Basic Science

Standard VII
Part 2

Government of Kerala
Department of General Education

Prepared by

State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Kerala

2024
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
Jana-gana-mana adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharatha-bhagya-vidhata
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava subha name jage,
Tava subha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya gatha
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharatha-bhagya-vidhata
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he.

PLEDGE
India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters.
I love my country, and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage. I
shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall give respect to my parents, teachers and all
elders, and treat everyone with courtesy.
To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion. In their well-
being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.

State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Kerala

Vidyabhavan, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala - 695 012
Website www.scert.kerala.gov.in
e-mail [email protected]
Phone : 0471 - 2341883, Fax : 0471 - 2341869
Typesetting and Layout : SCERT
First Edition : 2024
Printed at : KBPS, Kakkanad, Kochi-30
© Department of General Education, Government of Kerala
Dear friends,
I‘m sure this science textbook will prove to be your bosom companion.
It will provide you with numerous opportunities for pure enjoyment by
leading you to the heights of wisdom through a variety of activities such as
observation, experimentation, construction, study tour, seminar, interview,
quiz and project. This companion enables you to behold the diversity of
nature by putting questions to you and empowering you to ask questions.
This book has been envisioned to give you the chance to develop your own
Science Kit and engage in investigative activities with your friends. How
delightful such learning experiences can be ! These experiences will add
wings to your imagination, raising you into the world of extra reading. You
can also explore new avenues of knowledge with the help of ICT. You are
also being given the opportunity to experience the country‘s development
directly and also to participate in the local development activities. Activities
enabling self assessment and leading to further inquiries are included
at the end of each lesson. I believe that this book will provide learning
experiences to elevate all the learners to higher levels of enlightenment.
Your active participation is essential in all the learning activities specially
designed for you. I‘m sure you will enrich your Science Diary with the
concepts you have imbibed through the different learning activities,
scientific curiosities, scientific imagination and your vision for national
development. I hope you will show interest in planning and implementing
various activities of the Science Club in your school. May you be able to
move ahead by engaging in scientific inquiries on your own and in the
company of your friends, with the help of your teachers.
It will give me immense pleasure to get valuable comments and suggestions
from you.
Warm regards,

Dr. Jayaprakash R.K.

Director
SCERT Kerala
Textbook Development Team
Advisor
Dr. Salahudheen Kunju
Principal (Rtd.), University College, Thiruvananthapuram
Chairperson
Prof. (Dr.) Rajeswari K.
Principal (Rtd.), IASE Thrissur
Experts
Dr. Prasannakumar R. Dr. Jayasree S.
Principal (Rtd.), DIET H.S.S.T. Zoology, G.H.S.S., West Kallada, Kollam

Members
Sri. Vasudevan P. Sri. S. Pradeepkumar
U.P.S.T., V.P.A.U.P.S., Vilayil, Malappuram U.P.S.T., U.P.S., Adayaman, Kilimanoor,
Sri. Ilyas Priyambalam Thiruvananthapuram
P.D. Teacher, G.B.H.S.S., Manjeri, Malappuram Sri. Suresh A.
Sri. Manoj Kottakkal P.D. Teacher, G.H.S.S., Kunnakkavu, Malappuram
P.D. Teacher, G.H.S.S., Puthupparamba, Smt. Smitha Aravind
Malappuram H.S.T., G.G.H.S.S., Mattanjeri, Ernakulam
Sri. Prasad P.V. Sri. Santhosh K.
U.P.S.T., M.U.P.S., Mattool, Kannur Drawing Teacher, (H.S.), G.H.S.,
Dr. Satheesh Chandran J.G. Neduva, Parappanagadi, Malappuram
Lecturer, DIET, Thiruvananthapuram Sri. Sreenivasan P.K.
Sri. Sreekumar G. Drawing Teacher, G.V.H.S.S., Eravipuram,
Trainer, S.S.K., B.R.C., Varkala, Thattamala, Kollam
Thiruvananthapuram

English Translation
Experts
Dr. Anju I. Dr. Lalitha M.
Associate Professor, Govt. College of Librarian (Rtd.), SCERT Kerala
Teacher Education, Thiruvananthapuram
Members
Dr. Jayasree S. Smt. Famila E.R.
H.S.S.T., G.H.S.S., West Kallada, Kollam State Programme Officer, Samagra Shiksha Kerala
Sri. Suresh Kumar K. Smt. Sabeena Jalal
H.S.T. (Rtd.), A.M.H.S.S., Thiruvananthapuram H.S.S.T., English, G.H.S.S. Pookkottur, Malappuram

Academic Co-ordinator
Dr. Sobha Jacob
Assistant Professor, SCERT

State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Kerala

Vidyabhavan, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 012
Contents

6. Heat in Everyday Life 111

7. Human Body- A Wonder

Circulation, Excretion and Nervous Co Ordination 127

8. Wonders of Sky 145

9. Hurt not the Environment 161

10. Safe Food 181

Additional information related to the concepts

in the textbook is given under the heading
'For Further Reading'. It is not subjected to
assessment. Please note the icon given to it.
Class - VII

Heat in Everyday Life

Observe the picture. Which energy forms are utilized here?

u Light energy
u Solar energy
u

We make use of different forms of energy in our daily life.

Which are the various situations where heat energy is used? List them.
u For cooking
u

Would you like to know more about heat energy?

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Basic Science

You have already observed the changes caused by heat energy on different
states of water.
Ice is the solid form of water. What happens when ice is exposed to air?
What happens when water is boiled? Steam is the gaseous form of water.
When substances are heated, they absorb heat energy. Can heat energy change
the state of matter? What do you think?
Let’s do an experiment to check whether your guess is right.

Melting Ice Cubes

Materials required : 2 Glass tumblers, water at normal temperature, hot
water, ice cubes.

Water at normal temperature Hot water

Take water at normal temperature in one glass tumbler and hot water in
another one as shown in the picture. Put some ice cubes in both glasses.
Ice cubes in which glass melt faster? Why? Write it in the Science Diary.
Which form of energy caused the change of state of ice?
Didn’t ice get adequate heat from water to melt?
Have you noticed coconut oil solidifying during winter? What is the reason?

Heat is a form of energy that can change the state of matter.

Does heat get transferred from one substance to another?
What is your opinion?
Discuss in your class.

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Class - VII

Transfer of Heat
Observe the picture.
The picture shows a pot of rice being
cooked on a gas stove.
How did the rice get the heat energy
radiated from the flame of the gas stove? Complete the flowchart by writing
the different ways by which heat was transferred.

The flame on Heat Heat Heat

........................... ........................... Rice
the stove

Rice gets cooked when the heat radiating from the flame of the stove is
transferred through the pot and water and reaches the rice.
What do you infer from this?
Transmission of Heat
Transmission of heat refers to the flow of heat from one place to another.
What happens to the pot after turning off the gas stove for a while? Why does
the pot lose heat?
Does the pot alone lose heat? Don’t the substances inside it also lose heat?
Discuss.
Heat is transferred to the surroundings, not only from the pot but also from
the substances inside it. This results in heat loss to the vessel and its contents.
Transmission of Heat in Solids
You know that many things around us exist in solid, liquid and gaseous states.
Is heat transmitted in the same manner in all these things? Write down your
guess.
Let’s do an experiment.
Aluminium rod
Take a 20 cm long Aluminium rod, some
pins, a candle and a match box from the
Science Kit.
Fix the pins at equal distances on the
Aluminium rod using wax as shown in
the picture. Heat one end of the rod with a burning candle. What did you
observe?
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Basic Science

Did all the pins fall down at the same time? Which pin had fallen first? What
causes the pins near the flame to fall first and those farther away to fall later?
Record your observations and inferences in the Science Diary.
This is due to the transmission of heat from the flame through the Aluminum
rod.
Repeat this experiment with Copper and Iron rods.
Heat transmission occurs not only in Aluminium but in other metals also.
Repeat the experiment with a piece of wood and a glass rod.
Discuss and record your observations in your Science Diary.
Conduction
When heat is received at one end of a metal rod, the molecules at that
end receive the heat and transfer it to the nearest molecules. This method
of transmission of heat is called conduction. In solids, heat is transmitted
through conduction.
You have understood that heat is transmitted in metals by the transfer of heat
energy.

Materials that Conduct Heat

Do all materials conduct heat well?
Haven’t you experimented with Aluminium, Copper, wood, Iron and glass
rods? Complete the table by classifying them as substances that conduct heat
well and those that don’t conduct heat well.
Substances that conduct Substances that don't
heat well conduct heat well

Haven’t you realised that all solids do not conduct heat well?
Good Conductors and Poor Conductors
Substances which allow heat to pass through them well by conduction are
called good conductors and those substances which do not allow heat to
pass through them well are called poor conductors.

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Class - VII

Find out more examples of good conductors and poor conductors based on
your experience and list them.
We make use of good conductors and poor conductors in our daily life.
In the following situations, do we use good conductors or poor conductors?
u To remove a hot vessel from the stove
u To make handles of cooking utensils
u To make cooking utensils
Check the pictures below.

Both good conductors and poor conductors are used in the same vessel.
Explain the reason for this. Find more examples of such vessels and present
them in the class.

Transmission of Heat in Liquids and Gases

Haven’t you understood that transmission of heat in solids takes place through
conduction? By which method does transmission of heat occur in liquids and
gases?
Why do we put the fire right underneath the vessel while cooking? How about
heating the sides of the vessel? What are your responses?
Let’s do an experiment.
Materials required : A transparent plastic jar with a lid, a glass tumbler with
the same diameter as that of the jar, mason pipe, Potassium permanganate,
hot water, cold water.
Make two holes on the lid of the plastic jar. Fix a 10 cm long mason pipe in
each hole in an airtight manner. Take hot water in the glass tumbler having
the same diameter as that of the plastic jar. Add some Potassium permanganate
granules to it.

