NCERT Solutions Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us

F R E E S T U D Y M AT E R I A L F O R E V E R Y S T U D E N T

CLASS 6 · SCIENCE

NCERT Solutions

Chapter 6: Materials Around Us

NCERT Textbook — Curiosity

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

101 – 121 23 51 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 57 pages

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLASS 6 · SCIENCE · CURIOSITY

NCERT Solutions — Chapter 6: Materials Around Us
Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us from the NCERT textbook
Curiosity. Every question is answered — all eight Activities 6.1 to 6.8 with Tables 6.1 to 6.5 filled in, every in-
text question from pages 101 to 116, the Let us play puzzles, the ten Let us enhance our learning exercises
and the four Learning further projects — each with the property, the simple test for it, and an everyday
Indian example.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Curiosity (Class 6) 101 – 121

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

23 51

MEDIUM

English

In-text Questions — Page 101
6.1 Observing Objects Around Us

Q1 How are they similar to or different from each other? What are their shapes and
colours? How does it feel when you touch them? Are some of them heavier than
others?

Madam Vidya is not asking for one answer — she is teaching you the four questions a scientist
asks about any object. Take the things on your own desk and answer them one by one.

HER WHAT YOU LOOK AT EXAMPLE FROM THE CLASSROOM
QUESTION

Similar or The material each thing is A notebook and a newspaper are similar — both are
different? made of paper. A notebook and a steel tumbler are different.

Shape and The outline you see and the Tumbler — cylindrical, silvery. Notebook — rectangular,
colour? colour of the surface orange. Chalk — cylindrical, white.

How does it Smooth or rough, hard or soft, Steel tumbler — smooth, hard, cool. Sweater — rough,
feel? cold or warm soft, warm. Glass marble — smooth and hard.

Heavier than Mass — lift two things of the An iron key is much heavier than a plastic sharpener of
others? same size, one in each hand the same size.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why she asks all four: every one of her questions is really about a property —
appearance, shape, texture, mass. All things around us are made up of some
material — paper, wood, cloth, glass, metal, plastic, clay — and it is the properties of
that material that make two objects look and feel alike or different. The whole
chapter grows out of these four questions.

Try This: Put a steel spoon and a plastic spoon in your two hands with your eyes
shut. Without looking you can still tell which is which — from the weight, the
coolness and the smoothness. Your hands are already measuring properties.

Activity 6.1: Let us identify — Page 102
6.1 Observing Objects Around Us

ACTIVITY

Q1 Make a list of objects you see around and also write the names of the materials
they are made up of in Table 6.1.

I OBSERVE MATERIALS THEY ARE MADE UP OF

Table 6.1, page 102 — Identify materials. The table is printed blank; fill in your own
observations.

Look around your classroom and your home and fill Table 6.1 like this. Notice that some objects
need more than one material.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

TABLE 6.1: IDENTIFY MATERIALS

I OBSERVE MATERIALS THEY ARE MADE UP OF

Notebook Paper (cover — thick paper or cardboard), metal stapler pins

Pen Plastic body, metal nib and spring, ink

Tumbler Steel (a metal) — or glass, or plastic

Window pane Glass, fixed in a wooden or aluminium frame

Desk and bench Wood, with iron nails and an iron frame

Water bottle Plastic body and cap (or steel)

School bag Cloth or synthetic fibre, plastic zip, metal buckle

Sweater Wool

Diya (earthen lamp) Baked clay (terracotta)

Chalk Chalk powder pressed into a stick

Cricket ball Cork centre, wound thread, leather cover

Bangle Glass — or lac, or metal

The conclusion the book wants: based on everyday observation, objects are made
up of various materials. Any substance that is used to create an object is called a
material.

Did you know? The earliest pottery of the Indian subcontinent is 7,000–8,000 years
old — found at Lahuradewa in the Ganga plains and Mehrgarh in Baluchistan. From
about 4000 BCE the Sindhu–Sarasvatī people were turning pots on a wheel, coating
them with coloured ‘slips’ and baking them in kilns. Baked clay is called terracotta.
Huge Harappan storage jars can be seen today at the National Museum, New Delhi.

Activity 6.2: Let us group — Page 103

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
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6.2 How to Group Materials?
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ACTIVITY

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a s em the objects shown in Fig. 6.1 based on any common property, such as shape,
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Group
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colour, hardness, softness, shine, dullness or materials they are made up of.

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Charkha Steel tumbler Steel spoon Notebooks Plastic scale Cricket ball

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agl Plastic tumbler Ball pen Paper punch Glass tumbler Wooden stick Sharpener

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Fig. 6.1, page 103 — Objects around us; redrawn sketch of the photograph in the

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textbook.

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Fig. 6.1 shows a gulel (catapult), a steel tumbler, a steel spoon, a cricket

. c om a pen, a wooden scale, a plastic scale, a paper punch,
notebooks,
a g laa glass bowl, a red pencil, a
a semstone, a rubber ball, keys, a brass lock, a clay diya, glass marbles, a plastic sharpener, an ice-
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The same set can be grouped in many different ways — one grouping for each property you

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

PROPERTY GROUP A GROUP B
CHOSEN

Material — metal or Steel tumbler, steel spoon, keys, brass lock, Notebooks, pencil, diya, plastic cup,
not paper punch, nail marbles, ball

Shine (lustre) Lustrous — tumbler, spoon, keys, lock, nail Non-lustrous — diya, notebooks, ice-
cream stick, stone

Hard or soft Hard — stone, marbles, tumbler, lock, nail, Soft — rubber ball, notebook pages, plant
diya leaves

See through or not Transparent — glass bowl, glass marbles, Opaque — spoon, lock, diya, notebooks,
plastic scale stone

Shape Round — cricket ball, rubber ball, marbles Long and straight — pencil, scales,
spoon, nail

Colour Red — cricket ball, pencil, diya Yellow — plastic cup, wooden scale,
sharpener

The big idea: there is no single “right” grouping. A grouping is right as long as every
object in a group truly shares the one property you picked. Change the property
and the groups change completely — the steel spoon sits with the lock when you
sort by lustre, but with the pencil when you sort by shape.

