Part 1: Work with Life Forms
Project 1: Plant Nursery
Q1. What is a plant nursery?
Ans. A plant nursery is a place where plants are grown and nurtured under suitable conditions for later use in gardens, fields, or homes.
Q2. Why are plant nurseries important?
Ans.
- Preserve original species
- Create new varieties
- Grow plants on a large scale
- Protect plants from pests and extreme conditions
- Provide plants throughout the year (not just seasonal)
Q3. What do plants need for growth?
Ans. Air, sunlight, nutrients, water, suitable temperature, humidity, and proper soil.
Q4. What are the methods of plant propagation?
Ans.
- Seeds (e.g., cereals, pulses)
- Cuttings (hardwood – grape, fig; semi-hardwood – mango, guava; softwood – rose, chrysanthemum)
- Tubers (potato)
Q5. What tools and materials are needed for a nursery?
Ans. Shovel, spade, cutter, watering can, gloves, seedling trays, compost, shade-net, bamboo poles, PVC pipes, nursery bags, and labels.
Q6. What precautions should be taken in a nursery?
Ans.
- Handle tools carefully
- Use gloves for grip and safety
- Wash hands after working with soil
- Bend knees while lifting heavy objects
- Store tools properly
- Maintain internet safety when researching
Q7. What types of nurseries exist?
Ans.
- Vegetable nurseries (tomato, brinjal, onion)
- Fruit nurseries (banana, mango, coconut)
- Flower nurseries (rose, marigold)
- Ornamental plant nurseries
Q8. What is a germination test?
Ans. A test to calculate the percentage of seeds that sprout into seedlings. It helps in knowing how many seeds are required for planting.
Q9. What are raised-beds and why are they used?
Ans. Raised-beds are soil beds elevated above ground to allow drainage, air circulation for roots, and easy weeding/watering.
Q10. What are plug/seedling trays?
Ans. Trays with small cells filled with cocopeat or soil for sowing seeds when space is limited or for large-scale production.
Q11. What is the use of stem cuttings?
Ans. New plants can be grown from parts of stems. It is used for plants like rose, bougainvillea, mango, guava, grape, and fig.
Q12. Who is known as the “Seed Mother of India”?
Ans. Rahibai Soma Popere – she preserved more than 43 indigenous crop varieties.
Q13. What care should be taken for young plants?
Ans. Provide proper watering, shade, compost, protection from pests, and transplant them at the right time and place.
Q14. How can cost be calculated in a nursery?
Ans. By recording the price of seeds, trays, nursery bags, compost, and other materials, then estimating the selling price of plants.
Q15. What jobs are related to this project?
Ans. Gardener, farmer, botanist, forest officer, agricultural scientist.
Project 2: School Habitat Garden
Q1. What is a habitat garden?
Ans. A habitat garden is a specially designed space that provides food, water, shelter, and space for animals (birds, insects, small mammals, etc.) to live and thrive.
Q2. Why do animals need a habitat garden near humans?
Ans. Because natural habitats are shrinking due to towns and cities, many animals lose shelter and food. A habitat garden helps them survive and coexist with humans.
Q3. What are the four essentials of every animal’s habitat?
Ans. Space, Shelter, Food, and Water.
Q4. Give examples of animals that adapt to human surroundings.
Ans. Pigeons, crows, sparrows, squirrels, butterflies, moths, rats, lizards, and bats.
Q5. Why are sparrows disappearing from cities?
Ans. Due to shrinking green spaces and lack of trees/bushes for shelter.
Q6. What materials do birds use for building nests?
Ans. Twigs, grass, dried vegetation, feathers, paper, wires, and ropes.
Q7. Name some protected areas in India for wildlife conservation.
Ans.
- Kaziranga National Park (Assam) – One-horned rhinoceroses
- Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary (Rajasthan) – Migratory birds
- Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala) – Tigers
- Fambong Lho Sanctuary (Sikkim) – Butterflies
- Kanha National Park (Madhya Pradesh) – Barasingha deer
Q8. What is the meaning of ‘sanctuary’?
