indigestion. Due to indigestion, sometimes a person feels
pain in the stomach and irritation. To relieve indigestion, we take an antacid such
as milk of magnesia. Milk of magnesia contains a base called magnesium
hydroxide. Magnesium hydroxide neutralises the excess acid present in the
stomach and cures indigestion. Another antacid is baking soda which contains a
base sodium hydrogen carbonate.

Ant Bite
When an ant bites, it injects an acidic liquid into the skin of the person which
causes burning pain. The sting of an ant contains an acid called formic acid. The
effect of the acid can be neutralised by rubbing a mild base like baking soda
solution (sodium hydrogen carbonate) or calamine solution. Calamine solution
contains a base called zinc carbonate. Thus, being a base, baking soda solution
or calamine solution neutralises the acidic liquid injected by the ant and cancels
its effect.

Soil Treatment
The soil may be acidic or basic naturally. The plants do not grow well, if the soil
at a place is too acidic or too basic. Excessive use of chemical fertilisers makes
the soil acidic. When the soil is too acidic, it is treated with bases like quicklime
(calcium oxide) or slaked lime (calcium hydroxide). These bases neutralise the
excess acid present in the soil and reduce its acidic nature. If the soil is basic,
organic matter called manure or compost is added to it. The organic matter
releases acids which neutralise the excess bases present in the soil and reduce
its basic nature.

Factory Wastes
The waste substances discharged by many factories contain acids. If these
factory wastes are allowed to flow into the water bodies (like rivers, ponds, lakes,
etc), then the acid present in them will kill fish and other organisms which live in
the water bodies. The factory wastes are therefore neutralised by adding basic
substances before discharging them into water bodies.
Some changes that we have noticed around us are melting of ice, making of ice
cream, melting of wax, stretching a rubber band, evaporation of water, cutting of
paper, breaking of glass pane, bending of glass tube by heating, boiling of water,
sublimation of camphor, etc.
Broadly, these changes are of two kinds:

 Physical changes
 Chemical changes

Physical Changes
In a physical change, a substance undergoes changes only in its physical
properties such as shape, size, colour and state, and no new substance is
formed. First, we shall perform some activities to show the physical changes that
are taking place all around us are:

Characteristics of Physical Changes

The physical changes are temporary changes which can be easily reversed to
form the original substance. In such a change, no new substance is formed.
Thus, we noticed that the important characteristics of physical changes are as
follows:

 No new substance is formed in this change.

 It is a temporary change and is generally reversible.
 A temporary change in colour may take place.
 Very little energy (heat, etc) is either absorbed or evolved.

Chemical Changes
Chemical changes are also called chemical reactions. A chemical change occurs
when two substances react chemically to form a new substance with different
chemical properties. All the new substances which we use in various fields of our
life are produced as a result of chemical changes (or chemical reactions).

A change with which we are quite familiar is the rusting of iron. Almost every iron
(or steel) object kept in the open gets rusted slowly. It acquires a coating of a
brownish substance called rust and the process is called rusting. We can usually
see iron gates of parks or farmlands, iron benches kept in lawns and gardens,
almost every article of iron, kept in the open gets rusted. The agricultural tools
such as spades and shovels, also get rusted when exposed to the atmosphere for
some time. In the kitchen, a wet iron pan (tawa) often gets rusted if left in that
state for some time. Rust is not iron. It is different from iron on which it gets
deposited.
When baking soda (NaHCO3) reacts with vinegar which contains acetic acid
carbon dioxide comes out, which turns lime water milky, therefore it is a chemical
change. In all these activities, we saw that in each change, one or more new
substances are formed. When the magnesium ribbon was burnt, the ash was the
new substance formed.

The reaction of copper sulphate with iron produced two new substances, i.e. iron
sulphate and copper. Vinegar and baking soda together produced carbon dioxide
which turned lime water milky. So, all those changes in which one or more new
substances formed, are called chemical changes. These are permanent changes
which can usually not be reversed to form the original substance.

In addition to new products, the following may accompany a chemical change:

 Heat, light or any other radiation (e.g. ultraviolet) may be given off or
absorbed.
 The sound may be produced.
 A change in smell may take place or a new smell may be given off.
 A colour change may take place.
 A gas may be formed.