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Basic Science

Take some cold water in the

plastic jar and close it with the
lid fitted with the mason pipe. Mason
Cold
water
Place this plastic jar upside down pipe
over the glass tumbler filled with
hot water containing Potassium Hot
permanganate. water

What do you observe? Discuss Plastic jar Glass

and record it in the Science Diary. tumbler

Does the water in the plastic jar at the top flow down? Can you see the coloured
hot water in the glass tumbler flowing upwards?
What causes the water in the jar at the top to flow down through one pipe and
the water in the glass at the bottom to flow up through the other pipe?
Write your inference in the Science Diary considering the temperature
difference between water in the jar and the glass tumbler.
When hot water flows up through one mason pipe, cold water flows down
through the other pipe. This cold water becomes hot and rises up again. Thus
heat spreads throughout the liquid.
In this experiment, heat was transmitted from hot water to cold water by the
displacement of molecules. Here the heat energy is transferred when molecules
move across. Heat transmission occurs in all liquids by the displacement of
molecules.
Transmission of Heat in Gases
Does transmission of heat occur in gases as in liquids?
Let’s do an experiment.
Materials required: One PVC pipe of 5 cm diameter and 30 cm length, an
incense stick, a match box, a candle.
Make a pencil sized hole at a height of 8 cm on one end of
the PVC pipe. Place a lighted candle on the table. Arrange PVC
the pipe as shown in the figure so that the candle comes pipe
inside the PVC pipe. While arranging the pipe, the portion
with the hole should come at the bottom. Light the incense
stick and watch the smoke rising up. Bring the lighted
incense stick near the hole on the pipe. Observe the
direction of flow of smoke. What change do you observe?
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Class - VII

As the air inside the PVC pipe warms up and rises, cool air flows into that
space through the hole. Along with this flow of air, the smoke from the incense
stick also enters. The air, thus entered, also gets heated and rises up. Here
also, heat is transmitted from one part to another by the displacement of
molecules as in liquids. In this way, the heat spreads in the air inside the pipe.
In both the experiments you have conducted, transmission of heat was due to
the motion of molecules, wasn't it? വികിരണം (Radiation)

Convection
Convection is the method of transmission of heat in gases and liquids by
the displacement of molecules.

What is the role of molecules in the transmission of heat by conduction and

convection?
Here the molecules serve as the medium.
Can heat be transmitted without the help of a medium?
You know that the Earth gets heat mainly from the Sun. How does the heat
from the Sun reach the Earth? We also know that there is a vacuum area
between the Sun and the Earth. This vaccum area is spread over 15 crore km.
Does heat from the Sun reach the Earth by conduction or convection? There is
no medium between the Earth and the Sun. Therefore heat cannot be
transmitted by conduction or convection. Still, we know that heat from the
Sun reaches the Earth. How does this happen?

Radiation
Radiation is the method by which heat is transmitted without the help of
a medium. Heat is transmitted to all directions through radiation. Heat
from the Sun reaches the Earth by radiation. White or smooth surfaces
reflect radiant heat more than black or rough surfaces.

Write down some situations where heat is transmitted by radiation.

u Heat reaches down from a glowing filament bulb.

u

Don’t you adopt various methods at home to keep cooked food hot for a long
time? Which are the commonly used devices to reduce heat loss? List them.

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Basic Science

Hot Box
What is hot box used for?
A hot box is a system used to reduce the use of cooking
fuel and to keep cooked food items from losing heat. In
this, food items can be kept without losing heat for an
average of 8 hours. If we place half cooked rice inside
this box, the fuel required to cook rice can be reduced
almost by half. You know that thermocol is used in the
hot box. As it is a poor conductor, the heat loss through conduction is reduced.
Heat loss through convection is reduced as the hot box is kept closed.
How is heat loss avoided in a hot box? Discuss and write it in the Science
Diary.

Ice Box
You know that ice is used to preserve food items like fish. Ice box is used to
keep ice from melting too quickly. Shall we make an ice box?
Materials Required: A small box, thermocol, glue, white enamel paint.
Cut the thermocol and glue it inside the small box. The thermocol should be
glued on the sides, bottom and the lid. Apply white enamel paint inside and
outside the box. Put the ice cubes in the box and close it. Observe how long it
can keep ice cubes from melting. Find out the various situations in which such
ice boxes are used. Discuss in the class, how the ice box minimizes all the three
types of heat loss.

Thermal Expansion of Solids

Do solids expand when heated? Let’s do an experiment.
Materials required: A battery, a bulb, a connecting wire, two Aluminium
plates, a candle, a matchbox.
As shown in the figure, arrange an electric circuit on a board using battery,
bulb, connecting wire and the two Aluminium plates.
The Aluminium plates should be placed on both sides of the wire very closely,
without touching each other. Heat the Aluminium plates using the candle.
What did you observe?

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Class - VII

Didn’t the bulb glow? Why did the bulb glow? Note down your opinion.
What happened to the Aluminium Bulb
plates when they were heated? When
heated, they expanded, came into
contact with each other and Battery
completed the circuit. Now, remove
Aluminium plates
the candle and observe. What
happened to the glowing bulb? Why?
Why did the circuit become open on
cooling?
Write down your inference from this experiment.
When heated, the Aluminium plates get expanded, the circuit is completed
and thus the bulb glows. When heat is lost, the plates contract and the circuit
is disconnected. So the bulb goes off.
Repeat the experiment using Copper and Iron plates instead of Aluminium.
Record the findings in the Science Diary.
Thermal Expansion of Solids
Solids expand when heated and contract on cooling.

Which are the situations you have noticed in daily life related to thermal
expansion of solids? Write them in the Science Diary.
Haven’t you seen the wires on the electric pole for distributing electricity?
Why do these wires get sagged in summer?
Let’s find out the reason behind this by analysing the following situations.
u A very tight pen cap is removed by heating gently.
u The tight lid of a steel tiffin box is opened by gently heating.
Analyse these contexts discuss and note down your findings in the Science
Diary.
Do Liquids Expand When Heated?
Let’s find out through an experiment.
Materials Required: An injection bottle, a cork that fits the injection bottle, an
empty refill tube of a pen, a bowl, potassium permanganate, hot water, water
at normal temperature.

119
Basic Science

Fill the injection bottle with water

and add some Potassium
permanganate granules. Make a
small hole in the rubber cork. Fix
the refill tube in the hole. Close
the injection bottle with the cork. Water at
normal Hot
Tie a thread to mark the water temperature water
level in the refill.
Take hot water in the bowl and place the injection bottle in it.
What happens to the water level in the refill? Why?
Wasn't this change caused by the expansion of water due to the heat received?
If the water in the injection bottle cools down, will the water level return to its
initial position?
What is your inference from this experiment?
The water in the bottle expands and rushes into the refill. Hence the water
level rises. Water contracts when it cools. Hence the water level is restored.

Thermal Expansion in Liquids

Liquids expand on heating and contract on cooling.

Thermal Expansion of Gases

When heated, do gases undergo the same changes as in solids and liquids? Do
gases also expand when heated?
Let’s do the experiment and find out.
Materials Required: An Aluminium lamp, a plastic tube, a board, coloured
water, hot water, cold water.
Fix the plastic tube on the Aluminium lamp as shown in the figure. Fix the
remaining part of the tube in U shape on a board. Pour two or three drops of
coloured water into the plastic tube.

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Class - VII

Aluminium Coloured Hot water Cold water

lamp water

Place the Aluminium lamp in hot water. What happens? Why?

Now place the Aluminium lamp in cold water. What do you observe? Why?
When the Aluminium lamp becomes hot, doesn’t the air inside it also become
hot? As this hot air expands, the coloured water in the tube moves upwards.
If so, what happens to the gases when they become cool?
As the Aluminium lamp cools down, the air contracts, causing the colored
water to move back in the tube and reach its initial position.

Thermal Expansion of Gases

Gases expand on heating and contracts on cooling.

Temperature
You know that units are used to express the measure of length, width, height,
area, volume and so on. Similarly, units are used to indicate the
temperature also.
Temperature is the term that indicates the degree of hotness. The
units used to indicate temperature are degree celsius (0C) and
degree fahrenheit (0F).
In your daily life, don’t you need to know the temperature?
What happens to body temperature when you have a fever?
Haven't you checked your body temperature at a hospital?
Which instrument is used for this?
A clinical thermometer is used to measure body temperature.
Clinical
Normal temperature of human body is 370C (98.60F). Thermometer

121
Basic Science

Observe a clinical thermometer.

Find out the degrees at which the measurements start and end. Write them down
in the Science Diary. Why is such a limit fixed? With the help of the teacher, find
the body temperature of your classmates using a clinical thermometer and record
the readings.
Laboratory thermometer is an instrument used in a laboratory to measure
temperature.
Let’s do an experiment with a laboratory thermometer.

Laboratory thermometer
Heat water in a beaker. Using a thermometer, find the temperature in every 5
minutes and tabulate it.
Time (minutes) Temperature (degree celsius)
5
10
15
20

Atmospheric Temperature
When does the temperature of the atmosphere rise? During the day or at
night? Why?
Do we experience the same temperature in the morning and at noon? What
about the evening?
Can changes in atmospheric temperature cause natural phenomena?
The sand and the water on the Earth get heated due to the heat from the Sun.
If soil and water are placed under sunlight at the same time, which one will
get heated faster? What is your guess?
Let’s do an experiment to check if your guess is correct.
Be sure to do the experiment on a sunny day.
Materials Required: Two glass tumblers, two laboratory thermometers,
water, sand.

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Class - VII

Take sand in one glass tumbler Thermometer

and water in another as shown
in the figure and check the
temperature with a laboratory
thermometer. Place both the Thermometer
glasses in the sun. Then measure
the temperature of sand and
water with a thermometer at an
interval of 20 minutes and record
it in the table. Water Sand

Time (minutes) Temperature

Sand Water
20
40
60

Which one gets heated faster? Sand or water?

Now move both the glasses from the sun to a shade. Measure and record the
temperature at an interval of 20 minutes.

Time (minutes) Temperature

Sand Water
20
40
60

Which one cools faster? Sand or water?

Analyse the tables. Record your findings in the Science Diary and discuss in
the class.

Land Breeze and Sea Breeze

Haven’t you found that water heats up slowly and sand heats up quickly?
Haven’t you understood that hot sand cools down quickly and hot water
cools down slowly?

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Basic Science

There is both land and sea on the Earth. Which one heats up faster in sunlight?
Land or sea?
Which will cool down faster at night? Compare the findings from the previous
experiments and form an inference.

Sea Breeze
Land heats up and cools
down faster than water.
Therefore, the land is
warmer than the sea
during day time.
The air just above the land
gets heated. This air
expands and rises up. The
air over the sea is cooler Sea Breeze
compared to that over the
land. As the warm air over the land rises up, the cold air over the sea moves
towards this place. Thus, sea breeze is formed.
What about night?
Is the air cooler at night over the land or sea?

Land Breeze
Land cools faster than sea. So, the air over the sea is relatively warmer.
Therefore, it will be the air
above the sea that is more
expanded. Then the cold
air above the land flows
towards the sea. This
causes the land breeze.
Haven’t you understood
that sea breeze and land
breeze are natural
Land Breeze
phenomena associated
with the temperature of the sea and the land? Collect news reports and
pictures related to such natural phenomena and prepare a journal.