Try This: Another property you can sort by is whether a thing floats or sinks in a
bucket of water. Drop the ice-cream stick, the plastic cup, the nail and the stone into
water.

wood — floats

water

iron nail — sinks

Page 5 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Float or sink is one more property you can group by: a wooden stick floats, an iron nail of the same
size sinks.

Q2 Which property did you use to group the objects in Activity 6.2?

Write down the one property you actually used. For example:

Property used = the material the object is made of

Group 1 — metal: steel tumbler, spoon, keys, brass lock, nail

Group 2 — glass: bowl, marbles

Group 3 — wood: ice-cream stick, wooden scale, pencil
Group 4 — plastic: cup, sharpener, scale, pen body

Group 5 — clay: diya

If your friend used colour instead, his groups will be red things, yellow things, brown things —
and both of you are correct.

Why we must name the property: a group is only meaningful when everyone
knows the rule that was used to make it. “These five things go together” means
nothing until you add “…because all five are metals”.

Q3 Did your friends group objects based on similar properties?

Usually not — and that is the interesting part. In a class of forty children you will find several
different groupings of the very same picture:

Some children sort by colour — all the red things together.
Some sort by shape — all the round things together.
Some sort by material — all the metal things together.
Some sort by use — all the writing things together.
Some sort by hardness or by shine.

Two friends who both chose “material” will get almost exactly the same groups. Two friends who
chose different properties will get completely different groups — yet nobody is wrong.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: every object has many properties at the same time. A cricket ball
is red and round and hard and made of leather. Which group it lands in depends only
on which of these you decide to look at.

Q4 What did you learn from this activity?

Four clear lessons come out of Activity 6.2:

1. An object can be made from different materials. A tumbler may be of steel, glass, plastic
or clay.
2. One material can be used to make more than one object. Glass gives us a bowl, marbles,
a window pane and a bangle.
3. The method of arranging objects into groups is called classification. Objects are classified on
the basis of a common property that they have.
4. The same set of objects can be classified in many ways — change the property, and you
get a new set of groups.

Where you see it every day: in the kitchen all the katoris are stacked together; a
grocer keeps spices in one corner and pulses and grains in another; a chemist
arranges medicines shelf by shelf. Each of them is classifying — which is why they
can find anything in seconds.

Activity 6.3: Let us think — Page 104

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

6.2 How to Group Materials?

ACTIVITY

Q1 Let us think what materials we can use to make a tumbler. Fill in the names of the
materials in the spaces provided in Fig. 6.2.

Tumbler

Fig. 6.2, page 104 — Materials used to make a tumbler. The four boxes are printed blank;
write one material in each.

Fig. 6.2 has four empty boxes joined to the word Tumbler. Fill them with four materials that can
actually hold water:

MATERIAL WHY IT WORKS WHERE YOU SEE IT

Steel (metal) Hard, does not break when dropped, does not The everyday steel glass in almost
leak, easy to wash every Indian home

Glass Transparent, does not react with drinks, does not Glass tumblers used for shikanji and
leak — but breaks easily juice

Plastic Light, cheap, unbreakable, does not leak Plastic tumblers used in trains and
school mid-day meals

Clay (baked) Holds water, keeps it cool; a kulhad is also eco- The kulhad in which tea is served at
friendly railway stations

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
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Other correct answers: brass or copper (a copper lota), silver for special occasions, and
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bamboo in the north-eastern states.
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The rule behind all four: the material used to make a tumbler must be capable of
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fall apart when wet.

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Q2 g paper-like materials for making cooking utensils?
Would it be a good idea toause

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No, it would be a very bad idea. A cooking utensil is put directly on a flame, and paper fails on
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every count.

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Cooking utensils are therefore made of metals — steel, iron, aluminium, brass — because

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Why cannot a tumbler made of cloth be used for storing water?

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Because cloth soaks up water and lets it leak out.
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Cloth also absorbs water and becomes wet and heavy.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why steel and glass do not leak: in steel, glass, plastic or baked clay the material is
continuous — there are no gaps for the water to pass through — and the material is
hard enough to keep its shape. That is why these are used for tumblers and cloth is
not.

Check it yourself: Hold a handkerchief over an empty glass and pour a little water
on it. The water goes right through and the cloth stays wet. Now do the same with a
polythene sheet — not a drop passes.

In-text Questions — Page 105
6.2 How to Group Materials?

Q1 Why are different materials used for making balls for various sports?

Because every sport needs the ball to behave differently — and the behaviour comes from
the material.

BALL MADE OF PROPERTY THE GAME NEEDS

Cricket ball Cork centre, wound thread, leather Hard and heavy, so it travels far when hit and
cover bounces low off the pitch

Tennis ball Hollow rubber filled with air, cloth Light and very springy — must bounce high, again
cover and again

Football Leather or synthetic cover, rubber Large, light, and soft enough to be headed without
bladder with air injury

Hand exercise Soft solid rubber or silicone Must squeeze easily in the fist and return to shape
ball

Table tennis Thin, hollow plastic Extremely light, so it can be flicked with a tiny bat
ball

Why it happens: the material decides the ball’s hardness, mass and bounce.
Rubber springs back into shape and returns most of the energy, so a rubber ball
bounces high. Cork wrapped in leather hardly changes shape, so a cricket ball
bounces low but flies fast off the bat.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 Can a cricket ball be used to play tennis?

No. Tennis simply would not work with a cricket ball.

It hardly bounces. Tennis is played by hitting the ball after one bounce. A cricket ball,
dropped from your shoulder, comes up only a few centimetres — the rally would end
immediately.
It is far too heavy and hard. A cricket ball is about 160 g of cork and leather. The light
tennis racquet frame and strings would be damaged, and a player struck by it would be
badly hurt.
It is the wrong size and surface. A tennis ball is bigger and furry, which lets the strings grip
it and give it spin.

The underlying reason: a tennis ball is hollow rubber filled with air — it squashes
on hitting the ground and springs back, returning most of the energy, so it bounces
high. A cricket ball’s tightly packed cork and leather barely change shape, so the
energy is not returned.

Try This: Drop a cricket ball and a tennis ball together from the height of your chest
onto a hard floor. Watch how much higher the tennis ball comes back.

