Solution Table 10.1 filled with sample entries — your own classroom objects may differ, but the reasoning columns should always be based on the seven life processes (movement, nutrition, growth, respiration, excretion, response to stimuli, reproduction):

Name	My guess	Reason	Correct answer	Reason for correct answer
Pencil	Non-living	Does not move on its own	Non-living	Cannot grow, respire, respond to stimuli, or reproduce
Book	Non-living	Does not show any activity	Non-living	Shows none of the life processes
Pigeon	Living	Flies and eats	Living	Moves, eats, breathes, grows, reproduces and responds to stimuli
Car	Living (moves)	It can move on its own	Non-living	Movement is caused by fuel/engine, not by internal life processes; it cannot grow, respire, or reproduce
Plant	Living	It grows	Living	Grows, respires through stomata, responds to light/touch, and reproduces via seeds
Any other (e.g. Ant)	Living	It walks and eats	Living	Shows movement, nutrition, growth, reproduction

Solution Yes, plants are living. Although they are fixed in one place, they show other kinds of movement — flowers open, climbers wind around a support, and insectivorous plants like Drosera move their sticky hairs inward to trap insects. Along with this, plants also grow, respire, respond to stimuli, excrete, and reproduce — so they qualify as living beings even without moving from place to place.

Solution

Stimulus	Response
Touching a hot cup of tea	Instantly pulling the hand away
Stepping on a sharp thorn	Quickly lifting the foot and feeling pain
A loud, sudden sound	Getting startled and covering the ears

Solution The chhui-mui (Mimosa) plant folds its leaves the moment it is touched — this sudden folding is a protective response that discourages insects and grazing animals from feeding on it, and it can also reduce water loss. The amla tree’s leaves fold up after sunset (darkness/absence of light is the stimulus) — this “sleep movement” reduces water loss and possibly exposure to cold at night. In both cases, the plant is responding to an external stimulus (touch in chhui-mui, darkness in amla), proving that all living beings — including plants — respond to stimuli.

Solution — Table 10.2

Pot	Air	Sunlight	Water	Prediction	Observation	Reason
A: sunlight, no water	Yes	Yes	No	Will not germinate	Does not germinate	Water is essential to soften the seed coat and activate the embryo — without it, germination cannot start
B: sunlight, excess water	No	Yes	Excess	Will not germinate	Does not germinate	Waterlogging fills all the spaces between soil particles, cutting off the air supply the seed needs to respire
C: dark, moist soil	Yes	No	Moderate	Will germinate	Germinates	Air and water are both available; light is not essential for germination of bean seeds
D: sunlight, moist soil	Yes	Yes	Moderate	Will germinate	Germinates	Air and moderate water are both available — the ideal condition

Solution A seed is confirmed to be living. Activity 10.2 shows that, given air and water, a seed germinates and grows into a seedling — a clear sign of growth, one of the defining characteristics of living beings. A non-living object could never sprout roots and shoots on its own.

Solution — Table 10.3

Beaker	Light direction	Plant position	Shoot growth	Root growth
A	All directions	Upright	Grows straight upward	Grows straight downward
B	All directions	Inverted	Bends and grows upward (against its original direction)	Bends and grows downward (against its original direction)
C	Only from one side	Upright	Bends and grows toward the light source	Continues growing straight downward, unaffected by light direction

Solution

1. When a plant is upright, the root grows downwards and the shoot grows upwards.
2. When a plant is inverted, the root still bends and grows downwards, and the shoot still bends and grows upwards — roots always move toward the pull of gravity (positive geotropism) and shoots always move away from it (negative geotropism).
3. When light comes from only one direction, the shoot bends towards the light (positive phototropism), while the root keeps growing straight down regardless of where the light is coming from.

In short: shoots grow upward and move towards sunlight, while roots always grow downward, guided by gravity rather than light.

Solution — expected pattern of observations This is a hands-on, long-term activity, so your exact dates will depend on your own plant, but you should generally observe this sequence:

Approx. time	Observation
Day 0	Seed is sown in moist soil
Day 3–7	Seed germinates; a small root (radicle) and shoot emerge
Week 2–3	Leaves appear and the seedling grows taller
Week 5–7	First flowers appear on the plant
Week 7–8	Flower parts dry up; a small pod (fruit) begins to form at the base of the flower
Week 8–10	Pod matures and swells as seeds develop inside it
After fruiting	The plant gradually turns yellow, dries up, and dies, even if watering is continued — its life cycle is complete

When the seeds from this pod are sown again, they germinate into a new generation of bean plants, and the cycle repeats.

