In-text Activities
Q3.1. Let us record (Table 3.1 – weekly food log)
Answer:
Record daily food items (e.g., Monday – roti, dal, rice, vegetable curry, milk). Comparing with friends' lists typically shows variety in food choices based on family preferences, region, and taste — such diversity is not the same across all Indian states, since it depends on locally available crops and traditions.
Q3.2. Let us explore (Table 3.2 – traditional foods by state)
Answer:
Additions to Table 3.2:
| State | Crops | Food | Beverages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerala | Rice, coconut, tapioca | Appam, puttu, sambar, avial | Buttermilk, tender coconut water |
| West Bengal | Rice, fish, mustard | Machher jhol, luchi, sandesh | Tea |
Rice, wheat, and pulses are common across many states. The traditional food of a region is closely linked to the crops grown there, which depend on soil type and climate; taste, culture and tradition also influence food choices.
Q3.3. Let us interact and find out (interview elders about cooking practices)
Answer:
Elders often report using a chulha instead of a gas stove, a sil-batta instead of an electric grinder, and hand-churning butter instead of buying packaged butter. Changes occurred due to technological development, better transport, and improved communication/access to modern appliances.
Q3.4. Let us conduct a survey (deficiency disease survey)
Answer:
If a neighbour shows symptoms like bleeding gums, it may indicate Vitamin C deficiency (scurvy); the diet likely lacks citrus fruits. Suggested fix: include amla, guava, orange, or lemon in the diet, and consult a doctor for confirmation.
Q3.5. Let us investigate (starch test)
Answer:
Potato, boiled rice, and bread/chapati turn blue-black with iodine (starch present). Cucumber, peanuts, oil, butter, and coconut generally do not turn blue-black (little to no starch).
Q3.6. Let us investigate (fat test)
Answer:
Peanuts, butter, oil, and coconut leave an oily, translucent patch on paper (fat present). Potato, cucumber, boiled rice, and boiled gram generally do not leave such a patch.
Q3.7. Let us investigate (protein test)
Answer:
Boiled gram, peanuts, and soya bean/peas turn violet with copper sulfate + caustic soda (protein present). Items like butter and coconut typically show a negative or weak result. Peanuts show presence of both fat and protein, illustrating that a single food item can contain multiple nutrients.
Q3.8. Let us find out (check your diet for balance)
Answer:
Compare your Table 3.1 food list against the five nutrient groups + roughage + water. If, for example, fruits/vegetables (vitamins, roughage) or pulses (protein) are missing, add them to make the diet more balanced.
Q3.9. Let us compare (potato wafers vs roasted chana)
Answer:
Roasted chana is the healthier choice — it has lower fat (6.26 g vs 35.0 g), higher protein (18.64 g vs 7.0 g), and much higher dietary fibre (16.8 g vs 4.8 g) than potato wafers, despite wafers having more calories from fat. Potato wafers are the junk food in this comparison.
Margin/In-text Questions
Q1. What are the food sources that provide water to our body?
Answer:
Water itself, milk, fruits (watermelon, orange, cucumber), vegetables (cucumber, tomato), soups, and juices.
Q2. How would eating local food help reduce food miles?
Answer:
Local food travels a much shorter distance from farm to plate, cutting down transport time, fuel use, cost, and pollution, while keeping food fresher and supporting local farmers.
Let Us Enhance Our Learning (End-of-chapter Q&A)
Q1. Pick the odd one out: (i) Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Chana (ii) Rice, Kidney beans, green gram, soya bean
Answer:
- (i) Chana is the odd one out — Jowar, Bajra, and Ragi are millets, while chana (chickpea) is a pulse/legume, not a millet.
- (ii) Rice is the odd one out — Kidney beans, green gram, and soya bean are pulses (protein sources), while rice is a cereal (carbohydrate source).
Q2. Traditional vs modern culinary practices: differences and reasons for change.