Activity 6.4: Let us explore — Page 105

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

6.2 How to Group Materials?

ACTIVITY

Q1 Take each ball and drop it from a fixed height. Note the height to which the ball
bounces and record it in Table 6.2. Identify the ball that achieves the highest
bounce.

Tennis ball Cricket ball Hand exercise ball

Fig. 6.3, page 105 — Different types of balls used for various purposes; all three are of
the same size but made of different materials. Redrawn sketch.

BALL BOUNCE (HIGH, MEDIUM OR LOW)

Tennis ball

Cricket ball

Hand exercise ball

Any other

Table 6.2, page 105 — Bouncing level of the balls. The second column is printed blank.

Method: stand each ball beside a wall, mark a fixed height (say 1 m) with chalk, drop the ball
from that mark without throwing it down, and have a friend note how high it returns. Repeat
three times for each ball and take the best reading. Use the same height and the same floor
every time, otherwise the comparison is unfair.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

TABLE 6.2: BOUNCING LEVEL OF THE BALLS

BALL BOUNCE (HIGH, REASON — THE MATERIAL
MEDIUM OR LOW)

Tennis ball High Hollow rubber filled with air — squashes on
landing and springs back fully

Cricket ball Low Cork wound with thread inside a leather cover —
hard, hardly changes shape

Hand exercise ball Medium Solid soft rubber — it squashes, but a lot of the
energy is used up inside

Any other — rubber High Solid rubber, very springy
ball

Any other — plastic Medium Thin plastic, light; bounces but not as much as
(hollow) ball rubber

Any other — clay ball None (it breaks) Baked clay is hard but brittle

Ball with the highest bounce: the tennis ball.

Why it happens: all three balls are of the same size, so the only difference is the
material. Rubber is elastic — it changes shape when it hits the floor and then
pushes itself back, returning almost all the energy. Cork-and-leather and baked clay
do not spring back, so the energy is lost and the ball stays down.

Check it yourself: Repeat the same drop on sand or on a mattress. Even the tennis
ball hardly bounces, because now the floor soaks up the energy. Bounce depends on
both surfaces, not just the ball.

In-text Questions — Page 106
6.3.1 Observe and identify appearance of materials

Q1 Discuss in class other properties of sports balls, such as size, colour, texture and
how high they bounce and understand why balls are made up of specific materials
for specific sports.

Here is a ready comparison to run the class discussion on.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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BALL SIZE COLOUR TEXTURE BOUNCE

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Cricket ball
.cocm across)
Small (about 7 Red or white
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Smooth leather with a Low

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cm) yellow

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Football Large (about 22
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black patches high

Hand Fits in the palm
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exercise ball
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What the discussion should bring out:
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Colour

a gl move very fast; a white cricket ball is used for day–night matches because a red one
disappears under floodlights.

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Texture decides grip and swing. The furry cover of a tennis ball lets the racquet strings bite

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it and give spin; the raised seam of a cricket
Size and mass are matched tola
a g the part that strikes the ball — a small hard ball for a
wooden bat, a big light ball for a bare foot or head.

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The one sentence to remember: a ball is made of a particular material because the
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properties of that material — hardness, mass, springiness, surface — are exactly

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what sport needs.
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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 Observe Fig. 6.4 and group the objects in as many different ways as possible.

Fig. 6.4, page 106 — Grouping of objects: sixteen solids in four shapes and four colours.

Fig. 6.4 shows 16 solid shapes. Look carefully and you will find they are a perfect set: 4 shapes ×
4 colours.
Grouping 1 — by shape (4 groups of 4):

Page 15 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

SHAPE COLOURS IN WHICH IT APPEARS HOW MANY

Cone pink, orange, purple, blue 4

Square pyramid orange, blue, pink, purple 4

Cube blue, purple, orange, pink 4

Triangular prism purple, pink, blue, orange 4

Grouping 2 — by colour (4 groups of 4): pink — 4 objects; orange — 4 objects; blue — 4 objects;
purple — 4 objects.
Grouping 3 — by the kind of faces:

Objects with a curved surface — the 4 cones.
Objects with only flat faces — the 4 cubes, 4 pyramids and 4 prisms (12 objects).

Grouping 4 — by whether the shape comes to a point: pointed at the top — cones and
pyramids (8); no point — cubes and prisms (8).

Why several answers are all correct: you might have grouped these objects
according to their shape, their colour, or the material they are made of — and each
grouping is complete and correct. We classify materials on the basis of their
properties, and each property gives its own set of groups.

Q3 Take a look at the pieces you have collected. Do any of these materials shine when
light falls on them?

Yes — some do and some do not, and that is exactly what the sorting challenge is meant
to show. Collect small pieces of paper, cardboard, wood, chalk, copper wire, aluminium foil and
anything made of brass, bronze or steel, and hold each one in sunlight.

Page 16 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

PIECE DOES IT SHINE? TEXTURE GROUP

Copper wire Yes Smooth Lustrous

Aluminium foil Yes Smooth, slippery Lustrous

Brass / bronze / steel article Yes Smooth Lustrous

Paper No Smooth but dull Non-lustrous

Cardboard No Rough Non-lustrous

Wood (unpolished) No Rough, with grain lines Non-lustrous

Chalk No Rough, powdery Non-lustrous

Materials that typically have shiny surfaces are said to have a lustrous appearance, and such
materials are usually metals — iron, copper, zinc, aluminium, gold. Materials without a shiny
surface are non-lustrous — paper, wood, rubber, jute.

Why the similarity matters: freshly cut wood looks nothing like iron, and iron looks
different from copper or aluminium — yet iron, copper and aluminium share the
shine that separates all three of them from wood. That shared property is what puts
them into one group, the metals.

In-text Questions — Page 107
6.3.1–6.3.2 Lustre and hardness

Q1 Are all lustrous materials metals?

No. As the old saying goes, “All that glitters is not gold”.

The surfaces of many materials are made shiny by polishing them, or by coating them with
a thin layer of plastic, wax, lacquer or paint. A polished wooden table, a laminated notebook
cover, a shiny silk saree, a glazed kulhad and a well-polished granite floor all shine — none of
them is a metal.
Some natural non-metals also shine — a diamond, a piece of mica, the mother-of-pearl
inside a seashell.

