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IN-TEXT QUESTIONS
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Question:
“What observations can you make about your food from the data collected in Table 3.1? Do you eat the same kind of food in every meal or do your choices vary? Compare your list with those prepared by your friends. Find similarities and differences in the food consumed by you and your friends. What did you find?”
Answer:
• After filling Table 3.1 for a week, we often see that we do not eat the same food in every meal.
• Our choices change each day.
• When we compare with our friends, we may find some similar foods (like rice, chapati) and some different foods (like certain vegetables or dishes).
• This shows that there is variety in what we eat because of our family traditions, local crops, and personal preferences.
Question:
“Do you think that such diversity in food exists in all states of our country?”
Answer:
Yes. Different states in India have different weather, soil, and culture. This means people in each state grow and cook different types of food. So, there is a lot of variety in the foods eaten across India.
Question:
“Why do we see diversity in traditional food consumed in various states of our country? Are there food items that are common across many states? Make a list of those food items. Are some food items eaten only in a particular state? What relation do you find between the traditional food items and the locally grown crops?”
Answer:
• Diversity in food happens because of differences in climate, soil, culture, and tastes in each region.
• Some foods, like wheat chapati and rice, are common in many states.
• Certain dishes may be unique to one state (for example, sarson da saag in Punjab).
• Traditional food usually depends on the crops grown locally. For example, states that grow rice often have many rice-based dishes.
Question:
“Why have these culinary (cooking) practices changed over time?”
Answer:
Cooking methods have changed because of:
• Better technology (e.g., gas stoves, electric grinders).
• Improved transportation (easier to get new ingredients).
• Changing lifestyles and time constraints (people look for quicker methods).
• Influences from other regions or countries.
Question:
“Have you ever missed a meal? How do you feel when you miss a meal? Why do you think a marathon runner drinks glucose water during and after a race?”
Answer:
• When we miss a meal, we feel tired, weak, and sometimes get a headache.
• A marathon runner drinks glucose water to get quick energy during and after a race. Glucose is absorbed easily and helps the body regain energy.
Question:
“Why do you think we prefer to have laddoos as a part of our traditional diet in winters?”
Answer:
• Laddoos often have ghee (fat), nuts, and sometimes jaggery. These ingredients give a lot of energy and warmth to our body, which helps during cold weather.
Question:
“Which of these food components are part of your daily diet?”
Answer:
• Students can check their meals and see if they are getting carbohydrates (rice, roti), proteins (dal, milk), fats (oil, ghee), vitamins and minerals (fruits, vegetables), roughage (salads), and water.
• Answers will differ based on each student’s food habits.
Question:
“What do you interpret by reading Case 1? What cures scurvy?”
Answer:
• Case 1 tells us that sailors in older times got swollen gums due to lack of Vitamin C.
• Lemons and oranges helped cure scurvy because they have Vitamin C.
Question:
“What do you infer from Case 2?”
Answer:
• Case 2 shows that people living in some parts of India had swelling in the neck (goitre).
• It was cured by adding iodine (in iodised salt) to their diet.
• This teaches us that iodine is an important mineral for our body.
Question:
“How would you find out more about other food components that protect our body from various diseases?”
Answer:
• We can read books, refer to charts showing vitamins and minerals, and talk to doctors or elders.
• We can also do surveys about people’s diets and check if they have any deficiency symptoms.
Question:
“What do you infer from your survey?” (Related to deficiency diseases, Activity 3.4)
Answer:
• By talking to people and seeing their diet, we might find some people not eating enough fruits or vegetables.
• They might show signs of deficiency (like weak bones or tiredness).
• We learn that it is important to include foods with vitamins and minerals in our meals.
Question:
“Which food items show the presence of more than one nutrient? Is there a food item that lacks any of these nutrients? Which of these foods do you consume daily? Try to find out other foods that are good sources of starch, fats, and proteins.”
Answer:
• For example, peanuts have both fats and proteins.
• A plain cucumber slice might not have much starch or fat.
• Students can list more foods like rice (starch), eggs (proteins, some fat), cheese (proteins, fat).
Question:
“Which of the two foods (potato wafers and roasted chana) would you choose and why? Which one is junk food?”
Answer:
• Roasted chana is healthier because it has more proteins, dietary fibre, and fewer unhealthy fats.
• Potato wafers have more oil and fewer nutrients, so they are considered junk food.
Question:
“How would eating local food help reduce food miles?”