Solution The life cycle of a bean plant has five stages that repeat in a loop: Stage I – Seed → Stage II – Seed germination → Stage III – Appearance of leaves → Stage IV – Appearance of flowers → Stage V – Appearance of fruits (pod with seeds), followed by death of the old plant. The new seeds released from the pod germinate to start Stage I again, so the cycle from seed to seed continues across generations.

Solution The life cycle can be disrupted by not allowing water to stagnate — emptying coolers and open containers regularly, covering stored water, and adding fish that feed on larvae. Kerosene oil forms a thin oily layer on top of the water. This layer blocks the contact between water and air, so larvae and pupae — which must rise to the surface to breathe — can no longer take in air. Unable to respire, they suffocate and die, breaking the life cycle before adult mosquitoes can emerge.

Solution — Sample design

1. Keep the container of puddle water (containing both larvae and pupae) undisturbed in a safe, observable place, covered with a net to prevent mosquitoes from escaping or entering.
2. Observe the container once every day at a fixed time, and count/note how many larvae, pupae, and adult mosquitoes are present each day, without touching or separating them.
3. Over several days, note the trend: if the number of larvae decreases while the number of pupae increases, it shows larvae are changing into pupae.
4. Continue observing until adult mosquitoes are seen resting on the water surface before flying away — record which stage (larva or pupa) disappears just before adults appear.
5. This confirms the correct order without ever separating the creatures: egg → larva → pupa → adult.

Solution

Stage	Description
I – Egg	Laid directly on or near still water by the adult female mosquito
II – Larva	A worm-like creature that lives in water and comes to the surface to breathe
III – Pupa	A comma-shaped, less active stage that still lives in water and breathes at the surface
IV – Adult mosquito	Emerges from the pupa, rests briefly on the water surface, then flies away; survives about 10–15 days

The body shape changes drastically between each stage — egg, larva, pupa and adult all look completely different from one another.

Solution — Table 10.5

Stage	What it shows	Corresponds to
A	A jelly-like cluster of eggs (spawn) stuck to a leaf at the water’s edge	Egg stage (Spawn)
B	A small frog-like creature with four legs and almost no tail, moving between water and land	Froglet stage
C	A tadpole with a long tail and no legs, swimming underwater	Tadpole (early, with tail only)
D	It is similar to ‘C’ but it has two (hind) legs — a tail is still present	Tadpole (late, with legs)
E	A fully grown frog with four strong legs and no tail, sitting on a leaf	Adult frog
F	Individual translucent eggs floating near the surface	Egg stage (Embryo)

Correct sequence: A/F (Egg) → C (Tadpole with tail) → D (Tadpole with legs) → B (Froglet) → E (Adult frog).

Solution The frog’s life cycle has four broad stages: Stage I – Egg (Spawn on Day 1, developing into an Embryo by Day 3–4) → Stage II – Tadpole (with tail only around Day 7–10, then with hind legs by week 8–10) → Stage III – Froglet (around 12 weeks, living partly on land) → Stage IV – Adult frog (by 14 weeks, living both in water and on land).

Solution

• Frog eggs vs other eggs: Frog eggs (spawn) have no hard shell — they are soft, jelly-coated, laid in clusters directly in water, unlike the hard-shelled eggs of birds laid on land.
• Shortest stage: The spawn/egg stage is the shortest, lasting only about a day before developing into an embryo.
• Change in habitat: Yes — eggs and tadpoles live fully in water; froglets begin dividing their time between water and land; adult frogs live in both water and on land (an amphibian lifestyle).
• Special features supporting each stage: The tadpole’s long tail and gills let it swim and breathe efficiently underwater; as hind and then front legs develop, the froglet gains the ability to hop onto land; the loss of the tail and development of lungs equip the adult frog to live and breathe on land as well as in water.