And the opposite is true as well: a metal may look dull. Air and moisture act on the surface of
many metals, so an old iron gate or an old copper vessel looks dull and non-lustrous. That is
why we often notice the lustre only on their freshly cut surfaces.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

How to be sure, then: shine alone does not prove a material is a metal. Scratch or
cut the surface — a metal is shiny right through, whereas a coated object shows dull
wood, paper or plastic underneath the moment the coating is scraped off.

Did you know? A brass lota that has gone dull turns bright again when rubbed with
tamarind pulp or lemon and ash. You are removing the dull layer formed by air and
moisture and exposing the fresh metal below.

Q2 Can some materials be scratched more easily than others?

Yes. Take a metal key and drag it firmly across each surface. You will see a clear difference.

MATERIAL SCRATCHED WITH A KEY WHAT HAPPENS SO IT IS

Chalk A deep groove, powder comes off Very soft

Candle (wax) Cuts easily, wax curls off Very soft

Wood A visible line is left Fairly soft

Aluminium A faint mark Fairly hard

Iron Almost no mark Hard

Stone No mark — the key gets marked instead Very hard

Materials which can be compressed or scratched easily are soft; materials which are difficult
to compress or scratch are hard.

An important caution — hardness is relative: no material is “hard” all by itself.
Rubber is harder than sponge but softer than iron. That is why we always say a
material is harder than something else.

Check it yourself: Press a stone and then an eraser with your thumb. The stone
does not give at all; the eraser dents and springs back. Pressing is the second test
for hardness, alongside scratching.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
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Activity 6.5: Let us observe — Pages 107 & 108
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6.3.2 Which materials are hard?
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ACTIVITY

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Hold the objects given in Table 6.3 with your hands. Feel whether the objects are

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hard or soft. Find out the materials they are made up of. Enter your observations in

a s em with the observations of your friends and
Table 6.3. Compare your observations
discuss.
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OBJECT HARD/SOFT MATERIAL(S)
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the first row (Brick) is filled in as an example in the book.

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Press each object between your fingers. If it dents or squeezes, it is soft; if it does not give at all,

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it is hard. The first row is filled in your book — here is the whole table.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

TABLE 6.3: HARD OR SOFT OBJECTS AND THE MATERIALS THEY ARE MADE UP OF

OBJECT HARD/SOFT MATERIAL(S)

Brick Hard Baked clay

Water bottle Hard Plastic (or steel, or glass) — the cap is plastic too

Pillow Soft Cotton or foam inside, cloth cover

Tumbler Hard Steel — or glass, plastic, baked clay

Table Hard Wood, with iron nails and legs

Sweater Soft Wool (or acrylic)

Any other — eraser Soft Rubber

Any other — bangle Hard Glass

Any other — sponge Soft Foam / sponge

Any other — tawa Hard Iron

What the class discussion shows: most children agree on brick, pillow and sweater.
Disagreements appear where the object can be made of different materials — one child’s water
bottle is thin, squeezy plastic (soft) while another’s is steel (hard). Both are right, because they
were holding different materials.

Why the disagreement is useful: it proves that hardness belongs to the material,
not to the name of the object. “Bottle” tells you nothing about hardness until you
know what the bottle is made of.

In-text Questions — Page 108
6.3.3 Explore materials through which one can see or cannot see

Q1 You have learnt that materials can have different properties, like lustre, hardness,
softness and colour. Can you think of any other properties that are shown by
materials?

Yes — many more. Here are the ones you can test yourself with things at home:

Page 20 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

PROPERTY SIMPLE TEST EXAMPLE

Transparency Try to read a page through it Glass, butter paper, wood

Solubility in water Stir a spoonful in water Sugar dissolves, sand does not

Mass (heavy or light) Weigh equal amounts on a A cup of pebbles is heavier than a cup of
balance water

Floating or sinking Drop it in a mug of water Wood floats, iron sinks

Attracted by a magnet Bring a magnet close Iron pins yes, aluminium foil no

Passing heat Dip it in hot tea and touch the Steel spoon becomes hot, wooden ladle does
top not

Absorbing water Put a drop on it Cloth and paper soak it up, plastic does not

Bending without Try to bend it Copper wire bends, chalk snaps
breaking

Where the chapter goes next: of this whole list, the book now studies three in
detail — transparency (section 6.3.3), solubility in water (6.3.4) and mass and
volume (6.3.5 and 6.3.6).

Q2 Why did Ghulan, Sheeta and Sara choose these places to hide?

Because each of them picked something you cannot see through clearly. That is the whole
trick of hide and seek.

Ghulan hid behind a wall. A brick or stone wall is opaque — no light passes through it, so
the seeker sees only the wall.
Sheeta hid behind a big tree. The thick wooden trunk is also opaque, and it is broad
enough to cover her.
Sara hid behind a frosted glass door. Frosted glass has a hazy surface and is translucent
— light gets through, but the seeker sees only a blurred shadow and cannot tell who it is.

Why nobody hid behind a window pane: plain glass is transparent. Light passes
straight through it, so the hider would be seen at once — which is exactly why
Sheeta’s brother, standing behind the glass window, could watch the whole game.

Page 21 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q3 Do you think it would be possible for Sheeta’s brother to see her and her friends
through a closed wooden window of the house?

No, he could not see anything.
A closed wooden window is opaque. Wood does not let light pass through it at all, so no light
from Sheeta and her friends can reach his eyes. He would see only the wooden shutter in front
of him.

Why he could see through the glass window: glass is transparent — light from
outside passes straight through the pane and enters his eyes, forming a clear
picture. Replace the glass with wood and the same window becomes a blank wall.

Did you know? This is exactly why houses have both. The glass pane lets in light
and lets you see out; the wooden shutter is closed at night for privacy and to keep
out cold, because wood blocks both light and heat.

In-text Questions — Page 109

Page 22 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

6.3.3 Explore materials through which one can see or cannot see

Q1 Look at Fig. 6.5. Identify and label the nature of materials used by Ghulan (A),
Sheeta (B), Sara (C) and Sheeta’s brother (D). (A) ________ (B) ________ (C) ________ (D)
________ .