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Class - VII

Let’s Assess
1. Consider some situations in everyday life.
u Tightly bound electric wires get sagged in summer.
u One end of a PVC pipe is heated and the end of another pipe of
the same diameter is inserted into it to join them.
a. Which property of matter with respect to heat is evident in the above
two cases?
b. Based on this, can you explain why a fully inflated balloon bursts
when exposed to sunlight?
2. Observe the arrangement of an experiment shown in the picture.
An injection bottle fitted with a plastic tube is placed in a beaker of hot
water. The tip of this tube is inserted into the hole at the bottom of another
jar filled with water.

a. What do you observe?

b. What inference can be drawn from this?
3. Classify and tabulate the following materials on the basis of thermal
conductivity.
Iron, Paper, Bakelite, Copper, Wood, Steel, Aluminium, Cloth.

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Basic Science

4. Haven't you noticed the utensils used for cooking? What is the difference
between the materials used to make the utensil and its handles? Explain
this on the basis of thermal conductivity.
5. Hot tea of same quantity is kept in an open steel tumbler and in a closed
glass tumbler of same size. Tea in which tumbler stays hot longer? Explain
your finding on the basis of heat transmission.

Extended Activities
Dismantle a thermoflask with the help of elders. Examine whether it has
the following mechanisms to prevent heat transmission.

Method of
Preventive mechanism
heat transmission

Conduction Vessel made of poor conductor

Convection Evacuated double wall

Radiation Silver coated interior of double wall

126
Human Body- A Wonder
Circulation, Excretion and Nervous Co-ordination

Observe the picture.

A child who had not taken any food for two days and had become weak due
to severe fever was admitted in the hospital. The doctor prescribed glucose
drip along with the medicine.
Why are some drugs and glucose injected directly into the blood? Does the
glucose injected into the blood reach all parts of the body? Discuss.
The nutrients that are released when the food is completely digested in the
small intestine and the oxygen that reaches the lungs as a result of breathing
should reach the cells. How do they reach the cells?

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Basic Science

Write down your assumption.

Circulatory system
Nutrients that are absorbed by the villi in the small intestine and oxygen
obtained as a result of breathing reach in cells. All these functions are
performed by blood. The system which consists of blood, blood vessels and
heart is the circulatory system.

Observe the picture and write down

?
the parts of human circulatory system.
Blood
? u

An important function of the

circulatory system is to transport
nutrients and oxygen-rich blood from
the heart to all parts of the body, and
also to carry carbon dioxide-rich blood
from different parts of the body to the
heart.

Human blood
Do you know the colour of our blood?
Why is blood red in colour?
The red colour of the blood is due to the presence
of a pigment called haemoglobin. Iron and protein
are the main components of haemoglobin. Haven’t
you understood the necessity of consuming iron
rich food?
Observe the picture of some food items containing iron. Find out other food
items containing iron and record it in the Science Diary.

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Class - VII

Dates Egg Moringa leaves

Haemoglobin plays an important role in carrying oxygen from the lungs to

the cells and carbon dioxide from the cells to the lungs.

Major Components of Blood

Observe the illustration given below.

Plasma
• The liquid part of
Platelet
blood
• Pale yellow in colour • Helps in blood clotting
• Carries glucose to the
cells

Blood

WBC RBC (Red Blood Cell)

(White Blood Cell) • Disc shaped
• No definite shape • Non-nucleated
• Has nucleus • Contains haemoglobin
• Destroys pathogens • Transports oxygen and
carbon dioxide

Analyse the illustration and write the answers of the following questions in
the Science Diary.

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Basic Science

u Which is the liquid part of blood?

u Which are the blood cells?
Heart
u What is the function of platelets? Artery
Vein
u In which blood cell is haemoglobin
found?
u Differentiate RBC and WBC

Blood Circulation
Blood flows through blood vessels to all
parts of the body.
Observe the pictures and find out how
many types of blood vessels are there in
our body.
u
Capillaries
u

u Capillaries

Vein
Artery

Starts from the heart Reaches the heart

Arteries, Veins and Capillaries

u Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the
heart to different parts of the body.
u Veins are the blood vessels that carry carbon dioxide - rich blood from
different parts of the body to the heart.
u Capillaries are the thin blood vessels that connect arteries and veins.

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Class - VII

Heart
The heart is the centre of the circulatory system. It pumps
blood to all parts of the body. Feel your own heart beat and
locate your heart.
The heart is located in the thoracic cavity between the
lungs. It is protected by the ribs.
What are the characteristics of human heart?
Observe the pictures of human heart.
u The heart is about the size of a clenched fist.
u The heart is covered by a double layered
membrane called pericardium.
u The human heart has four chambers.

Do all organisms have heart?

Do the hearts of other organism also have four
chambers?

For further reading

Organism Picture of Heart Chambers of the heart

5 pairs of
lateral hearts

13 chambers

2 chambers

3 chambers

4 chambers

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Heartbeat
Doesn’t the doctor check your heartbeat and pulse when you go to a hospital?
What is heartbeat? What is pulse?

Heartbeat and Pulse

Heartbeat is defined as the rhythmic contraction and relaxation of heart
muscles. The heart of a healthy adult beats 72 times per minute. This is
heart rate. Pulse is the wave produced in the artery as a result of heartbeat.
The heart rate and pulse rate are equal.

Check your own heartbeat and write down how many times it beats per
minute.
Observe the picture. Which are the body parts that are examined to feel pulse?
u The wrist
u Both sides of the forehead
u

Observe the picture of a doctor examining a

child.
What instrument does the doctor use?
What is its use? Write it in the Science Diary.

For further reading

Rene Laennec
Stethoscope is an
instrument used to check
the heartbeat. It was
invented by Rene
Laennec.
Stethoscope

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Class - VII

Let’s Make the Model of a Stethoscope

Materials required: Plastic tube, Y- tube, funnel, polythene tube, balloon, two
ear phone buds, metal hair bow, insulation tape.
Observe the picture and make the model of a stethoscope.
Ear phone
bud
Can you feel your own
Polythene tube
heartbeat using the
Insulation
tape stethoscope you have
Metal hair bow
made?
Balloon
Funnel Find out the heart rate
Y- tube
and pulse rate of your
friends.

Name of the Child Heart Rate Pulse Rate

Compare the heart rate and pulse rate. What are your findings? Record them
in your Science Diary.
Won’t the heart rate and pulse rate be the same?
Will there be any change in the heart and pulse rates during strenuous activities?
Find out the change in the heart and pulse rates of your friends who have
been running around for some time. Write them down in your Science Diary.
Name of Child Heart Rate Pulse Rate

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Basic Science

Does heart rate and pulse rate vary with age and medical condition?
Check the heart and pulse rates of the elders at your home and record them
in the Science Diary and present in the class.
Cardiac Wellness
Listen to the monologue of the heart.

Regular
intake of Smoking and
fatty foods drinking liquor
affects my will make me
functioning. sick fast.

Life style Lack of

diseases regular exercise
wear me will impair my
down health.

What are the things we should take care of to maintain a healthy heart?
After analyzing the illustrations, record your findings in the Science Diary.
We can protect the health of the heart through good food habits, regular
exercise and better life styles.
In Case of Injury
You have understood that the heart, blood and blood vessels are parts of the
circulatory system.
What will happen if blood vessels are cut?
While playing, your friend’s hand gets injured and it is bleeding. What will
you do?
What first aid can be given to a person who is injured?
u Clean the wound with fresh water.
u Press the wound with your hand.
u If the wound is on the hand, hold it up.
u If bleeding doesn’t stop, wrap the wound with a clean cloth or bandage.

u Get medical help quickly.

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For further reading

Transplant the Heart

Heart transplantation is performed on people with severe heart disease.
Usually, the heart of a brain dead person is transplanted onto the patient.
The first successful heart transplant was done by Dr. Christiaan Barnard
in 1967.

Blood Donation - A Noble Act

A healthy person has about 5.5 litres of blood in his body. What is to be done
if there is a decrease in the volume of blood due to accidents or illness?
Observe the picture.

Blood Donation
A Noble Donation

Blood donation is the voluntary donation of blood by a person to another or

for further use through its scientific preservation. You can also be a part of this
social service when you turn 18. Prepare slogans related to blood donation
and display in the class.

Excretory System
So far, we have discussed life processes such as digestion, circulation and
respiration.
Which is the gas produced as a result of respiration? Which organ eliminates
it? What are the other waste materials produced in our body?
What are the mechanisms available to eliminate these waste materials?

Excretion
Excretion is the process of elimination of urea, excess water, salts etc.
that are produced in the body as a result of life processes.

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Basic Science

Kidney
Kidneys are the most important excretory organs in our body. They act as
filters in the human body.
Observe the picture and identify the shape of the kidney.
Discuss the given questions with the help of the following notes and picture.
Record your findings in the Science Diary.

Kidney and Filtration Renal Artery

Kidneys are bean-shaped and are located in

the abdominal cavity on either side of the
vertebral column. The renal artery carries Renal
Vein
blood to the kidneys. This blood contains
urea, glucose, salts, oxygen and other
components. But the blood returning Kidney
through the renal vein after filtration
contains comparatively less amount of urea, Ureter
glucose, salts, oxygen, and other
components. The waste products in the
blood thus filtered by the kidneys are
eliminated through urine. Kidneys play an
important role in maintaining the proper Urinary
concentration of water and salts in the body. Bladder
The average daily output of urine from a
healthy person is 1.5 litres.

Discussion points
u Which blood vessel carries blood to the kidneys?
u Which blood vessel carries blood back from the kidneys?
u How does the blood in the renal artery differ from that in the renal vein?
u Which tube carries urine from the kidneys?
u In which part of the excretory system is urine collected?
Listen to the conversation between a child and a doctor.

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Class - VII

Doctor, I feel pain and a Don't you drink enough

burning sensation while water and urinate
urinating. There is pain in regularly?
lower abdomen also.

Proper functioning of the kidneys

To avoid frequent requires adequate intake of water. If
urination, I drink very little you don’t urinate for a long time,
water while at school and pathogens will get multiplied in the
urinate only after reaching urethra and bladder, leading to
home. infection.

What are the health problems that will occur if you don’t drink enough water
and urinate at regular intervals? Interview a doctor and write them in the
Science Diary.
Examine the illustration below.

Please give up
smoking and
drinking liquor Please
reduce excess
use of salt
tect me
Please Pro
exercise daily

Please
reduce the use
of unnecessary
Please medicines
avoid overuse of Please
artificial drinks drink at least 12
glasses of water
daily

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Basic Science

What are the measures we should take care of to protect the health of our
kidney? Discuss in the class and record them in the Science Diary.
What are the means to save someone suffering from kidney failure.
u Dialysis
u

Kidney Transplantation
Kidney transplantation is the process of transplanting one kidney from a
healthy donor to a person whose both kidneys are impaired. Kidney
transplantation will be possible only if certain vital factors, including the
blood group of the donor and the recipient, are compatible. Any healthy
person above 18 years can donate a kidney.
Other Excretory Organs
Sweat is produced in our body during summer and rainy seasons.
How is it eliminated from the body?
What materials are expelled from the body through sweat?
u Water
u

Analyse the given note and find out the functions of skin. Write them in your
Science Diary.

