CBSE Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet and The Making of a Scientist Important Questions Set 08

Answer: Two boys in London saw fresh muddy footprints appear on the stairs of a house, but no one was making them. The explanation was that a scientist, Griffin, had found a drug that made his body transparent, so he was invisible and only his footprints could be seen.

Teacher's Note:
1. State the mystery and the explanation.
2. The drug is the key word.

Answer: Griffin swallowed certain rare drugs that made his body transparent like glass. The drug did not work on his clothes, so he had to take them off to be invisible. This was inconvenient in the cold London winter.

Teacher's Note:
1. The drug affects only the body.
2. Mention that clothes remained visible.

Answer: The Halls went into the stranger’s empty room and found his clothes and bandages lying about. A chair rushed at Mrs Hall and pushed her and her husband out of the room, and the door slammed and locked itself. Mrs Hall thought the furniture was haunted.

Teacher's Note:
1. Describe the events in order.
2. Mention the chair and the locked door.

Answer: Griffin removed his bandages and showed a headless body. When Jaffers tried to catch him, Griffin took off his clothes, became invisible and knocked Jaffers down. The constable could not catch a man who could not be seen.

Teacher's Note:
1. The headless man is part of the answer.
2. Mention that Jaffers was beaten.

Answer: Griffin was a brilliant scientist, but he used his discovery for selfish and criminal ends. In London he stole clothes, a false nose, dark glasses and money from a theatrical shop owner and struck the shopkeeper. At Iping he drove the landlord and his wife out of his room with a flying chair, stole from the villagers when his money ran out, and later knocked down the constable. A true scientist seeks the benefit of society, while Griffin used his invention to hurt others and escape the law. He enjoyed power rather than service.

Teacher's Note:
1. Give two incidents clearly.
2. End with a definition of a true scientist.

Answer: Invisibility may seem exciting. One could move anywhere unseen, play harmless pranks or help others secretly. But the disadvantages are serious. Nobody could see or talk to you, so you would feel lonely and cut off. You could not wear clothes, or you would be seen. Many would misuse the power, as Griffin did. Real happiness comes from being seen, known and loved, so I would not choose invisibility.

Teacher's Note:
1. Give both sides and a clear decision.
2. Mention loneliness and misuse.

Answer: Griffin found it hard to live without clothes in the cold London winter. He entered a large store for warmth, and after it closed he put on clothes from the stock and ate cold meat and coffee from the restaurant. He also took sweets and wine from the grocery department, and slept on a pile of quilts. In the morning shop assistants saw him and chased him, so he threw off his clothes and escaped again, invisible. Later he stole disguise items from a theatre supplier.

Teacher's Note:
1. Keep to the facts of the store.
2. Mention the chase.

Answer: His social studies teacher said a scientist needs a first-rate mind, curiosity and the will to win for the right reasons. Ebright had all three: he loved to learn, wanted to find the answers and was competitive without being unkind.

Teacher's Note:
1. Name the three qualities.
2. Quote ‘for the right reasons’.

Answer: She was his friend and companion in his early years. She noticed his curiosity, took him on trips and bought him telescopes, microscopes and cameras. She gave him a book, ‘The Travels of Monarch X’, that opened the world of science to him.

Teacher's Note:
1. Mention the equipment and the book.
2. Her encouragement is the main point.

Answer: His mother gave him the book ‘The Travels of Monarch X’, which described the migration of monarch butterflies. At its end, readers were invited to help study migration by tagging butterflies. Ebright began tagging monarchs and raised his own flock.

Teacher's Note:
1. Link the book to his action.
2. Mention tagging.

Answer: He had entered slides of frog tissue and won nothing. He realised that the winners had done real experiments, so he turned to original research on insects and wrote to Dr Urquhart for ideas. After that he began to win prizes.

Teacher's Note:
1. Explain what he realised and what he did next.
2. Mention Dr Urquhart.

Answer: He got a new theory of how a cell can ‘read’ the blueprint of its DNA. He and his college room-mate James Wong drew pictures and built plastic models to show how this could happen.

Teacher's Note:
1. Name the theory and the partner.
2. DNA is the key word.

Answer: Ebright did not succeed at once. His first project, slides of frog tissue, won no prize in the county science fair. Instead of giving up, he studied the winners and began real experiments. In eighth grade he tried to find the cause of a viral disease in monarch caterpillars and won. Then he tested why viceroys imitate monarchs and came first in zoology. Later his work on the gold spots of the monarch pupa won him international prizes. His early failure became the base of success.

Teacher's Note:
1. Show the sequence from failure to success.
2. End with the lesson.

Answer: Ebright was a man of many talents. As a child he collected butterflies, rocks, fossils and coins, and he watched the stars with a telescope. He became a champion debater and public speaker, encouraged by his social studies teacher, a good canoeist and an all-round outdoors person. He was also a skilled photographer of nature and scientific subjects. These interests show a lively, curious mind.

Teacher's Note:
1. List three or four interests.
2. Mention the teacher’s role in debating.

Answer: Ebright first tagged monarchs for Dr Urquhart’s migration study. He then tested whether viceroys imitate monarchs to escape birds. In high school he found that twelve gold spots on the monarch pupa produce a hormone needed for full development, and later showed that wing cells divide and grow into scales only when fed this hormone. He identified the hormone’s structure. His work led to his theory on how cells read DNA, which may help to prevent diseases such as cancer.

Teacher's Note:
1. Keep the research steps in order.
2. Mention the importance at the end.