C
D

A B

Fig. 6.5, page 109 — Identify the nature of different materials. Redrawn sketch of the
hide-and-seek scene; A, B, C and D mark the four things named in the question.

Read each hiding place off the picture and name the property:

(A) Ghulan — behind the brick wall → Opaque

(B) Sheeta — behind the tree trunk → Opaque

(C) Sara — behind the frosted glass door → Translucent

(D) Sheeta’s brother — at the glass window → Transparent

So the answer line reads: (A) Opaque (B) Opaque (C) Translucent (D) Transparent.

Page 23 of 57

as e
Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

m
m .co
se
TRANSPARENT TRANSLUCENT OPAQUE

co m l a
e m . ag
g l as
a

com
e m . ag
g l as
a
All light passes — seen clearly Some light scatters — blurred No light passes — nothing
glass, water, air (D) frosted glass, butter paper (C) wall, wood,seen
metal (A and B)

. com
m or not at all.
The three kinds of materials in Fig. 6.5: light from the lamp reaches the eye fully,epartly,
s
co m gl a
. a
a s em
a gl How to decide which is which: hold the material over a line of print in your book. If
you can read the letters — transparent. If you can see that something is there but
m a s
.co agl
the letters are blurred — translucent. If you see nothing at all — opaque.

se m
g l a
a
Activity 6.6: Let us classify — Pages 109 & 110
co m
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m ase
.co a g l
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a
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m . a
ase
agl

co m
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se m
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a c
m .
m a s e
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g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

6.3.3 Explore materials through which one can see or cannot see

ACTIVITY

Q1 Classify the following objects as transparent, translucent or opaque in Table 6.4.
(Glass tumbler, Butter paper, Eraser, Frosted glass, Wooden board, Window glass)

Glass tumbler Butter paper Eraser

Frosted glass Wooden board Window glass

Activity 6.6, page 109 — the six objects to be classified; redrawn sketch.

TRANSPARENT TRANSLUCENT OPAQUE

Table 6.4, page 110 — Classification of objects. The table is printed blank.

Hold each object over the writing in your notebook and see how much of it you can read.

Page 25 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

TABLE 6.4: CLASSIFICATION OF OBJECTS

TRANSPARENT TRANSLUCENT OPAQUE

Glass tumbler Butter paper Eraser

Window glass Frosted glass Wooden board

also: clean water, cellophane also: oiled paper, thin plastic sheet, also: cardboard, steel plate, brick wall,
paper, air muslin cloth your palm

Why frosted glass behaves differently from window glass: both are glass. But the
surface of frosted glass has been roughened, so the light that enters is scattered in
all directions instead of going straight through. You still get light — which is why a
bathroom with a frosted window is bright — but you get no clear picture.

Try This: Rub one side of a piece of clear plastic with sandpaper. The transparent
sheet turns translucent in front of your eyes. You have made frosted glass.

In-text Questions — Page 110
6.3.4 What is soluble in water; what is not?

Q1 Is water transparent? Can it be made opaque?

Yes, clean water is transparent — the book lists water along with glass, air and cellophane
paper as an example of a transparent material. Drop a coin into a glass of clean water and you
can read the year on it.
And yes, water can be made opaque — by mixing something into it.

WHAT YOU ADD TO WATER WHAT IT BECOMES

Nothing (clean water) Transparent — the coin is seen clearly

A little chalk powder or fine mud Translucent — the coin is a blur

Plenty of mud, milk or ink Opaque — the coin cannot be seen at all

Note that adding sugar or salt does not make water opaque. They dissolve completely, so the
water stays transparent — only its taste changes.

Page 26 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: tiny insoluble particles floating in the water block and scatter the
light travelling through it. The more particles, the less light gets straight through —
clear water becomes hazy, then completely opaque. A dissolved material leaves no
such particles.

Check it yourself: Take three glasses of water. Put a coin in each. Add a spoon of
sugar to the first, a spoon of chalk powder to the second, and a spoon of milk to the
third. Only the first coin stays clearly visible.

Activity 6.7: Let us explore — Pages 110 & 111

Page 27 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

6.3.4 What is soluble in water; what is not?

ACTIVITY

Q1 Put a teaspoonful of sugar in the first glass tumbler, salt in the second one, chalk
powder in the third, sand in the fourth and sawdust in the fifth glass tumbler. On
stirring, predict what will happen in each case. Use a spoon to stir well the contents
of each glass tumbler. Wait for a few minutes and watch what happens. Write down
your observations in Table 6.5.

MATERIAL WILL DISAPPEAR IN WATER / DISAPPEARS IN WATER /
WILL NOT DISAPPEAR IN DOES NOT DISAPPEAR IN
WATER WATER

Sugar

Salt

Chalk
powder

Sand

Sawdust

Any other

Table 6.5, page 111 — Mixing different materials in water. Both the prediction and the
observation columns are printed blank.

Fill five glass tumblers two-thirds with water, add one teaspoonful of each material, stir well and
wait a few minutes.

Page 28 of 57

as e
Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
TABLE 6.5: MIXING DIFFERENT MATERIALS IN WATER

m PREDICTION — WILL / l a se SO THE
.co ag
MATERIAL OBSERVATION —

a s em WILL NOT DISAPPEAR IN DISAPPEARS / DOES NOT MATERIAL IS

ag l WATER DISAPPEAR

Will disappear Soluble
m
Sugar Disappears completely; water

. co ag
stays clear, tastes sweet

e m
Will disappear
g l as Soluble
a
Salt Disappears completely; water
stays clear, tastes salty

m
.co
Chalk powder Will not disappear Water turns milky; the powder Insoluble
slowly settles at the bottom
se m
com l a
Sand
e m . Will not disappear
ag
Sinks straight to the bottom; Insoluble

a s
aglSawdust
water stays clear above it

Will not disappear Floats on the surface even after Insoluble

m a s
.co Disappears completely agl
long stirring

se m
a
Will disappear Soluble
l
Any other —
glucose powder
ag

com
Any other — Will not disappear Forms a separate layer on top Insoluble

.
mustard oil
m
com gl ase
. a
em that do not mix and do not disappear even after long stirring are insoluble in water.
Materials that completely disappear are said to dissolve in water — they are soluble in water.

a s
gl
Materials

a
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

(a) Sugar in water (b) Chalk powder in water
Nothing left to see — SOLUBLE Cloudy, then settles —
INSOLUBLE

Fig. 6.6 in your book: what disappears in water, and what does not.