Chemical Changes in Our Daily Life

Chemical changes are very important in our lives. Indeed, every new material is
discovered by studying chemical changes, e.g. If metal is to be extracted from an
ore such as iron from iron ore, we need to carry out a series of chemical changes.
Medicine is the end product of a chain of chemical reactions. Important and
useful new materials such as plastics and detergents are produced by chemical
reactions.

Let us consider some more examples of chemical changes. We saw from the
activity that burning of magnesium ribbon is a chemical change. Burning of coal,
wood or leaves is also a chemical change. In fact, burning of any substance is a
chemical change. Burning is always accompanied in the production of heat and
light.

 An explosion of a firework (or crackers) is also a chemical change which

produces heat, light, sound and unpleasant gases that pollute the
atmosphere.
 When food gets spoiled, it produces a foul smell. This shows that new
substances have been formed in the spoiled food which has a foul smell.
So, the spoilage of food is a chemical change.
 If we cut an apple into slices and kept in the open for some time, we will find
that the cut surface of apple acquires a brown colour. This change in colour
 is due to the formation of the new substance by the action of oxygen (or air).
So, this change in colour is a chemical change.
 Similarly, the cut surface of potato or brinjal turns black on keeping in air for
some time due to the chemical change.
 When an acid reacts with a base, then a neutralisation reaction takes place
in which two new substances, salt and water, are formed. So, neutralisation
is a chemical change.
 During photosynthesis, the plants intake carbon dioxide and water in the
presence of chlorophyll and sunlight to form two new substances, glucose
(food) and oxygen. So, photosynthesis is a chemical change.
 In the process of digestion, the various food materials break down to form
new substances which can be absorbed by the body, so the process of
digestion is a chemical change.

Rusting of Iron
When an iron object is left exposed to moist air, it chemically reacts with oxygen
and water in the air to form a red-brown flaky substance called rust. The process
of rusting can be represented by the following equation:
Iron (Fe) + Oxygen (O2) (From air) + Water (H2O) → Rust (Iron oxide, Fe2O3)

Rusting occurs in the presence of both oxygen and water. The more humid the
air, the faster the rusting occurs. The rust slowly eats away or corrodes the iron,
leading to considerable loss. Since iron is used in making bridges, ships, * cars,
truck bodies and many other articles, the monetary loss due to the rusting is
huge.

Preventions of Rusting
Rusting can be prevented by not allowing the iron to come in contact with
moisture and air. The simplest method is to coat the iron with oil, grease or paint.
These coats should be applied regularly to prevent rusting.

A more efficient method is to coat the iron with another metal such as zinc or
chromium. The process of depositing a layer of zinc on iron is called
galvanisation. The iron pipes we use in our homes to carry water are galvanised
to prevent rusting.

Rusting of ships is a major problem in the shipping industry as the body of a ship
is always in contact with water and the air around it is also very humid. The salt in
water speeds up the process of rusting. This leads to huge monetary loss to the
shipping industry. Rusting of iron can be prevented by allowing it to make
stainless steel. Stainless steel is made by mixing iron with carbon and metals like
chromium, nickel and manganese. It does not rust.
Crystallisation
Seawater contains salts dissolved in it which makes it salty. We have learnt in
Class VI that salt can be obtained from seawater by the process of evaporation.
The salt obtained in this manner is not pure and its crystals are small. The shape
of the crystals cannot be seen clearly. Large crystals of pure substances can,
however, be obtained from their solutions by the process of crystallisation. It is
an example of a physical change. The process of cooling a hot concentrated
solution of a substance to obtain crystals is called crystallisation. The process of
crystallisation is used to obtain crystals of a pure solid substance from the
impure solid substance.

Impure copper sulphate powder can be purified by the process of crystallisation

to obtain large crystals of pure copper sulphate.
Weather influences our lives in different ways. During summer, we switch on fans
to keep ourselves cool, we use light coloured clothes in order to reflect the heat.
During winter, we use dark colour clothes and wrap ourselves in warm clothes to
protect us from cold environment. Similarly, during the rainy season, we use
umbrella or raincoat as it may rain anytime. The weather of a place changes day
after day and week after week. It is a complex phenomenon that may vary over
very short periods of time (like hour to hour).