Ans. A safe place where all needs of animals are met.
Q9. What tools and materials are required for a habitat garden?
Ans. Shovels, spades, trowels, watering cans, seeds/seedlings, compost, gravel, stones, waste wood, containers, bird feeders, butterfly shelters, etc.
Q10. What precautions should be taken while creating a habitat garden?
Ans.
- Do not disturb animals or damage habitats
- Wear gloves for safety
- Avoid stagnant water (prevents mosquitoes)
- Maintain cleanliness
Q11. Which animals are welcome in a school habitat garden and which are not?
Ans.
- Welcome: Butterflies, sunbirds, sparrows, squirrels
- Not welcome: Mosquitoes, snakes
Q12. What is mudpuddling?
Ans. The process where butterflies gather around damp soil or droppings to absorb nutrients and water.
Q13. What is dustbathing?
Ans. Birds clean their feathers and remove insects by rubbing their bodies in dry soil or sand.
Q14. How can we provide shelter and food for animals in the garden?
Ans.
- Nesting boxes for birds
- Bird feeders with grains and seeds
- Butterfly feeders with rotten fruit or sugar syrup
- Shelters for insects using logs, straw, and bricks
Q15. Why are fireflies disappearing?
Ans. Due to habitat loss and light pollution, which disturbs their mating signals.
Q16. What is the role of a habitat garden in biodiversity?
Ans. It creates a mini-ecosystem where plants, insects, birds, and small animals coexist, supporting ecological balance.
Q17. How is the habitat garden maintained?
Ans. Regular watering, weeding, composting, cleaning, filling bird baths, and avoiding stagnant water.
Q18. Which jobs are related to this project?
Ans. Naturalist, conservationist, entomologist, zoologist, botanist, forest officer, and environmentalist.
Part 2: Work with Machines and Materials
Project 3: Tie and Dye
Q1. What is Tie and Dye?
A1. Tie and Dye is a fabric designing technique where parts of the cloth are tied, folded, or stitched to resist dye, creating unique colourful patterns.
Q2. What is Bandhani?
A2. Bandhani means ‘to tie or bind’. It is one of the oldest resist dye techniques, practised mainly in Gujarat and Rajasthan, often using natural dyes on cotton, silk, and wool.
Q3. Name some famous Tie and Dye techniques.
A3.
- Bandhani (India) – dots, spirals, animal/plant motifs.
- Leheriya (Rajasthan, Gujarat) – wave-like patterns.
- Shibori (Japan) – wring, squeeze, press method using stitches.
- Batik (India) – wax resist method, popular in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan.
Q4. What natural dyes can be used?
A4. Beetroot (pink/red), turmeric/marigold (yellow), spinach (green), blue hibiscus (blue), tea/coffee (brown), pomegranate (red), onion skin/orange peel/henna/indigo, etc.
Q5. Why are fixers used in dyeing? Give examples.
A5. Fixers prevent the colour from fading or bleeding. Examples: salt, vinegar, baking soda.
Q6. Which fabrics are best for Tie and Dye?
A6. Strong natural fibres like cotton, silk, and wool. Old light-coloured clothes (without starch/dirt) can also be used.
Q7. What precautions should be taken during Tie and Dye?
A7.
- Wear gloves, aprons, masks, goggles.
- Work in a ventilated space.
- Handle scissors safely.
- Dispose of dyes carefully.
- Use plastic sheets to avoid splashes.
Q8. What are the main steps in the Tie and Dye process?
A8.
- Select and wash the fabric.
- Choose plant/material for dye.
- Tie the fabric.
- Prepare dye + fixer.
- Dip tied fabric in dye.
- Dry the fabric.
- Untie to reveal design.
- Iron to finish.
Q9. Why are Tie and Dye products unique?
A9. Because each artisan ties fabric differently, no two patterns are exactly the same.
Q10. Besides clothes, where else can Tie and Dye be used?
A10. Pillow covers, scarves, dupattas, turbans, bedsheets, curtains, bags, etc.
Q11. What is Reverse Tie and Dye?