Why sugar “disappears”: it has not vanished — it has broken up into particles far
too small for your eyes to see, and these have spread evenly through the whole of
the water. That is why the water tastes sweet everywhere, and why boiling the water
away leaves the sugar behind.

Did you know? Water dissolves a very large number of materials, which is why it
plays such an important role in the working of our body — it carries dissolved food
and wastes to every part.

In-text Questions — Page 111
6.3.4 What is soluble in water; what is not?

Q1 Does everything you put in water disappear?

No. Activity 6.7 answers this directly — only some materials disappear.

Page 30 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Soluble materials disappear: sugar, salt, glucose, ORS powder, gur (jaggery), alum. They
dissolve and the water stays clear.
Insoluble materials do not disappear: sand and chalk powder settle at the bottom;
sawdust and small pieces of wood float on top; mustard oil forms a separate layer.

How to be sure it has really dissolved: hold the glass up to the light after a few
minutes of standing. If no particle can be seen anywhere — not floating, not
settled — the material has dissolved. If anything is visible, it is insoluble.

Make your own ORS! ORS — Oral Rehydration Solution — is used to treat
dehydration caused by diarrhoea. Ready packets are available at primary health
centres; each is dissolved in one litre of water. If a packet is not available, mix six
teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of common salt in one litre of boiled
and cooled water. It works only because sugar and salt are soluble.

In-text Questions — Page 112
6.3.4 What is soluble in water; what is not?

Q1 Do liquids like oil, vinegar and honey dissolve in water? Explore.

Liquids behave in both ways too. Take three glasses of water and add a spoonful of each, stir,
then leave them undisturbed for some time.

LIQUID ADDED WHAT YOU SEE CONCLUSION
TO WATER

Vinegar (sirka) Mixes completely; the water stays clear Soluble — mixes fully
with water

Honey Sinks first, but on stirring it mixes completely and Soluble
the water turns uniformly pale

Mustard oil Breaks into droplets while stirring, then collects as a Insoluble
separate layer on top when left alone

So some liquids get completely mixed with water; some do not mix and form a separate
layer when left undisturbed for some time.

Page 31 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Did you know? Oil floats on top because it is lighter than the same volume of water.
This is exactly what a cook does when she pours off the oil floating on a pickle, and
what workers do when they skim spilt oil off a pond.

Q2 What about the gases present in water?

Gases dissolve in water too — some well, some hardly at all.

Oxygen from the air dissolves in the water of ponds, rivers and the sea. It is very important
for the survival of the animals and plants that live in water — fish take in this dissolved
oxygen through their gills.
Carbon dioxide also dissolves in water. A cold drink is water with carbon dioxide forced into
it — the fizz you hear on opening the bottle is that gas escaping.
Gases like nitrogen dissolve only in very small amounts.

How you can see dissolved gas: keep a glass of tap water on the table for an hour.
Tiny bubbles appear on the inside walls — that is dissolved air coming out as the
water warms up. Warm water can hold less dissolved gas than cold water.

Try This: Watch an aquarium. The air pump bubbles are not there for decoration —
they keep dissolving fresh oxygen into the water so the fish can breathe.

Activity 6.8: Let us measure — Pages 112 & 113

Page 32 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

6.3.5 How heavy or light?

ACTIVITY

Q1 Fill one cup half with water and mark it as ‘A’, second with sand and mark it as ‘B’,
and the third with pebbles and mark it as ‘C’. Predict which one would be heavier
and which one would be lighter? Weigh each cup using a balance and record the
readings in your notebook. Compare the data and infer which is heavier or lighter.

44.92 g
TARE ON/OFF UNITS

Fig. 6.7, page 113 — Weighing a paper cup containing water on a digital balance;
redrawn sketch of the photograph (the reading shown in the book is 44.92 g).

Method: take three identical paper cups so that the cup itself adds the same amount every
time, and fill each exactly half — so all three hold the same volume. Weigh each on a balance
and note the reading.

Page 33 of 57

ase
Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
CUP FILLED WITH PREDICTION TYPICAL READING INFERENCE

m l a se Least mass
.co ag
A Water Lightest about 50 g

a s emSand
gl
Heavier than water More mass
a
B about 75 g

C Pebbles Heaviest about 80 g Most mass

. c om ag
Inference: C (pebbles) is the heaviest andm
cups hold the same amount. Your ownla s e A (water) is the lightest, even though all three

a g
down what your balance actually shows.
readings will differ with the size of your cup — write

co m
em.
as
Same volume in each cup

. om→ more mass
ccup a g l
em cup → less mass
Heavier
a s
a gl Lighter

s
Units of mass: gram (g) and kilogram (kg)
m a
m.co agl
l a se
ag
Why the comparison is fair only when the volumes are equal: a full cup of water
is of course heavier than a spoonful of pebbles. The activity fills every cup half so
that the only difference left is the material. Mass is the property that tells us how
co m
heavy or light an object is.
m .
m ase
.co a g l
s m If your pebbles are large, big air gaps are left between them and cup C may
eTip:
a
gl weigh about the same as cup B. Try again with smaller pebbles that pack closely —
a
and record the honest result either way. In common language we say ‘weight’ for
se m
com g l a
. a
mass because we find it by weighing; the difference between mass and weight is
m
ase
studied in higher classes.

agl

co m
In-text Questions — Page 114
m .
m as e
.co
6.3.6 Space and volume
a g l
a s em
agl Why is the level of water different in the two tumblers?
c
Q1

m .
m a s e
m . co agl

as e
l
Because the two students poured different amounts of water into them.
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 34 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Both tumblers are identical, so both have the same capacity. One got half-filled (Fig. 6.8a) and
the other almost completely filled (Fig. 6.8b). The different levels tell us that the amount of
water in each tumbler is different.

Water in the first tumbler occupies less space

→ its volume is less

Water in the second tumbler occupies more space

→ its volume is more

The space occupied by water represents its volume.