Sweat
Sweat is produced by sweat glands in the skin. Excess water and salt in
the body are eliminated through sweat. The heat to evaporate sweat is
taken from our body. Sweating thus helps in our temperature regulation.
Protecting the body by covering it and sensing touch are also the
functions of skin.
Sweat comes out from the sweat glands through the minute pores in the skin.
If the sweat accumulates in the skin, it will cause diseases. Therefore, skin
must be thoroughly cleansed while bathing.
Haven't you understood the importance of personal hygiene in healthcare?
Apart from kidney and skin, lungs and liver also play a role in the excretory
process.

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Class - VII

Read the notes on lungs and liver. Discuss the points given below with your
friends and record them in the Science Diary.

Lungs

Lungs eliminate the carbon dioxide

produced in the cells.

Liver Liver is the largest gland in the human

body. It destroys the harmful chemical
substances reaching through the blood.
Bile that is essential to digest fats is
also synthesized in the liver. When
nutrients break down ammonia which
is harmful to the body, is produced.
Liver converts this into urea, which is
comparatively less toxic.

Discussion Points
u Which organ eliminates carbon dioxide produced in the cells?
u Name the largest gland in the human body.
u Which chemical substance is produced by the liver?
u What are the functions of the liver?
Plants are also living things. Excretion takes place in them too. We will study
about different methods of plant excretion in higher classes.

Nervous System
There are different organs in our body. Does only one organ function when
we work? Imagine that a pen fell down from your hand. Which are the organs
that function when we pick it up? Write them down.

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All bodily activities are possible only through the coordination of various
organs in the body. How is the coordination of various activities possible in
our body? Don't you close your eyes instinctively if an insect flies towards
your eye? How about lighting a torch into your eyes? How will we respond to
such situations?
Read the note given below and find answers to the questions. Write them in
the Science Diary and present in the class.

Nervous System
Nervous system helps us to respond
according to the circumstances. It is composed
of the brain, spinal cord and nerves.
Brain is the most important organ in the
body. It is protected inside the skull. Some
of the major functions of the brain are: to
control movements of various muscles of the
body, coordinate all activities of the body and
give instructions to the cells. The brain is the centre of vision,
hearing, memory, intelligence, imagination and emotions.
Even the most modern computers are less efficient than a human
brain. A computer has the ability to work only according to the
programmed software. On the other hand, the brain can react to its
surroundings, learn and imagine new things.
Brain is active not only when you are awake but
also when you are asleep. All the body functions
are controlled and coordinated by the nervous
system. The use of alcohol and drugs, adversely
affects the functions of the nervous system.

u What are the main functions of the brain?

u Name the bony covering that protects the brain?
u What are the main parts of the nervous system?

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Class - VII

Adolescence and Health

You are growing day by day and are now passing through adolescence.
Adolescence period is from the age of 10 to 19 years. Biologically, it is a period
with many peculiarities. As a natural biological process, many physical
changes occur during this period. Brain development, sudden increase in
height and weight, increased efficiency of glands etc. are the characteristics of
this period.
What are the physical changes that take place during this period? Discuss.

Physical Changes during Adolescence

Boys Girls

Rapid growth Rapid growth

Fast growth of breast and reproductive

Fast growth of reproductive organs
organs

Hair develops around reproductive Hair develops around reproductive

organs, underarms, chest and face organs and underarms

Voice gets deeper Voice becomes sweeter

Start spermatogenesis Start ovulation and menstrual cycle

Haven’t you started experiencing such physical changes of adolescence?

Menstruation
Many kinds of preparations for reproduction take place in the uterus of a
woman every month. Numerous blood vessels and tissues develop in the
inner layer of uterus. If pregnancy does not happen, these preparations
become futile. Then the newly formed blood vessels and tissues collapse.
Blood vessels and tissues shedded off from the uterine wall gets expelled from
the body along with blood. This process is called menstruation. The menstrual
bleeding may last for seven days. Some people may experience severe
abdominal pain, vomiting, back pain and leg cramps before and during
menstruation. Some people may also develop excessive anger and anxiety
during this period.

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Basic Science

Menstrual cycle is a normal physiological process that occurs in every 28 days.

There may be slight variations in this. Consult a doctor if your menstrual cycle
is irregular.

Menstrual Hygiene
What methods do girls adopt to manage menstrual blood?
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using sanitary napkins during
menstrual periods.

Advantages Disadvantages
Difficulty in disposing

Menstrual Cup
Don’t you know that menstrual cups are now available
which are more convenient to use during menstruation.
Discuss with health workers and learn more about the
use of menstrual cups and adolescent hygiene.
What are the benefits of using a menstrual cup? Discuss
and record them in the Science Diary.
Wash your hands with a soap or mild disinfectant before and after using
menstrual cup, sanitary napkins or cloth. Care should be taken to change
sanitary napkins or cloth after every four to five hours as part of cleanliness.

Adolescent Nutrition
What kind of food should we take during adolescence? Discuss based on the
indicators given below.
u Body growth during adolescence is rapid.
u A girl loses about 0.6 litre blood during menstruation.
Considering the blood loss and rapid body growth, how should adolescents
adjust their food habits? Discuss and write in the Science Diary.

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Class - VII

Haven’t you understood that our body is a storehouse of many wonders?

Visit medical exhibitions to view and understand more about the internal
organs we have learned about.

Sexual Exploitation
Boys and girls, including small children, are subjected to various kinds of
physical, mental and sexual abuse in the society. They often become victims
of abuse in their own homes, relatives’ houses, vehicles, schools and other
public places.
You need to be careful about the following types of people while interacting
with relatives, classmates, friends and strangers.
u Those who try to touch your body parts without permission
u People who talk and look with a sexual intent
u Those who encourage you to view pornographic images and videos
u Those who show fake love and give gifts
If you face any difficulty in the above-mentioned ways, you should speak
openly without fear to your parents, classmates, teachers or school counselor.
You should practice saying ‘NO’
firmly when you recognize bad touch
by someone on your body parts.
If you don’t get enough support from
your near and dear ones even after
opening up about the harassment
you or your classmates had faced,
you can contact the Child Helpline
number.
It is the child's right to get protection
from all kinds of exploitations.

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Basic Science

Let’s Assess
1. Which among the following organs does not perform the function of
excretion?
a. Kidney b. Liver
c. Heart d. Lungs
2. Which of the following statements is correct?
a. Pulse rate increases while running
b. All individuals have the same pulse rate.
c. Pulse rate can be checked at the wrist only.
d. Pulse rate and heart rate are different
3. What should be done to prevent urinary infections?
4. What are the physical discomforts that may occur during mensturation?
5. The most important organ in the human body is the brain. Substantiate.

Extended Activities
1. Prepare and display a chart showing measures to be taken to maintain a
healthy heart.
2. Prepare posters as part of anti-drug awareness campaign, and display
them in your school.
3. Prepare an interview schedule to conduct an interview with the doctor on
the topic ‘Adolescent Health and Eating Habits’.

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Class - VII

Wonders of Sky

Kerala Celebrates Solar Eclipse!

Thiruvananthapuram: Hundreds of people
flocked to Kanakakunnu Palace to observe
the solar eclipse. Arrangements had been
made at schools in different parts of the
state to witness the solar eclipse.

Haven’t you read about solar eclipse, a celestial wonder? Have you ever seen
a solar or lunar eclipse?
How does an eclipse occur? Discuss.
To understand such celestial wonders, we should have an idea about shadows.

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Basic Science

Shadow
You might have seen your own shadow. How
is it formed?
Observe the picture.
u In which direction will the shadow of the
tree be seen in the morning?
u In which direction will the shadow of
this tree be in the evening?
u What change can you see in it at noon?
Observe the changes in the size and the
direction of the shadow of the tree in the above situations. Record it in your
Science Diary.
Draw the position of the Sun by looking at the shadow shown in the picture.
Will the shape of the shadow be the same at all times? Let’s do a simple
experiment.

Figure - 1 Figure - 2 Figure - 3

Hold a bangle as shown in the figure 1. Light a torch against it. Observe the
shape of the shadow formed on the wall. Hold a bangle as shown in the figures
2 and 3. Repeat the process. Are the shapes of all the three shadows the same?
Repeat the experiment using the following objects given in the Science Kit.
Materials: Pen, cricket ball, piece of glass, instrument box, plate, steel glass,
football.
Hold each object against the wall in different ways and light the torch onto
them. Tabulate your observations.

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Class - VII

Object The Shape of the Shadow

Pen The shape changes
Football

Analyse the table. Do all the objects cast shadows?

On which side of the source of light is the shadow formed?
Which were the objects that always formed shadow of the same shape?
Shadow and Light
All opaque objects form shadows. Shadow forms in the direction opposite
to that of the source of light. Only spherical objects always form circular
shadow.

Try to get different shapes of your shadow as shown in

the figure.

The Shadow of the Celestial Spheres

The Earth, the Moon and other celestial bodies are opaque
objects. Do they form shadows?
We have learnt that the Sun, a source of light is very large
and that the Earth is relatively small in size.

Observe the ray diagram of the sunlight reaching the Earth.

The Earth does not allow sunlight to pass through it. Hence shadow is formed
on the other side. Observe the shaded part A in the figure in which the shadow
of the Earth is formed.

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Basic Science

Look at the shape of the Earth’s shadow. Doesn’t it look like a cone ice cream cup?
What are the facts you have understood about the Earth’s shadow?
u Being an opaque object, the Earth forms its shadow.
u The shadow of the Earth is always formed in the direction opposite to the
Sun.
u The Earth’s shadow gradually diminishes and finally disappears as it
moves away.
You have now understood the shape of the shadow of the Earth. Guess
whether it will be day or night where the Earth’s shadow is formed. Write it
down.
Discuss with the teacher and check whether your guess is correct.
Observe the picture.
Jupiter
Are all celestial bodies of the same size? The Earth
size of the shadows varies with the change Moon

in the size of the celestial bodies. Sun

Mercury
Doesn’t the moon also cast a shadow like
this?

s
Mar
In a celestial sphere, it is day where the light Venus
falls and night where the shadow is formed.
Moon in Earth’s Shadow
We know that the Moon is a sphere that
revolves round the Earth. Among the following, which is the probable position
of the Moon in the shadow of the Earth?

Moon Moon
Earth Earth
Sun Sun

Figure - A Figure - B
The Moon comes in between the The Earth comes in between the
Sun and the Earth Sun and the Moon
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Class - VII

Discuss and record your answer in the Science Diary.

The figure below shows the celestial spheres the Sun and the Earth and the
Moon's orbit. B, C and D are the various positions in the path through which
the Moon revolves round the Earth.