A11. A modern technique where instead of adding dye, colour is removed using bleach/chemicals to create white patterns on dark fabric.
Q12. What are some jobs related to Tie and Dye?
A12. Artisan, dyer, textile designer, fashion designer, retailer, textile researcher.
Project 4: AI Assistant
Q1. What is Intelligence?
A1. Intelligence is the ability to learn and use knowledge in new situations. It grows as we deal with new experiences.
Q2. What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
A2. AI is when machines are made to learn, recognise, and make decisions like humans, using data and instructions.
Q3. How does AI learn?
A3. By uploading many examples (images, sounds, videos) with labels. This process is called Machine Learning.
Q4. Give an example of how AI learns images.
A4. To train AI to recognise a banyan tree, we upload pictures of banyan trees in light, shade, different angles, and stages of growth with the label “banyan tree”.
Q5. Where do we use AI in daily life?
A5. Navigation apps, image recognition, voice assistants, translation tools, online games, and even medical robots.
Q6. What can AI do and not do?
A6. AI can calculate, recognise, predict, see, listen, and speak—but it cannot feel emotions like humans.
Q7. What will you be able to do in the AI Assistant project?
A7.
- Understand AI as a useful tool.
- Collect and organise data.
- Train a machine to recognise data.
- Create an AI Assistant to help newcomers learn about your locality.
Q8. What devices and tools are needed?
A8.
- Devices: Computer/tablet/smartphone with camera, mic, internet.
- Tools: Teachable Machine, Scratch, MIT AI Raise Playground, Google Lens, Photomath, translation apps, etc.
Q9. What safety precautions must be followed?
A9.
- Internet safety: don’t share personal info, limit screen time.
- Sensitivity: take permission before taking photos, respect people, avoid harming plants/animals.
Q10. How can AI help humans with disabilities?
A10.
- Hearing aids reduce background noise.
- AI-enabled glasses help visually impaired people.
- Speech tools (like used by Stephen Hawking) help people communicate.
Q11. Can AI be creative?
A11. AI can generate stories, drawings, or translations, but it cannot feel emotions. It improves results if humans give better instructions (prompts).
Q12. What are the steps to create an AI Assistant?
A12.
- Collect data (images, sounds, text).
- Organise into categories and sub-categories.
- Upload into Teachable Machine.
- Train the model.
- Test and improve it.
- Make it interactive using Scratch/MIT Raise.
- Share with others and get feedback.
Q13. What is an algorithm in AI projects?
A13. A step-by-step list of instructions for the machine to follow (e.g., collect → train → test → improve → share).
Q14. Name some jobs related to AI.
A14. Data scientist, software engineer, machine learning engineer, robotics engineer, research scientist.
Part 3: Work in Human Services
Project 5: Storytime with Puppets
Q1. What are Human Services projects meant for?
They are meant to help students learn how to work with people, take care of health, prepare family budgets, create art forms like mehndi designs, or design creative projects like puppet shows and health handbooks.
Q2. What is the aim of the project “Storytime with Puppets”?
It aims to teach students how to tell stories using puppets by writing a script, making puppets, and presenting a puppet show with props, sound, and light.
Q3. What is storytelling and how has it evolved?
Storytelling is the art of narrating stories. It began in ancient times through paintings (like Ajanta caves), oral traditions (Baul songs, Dastangoi, Yakshagana, Ram Leela), and now includes writing, cinema, animation, and puppetry.
Q4. What is puppetry?
Puppetry is the art of moving puppets using hands, rods, or strings to narrate a story.
Q5. What are the advantages of puppetry?
- Requires only a few people
- Easy to transport and perform anywhere
- Can spread social messages (like against addiction or superstition)
- Helps people discuss sensitive issues through humor
Q6. What can students do in this project?
- Write a script
- Make puppets from different materials
- Use music, sound, light, and voice modulation
- Narrate a story through a puppet show
Q7. What materials are needed for making puppets?
Old cloth, ribbons, socks, slippers, spoons, forks, balls, leaves, husk, twigs, cardboard, glue, tape, thread, scissors, brushes, and colours.