Why the tumbler being identical matters: if one tumbler were wide and the other
narrow, the same amount of water would stand at different heights and the
comparison would be meaningless. Because the tumblers are the same, the height
of the water is a fair measure of its volume.

Did you know? Volume is measured in litre (L) and millilitre (mL). That is what the
‘net quantity’ printed on a bottle means — 1 L, 500 mL, 200 mL. Milk pouches and
drinking-water bottles marked 500 mL both hold the same volume.

Q2 Why was I not able to transfer water from the jug into an empty water bottle
completely?

Because the jug held more water than the bottle could hold — the volume of water in the
jug was greater than the capacity of the bottle.
An “empty” bottle is not really empty either — it is full of air. As water goes in, the air must
come out through the same narrow mouth. That is why the water gurgles, splashes back and
goes in slowly.

Volume of water in jug > volume the bottle can hold

→ the extra water has no space left to occupy

→ it overflows and is left behind in the jug

Page 35 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The idea behind it: matter occupies space, and two things cannot occupy the same
space at the same time. That is why the students could not sit when their bags were
on the seats — the bags had already occupied that space. A 500 mL bottle can take
exactly 500 mL of water and not a drop more.

Try This: Push an inverted empty glass straight down into a bucket of water. The
water does not fill it — the air trapped inside is occupying that space, which proves
air is matter too.

In-text Questions — Page 115
6.4 What is Matter?

Q1 Are there any properties which can be shown by all materials? If yes, what are
those?

Yes — two. Lustre, hardness, transparency and solubility are shown by some materials but not
by others. Only two properties are shown by every material:

1. Mass — every material has some mass. Units: gram (g) and kilogram (kg).
2. Volume — every material occupies some space. Units: litre (L) and millilitre (mL).

Because these two are universal, they are used to give one general name to everything around
us:

Anything that occupies space and has mass is called matter

Mass gives the quantity of matter → measured in g and kg

The space occupied by matter is its volume → measured in L and mL

Why not the other properties: a wooden log has no lustre, air is not hard, and sand
is not soluble — so none of these can be used to define matter. But the log, the air
and the sand all have mass and all take up space.

Page 36 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Did you know? There is a correct way to write these units. kg has no space between
k and g, no full stop, and never an ‘s’ — write 7 kg, not 7 kgs. Litre is capital L,
millilitre is mL (small m, capital L). Always leave one space between the number and
the unit: 500 mL. The SI unit of volume is the cubic metre, written m3, and 1 m3 =
1000 L.

In-text Questions and Think it over! — Page 116
6.4 What is Matter?

THINK IT OVER!

Q1 Is air matter?

Yes, air is matter — because it satisfies both tests.

Air occupies space. Push an inverted empty glass into a bucket of water: the water cannot
rise inside, because air is already occupying that space. A blown-up balloon or a pumped
cycle tube gets bigger for the same reason.
Air has mass. Weigh a deflated football and weigh it again after pumping it hard — the
second reading is a little more. The extra mass is the air you pumped in.

We cannot see air, but seeing is not one of the tests. Anything that occupies space and has
mass is matter, whether or not our eyes can catch it.

Why we cannot see it: air is a mixture of gases, and gases are transparent — light
passes straight through without being scattered, exactly as it does through clean
glass. We notice air only when it moves, as wind.

Q2 Can all the materials around us be considered as different examples of matter?
Discuss with your friends.

Yes. Apply the two tests to anything you like and it passes:

Page 37 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

THING DOES IT OCCUPY SPACE? DOES IT HAVE MASS? MATTER?

Water in a tumbler Yes — it fills the tumbler Yes — a full bucket is heavy Yes

Sand and pebbles Yes Yes Yes

The paper cup Yes Yes — the balance shows it Yes

Air Yes — it fills a balloon Yes — a pumped ball is heavier Yes

Your own body Yes Yes Yes

So materials are types of matter used in the creation or making of objects. Every material
around us — wood, glass, plastic, clay, metal, cloth, water, air — is an example of matter.

The wider lesson of this chapter: we grouped materials on the basis of similarities
or differences in their properties, and grouping helps us study and observe
patterns. Humans have classified not only things but also rocks, plants and animals
— you met the classification of the living world in the chapter ‘Diversity in the Living
World’. The non-living world is classified in exactly the same spirit: on the basis of
properties.

Did you know? Ancient India had such a system too. Ayurveda describes all physical
matter using 20 guṇa — ten pairs of opposite properties: guru (heavy) – laghu (light),
hima (cold) – uṣhṇa (hot), mṛidu (soft) – kaṭhina (hard), sāndra (solid) – drava (liquid),
and so on. Notice that heavy/light and soft/hard are properties you have used in this
very chapter.

Q3 Think it over! Can you think about what changes the invention of plastic brought to
humans? Is it a boon or a bane?

Plastic is both — a boon in how it is used and a bane in how it is thrown away. Discuss both
sides before deciding.

Page 38 of 57

as e
Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
PLASTIC AS A BOON PLASTIC AS A BANE

a se
comhome
mugs reached .every
l
ag of years
Light, unbreakable and cheap — buckets, chairs, bottles, It does not rot. A carry bag thrown today may still be

a s em lying in the soil after hundreds

gl
aWater-proof — pipes, tanks and packaging keep food and Drains and nalas get choked with bags, causing floods
medicines clean and dry in the rains

. comCows eat discarded bags and die; fish and turtles ag
Saved trees, animals and metal ores — plastic replaced
e m
wood, ivory, leather and metal in many things
g l as swallow plastic in rivers and the sea

a
Made possible syringes, drip bottles, spectacle lenses, Burning plastic releases poisonous smoke; tiny pieces
computers, cables, helmets and safe vehicles now reach our food and water
co m
se m.
o m l a
.c disposal. The sensible answer is not to hate plastic butatog reduce, reuse and recycle
A reasoned position: plastic itself is a very useful material — the problem is single-use plastic

m
se a cloth bag to the market, refuse plastic straws and cutlery, keep a steel bottle instead
and careless
it: a
l
agof buying packaged water, and hand clean plastic to the recycler instead of burning it or
carry

throwing it in a drain.
m a s
em
.co agl
a s
agl by cloth, steel, paper or glass. That list is your
Try This: Count the plastic items thrown out of your house in one week. Mark which
of them could have been replaced
family’s plan for the next week.