The Sun Moon’s The

Earth
orbit

At which of these positions does the Moon enter the Earth’s shadow? B
At what position does the Moon enter completely in the Earth’s shadow?
At which point does the Moon come out of the Earth’s shadow?
In the above picture, the part of the Moon where sunlight falls is facing the
Earth. On this day, the Moon can be seen from the Earth. But when you reach
position C, you cannot see the Moon. Why? Isn’t it because the Moon comes
in the shadow of the Earth?

Lunar Eclipse
As the Moon revolves round the Earth, the Earth sometimes comes
between the Sun and the Moon in a straight line. At this time the Moon
will be in the shadow of the Earth. This is the lunar eclipse.

Lunar eclipse is one of the most beautiful phenomena visible in the sky. During
a total eclipse, the Moon appears dim in orangish red colour. Remember to
observe the upcoming lunar eclipse without fail.

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Basic Science

Earth and Moon’s Shadow

What happens when the Moon comes in a straight line between the Sun and
the Earth? The Moon is a smaller sphere than the Earth. Can the shadow of the
Moon completely cover the Earth? Observe the picture and record your
inference in the Science Diary.

The Sun

The Moon

The portion where The Earth

the shadow of the
Moon falls on the
Earth

Now you might have understood that the Moon’s shadow does not completely
cover the Earth. Can those people, on the side in which the Moon’s shadow
falls on the Earth see the Sun at that time? The Sun cannot be seen at that time
because the Moon is covering the Sun. This is solar eclipse. Does this
phenomenon occur during the day or at night? Analyse the figure, arrive at an
inference and discuss in the class.

Solar Eclipse

When the Moon revolves round the Earth, the Moon rarely comes
in between the Earth and the Sun in a straight line. At this time the
Moon's shadow falls on the Earth. People in the area where the
Moon's shadow falls cannot see the Sun because the Moon covers
the Sun. This is solar eclipse. A solar eclipse is visible only to those
in the lunar shadow.

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Class - VII

Look at the pictures of different solar eclipses.

Total solar eclipse Annular solar eclipse Partial solar eclipse

We can observe total solar eclipse, annular solar eclipse and partial solar
eclipse. Analyse the above pictures. Discuss their characteristics and record
them in the Science Diary.

Observing a Solar Eclipse

You might have noticed the news related to the solar eclipse in newspapers.
Places suitable for observing solar eclipse and the precautions to be taken
usually appear in the news.
How can we observe a solar eclipse safely? Read the following note and write
down your findings in Science Diary.

Methods of Observation
Lunar eclipse can be observed directly. But observing the solar eclipse
directly is harmful to the eyes. Hence the solar eclipse must be observed only
by using filters and reflecting the Sun’s rays in different ways. Eclipses can
be observed using quality filters in telescopes and binoculars. Decorative
glitter papers and unsafe X-ray films should not be used for observing solar
eclipse.

Solar filter spects

Solar filter used in

the telescope Method of projection
using telescope
Pinhole projector

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Basic Science

For further reading

Predicting an Eclipse
There are many softwares and apps available to predict the eclipse. With
such apps or softwares we can find out in advance when the eclipse will be
most beautiful. These can also be used to watch the scenes of past eclipses
again and again.

Meaning of the Moonlight

Haven’t you seen a beautiful glowing Moon in the sky at night?
How is it possible for the Moon to shine so brightly,
when it can’t shine by itself? Observe the image.
What would be the reason for the brightness of the
moon?
In the picture given below, can’t you see the
sunlight falling simultaneously on the Earth and
the Moon?
Since these are opaque objects, won’t the light be
reflected?

The image shows the light falling on the Moon reach the Earth after reflection.

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Class - VII

Moonlight is sunlight reflected from the Moon. The surface of the Moon is
rough. If so, is it due to regular or irregular reflection? Discuss and write it
down in your Science Diary.

Moonlight
The sunlight falling on the Moon's surface gets scattered and reaches
the Earth. This is the moonlight that we see at night.

At night you have experienced bright as well as dim moonlight. Let’s try to
find out the reason for this.

Phases of the Moon

We see the Sun in the same shape every day. But what about the Moon?
Observe the shape of the Moon on different days and draw them in the Science
Diary.
Why is the spherical Moon seen in different shapes on different days? Let’s do
an activity.
Materials needed: Three smiley balls, black paint
Examine the pictures and notes in the boxes given below. Paint half of each
smiley ball with black paint as suggested in the notes in the boxes.

Paint the other side of the Paint, covering half of the Paint, covering the entire
smiley face completely. smiley face. smiley face

The black painted part represents the shadow side of the Moon. The unpainted
part represents that part of the Moon where light falls.

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Basic Science

Place the balls in the class in east-west direction as shown in the picture
below. The unpainted part of the smiley ball should face the light and the
black painted part should face the side opposite of light. Imagine the smiley
ball as the
Moon and the B
bulb as the C
A
Sun. A,B and
C are the
positions
when the
Moon revolves
around the
Earth. East West

The child should sit in the middle of balls A and C and observe.
As per the picture, how will the child be viewing all the three balls?

On which ball can the child see the shadow portion completely?

Ball placed at which position enables the child to view half illuminated and
half shadow portions?

On which ball can the child see the illuminated portion completely?
Given below are the positions and shapes in which a child observed the Moon
in the sky after sunset on different days. Analyse the given picture based on
the activity you have done.

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Class - VII

Doesn’t the illuminated part of the Moon viewed from the Earth show a
difference at each position?
Examine the table given below and record your inferences in your Science
Diary.
When the Moon reaches The shadow side of the Moon
the position D completely faces the Earth

When the Moon reaches Half the illuminated and half the
the position E shadow sides face the Earth.

When the Moon reaches The illuminated side completely faces

the position F the Earth.

New Moon and Full Moon

New Moon occurs when the shadow side of the Moon completely faces
the Earth. We cannot see the Moon on this day. Full Moon occurs when
the illuminated part of the Moon completely faces the Earth. Half Moon
is seen when the half illuminated and half shadow portions of the Moon
face the Earth.

Waxing and Waning

Observe the pictures given below. The two pictures A and B represent the
revolution of the Moon from New Moon to Full Moon and vice versa. Are
both the pictures alike? What differences can you observe in these pictures?
Sunlight

Sunlight

Picture - A Picture - B
Which picture shows the illuminated portion of the Moon getting increased,
when viewed from the Earth?
Which picture shows the illuminated portion of the Moon getting decreased,
when viewed from the Earth?

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Basic Science

Waxing and Waning

When viewed from the Earth, the illuminated part of the Moon keeps on
increasing from the New Moon to Full Moon. This period is known as the
waxing or white halo.
When viewed from the Earth, the illuminated part of the Moon keeps on
decreasing from the Full Moon to New Moon. This period is known as the
waning or black halo.
Waxing and waning (Vridhikshayam) is the difference in viewing the
illuminated and shadow portions of the Moon as it revolves around the
Earth.

For further reading

India's Wonder that Landed on the Moon

India’s pride Chandrayaan-3 is the
first probe to land near the South Pole
of the Moon. Launched on 14 July
2023, Chandrayaan-3 landed safely
near the South Pole of the Moon on 23
August 2023. India is the fourth
country to have made a soft landing
on the Moon. ISRO is moving ahead
with Chandrayaan missions to bring
rocks and soil from the Moon to the Earth in the future. Gaganyaan, a
human space probe and Mangalyan-2, a Mars rover are some of the
future missions of ISRO. Get information about India’s space missions
from the official website - isro.gov.in of ISRO.

How will you find out the New Moon day and Full Moon day from a calendar?
Which are the symbols used in the calendar to indicate these days?
The symbol and the symbol are used in a calendar to represent New
Moon and Full Moon respectively. Observe the given calendar. Don’t you see
these symbols in the calendar? By looking at the calendar, can you find out
how many days it takes for the Moon to reach the New Moon from Full Moon.

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Class - VII

The date of Full Moon in the May

calendar 5

The date of New Moon in the

calendar

Number of days taken to reach

New Moon from Full Moon

Examine the next month’s calendar also . Find out how many days are needed
for the Moon to reach the next New Moon from the Full Moon?

The date of Full Moon

Date of New Moon in the calendar

The number of days between two

consecutive New Moons by
checking both the calendars.

Didn’t it take 30 days for one New Moon to reach the next?
The Moon takes 27 13 days to revolve round the Earth once. What is the reason
for this difference? Discuss.

From New Moon to New Moon

The Earth needs 365 14 days to revolve around the Sun once. By the time the
Moon revolves around the Earth once, the Earth would have travelled some
distance in its orbit with the Moon around the Sun. Thus a change occurs to
the position of the Earth. Hence the Moon will have to travel some more
distance in the same path to repeatedly see the phases of the Moon. It takes
more than two days for this. That is why it takes 29 12 days from one New
Moon to the next New Moon.
Check the following months in the calendar also. Aren’t your findings right?

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Basic Science

Let’s Observe
We have searched the reasons for the beautiful sights of the sky. Find out the
New Moon and Full Moon days in this month’s calendar and observe the
Moon every day after the sunset from New Moon to Full Moon. Share your
findings with your friends.

Let’s Assess
1. Observe the picture. Check the orbital path of the Moon around the Earth
and complete the table below:
The starting position
of the lunar eclipse
The position of complete Moon's

Earth
Orbit
lunar eclipse Sun

The position where Moon

the lunar eclipse ends

2. Observe the picture and complete the table by matching the boxes
appropriately.

When the Moon reaches

the position D Half Moon

When the Moon reaches

the position E Full Moon

When the Moon reaches

the position F New Moon

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3. Some statements are given below. Tick () the correct ones.
• A Full Moon is the day when the part of the Moon on which the
sunlight falls, is completely visible from the Earth.
• The waxing crescent Moon is visible overhead at sunset.
• The period of revolution of the Moon and the period during waxing
will be visible are the same.
• Solar eclipse occurs only on New Moon day.
• Lunar eclipse occurs only on Full Moon day.
• Lunar eclipse occurs on all Full Moon days.

Extended Activities
1. Let's do an activity to find out how Solar Eclipse occurs.
Preparation
Place a football on a table.
Let a child stand facing the table at a distance of one and a half meters.
Let the child hold a small ball fixed on a stick as shown in the picture.
Close one eye and hold the small ball closely in front of the other eye and
look at the football on the table.
• Is the football the only thing to disappear from the view?
• Slowly move the small ball forward away from the eye. What change
occurs in viewing the ball?
• How far should the small ball be
held from the eye for the football to
be completely hidden?
• If the small ball is further moved
away from the eye, what change
can be observed in the hidden
football?
• How should you hold the small
ball to hide the football partially?

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When football is When the small ball is When the small ball
hidden completely held slightly away partially covers the
from the eye football.

Compare the observations you had during the above experiment with
the different pictures of solar eclipse given below.