Answer:
Traditional practices used a chulha (wood-fired stove) and manual tools like sil-batta for grinding; modern practices use gas/induction stoves and electric grinders/mixers. These changes came about due to technological development, better transport, and communication, making cooking faster and more convenient, though some traditional flavours and nutritional practices may be affected.
Q3. Questions Ravi could ask about 'food as medicine'.
Answer:
- How does eating the right food help prevent diseases?
- Can changing my diet cure a deficiency disease I already have?
Q4. Delicious vs healthy/nutritious vs enjoyable foods.
Answer:
Not all tasty food is healthy — e.g., potato wafers, candies, and fried snacks are delicious but high in fat/sugar and low in nutrients. Conversely, some nutritious foods like bitter gourd, leafy greens, or boiled sprouts may not be very appealing in taste to everyone, though they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fibre.
Q5. Medu's diet changes and reason for stomach ache/constipation.
Answer:
Medu should reduce refined/processed foods (biscuits, noodles, white bread) and include more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, which are rich in dietary fibre (roughage). Roughage helps in smooth digestion and prevents constipation; its absence in his current diet likely causes his stomach ache and constipation.
Q6. Reshma's case: (i) deficiency, (ii) lacking nutrient, (iii) food items to include.
Answer:
- (i) She is suffering from night blindness (a form of Vitamin A deficiency).
- (ii) Vitamin A is lacking in her diet.
- (iii) Food items to include: papaya, carrot, mango, milk (any four sources of Vitamin A).
Q7. Canned juice vs fresh juice vs fresh fruit – which is best and why?
Answer:
Fresh fruit is the best choice — it retains maximum vitamins and all its natural dietary fibre. Fresh juice loses some fibre during extraction, and canned juice may lose vitamins (like Vitamin C) during processing/storage and often contains added sugar/preservatives.
Q8. Gourav's fracture case: (i) Why calcium? (ii) Why Vitamin D? (iii) Sample question.
Answer:
- (i) Calcium tablets were given because calcium keeps bones and teeth healthy and is essential for bone repair after a fracture.
- (ii) Vitamin D was added because it helps the body absorb calcium; without it, the calcium tablets alone would not be effectively utilised by the body.
- (iii) Sample question: Why wasn't Vitamin D given right from the first visit, since it is needed for calcium absorption?
Q9. Sugar and iodine test: Why does sugar not turn blue-black?
Answer:
Sugar is a carbohydrate but not a starch — it's a simple sugar (glucose/sucrose), not a complex carbohydrate. The iodine test specifically detects starch, not all carbohydrates, so sugar does not turn blue-black.
Q10. 'All starches are carbohydrates but not all carbohydrates are starches' – explain with activity design.
Answer:
This is correct. Starch is one specific type of carbohydrate, but sugars (like glucose, sucrose) are also carbohydrates that are not starches.
Activity design: Take starch (rice/potato) and sugar solution separately. Add iodine to both. Starch turns blue-black; sugar shows no colour change — proving sugar (a carbohydrate) is not a starch, while starch (also a carbohydrate) is.
Q11. Iodine on saree vs socks – why did saree turn blue-black?
Answer:
The saree turned blue-black likely because it is made of a starch-containing material (e.g., cotton sarees are often treated/starched with rice starch for stiffness), while the socks (likely synthetic or wool, without starch treatment) showed no colour change.
Q12. Millets as a healthy food – why and why not sufficient alone?
Answer:
Millets are considered healthy because they are rich in vitamins, minerals (iron, calcium), and dietary fibre, and can grow in diverse climates. However, eating only millets is not sufficient — a balanced diet also needs proteins, fats, and other vitamins/minerals from pulses, dairy, fruits, and vegetables, which millets alone cannot fully provide.
Q13. Testing an unknown solution for iodine – how?
Answer:
Take a small amount of a starchy food item (like a slice of potato or boiled rice) and add a few drops of the unknown solution to it. If the food turns blue-black, the solution is likely iodine.