Q8. What precautions should be followed?
- Use tools carefully
- Store semi-finished puppets safely
- Work in a ventilated and well-lit room
- Be sensitive to people’s sentiments in the story
- Follow internet safety rules
Q9. What are different types of puppets?
- Sock puppets
- Spoon and fork puppets
- Slipper/shoe puppets
- Ball puppets
- Vegetable puppets
- Leaf puppets
- Cardboard puppets
- Puppet heads with cloth bodies
Q10. What elements are needed for a puppet show?
- Stage
- Backdrop
- Props
- Distinct voices and voice modulation
- Sound and music
- Light effects
- Puppeteers with rehearsed dialogues
Q11. How is a script important in puppet shows?
A script gives dialogues, scene changes, actions, emotions, and sound/light effects needed to make the story engaging.
Q12. What jobs are related to puppetry work?
Script writing, puppet making, costume designing, voice acting, stage decoration, light and sound technician, and performance arts.
Project 6: Family Health Handbook
Q1. What is family health?
A1. Family health refers to the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of all family members. The health of each person is linked to the overall health of the family.
Q2. What are the essential factors for good health?
A2. Balanced diet, physical fitness, adequate sleep, positive attitude, mental well-being, and a clean environment.
Q3. Why is sleep important for health?
A3. Sleep allows the body to repair itself, refresh, and maintain proper functioning. Sleep needs vary with age.
Q4. What precautions help maintain family health?
A4. Timely vaccination, preventing infections, keeping surroundings clean, avoiding stagnant water, and knowing when to consult a doctor.
Q5. What will students be able to do in this project?
A5.
- Identify health needs of different age groups
- Respond to family health issues
- Create a first-aid kit
- Develop a family health improvement plan
Q6. What materials are needed for this project?
A6. Notebook for handbook, stationery, and first-aid materials like bandages, cotton, sanitizer, gloves, medicines (doctor’s advice), ORS, thermometer, scissors, and safety pins.
Q7. What safety measures should be followed?
A7.
- Follow instructions for tools and equipment
- Wear masks during hospital visits
- Wash hands after visits
- Dispose of medical waste safely
- Be empathetic and avoid judging people
Q8. What are common factors affecting health?
A8. Poor hygiene, pollution, unclean environment, lack of nutritious diet, loneliness, lack of sleep/exercise, and overuse of mobile/TV.
Q9. What diet and nutrition advice is given by experts?
A9. Eat 3 meals + 1–2 snacks, drink 6–8 glasses of water daily, eat home-cooked food, and limit processed snacks, fried and sugary foods.
Q10. What are good sleep habits?
A10. Sleep 9–11 hours (children), 8–9 hours (adults), maintain regular sleep schedule, avoid screen time/heavy meals before bed, and ensure a quiet, comfortable place.
Q11. Why is physical fitness important?
A11. Lack of exercise causes long-term health issues. Regular activities like yoga, walking, or sports keep us healthy.
Q12. How can mental well-being be maintained?
A12. By positive thoughts, kindness, hobbies, relaxing activities, and spending time with family and friends.
Q13. What is a first-aid kit and why is it important?
A13. A first-aid kit provides emergency help for cuts, burns, dehydration, fever, etc., until professional care is available.
Q14. What are examples of first-aid activities?
A14. Tying bandages, treating minor burns, preparing ORS solution for dehydration.
Q15. What is the H₂S strip test used for?
A15. To check if water is safe for drinking. Golden brown = safe, black = contaminated.
Q16. What is a soak pit and why is it needed?
A16. A soak pit absorbs wastewater to prevent stagnant water and mosquito breeding.
Q17. What actions can be taken to prevent illness?
A17.
- Eat a nutritious diet
- Sleep on time
- Exercise regularly
- Spend time with family and friends
- Use mosquito nets, dispose waste properly
Q18. What are some jobs related to health work?
A18. Doctor, nurse, ASHA worker, Anganwadi worker, counsellor, and health technician.