2. What are India's achievements in Space Science? Collect information and

prepare an article. Conduct a seminar exploring the ICT possibilities.

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Hurt not the Environment

How beautiful our Kerala is! We have countless scenic beauty around us. At
the same time we can also see some painful sights caused by unscientific
human interventions. Such pictures are given below. Observe them.

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Basic Science

What sights do you see?

u Organisms that suffocate due to fumes released while burning solid waste
including plastic.
u Stagnant water bodies due to the dumping of solid waste.
Have you seen such sights? List such situations you have observed and the
problems caused by them.

Situations Problems
Plastic being burnt Air gets polluted due to smoke

You might have recognised some of the problems caused by pollution. Let’s
explore more about pollution.

Burning of Garbage and Air Pollution

Which are the substances produced when solid waste, including plastic, are
burnt? Won’t there be unburnt remains while burning plastic and other
materials? What will happen to these unburnt remains when it rains? What
are the consequences of such situations? Analyse the illustration given below
and write your findings in the Science Diary.

Burning wastes including plastic

Smoke
Unburnt remains

Air Water Soil

Brea
thin For drinking t

g
b ita
a
H
Man
Animals
Plants

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Now you are convinced that the smoke and unburnt remains generated by
burning wastes, including plastic, have an adverse impact on air, soil, water
and living organisms. What chemical substances are present in the smoke
produced when plastic is burnt? How do they affect our health? Analyse the
table given below and find it out.

Chemical substances produced

when wastes including Health issues affecting humans
plastic are burnt
Even when a small amount reaches the
body problems like headache, fatigue,
Carbon monoxide blurred vision and memory loss occurs.
Inhalation of large quantity of carbon
monoxide leads to death.
Causes cardiovascular and respiratory
Sulphur dioxide
diseases.

Nitrogen dioxide Causes respiratory diseases.

Inhalation causes itching in throat and

Particulate matter
eyes, allergy, asthma and lung cancer.

Increase the risk of cancer, cause thyroid

Dioxins
related problems and respiratory diseases.

Which are the chemical substances released while burning waste materials
including plastic? What are the health issues caused as a result of this? Write
them in the Science Diary.
Does air pollution cause changes in the components of air?

Components of Air
Which are the elements found naturally in air? Observe the given pie diagram
and tabulate their quantities.

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Basic Science

Others Carbon dioxide

0.96% 0.04%

Oxygen
21%

Nitrogen
78%

u What are the components present in atmospheric air?

u Which is the most abundant component?
u What is the quantity of oxygen in air?
Analyse the pie diagram, complete the table and record the quantity of each
component.

Components of Air Quantity

Nitrogen 78%

When the atmospheric air is mixed with chemical substances, the quantity of
natural constituents in the air changes.
Air Pollution
Air pollution is caused by the mixing of smoke, toxic gases and other
chemical substances in the atmospheric air. Wildfires and natural
phenomena like volcanic eruptions and earthquakes also contribute to
air pollution. Indiscriminate actions of human beings are the main cause
of air pollution.
We have discussed the pollution caused by the burning of materials. What are
the other ways by which air pollution is caused?

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Cooking Fuels and Air Pollution

Which types of stoves are used for cooking?
Observe the pictures of stoves given below. Identify the fuel used in each?

Firewood stove Kerosene stove Gas stove

Stove Fuel Used

Firewood stove
Kerosene stove
Gas stove

When fuels like wood, kerosene and cooking gas are burnt, various chemical
substances are released.
The chemical substances released are mainly carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,
nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter etc. You have already understood the
major health problems caused by excessive inhalation of these gases.
What measures should be taken to control air pollution in the kitchen due to
the burning of cooking fuels? Discuss with friends and write in the Science
Diary.

u Construction of chimneys
u Proper ventilation
u

As in the kitchen, don’t we use different types of fuels in our vehicles? Which
are the fuels commonly used in vehicles? Write them in the Science Diary.

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Automobiles and Air Pollution

When automobile engines are operated using fuels like petrol and diesel,
sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matters
are released. Mixing of these with atmospheric air also causes air pollution.

Vehicle Inflation in Kerala

The change in the number of automobiles in Kerala since 2013 is shown in the
bar diagram below.

1 crore
1 crore 63 lakhs
1 crore 48 lakhs
33 lakhs
1 crore
Number of vehicles

94 1 lakh
80 lakhs
lakhs

Year

u What was the approximate number of vehicles in 2013?

u What was the number of vehicles in 2023?
u What is the change in the number of vehicles from 2013 to 2023?
Discuss with your friends and write in the Science Diary.
How does the increase in petrol/diesel vehicles affect the air? Haven't you
seen instances where only one person is travelling in one vehicle which can
accommodate more passengers? Shouldn't this be avoided as much as
possible? Use of public vehicles must be encouraged over private vehicles.
How does the use of vehicles like bicycles benefit the environment? Present
your findings in the class.

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Smoke Testing
Look at the picture given below. Haven't you seen smoke testing of vehicles
being done at Pollution Testing Centres?

Smoke testing is carried out to find out whether the smoke of vehicles contains
more than the permissible amount of harmful chemical substances. By smoke
testing, it can be detected whether vehicle emissions contain more harmful
chemical substances due to engine failure, age of vehicles and impurities in
fuel.
How does smoke testing help to reduce air pollution? Discuss in your class.
Visit a Vehicle Pollution Testing Centre and find out the activities going on
there.

Electric Vehicles
Have you seen vehicles having green name plates with EV printed on them?
They do not emit carbon or smoke like petrol/diesel vehicles. Electric vehicles
are a solution for air pollution caused by vehicles.
What are your comments on the use of vehicles regarding air pollution control?
Write them in your Science Diary and present them in the class.
So far, we have discussed air pollution caused by burning fuels and other
substances. Apart from this, what are the other ways by which air gets
polluted?

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Basic Science

Analyse the Pie diagram given below and find out how air pollution occurs in
our country.

7% Dust particles,
construction activities (45%)
8%
Burning waste (17%)
9%
45% Automobiles (14%)

14% Diesel generator (9%)

Industries (8%)
17%
Home cooking (7%)

How does air pollution occur? Based on the Pie diagram, prepare a note on
your findings and present it in the class.
You have understood the various ways in which air gets polluted and its
consequences.
Conduct a seminar in your class on air pollution, its causes and remedies.
Similarly, is water subjected to any kind of pollution?

Water on the Earth

You know that two third of the Earth is water. Observe the pictures given
below.

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Class - VII

What are the different forms of water found on the Earth?

u Ice caps, glaciers etc.

u Water vapour
u

For further reading

Water, Water, Everywhere...

Ocean water constitutes 97% of the Earth's water. Only 3% is freshwater
(water without salt). About 69% of freshwater is found as ice caps and
glaciers. We cannot use this also. 30% is groundwater. All water bodies
including rivers, lakes and ponds contain only 0.3% of fresh water.

Under
Surface water
ground 0.3%
water
30.1%
Pure water
Salt water 3% Ice caps,
97% Glaciers Others
68.7% 0.9%

Total water on the Earth Pure water

River - Then and Now

I used to take bath

in this river during
my childhood days.
Look at the condition
of this river now.

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Basic Science

How do water bodies get polluted?

u Disposal of plastic wastes
u Spillage of chemical substances
u

Given below is the picture of a water body polluted by algae.

What is the reason for this condition of the water body? Read the note given
below and record it in the Science Diary.

Eutrophication
Excess growth of water plants like algae in water bodies is caused by a
phenomenon known as eutrophication. This happens in water bodies
where fertilisers containing nitrogen and other similar substances flow in.
It is such flowing excess nutrients that cause excessive growth of aquatic
plants. These aquatic plants use oxygen dissolved in water excessively.
Due to this, other plants and animals in water die without getting oxygen
and the ecosystem that existed in the water body gets disturbed.

Now it is understood that water pollution is a reason for the destruction of

ecosystem.

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By analysing the pictures given below and observing your surroundings, find
out the situations that cause water pollution and write them in the Science
Diary.

u Excessive use of chemical pesticides

u Discharge of waste water into drainages
u Dumping of slaughterhouse waste in land and water bodies
u Discharge of waste from industries into water bodies
u

You have listed the situations related to water pollution. Discuss its
consequences and write them in your Science Diary.
It is our duty to protect water sources from all types of pollution. What
measures can we adopt to make water sources free from pollution? Discuss.
Drinking water sources are the most important among water sources. Which
are the sources of drinking water in your school?
Which are the qualities drinking water should have?
In the following statements, put a tick ()mark against the qualities that
drinking water should possess.

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Basic Science

u Clear water
u Colourless and odourless
u Free from germs
u Absence of hazardous chemical substances
u Presence of adequate mineral salts
u Salty taste
u Neither acidic nor basic
You have identified the qualities that drinking water should possess. Does the
water you use in your house and school have these qualities? You can test
certain qualities of drinking water even in your classroom.

Testing Drinking Water

Collect samples of drinking water and test the following characteristics:
u Colour
u Odour
u Acidic/basic nature
u Presence of insoluble impurities
What materials are required for doing the experiment?
u Hand lens
u Filter paper
u Universal indicator
u

How can we observe the colour and odour of water?

What characteristics of water can be identified using filter paper and hand
lens?
Can’t you find out whether water is acidic or basic, using universal indicator?

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Class - VII

Check the samples of drinking water you have collected. Collect data and
tabulate. Analyse the data and record the results in your Science Diary. Present
them before the class.
Shouldn’t the drinking water be purified if it is contaminated with impurities?
Let's familiarise with certain methods of water purification.

Purification of Drinking Water

What methods do you know to purify drinking water if it is contaminated
with impurities? List them out.
u Sifting
u

Some methods to purify drinking water are given below:

Analyse them, find out the merits and demerits and present them before the
class.
Boiling for at least one minute will kill the microorganisms
Boiling in the water. But the dissolved components in the water
will remain.
Undissolved impurities in water are separated by filters.
Sifting But microbial and dissolved components are not
removed.
The undissolved impurities are allowed to settle down.
The water that appears on top can be separated and
Sedimentation
used. Microbes and dissolved components cannot be
completely removed by this method.
Adding sufficient quantity of bleaching powder will kill
Chlorination the microorganisms in water. But the components
dissolved in the water cannot be removed.
It is the method of boiling water into steam and cooling
Distillation it to collect pure water. There will be no dissolved
components in the water collected in this way.
Enquire other ways to purify drinking water. Record them in Science Diary.
Which of the above methods are used in your home and school? Write them
in the Science Diary.

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Basic Science

Pollution in Soil Too

Observe the headlines and the picture of the news given below.

Dumping
garbage
here is
punishable

What are the things mentioned in this news? How do such habits of some
people in our society affect the environment? Write your findings in the
Science Diary and present them before the class.