Therefore, our daily activities are planned according to the weather predicted for
a particular day. The daily report of weather is provided on television, radio and
even in newspaper.

Weather
It may be defined as the day to day condition of the atmosphere at a place with
respect to the temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed, etc.

Elements of Weather
The temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and other factors are called the
elements of the weather which are described below:

1. Temperature
The weather is mainly affected by the sun that produces heat and raise the
temperature. The sun provides light as well as heat on the earth. It is necessary
for the production of energy. The heat from the sun is absorbed by the earth’s
surface, oceans and atmosphere which plays an important role in determining the
weather of any place. Therefore, it is clear that change in weather is caused due
to the sun because the changes occurring in the sun’s heat will change the
atmosphere more frequently. The time of sunrise and sunset also changes
throughout the year.

2. Rainfall
The amount of water droplets that fall back on the earth after condensation of
water vapours is called rainfall. When the temperature is too low, these droplets
in the cloud get freezed into crystals of ice and comes on the earth as snowfall.
During winters, the temperature falls after sunset causing condensation of water
vapours near the ground. These droplets hang in the air to form fog.
Note: Rainfall is generally measured in millimetre. The instrument that is used to
measure the rainfall is called rain guage. It is a measuring cylinder with a funnel
kept on its top which collects the rainwater. The rainwater collected in the
measuring cylinder gives the measure of rainfall.

3. Humidity
It is defined as ‘the amount of water vapour in air which causes dampness of air’.
Air has the ability to hold certain . amount of water vapour. The capacity of air to
hold water increases with rise in temperature and falls if heavy rainfall occurs.
The humidity is measured by the instrument called hygrometer which consists of
two thermometers.
The bulb of one thermometer is wet and the other is dry.

4. Wind Speed
It is caused due to the difference in air pressure. During summer, the wind blows
from Indian ocean and Bay of Bengal and causes rain in India while during winter,
it blows from the mountain of north India towards northern plain and causes cold
weather (winter season).

Weather Prediction
The prediction of weather is done by scientists, called meteorologist, who study
the changes in the weather. The weather is predicted by studying the patterns of
weather and factors affecting them. The science which deals with the study of
weather is called meteorology. In India, the weather reports are prepared by the
Meteorological Department of Government. This department collects the data of
temperature, wind, etc., and predicts whether on television or radio or newspaper.
The weather report is recorded everyday in the form of graph and published in a
table form showing readings of different elements of weather.

Difference in Time of Sunrise and Sunset

There is the difference in the time of sunrise during summer and winter. In
summer the sun rises earlier in the morning and the sun sets late in the evening
during the month of June, while sun rises late and sets early in the month of
December.
Therefore, days are longer and night shorter in summers while day is shorter and
night is longer during winter.

Climate
‘The average weather pattern taken over a long time, is called the climate of that
place.’ Different places in the world have different types of climate. The annual
record of long term average temperature and rainfall at a particular place is called
climate chart. It gives an idea about the climate at a particular place during a
specific period of the year. The major factor which determines the climate of a
place is called latitude (imaginary lines on earth).

(ii) Behavioural adaptations Adaptation of special ways in a particular organism

that helps it to survive in its natural habitat. It usually occurs in response to some
external stimuli, e.g. frogs and bear undergoes hibernation or winter sleep during
hard winter season.
(iii) Physiological adaptations Adaptation of body systems presents in an
organism that allows it to perform the certain biochemical reaction, e.g. warm-
blooded animals are able to keep the constant body temperature.

Animals that live in a very cold or hot climate must possess special features to
protect themselves against extreme cold or heat. The features and habits that
help an animal to adapt to their surrounding are a result of the process of
evolution. According to their habitat animals adapt themselves. These animals
may be grouped as polar region and tropical rainforest animals.