Answer:
• Local food does not travel far to reach our plate.
• This saves fuel, reduces pollution, and supports local farmers.
• Also, local food is fresher and healthier.
Question:
“What are the food sources that provide water to our body? List a few.”
Answer:
• Drinking water is the main source.
• Fresh fruits like watermelon and oranges also have water.
• Soups and many vegetables (tomato, cucumber) add water to our body.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ACTIVITIES AND THEIR QUESTIONS ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Activity 3.1: “List the food items you have consumed over the week in Table 3.1. What observations can you make about your food from the data collected in Table 3.1?”
Answer:
• After writing down the weekly food, we see our meals usually change daily and include different cereals, pulses, vegetables, and fruits.
• It shows our diet can have variety.
• Students can note if they are eating enough fruits, vegetables, and healthy items.
Activity 3.2: “Find out the types of food traditionally consumed and the crops grown in various states of India. Why do we see diversity in traditional food consumed in various states of our country? Are there food items that are common across many states? Make a list of those food items. What relation do you find between the traditional food items and the locally grown crops?”
Answer:
• Traditional dishes vary because of different crops, weather, culture, and local customs.
• Many states share common foods like rice, wheat, or pulses, but each state also has unique dishes.
• Mostly, people cook dishes from crops that grow well in their region (like rice in coastal areas).
Activity 3.3: “Prepare a list of questions to gather information from elderly people about their food habits and cooking practices over time. Conduct interviews. What are your findings from the interviews?”
Answer (sample findings):
• Elderly people might say they used to cook on a chulha with firewood. Now, they use gas stoves.
• They might have eaten more millets and fresh fruits from farms long ago. Now, markets have packaged and processed foods.
• Changes happened because of new technology and easier transport.
Activity 3.4: “Conduct a survey based on vitamins and minerals deficiency chart. Correlate symptoms with diet. What do you infer?”
Answer (sample inference):
• Some people who do not eat enough leafy vegetables or fruits can show signs of anaemia (weakness, shortness of breath).
• People not eating enough vitamin C foods might have gum problems.
• This shows that a balanced diet is important to avoid deficiencies.
Activity 3.5 (Test for Starch): “Do the iodine test on different foods. Which items turn blue-black?”
Answer:
• Foods like boiled rice, potato, and bread will often turn blue-black, showing starch.
• Foods such as cucumber or oil will not change color because they do not have much starch.
Activity 3.6 (Test for Fats): “Wrap food in paper and see if an oily patch appears. Which ones contain fats?”
Answer:
• Items like butter, peanuts, coconut, and oil leave an oily patch.
• Starchy items like boiled rice or bread (without butter) may not leave an oily patch.
Activity 3.7 (Test for Proteins): “Use copper sulphate and caustic soda solution. If the mixture turns violet, it has proteins. Which food has proteins?”
Answer:
• Foods like boiled gram, peanuts, soya bean, paneer, and eggs turn violet.
• This shows they are good sources of proteins.
Activity 3.8: “Check your weekly diet (Activity 3.1). Is it balanced? If not, what changes will you make?”
Answer:
• A balanced diet has carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, roughage, and water.
• If a person eats only rice and no vegetables, they need to add vegetables, fruits, and proteins (like dals or eggs).
• This ensures good health.
Activity 3.9: “Compare the nutrient labels of potato wafers and roasted chana. Which would you choose and why?”
Answer:
• Roasted chana has more proteins, fibre, and fewer unhealthy fats, so it is healthier.
• Potato wafers have lots of fats and very few vitamins and minerals, making them junk food.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────── EXERCISE QUESTIONS ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Question:
“Pick the odd one out and give reasons:
(i) Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Chana
(ii) Kidney beans, Green gram, Soya bean, Rice”
Answer:
(i) Chana is the odd one out because jowar, bajra, and ragi are millets. Chana is a pulse.
(ii) Rice is the odd one out because kidney beans, green gram, and soya bean are pulses (rich in proteins), while rice is a cereal (rich in carbohydrates).
Question:
“Discuss traditional versus modern culinary practices in India.”
Answer:
• Traditional cooking used chulhas or wood-fired stoves; people ground spices on a sil-batta.
• Modern cooking uses gas stoves or electric induction stoves, and we use mixer-grinders for quick grinding.
• Transportation and storage have also improved, so people can use ingredients from far-away places.