Household Waste
List out the different kinds of waste formed in a household?
u Fruit peel
u Vegetable waste
u Plastic covers
u

You know that if a fruit peel is left in the soil for a long time, it may get
dissolved into the soil as a result of the action of soil microbes. Biodegradable
wastes are such wastes that decompose and get dissolved in the soil due to the
action of microbes. Instead, if it is a piece of plastic, will it degrade into the soil
like the fruit peel? Microorganisms in soil cannot breakdown plastic waste,
glass pieces, metals, electronic waste, thermocol and the like. Such substances
are non-biodegradable wastes.

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Class - VII

Classify wastes into biodegradable and non-biodegradable.

Biodegradable Non Biodegradable

u Banana peel u Plastic covers
u u

u u

Out of these, which type of wastes cause soil pollution? Discuss.

Nonbiodegradable wastes such as plastic products, pesticides and chemical
substances pollute the soil. Metals like Mercury and Cadmium present in CF
lamps, computers and electronic products also cause soil pollution.

Separating Household Wastes

Certain household wastes are mentioned below:
Bulbs, food wastes, CF lamps, paper, paper cups, footwear, bags, clothes,
pesticide containers, paint containers, plastic bags, vegetable wastes,
cardboard packing materials, plastic cups, mobile phone battery, plastic
bottles, glass bottles, empty toothpaste tube, fish and meat waste.

Classify and tabulate them in such a way that they can be deposited in the
appropriate bins shown in the figure.

Bio Non-
degradable Hazardous
biodegradable
waste waste
waste

Haven't you properly sorted out the garbage? Do you practice this method at
home and school? What is the advantage of sorting waste at its origin itself?

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Basic Science

What should we do after sorting those garbage? Let’s discuss.

Scientific Methods of Waste Management

The most appropriate method is to dispose the waste at the source itself. This
is known as waste management at source. Its first step is to segregate the
waste at the source itself. Some of the waste you have sorted out can be used
to make organic manure. Which are they?
Organic waste can be broken down into simpler chemical compounds with
the help of microorganisms. They decompose to form nitrate, phosphate and
sulphate which are helpful for plant growth. Hence, they can be used as
fertilisers. Bio waste can become organic manure only if it is treated in proper
way. There are three main methods of biowaste management at household
levels.
u Vermi composting
u Air contact composting
u Production of biogas
Vermicompost is a fertiliser produced using
earthworms. This is also a method of waste
management. Plastic containers, large pots and
cement tanks are used for vermicomposting.
Earthworm takes in organic matter and their
excreta turns into manure.
Earthworm compost Manure produced by vermi composting is superior
to other manure.

Air Contact Composting

Observe the picture. Are you familiar with this
system?
A biocomposter bin consists of specially designed
containers for waste management. They are arranged
in tiers as shown in the figure. The process taking
place in it is air contact composting. Find out how it
works. Biocomposter bin

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Class - VII

Biogas Production
A biogas plant is a system that converts waste into
fuel in the absence of oxygen. In this method, along
with waste management, cooking gas is also
obtained as a product. Visit a biogas plant and learn
about its working. Write it in the Science Diary.
We can manage biodegradable waste generated at
home and school using the above methods. Collect
more details about each method. Biogas Plant

Any one of these methods can be adopted to manage

biodegradable waste in your home.
Paper and paper products can be recycled. But can all nonbiodegradable
waste be disposed in the same way? Plastic products that are very thin cannot
be recycled. What would be the reason for banning the production and
distribution of very thin plastic covers? What measures can be taken to reduce
nonbiodegradable waste?
Haven’t you heard of 3 R’s? What does it indicate?
u Reduce
u Reuse
u Recycle
It is a strategy adopted worldwide to reduce the amount of nonbiodegradable
waste. It has to become a part of our life and culture.

R- Reduce R- Reuse (Reusable) R- Recycle

(minimised use) (Only those with standard grades) (Recyclable)
Plastic cups Plastic bags Metal products
Plastic, thermocol Plastic jars Plastic products
plates

Mineral water bottle Plastic utensils u

u u u

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Basic Science

Haritha Karma Sena

In our state, Haritha Karma Sena
is playing a major role in
transporting nonbiodegradable
waste to the treatment centers.
Enquire more about the activities
of Haritha Karma Sena and write
them in the Science Diary. Local
Self Governments are implementing various activities to avoid environmental
pollution. Collect information about such activities, prepare a report and
present it before the class.
Pollution Problems in My Locality (Investigatory Project)
We have understood the various situations in which air, water and soil are
polluted and their consequences. Conduct a study to find whether such
conditions exist in your locality for air, water and soil.
Write your hypotheses regarding this topic in your Science Diary.
What observations are needed for conducting the study? What information
are to be collected?
Analyse the data and prepare a project report including your findings and
recommendations. Present it before the class and invited guests and discuss.
Waste Free Green School
Discuss in class, the steps you can take to make your school a waste free green
school.
Objectives Actions to be taken
Garbage disposal of noon-meal
Paper waste disposal
Plastic waste disposal
Constructing Biodiversity Park
Carry out the activities you have planned with the help of everyone in the
school. Achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Green School through it.
It is the duty of every human being to protect water, soil and air from being
polluted.

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Class - VII

Let’s Assess
1. Observe the diagrams given below. Find out how the air is gets polluted
in each situation and complete the table.

Situation Ways of air pollution Consequences

•
•
•
•

2. Prepare posters calling for the prevention of environmental pollution.

3. Identify the correct statements regarding plastic waste management from
those given below:
a) Thin plastic products should be burnt.
b) Plastic products should be recycled as much as possible.
c) Plastic products should be reused as much as possible.
d) Use of plastic products should be minimised.

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4. Which method of purification can be adopted to separate freshwater from

seawater?
a) Sifting
b) Chlorination
c) Distillation
d) Sedimentation

Extended Activities
1. Take moist soil in a pot. Bury a fruit peel and a plastic wrap in the potting
soil simulataneously. Observe them after two weeks. Prepare a note based
on your findings.
2. Prepare a speech on ‘Vehicles and Air Pollution.’
3. Prepare a short note based on an activity carried out at your home on a
project implemented by the Local Self Government for waste management.
Present it before the class.
4. Create and display a logo in connection with making your school a Zero
Waste Green School.

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Safe Food

Observe the picture. What a variety of food items we have!

You might have tasted most of them.
List out the food items you usually eat in the Science Diary. Read out the
items each of you have listed. Isn’t it a long list?
What may be the reason for such a diversity in food items?
Humans always have paid special importance to food. We also experiment
with food items and make changes.
Do you think that all the food items you have listed are healthy for us?
Is it healthy to eat certain food items regularly?
Poor quality food items adversely affect our health.

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Why Food?
Why do we eat food? Discuss and note your opinions in the Science Diary.
u For healthy growth
u For energy to work

Where Do We Get Food From?

How many times a day do you eat? Which are the dishes you generally include
in your diet? From where do you get the ingredients for these dishes? The
following table gives a child’s lunch, the ingredients used to prepare the
dishes and their sources. Analyse it.

Sources of the
Lunch Ingredients used
Ingredients
1. Boiled rice Rice From the shop
Fish, shallots, tomato, tamarind, garlic. From the market
Chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt. From the shop
2. Fish curry
Green chilli, coconut oil, curry leaves. From home
Water. From the well
Pea, coconut, coconut oil, mustard, chilli. From home
3. Thoran Turmeric powder, salt. From the shop
Water. From the well

4. Mango Mango, chilli powder, asafoetida, salt,

oil, fenugreek powder, mustard and From the shop
pickle turmeric powder.

u From where do we procure the ingredients required for cooking the dish?
Out of these items, which were bought from a shop?
List your menu for one meal in the table given below.

Sources of the
Food Ingredients used Ingredients used

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Various ingredients are used for cooking different food items. These items are
procured from different places. You have realised this when you analysed the
table.
The food we eat must be nutritious and safe. Hence, care must be taken to
ensure the quality of both the ingredients used for preparing the dishes and
the method of preparation.

Safe Food
Listen to the dietician.

The reasons for many of our health

problems are lack of balanced diet
and improper food habits. In order
to make the food healthier we have
to take care of many factors right
from the selection of food items to
its consumption.

What are the factors to be considered from the selection of food items to its
consumption to get safe food? Write them down.

u Selection of food items

u ......................................................................................
u ......................................................................................
u ......................................................................................
u ......................................................................................
u Consumption of food
While Selecting Food Items
We buy cooked food items and ingredients for cooking food items from shops,
hotels and markets. Do you ensure their quality while you select each of them?
Let’s take one example.

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While Choosing Fish

Fresh fish Rotten fish

To choose To avoid

When the finger pressed over the fish

The depression on the fish caused
is released, the depressed part on the
by pressing it with a finger remains.
flesh restores its shape.

Slightly wet and shiny outer skin Flesh gets detached from the bone

Slightly greenish or ash-coloured

Shiny and pinkish gills
gills

Intact eyes with normal colour Sunken eyes

No foul smell Foul smell

From the table, find out the precautionary measures to be taken while selecting
fish and record them in the Science Diary.

Milk and Milk Products

In your house, where do you get milk from? Discuss.

u Buys packet milk

u

u
What factors are to be considered while selecting milk and milk products from
shops? Examine the given statements and put () mark in the appropriate
boxes.

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u Milk packet with a logo

u Discoloured milk
u Unpacked milk and milk products
u Date of packing and expiry printed on the packet
u Quality of the source
u Packed and sealed cheese and paneer
Haven’t you understood the measures to be taken care of while purchasing
milk and milk products from shops?

Fruits and Vegetables

Don’t you buy fruits and vegetables from shops? What factors are to be
considered while selecting them? Complete the table.

To be selected To be avoided

• Undamaged outer skin •

• •
• •

While Choosing Packed Food Items

Nowadays many food items like biscuits, chocolates, chips and juice are
available in packets. Have you noticed the information regarding the products
that is recorded on such packets? Bring an empty food packet (biscuit, bread,
chocolate etc.) from your home and examine the label on it using a hand lens.
What information are you able to collect? Record them in the Science Diary.

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Find out which among the following information are present in the label of
the packet you have examined.
u Name of the food item
u List of ingredients
u Information regarding nutrients
u Calorific value
u Vegetarian / non vegetarian symbols
u Quantity, weight
u Date of manufacture, date of expiry
u Place of production, address of producer
u Added preservatives
u Colouring materials used
u License number and fssai logo
u Method of use
Discuss your findings and present them in the class.
Haven’t you understood the measures to be taken care of while choosing
packed food items?
Adulteration
Food adulteration is an area of great importance while considering the quality
of food items. Analyse the news report on adulteration and answer the
questions given below.