The Polar Regions

The polar regions as the name suggest are situated near the poles, i.e. north pole
and south pole. The countries that belong to the polar regions are Canada,
Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Alaska in USA and Siberian region
of Russia.

Polar regions show’ extremely colder climate which is covered with snow and
remain cold for most part of the year. In this region, the sun does not set for six
months and even does not rise for other six months. The temperature goes down
below -37°C, during winters in polar regions. The ground remains frozen most of
the year and water becomes available only during the short summer when snow
melts. Mosses and short lived flowering plants grow in these regions.

Animals living in these regions are adapted in different ways to cope with the
conditions of temperature, light and moisture and also according to the
availability of food in that region. Polar bears and penguins are the animals that
live in polar region. Besides these whales, seals are the other animals are also
found in polar regions. Some fishes, foxes, musk oxen, reindeer and birds also
live in polar regions.

Adaptations in Polar Bear

Polar bear is a large and white bear that lives in the north polar region of the
earth. The polar bear mainly feeds on fishes and seal and can survive in the
extremely cold climate of polar regions due to the following adaptations:

(i) Their body is covered by a thick coat of white fur. It helps them to blend with
their surrounding snow white back ground and cannot be noticed by their
predators. Beneath the fur is a thick coat of fat which insulates the body from
cold and keeps the bear warm.

(ii) A polar bear is a good swimmer which has wide and large paws that help it to
swim. These paws also help bear to walk on the snow easily.
(iii) They have a strong sense of smell so that they can locate their prey easily.
They also possess small ears to keep the body surface area to the minimum and
reduce the heat loss from the body.

(iv) The thick layer of fat beneath the skin also stores food in winter when food is
scarce. This stored food (fat) also helps the mother polar bear to survive in the
winter when they undergo hibernation beneath the snow with their newborn cubs.

Adaptations in Penguins
Another well-known animal living in the polar regions is the penguin which can
survive due to the following adaptations:
(i) These are black and white in colour which merges well with the white
background of ice and snow.
(ii) They have thick skin and a thick layer of fat below their skin which protects
them from extreme cold.
(iii) They possess a streamlined body, flipper-like wings and webbed feet which
make it a good swimmer. This adaptation helps penguin to catch fish as prey.
They live together in large numbers and huddle together to keep themselves
warm.
Migration
Migration is the seasonal journey taken by different animals or birds to escape
the extreme climatic condition and the search of food, e.g. Siberian cranes
migrates towards warmer region in the autumn by travelling several thousands of
kilometers. They are seen in the . Bharatpur, Rajasthan and Sultanpur, Haryana
and sometimes in wetland of North-East and other parts of India. Migratory birds /
sometimes travel as much as 15000 km to escape the extreme climatic condition
of their habitat.

These birds fly high where the wind flow is helpful and cold conditions allow
them to disperse the heat generated by their flight muscles. These birds have a
built in sense of direction and know in which direction they have to travel. Some
birds use landmarks to guide them. Some birds are guided by the sun during
daytime and by stars during night. Some birds can use the magnetic field of the
earth to fnd the direction. Besides birds some fishes, insects and mammals also
migrate seasonally in search of more hospitable climates.

The Tropical Rainforest

The tropical region lies near both the sides of equator line on the earth. These
regions are hot but get plenty of rainfall. Therefore, this region is humid. Even in
coldest month, the temperature is generally higher than about 15°C. During hot
summers, the temperature may cross 40°C. Days and nights are almosts equal in
length throughout the year. Tropical rainforest is the important feature of tropical
region. These regions are rich in vegetation and large diversity in animals is also
seen in this region.