Question:
“A teacher says that good food may act as medicine. Ravi is curious about this statement and has some questions for his teacher. List at least two questions that he can ask.”
Answer (sample questions):
• “How can food help our body fight diseases?”
• “Which healthy foods help us stay away from the doctor?”
Question:
“Not all delicious foods are necessarily healthy, while not all nutritious foods are always enjoyable. Share your thoughts along with a few examples.”
Answer:
• Foods like chocolates and chips taste good but have lots of fats, sugar, and salt, which can harm health if eaten too often.
• Some nutritious foods (like boiled vegetables, sprouted pulses) might not taste as exciting, but they are very good for our bodies.
• Balancing taste and health is important.
Question:
“Medu does not eat vegetables but enjoys biscuits, noodles, and white bread. He often has stomach ache and constipation. What changes should he make in his diet to get rid of these problems? Explain.”
Answer:
• He should eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
• Such foods have dietary fibre and help with proper digestion.
• Limiting biscuits and noodles will also help reduce constipation.
Question:
“Reshma had trouble seeing things in dim light. The doctor tested her eyesight and prescribed a vitamin supplement. He also advised her to include a few food items in her diet.
(i) Which deficiency disease is she suffering from?
(ii) Which food component may be lacking in her diet?
(iii) Suggest some food items that she should include.”
Answer:
(i) She is suffering from night blindness (difficulty seeing in dim light).
(ii) She lacks Vitamin A.
(iii) She should include foods like carrots, papaya, mango, and milk to help improve her Vitamin A levels.
Question:
“You are provided the following:
(i) Canned fruit juice
(ii) Fresh fruit juice
(iii) Fresh fruit
Which one would you prefer and why?”
Answer:
• Fresh fruit is the best choice because it has natural vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre with no added preservatives.
• Fresh fruit juice is also good, but it may have less fibre than whole fruit.
• Canned juice often has added sugar or preservatives.
Question:
“Gourav got a fracture in his leg. The doctor aligned the bones and put on a plaster. The doctor also gave him calcium tablets. On the second visit, the doctor gave him Vitamin D syrup along with calcium tablets.
(i) Why did the doctor give calcium tablets to Gourav?
(ii) On the second visit, why did the doctor give Vitamin D syrup along with calcium tablets?
(iii) What question arises in your mind about the choices made by the doctor in giving the medicines?”
Answer:
(i) Calcium helps in making bones strong and helps them heal after a fracture.
(ii) Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium better, so it was given to make sure Gourav’s bones heal well.
(iii) We might ask: “Why is Vitamin D important for calcium?” or “Can we get Vitamin D from sunlight?”
Question:
“Sugar is an example of carbohydrates. Sugar is tested with iodine solution but it does not change to a blue-black colour. What can be a possible reason?”
Answer:
• Iodine solution shows blue-black colour when it reacts with starch (a type of carbohydrate).
• Sugar does not have starch, so there is no blue-black colour change.
Question:
“What do you think of Raman’s statement, “All starches are carbohydrates but not all carbohydrates are starches”? Describe the design of an activity to test your answer.”
Answer:
• Raman is correct because starch is just one type of carbohydrate. Other carbohydrates include sugar, glucose, and fructose.
• Activity idea: Test different carbohydrate foods with iodine. Only those with starch will turn blue-black (like bread or potato). Foods with sugar (like plain sugar) will not change colour.
Question:
“While using iodine in the laboratory, a few drops of iodine fell on Mishti’s socks and a few fell on her teacher’s saree. The drops of iodine on the saree turned blue-black while the colour on the socks did not change. What can be a possible reason?”
Answer:
• The teacher’s saree might be made from a material that has starch in its sizing or finishing. This causes a blue-black stain.
• Mishti’s socks might be made of a material without starch, so there was no colour change.
Question:
“Why are millets considered a healthy choice of food? Can eating just millets suffice for the nutritional requirements of the body? Discuss.”
Answer:
• Millets (like jowar, bajra, ragi) are rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibres.
• They are called nutri-cereals because they are more nutritious than many other grains.
• Only eating millets is not enough. We need a balanced diet with proteins, healthy fats, and other nutrients too.
Question:
“You are given a sample of a solution. How would you check the possibility of it being an iodine solution?”
Answer:
• Put a drop of this solution on a food that has starch (like a small piece of bread or boiled potato).
• If it turns blue-black, the solution is likely iodine solution.
• If there is no change, it might not be iodine solution.