Solution

Similarities	Differences
Both begin life as a single unit — a seed (plant) or a fertilised egg/newborn (animal)	Plant life cycle: seed → germination → growth → flowering → fruiting → new seeds; the plant stays rooted throughout
Both go through defined stages of growth and development	Animal life cycle: birth/egg → young stage → adult stage, and many animals (e.g. mosquito, frog) are mobile and can drastically change body form (metamorphosis)
Both reproduce to produce a new generation of their own kind	Plants generally reproduce once per cycle and then die; many animals can reproduce multiple times during their adult life
Both eventually die once their life processes stop	Plant growth continues almost throughout life; animal growth usually slows or stops after reaching adulthood

Solution

S. no.	Does it grow?	Does it respire?	Example	Remarks
1	No	No	A stone, a chair, a pencil	Non-living things — they show none of the life processes
2	No	Yes	A fully-grown adult tree or a mature adult animal	Growth has stopped (or become negligible) once maturity is reached, but the living being still continues to respire throughout its life
3	Yes	No	Not possible	Growth is itself a life process that needs energy, and this energy comes only from respiration — so nothing can grow without respiring
4	Yes	Yes	A germinating seedling, a growing child, a puppy	Typical of any young, actively-growing living being — it both grows and respires

Solution A wooden log is indeed non-living, so Charan’s conclusion is correct — but his reasoning is incomplete. Movement alone cannot decide whether something is living, since plants themselves do not move from place to place yet are living. The real reason the log is non-living is that it shows none of the characteristics of living beings — it cannot grow, respire, respond to stimuli, excrete, or reproduce.

Charu’s argument is incorrect: being made from material that once came from a living tree does not make the log itself living. Once wood is cut from a tree, it loses all life processes, just like hair, wool, or leather — all of which come from living beings but are non-living once separated from the organism.

Solution

Similarities	Differences
Both lay their eggs in or near water	Mosquito: 4 stages — egg → larva → pupa → adult (complete metamorphosis with a resting pupal stage)
Both have young stages that live and develop only in water	Frog: 4 stages — egg → tadpole → froglet → adult (the tadpole itself gradually transforms; there is no separate resting/pupal stage)
Both undergo a drastic change in body shape between the young and adult stages (metamorphosis)	Mosquito larvae/pupae breathe air at the water surface; frog tadpoles breathe underwater using gills
Both adults can live outside water — the adult mosquito flies away, and the adult frog moves onto land and water	The adult mosquito is an insect (6 legs, wings); the adult frog is an amphibian (4 legs, no wings, moist skin)

Solution Even though the seed itself is lying sideways, after one week you would expect the root to bend and grow straight downward (towards the pull of gravity) and the shoot to bend and grow straight upward (away from gravity, towards light) — exactly as seen in beaker B of Activity 10.3. This happens because the direction of growth of root and shoot is controlled by gravity (and light, for the shoot), not by how the seed was originally placed.

Solution Tara and Vijay are trying to find out whether the orientation in which a seed is sown (sideways, upside down, or upright) affects the direction in which its root and shoot eventually grow. They will know they are correct if, after the seeds germinate, they observe that — no matter how each seed was originally placed — the root always grows downward and the shoot always grows upward in every pot. This consistent result would confirm that the direction of growth of root and shoot depends only on gravity (and light for the shoot), and not on the original position of the seed.

Solution — Sample experiment design

1. Materials: Three identical pots (A, B, C) with the same type and amount of soil, and an equal number of healthy bean seeds (e.g., 4 seeds each).
2. Keep everything else constant: Use the same amount of water, the same soil moisture, and equal exposure to air and light in all three pots — only temperature will be changed.
3. Vary the temperature:
   • Pot A — Place in a cold location (e.g., a refrigerator or a cool room, roughly 5–10 °C)
   • Pot B — Keep at normal room temperature (roughly 25–30 °C)
   • Pot C — Place in a warm location, such as near a heater or in strong sunlight (roughly 40 °C or higher)
4. Observe: Check all three pots daily for 7–10 days and record the number of seeds that germinate in each pot, along with how quickly they sprout.
5. Conclude: Compare the germination results. If Pot B (room temperature) shows the highest and fastest germination, while Pot A (too cold) and Pot C (too hot) show slower or reduced germination, it confirms that temperature does affect seed germination, and that seeds germinate best within a moderate temperature range.