NCERT Solutions Class 5 Environmental Studies Chapter 3 From Tasting to Digesting

1. Jhoolan’s mouth started watering when she heard the word imli. When does your mouth water? List five things you like to eat and describe their taste.

Ans. My mouth waters when I see something of my taste, especially spicy foods. List of five things of my linking and their taste:

2. Do you like only one kind of taste or different ones? Why?

Ans. I like different types of taste because I get bored of only one kind of taste.

3. Jhoolan put a few drops of lemon juice in Jhumpa’s mouth. Do you think we can make our the taste with just a few drops.

Ans. Yes. A few drops of sour things like lemon is enough to make out the taste.

4. If someone were to put a few seeds of saunf(aniseed) on your tongue, would you able to tell with your eyes closed? How?

Ans. Perhaps, because even if we do not taste, we can recognize it by its smell.

5. How did Jhumpa make out the fried fish? Can you guess the names of certain things only by their smell, without seeing or tasting them? What are these things?

Ans. Jhumpa made out the fried fish by its smell. We can, of course, guess some things only by their smell, without seeing or tasting them providing they have a strong smell. For example, egg, orange, lemon, curd, sweets, samosa, etc.

6. Has anyone ever told you to close your nose before taking medicine? Why do you think they tell you to do this?

Ans. We get the complete taste of food only when we are able to smell it. So, sometimes we are told to close our nose before taking a medicine which does not taste good.

7. Collect a few food items having different kinds of taste. Play a game with your friends like Jhumpa and Jhoolan did. Tell your friend to taste the food and ask- How did it taste? What was the food item?

Ans. The taste was sweet. The food item was sugar. (Suppose sugar is given)

8. On which part of the tongue could you get the most taste in front, at the back, on the left or right side of the tongue?

Ans. In front side. (Suppose sugar has been tasted). Note: Different parts of tongue have different taste zones.

9. One of a time put some things to eat in other parts of your mouth under the tongue, on the lips, on the roof of the mouth. Did you get any taste there?

Ans. No.

10. Use a clean cloth to wipe the front part of your tongue so that it is dry. Put some sugar or jiggery there. Could you taste anything? Why did this happened.

Ans. No, I could not taste anything. It is because we get the taste only when the food mixes up with saliva and reaches taste buds present on the tongue.

11. Stand in front of a mirror and look closely at your tongue. How does the surface look? Can you see any tiny bumps on the surface?

Ans. The surface looks rough. Yes, I can see tiny bumps on the surface of the tongue.

12. If someone asks you to describe the taste of amla or cucumber, you might find it difficult to explain. How would you describe the taste of these tomato, onion, saunf, garlic. Think of words that you know or make up your own words to describe the taste.

Ans.

13. When Jhumpa tasted some of the things, she said “SSee, ssee, ssee…” What do you think she may have eaten?

Ans. She may have eaten a chili.

14. Why don’t you make sounds that describe some tastes? From your expressions and sounds ask your friends to guess what you might think have eaten.

Ans.

15. Has anyone at home told you to eat slowly and to chew well so that food digests properly? Why do you think they say this?

Ans. Yes, my mother often tells me eat slowly and chew well. It is because if the food is properly chewed up, it will be digested and we will get its maximum nutrition.

16. Imagine you are eating something hard like a green guava. What kind of changes take place in it from the time you bite a piece and put it in your mouth to when you swallow it? Think what does the saliva in your month do?

Ans. When I bite a piece of green guava, it is hard and may even taste a bit bitter. However, after chewing it properly, it becomes soft and sweet. Saliva makes the food soft and also helps in its digestion.

17. Where do you think the food must be going after you put it in your mouth and swallow it? In the picture given here, draw the path of the food through your body. Share your picture with your friends. Do all of you have similar pictures?

Ans. I think the food we eat would first go to the stomach and then to the intenstines.

18. How do you feel when you are very hungry? How would you describe it? For example, sometimes we jokingly say” I am so hungry I could eat an elephant!”

Ans. I feel a bit tired when I am very hungry. Besides, I feel an empty sensation in the stomach and want to eat something immediately.

19. How do you come to know that you are hungry?

Ans. When my stomach feels empty and I have a strong urge to eat something, I come to know that I am hungry.