In India, tropical rainforests are found in Western Ghats and Assam, other
countries of the world like South, East Asia, Central America, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Brazil, Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Central Africa
also have tropical rainforest. The major type of animals living in the rainforest are
monkeys, apes, gorillas, tigers, elephants, leopards, lizards, snakes, birds and
insects. Since, there are large number of animals found in these regions. There is
an intense competition for food and shelter among these animals. So, the animals
are adapted in such a way that they eat different kinds of food and live in different
kinds of places to overcome competition for food and shelter respectively. The
adaptations in different animals living in tropical rainforests can be discussed as
follows:

Adaptations in Red-eyed Frog

The red-eyed frog lives on trees in tropical rainforest. They have sticky pads on
their feet that help them to climb trees. It does not live in water and has a green
back and a creamy underside. It has big and bulging bright-red eyes and it is a
nocturnal. It sleeps during the day and becomes active during night and feeds on
the insects present on the tree. The bulging eye of frog protects it from its
predator. The sudden opening of big and bright-red eyes frightens the predator
for a while and in the meantime the frog gets time to jump to a safe place. The
green colour of the frog helps it to hide within the green leaves of the tree and
helps it to protect from predators.

Adaptations in Monkey
The monkeys living in tropical rainforests have long tails for grasping branches.
Their hands and feet are adapted in such a way that they can easily hold the
branches of trees. The eyesight of monkeys is very good which helps them in
leaping between the branches to escape from their predators. Monkeys eat fruits,
seeds, leaves, root and insects as their food which is present in abundance in
tropical rainforest.

Adaptations in Lion-Tailed Macaque

It is also called as beard ape and lives in the rainforest of Western Chats in India.
It has silver-white mane which surrounds the head from the cheeks down to its
chin which is the specific characteristic of this animal. It is called lion-tailed
because its tail is like that of lion having bunch or tuft of hair at the end.

They spend most of their time feeding in the upper canopy of trees (i.e. arboreal
animal). It mainly feeds on fruits, seeds, young leaves, stems, flowers and buds.
They also can eat insects present under the bark of the tree. Since, it is able to
get sufficient food on trees. It rarely comes down on the ground and spends a
major part of its life on the tree. It is a good climber with its hand and feet adapted
to hold the branches of trees firmly.

Adaptation in Toucan
Toucan is a bird, which is found in tropical rainforest and which possesses a long
strong and large beak. This bird is adapted for tropical rainforest in several ways.
It is a colourful bird which possesses a strange beak. It lives most of the time in
the holes of big trees.

The long and large beak helps Toucan to reach the fruits attached to the ends of
even thin branches of tree that are weak enough to support its weight. It is an
adaptation of this bird to get the unreachable fruits. Its large beak also helps in
temporary storage of fruits which is collected by Toucan. These possess feet that
are adapted for grasping the branches of trees firmly. Toucan can change the
colour of its feather, so as to get mixed up with the surrounding and they are not
easily noticed by predators and remain safe.

Adaptations in Lion and Tiger

These are also called as big cats and are carnivore which eat only flesh of other
animals. These have following adaptations to survive in tropical rainforest:
  They have thick skin and skin colour helps them to camouflage (ability of
the animal to match their surrounding, e.g. chameleon, butterfly). The yellow
brown colour of lion and black stripes of tiger helps them to hide in the
forest by blending with the surroundings. It helps these carnivores to catch
their prey.
 They have strong sense of smell which helps them to locate their prey.
 They also develop sensitive hearing capacity to find its prey.
 They have eyes in front of their head which enable them to have a correct
idea of the location of their prey. They also have good eyesight.
 Their strong legs help them to run fast and long, sharp and strong claws in
front of their legs help them to catch and tear their prey.

Adaptations in Elephant
Elephant is a well-known animal of Indian tropical rainforest. These are plant
eaters and are adapted in many remarkable ways to survive in tropical rainforest.
These adaptations can be discussed as follows:

(i) The elephant has a long trunk which is used as nose and has a strong sense of
smell. It also helps elephant to pick up the food. The long trunk is also used for
breathing. It can reach up to the branches of trees and help it to eat tree leaves. It
is used for sucking water from lakes or rivers (drinking).

(ii) The elephant possesses tusks (long pointed teeth) that are used in tearing the
bark of trees which the
elephant loves to eat as food. It also helps elephant to fight their enemies and
protecting themselves.

(iii) The elephant has large ears that help it to hear even very soft sounds and can
sense the danger. It also helps the elephant to keep it cool in the hot and humid
climate of the tropical forest.

(iv) The feet of the elephant is large and round which help it to provide good
stability and also prevent it from sinking into soft ground due to its heavy weight.