Excessive Adulteration in Jaggery

The Department of imparts colour to
Food Safety seized fabrics, was seized by
3500 kg of adulterated the Department. The
jaggery from different presence of even a
parts of the state. minute amount of
Jaggery mixed with Rhodomin B in the
Rhodomin B, a body can cause fatal
synthetic dye that diseases like cancer.
u Why is Rhodomin B added to jaggery?
u What is the harm in adding Rhodomin B?

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You may have noticed similar kinds of adulteration in various food items. In
food items like chilli powder, turmeric powder and tea dust, substances that
resemble them are added as adulterants.

Adulteration

Addition of similar, cheap and poor quality substances to food items is

called adulteration. Selling food items after the removal of its quality
components and unauthorised addition of colours to food items to
give the appearance of quality can also be branded as adulteration.

Many of the food items you consume may be adulterated. Hence while
selecting food items, maximum quality should be ensured. How can we detect
food adulteration? Let’s examine some food items.

Adulteration in Honey
Which one of the following can be a probable adulterant for honey?

Water Jaggery solution Sugar solution Rice soup

Pure honey is very expensive. Usually sugar solution or jaggery solution is

mixed with honey. Dip a cottonwick in honey and light it. If it burns well,
honey is not adulterated. If the lighted wick burns with a crackling sound, the
honey is adulterated. This sound is due to the presence of water in the sugar
or jaggery solution added to honey. When pure honey is poured into water,
it settles down. If the honey is adulterated, it immediately dissolves in water.
Conduct both these experiments and write down the findings in the Science
Diary.

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The adulteration in certain food items and the methods to identify them are
given below. Observe them carefully.

Turmeric Coconut Oil Asafoetida

Take water in a glass Fill half of a

tumbler and sprinkle glass tumbler
a pinch of turmeric with coconut
powder into it. oil, keep it in
Colour will spread the freezer for Take a piece of
to the bottom if it 30 minutes and observe asafoetida in a
is adulterated with it. If the coconut oil is spoon and burn it.
synthetic dye. If not pure, it would have frozen If it does not burn
adulterated, turmeric completely. If any other like camphor,
powder will settle oil had been added to it may be
down at the bottom coconut oil, the adulterant assumed that it is
without the colour oil will float above the adulterated.
spreading. coconut oil in the liquid
state itself.

Based on the descriptions given above, carry out the following activities to
find out the adulteration in food items like turmeric powder, coconut oil and
asafoetida available at your home. Tabulate your observations and inferences.

Activity Observation Inference

Take some water in a glass
tumbler and sprinkle a pinch of
turmeric powder into it.
Take a piece of asafoetida in a
spoon and burn it.
Keep a glass tumbler half filled
with coconut oil in the freezer
for 30 minutes.
Present your inferences in the class and Science Club.
Prepare a notice or poster to disseminate the message, ‘Adulteration is a Social
Evil’. Exhibit it in the Science Club and public places.

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Safe Storage of Food Items

We have been discussing the measures to be taken to
ensure safety of food items while selecting them. Equally
important is the preservation of food items. Why is
preservation essential? Discuss the points given below.
u Many food items are produced at various places
in different seasons, aren’t they? Are they all
consumed in the respective seasons themselves?
u Are the fruits, vegetables and other food items
fully consumed at home on the same day of
purchase itself?
u Do you have leftovers of cooked food?
Analyse these instances. Find out the reasons for preserving food items.
u To overcome food scarcity
u

What will happen if the food items are not properly preserved?

At home, rice stored in a container remains

unspoiled for a long time.
But cooked rice gets spoiled after a day.
Is it spoiled due to cooking?

Do you have the same doubt? Read the note given below:
Spoilage of food items is mainly due to the decomposition action by micro-
organisms like bacteria and fungus. Micro-organisms become inactive at very
high and very low temperatures. Moreover, micro-organisms cannot be active
in the absence of moisture. They cannot act on food items which are packed
air tight.

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What could be the reason for rice stored

in a jar not getting spoiled for a long
time and cooked rice getting spoiled
after a day? Discuss.
Take out a slice of bread from a packet.
Sprinkle one or two drops of water over
the bread.
Observe the bread after three days using a hand lens or a microscope. What
do you see on the bread? What is the reason for this? Write your observations
in the Science Diary and draw the fungus you have observed.

Methods of Food Preservation

Observe the pictures.

You have seen the storage of different food items in different ways. Complete
the table by finding out the method of preservation of each.

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Class - VII

Method of
Food Item Reason for Non-spoilage
Preservation
Dried and Micro-organisms cannot act in
Chilli
stored the absence of moisture
Cherry
Gooseberry
Pineapple
Chips
Drinks
Vegetables

Haven’t you understood the various methods by which food items are
preserved? Find out more examples of food items which are preserved under
each method and expand the table. Present before the class and discuss.

Preserved Preserved Preserved

Dried and Preserved in
in sugar in low in air tight
stored salt solution
solution temperature container
• Rice • Gooseberry • Cherry • Milk • Biscuit
• • • • •
• • • • •

Salt Solution and Sugar Solution

Micro organisms cannot survive in sugar
and salt solutions. Why is it so?
Let’s do an activity.
Materials required: Two Taro leaves
with petioles, two beakers, water, salt.
Procedure: Take two beakers. Take pure
water in one beaker and concentrated
salt solution in the other. Place Taro
leaves with petioles in both the beakers.
Observe after one day. What change has occurred? What may be the reason
for the change?

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Water from the cells of the Taro leaf placed in salt solution flows into the salt
solution. Due to this, the cells of the Taro leaf shrink and the leaf withers.
Likewise, water from food items preserved in salt solution moves into the salt
solution. Salt absorbs water not only from the food items but also from the
cells of the micro organisms present in them. Micro organisms get destroyed
when their cells lose water. The same thing happens when food items are
preserved in sugar solution.
Haven't you eaten mangoes preserved in salt solution? Based on the above
experiment, find out the reasons for the shrinkage of tender mangoes preserved
in salt solution and write them in your Science Diary.
Jam is an example for the preservation of food items in sugar. Let’s see how
jam is made.

Let’s Prepare Jackfruit Jam

Grind one kilogram of fully ripened jackfruit.
Cook until it thickens. Add 500 g of sugar to
it and stir well for 10 minutes. Allow it to
cool for sometime and add a spoonful of
lemon juice. After it has cooled down,
transfer it into a clean and dry airtight
container.
Prepare jam at school using any fruits like papaya, pineapple etc.

Pasteurisation
Have you seen the labeling 'pasteurised milk' on the milk packets? What does
it mean?

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Class - VII

Pasteurisation is a method to prevent spoilage of milk.

Heat milk to 700C for 30 seconds and cool it to 100C
immediately. This sudden temperature difference leads
to the rupturing of the cell membrane of the micro
organisms. As a result, they get destroyed. This process
was invented by a French Scientist, Louis Pasteur. Hence,
this process is named as pasteurisation. Wine and fruit
juices are also preserved by pasteurisation. Louis Pasteur
(1822 - 1895)
Adulteration in Ice, Too!
Observe the picture.
It takes many days for the deep sea fishing boats to reach the shore. Small
scale vendors will take still more time to distribute the fish to other places.
How is it possible to preserve fish for such a long time?
You may have seen the use
of ice to prevent the decay of
fish. While making ice, a
chemical substance called
Ammonium Chloride is
added for the quick
condensation of water, to
prevent melting and to
maintain low temperature.
Ammonium Chloride is harmful to our body. Therefore fish must be cleaned
well using plenty of water before cooking.
You know that food items are kept in refrigerator
to prevent spoilage. The temperature in all the
compartments in a refrigerator is not the same.
We store different food items in different
compartments. Micro organisms cannot be active
at very low temperature. That is why food items
don’t get spoiled. What will happen to food items
when they are taken out of the refrigerator? Micro
organisms will start functioning and the food will
be spoiled.

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Basic Science

Enquire how food items should be arranged scientifically in the refrigerator.

Write it down in the Science Diary and present it in the class.

Hygiene for Safety

Do you wash your hand and mouth properly before and after having food?
Shall hygiene related to food items be ensured by practicing this alone?
The following should also be taken care of to maintain hygiene.

u The place from where food items are bought

u Storage after purchase
u Cooking
u Eating
u Storage of the left overs
What are the things to be considered in relation to the above mentioned
aspects? Discuss and present them in the class.
Do you consider the following things related to food? Put a () mark against
the ones you consider and (×) mark against those you don’t.

u The places/markets from where you purchase fruits,

vegetables, fish and meat are hygienic.

u Vendors wear gloves and masks.

u Food items are kept clean in the market.

u Food items are kept covered.

u Pure water is used for cooking.

u Knives, utensils, cutting board and food items are

used after washing them thoroughly.

u Fruits, vegetables, fish, meat etc., are cut only after washing.

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Class - VII

u The prepared food is kept covered.

u Hands are washed using soap before serving and eating food.

u Clean plates are used for eating.

u Food is taken not long after it is cooked.

u All members in the home take food together at a hygienic place.

u Left overs are preserved, only if they can be used later.

u The place where food is served is cleaned up.

Give one score to each right answer and find out your total score. Is your score
low? If so, what are the things that need your attention?
Clean, safe and healthy food is our right. Cooking with quality ingredients
alone will not guarantee quality food. Food can be healthy only if the place
where food is stored, temperature and cooking method are apt. Only then can
we maintain better health.
So far we have been discussing the measures to be taken to ensure this. Let’s
conduct a food fest at school considering all these criteria.
Items can be prepared individually or in groups.
What are the arrangements to be made?

u Deciding the proposed dishes and their quantity

u Listing of required food items and their procurement
u Safe cooking
u Arranging the dishes in hygienic and attractive way
u Cleaning activities after the conduct of food festival

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Basic Science

Plan the activities to organise the food fest. Prepare posters and exhibit them.
Prepare a report after the conduct of the food fest and present it in the Science
Club.

Let’s Assess
1. Which adulterant can probably be added to pepper?
a. Green gram
b. Tamarind seed
c. Papaya seed
d. Bengal gram
2. Can the ice cubes used in fish markets be used to prepare cool drinks?
Why?
3. What are the things to be taken care of while you purchase fruits from
shops?
4. Milk, tomato, fish, cucumber, lady’s finger and meat are to be kept in the
refrigerator. Out of these,

u Which are to be kept in freezer?

u Which are to be stored in compartments other than the freezer?

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Class - VII

Extended Activities
1. With a hand lens, examine the food packets stored in the kitchen. Are there
any expired ones?

2. Do you dry and store lentils, chilli, bitter gourd, lady’s finger, scarlet
gourd, jackfruit etc. when available in plenty? Do you have to add salt
before drying them? Do the activity with the help of your family members.

3. Prepare a speech on the topic ‘Safe Food: A Human Right’ and present it in
the class.

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