20. Think what would if you do not eat anything for two days?

Ans. If I do not eat anything for two days, I will become weak and fall ill.

21. Would you be able to manage without drinking water for two days? Where do you think the water that we drink goes?

Ans. No, I will not be able to manage without drinking water for two days. Water is essential for life. The water we drink is used in various metabolic activities within our body and some water and some water is excerted out of the body through urine and sweat.

22. Do you remember that in Class IV you made a solution of sugar and salt? Nitu’s father also made this and gave her. Why do you think this is given to someone who has vomiting and loose motions?

Ans. The quantity of water, salts and sugar in our body decreases when we have vomiting and loose motions. To replenish this loss a solution of sugar and salt is given.

23. Have you heard the word ‘glucose’ or seen it written anywhere? Where?

Ans. Yes, I have heard the word glucose and seen it written on glucose packet. I have seen it in various advertisements on TV and in newspapers etc.

24. Have you ever tasted glucose? How does it taste? Tell your friends.

Ans. Yes, I have heard the word glucose. It is sweet in taste.

25. Have you or anyone in your family been given a glucose drip? When and why? Tell the class about it?

Ans. Yes, Once I had vomitings and loose motions. Doctor said my stomach was upset. My body was not keeping any food and water and I became very weak. Then, I was given glucose drip, that gave me some strength quickly, even without eating.

26. Nitu’s teacher used to tell the girls to have glucose while they were playing hockey. Why do you think she did this?

Ans. While playing a lot of sweating occurs which causes loss of water and salt from the body. Also a lot of energy is exhausted. Since glucose solution provides instant energy, that is why the teacher used to tell the girls to have glucose while they were playing hockey.

27. Look at Nitu’s picture and describe what is happening. How is the glucose drip being given?

Ans. In the picture glucose drip is given to Nitu. The glucose bottle is hanging on a stand and from there drop by drop glucose is being given using a tube and a needle.

28. Imagine if you had been in place of Dr. Beaumon, what experiments would you have done to find out the secrets of our stomach? Write about your experiments?

Ans. If I were in place of Dr. Beaumon, I would have done experiments with milk and milk products. That is, I would have taken out some digestive juices from Martin’s stomach and kept equal quantities of these juices in three and cheese in all the three glasses and checked out which digested first. I would also have done experiments with different types of milk available i.e. full cream, standard and toned.

29. Why do you think Rashmi could eat only one roti in the whole day?

Ans. Rashmi belongs to a poor family. That is why she could eat only one roti in the whole day.

30. Do you think Kailash would like games and sports?

Ans. No, I don’t think so. Because had he been interested in sports, his body would not have been fat and flabby.

31. What do you understand by “Proper” food?

Ans. Proper food means adequate and nutritious food according to one’s body requirement.

32. Why do you think that the food of Rashmi and Kailash was not proper?

Ans. On one hand, while Rashmi is not getting adequate quantity of food, on the other, Kailash is taking much more food than his requirement. Further, instead of home-cooked food like dal-rice, vegetables and roti, he is eating chips, burger, pizzas and soft drinks, which are harmful for the body.

33. Talk with your grandparents or elderly people and find out what they ate and what work they did when they were of your age. Now think about yourself your daily activities and daily diet. Are these similar or different from what your grandparents did and ate?

Ans. My grandparents were working much more than what we do today. They used to go to school miles away from their home. They were also doing much physical work like working on fields, kitchen, taking care of cattle, etc. They used to eat dal-rice, green vegetables, roti, milk and milk products. Today our daily activities and diet are far different from our grandparents. We do very less physical work and prefer chips, burger, pizzas and soft drinks than to home-made foods. We spend most of our time in watching TV and playing.

34. Do you know any child who does not get enough to eat in the whole day? What are the reasons for this?

Ans. We know that we get a proper taste of a food only when we can also smell it. During cold, our nose gets blocked and thus we cannot smell properly. This is why, we cannot taste properly when we have a cold.

35. If we were to say that “digestion begins in the mouth”, how would you explain this? Write.

Ans. An enzyme called salivary amylase is found in the saliva of our mouth which breaks down large molecules of carbohydrates into smaller ones. These are easily and quickly absorbed by the intestine when they reach there. Thus, when we chew the food properly, it is digested well. So, it is said that digestion begins in the mouth.