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
m play — Pages 118 & 119
Leteus
g l as games
a Chapter

se m
com a
LET US PLAY

. a g l
e m
g l
Find the companion. Linkasthe following words by putting arrows between words
a (Iron, Transparent, Copper, Solid, Bottle, Plastic, Lustrous,
Q1
that have a connection.
Wood, Opaque, Glass)

co m
m .
o m
l a se
m .c an arrow wherever one word is a property of the other,aorg one is an example of the other.
se
Draw
a
agl
Here are all the correct links:

.c
s e m
m a
em . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 39 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

LINK WHY THEY ARE COMPANIONS

Iron → Lustrous Iron is a metal; a freshly cut surface shines

Copper → Lustrous Copper is a metal with a bright reddish shine

Glass → Transparent We can see clearly through glass

Glass → Bottle Bottles are made of glass

Plastic → Bottle Bottles are also made of plastic

Wood → Opaque We cannot see through wood at all

Iron → Opaque Metals are opaque

Copper → Opaque Metals are opaque

Solid → Iron, Copper, Wood, Glass, Plastic All five are solids — they are hard and keep their shape

Iron → Copper Both are metals

How to check an arrow: read it aloud as a sentence. “Glass is transparent” —
correct. “Wood is lustrous” — wrong, so no arrow. If the sentence sounds false, rub
the arrow out.

Page 40 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 Win the ‘Word-hub’. The following words from the chapter like lustrous, non-
lustrous, soluble, insoluble, hard, soft, matter, mass, transparent, opaque, volume
and translucent are picked up. Students should randomly choose nine words from
the given list and write them in the grid. Then, the facilitator either reads the
definition of a word or the word itself (randomly) from the given list. The learners
have to tick if the particular word is there in the grid. Whoever finishes ticking off
all nine words first will shout out ‘Hurray!’

The Grid, page 119 — a blank 3 × 3 grid; write one chosen word in each of the nine cells.

How to play: the grid has nine boxes (3 rows × 3 columns). Choose any nine of the twelve words
and write one in each box. Tick a word when the facilitator reads either that word or its
definition. The first player to tick all nine correctly shouts ‘Hurray!’ and wins.
A sample filled grid:

Lustrous Soluble Matter

Hard Transparent Volume

Opaque Mass Translucent

The definitions your facilitator will read — learn these and you cannot lose:

Page 41 of 57

Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

WORD DEFINITION READ OUT

Lustrous Has a shiny surface; usually a metal

Non-lustrous Does not have a shiny surface

Hard Difficult to compress or scratch

Soft Can be compressed or scratched easily

Transparent Things can be seen clearly through it

Translucent Things can be seen, but not clearly

Opaque You cannot see through it at all

Soluble Dissolves in water and disappears

Insoluble Does not dissolve in water

Matter Anything that occupies space and has mass

Mass The quantity of matter in an object; measured in g and kg

Volume The space occupied by matter; measured in L and mL

Tip: Pick the nine words whose definitions you know best — the game rewards
understanding the meaning, not lucky guessing.

Let us enhance our learning — Pages 119 to 121
Chapter exercises

LET US ENHANCE OUR LEARNING

Q1 Visit your kitchen and observe how your parents have organised various edibles.
Can you suggest a better sorting method? Write it in your notebook.

What to do: stand in your kitchen and list what is kept where. Then ask two questions of every
shelf — what property was used to group these? and can I find things faster with a different
property?
What you will usually find:

Whole spices and powdered masalas in a masala dabba near the stove.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Pulses and grains — rice, wheat flour, dal, rajma — in big airtight jars.
Sugar, salt, tea and oil close to where tea is made.
Vegetables, milk and leftovers in the refrigerator.
Onions, potatoes and garlic in a basket outside, in the dark and air.

Sample answer — a better sorting method:

1. Sort first by how often it is used. Salt, sugar, tea, oil and the masala dabba go on the shelf
you can reach without a stool; festival items go on the top shelf.
2. Then sort by what the food needs. Things that spoil in warmth (milk, curd, vegetables) →
refrigerator; things that spoil in damp (biscuits, papad, flour) → airtight jars; things that spoil
in light (oil, ghee) → a closed cupboard.
3. Use transparent jars of the same size and stick a label with the name and the date of
filling. You can see at a glance what is running out.
4. Keep raw and cooked food apart, and keep soap, phenyl and detergent on a completely
different shelf, never above food.
5. Follow ‘first in, first out’ — push the older packet to the front so it gets used first and
nothing is wasted.

Why this is better: the old arrangement usually groups things by habit. The new
one groups them by properties — how fast they are used, and what makes them
spoil. Grouping by a useful property is exactly what classification means, and it saves
time and food.

Q2 Unscramble the letters (Column I) and match with their properties (Column II).
Column I: (i) T R E M A T, (ii) U L S B E L O, (iii) T N E R P A S N A R T, (iv) E R U S T L.
Column II: (a) Objects can be seen clearly through it, (b) Occupies space and has
mass, (c) Shiny surface, (d) Mixes completely in water.

Unscramble first, then match each word with its own definition.

COLUMN I UNSCRAMBLED MATCHES COLUMN II
(SCRAMBLED) WORD

(i) T R E M A T MATTER (b) Occupies space and has mass

(ii) U L S B E L O SOLUBLE (d) Mixes completely in water

(iii) T N E R P A S N A R T TRANSPARENT (a) Objects can be seen clearly
through it

(iv) E R U S T L LUSTRE (c) Shiny surface

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as e
Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
e m.
Final answer: (i) → (b), (ii) → (d), (iii) → (a), (iv) → (c)
m l as
m .co a g
l a se
g
Tip: Count the letters before you start. TNERPASNART has 11 letters and so does
aTRANSPARENT, with two A’s, two N’s, two R’s and two T’s — the count is a quick way
m
to check that you have unscrambled it correctly.

. co ag
e m
g l as
Q3
a
The containers which are used to store materials in shops and at home are usually
transparent. Give your reasons for this.
co m
em.
m l as
.co a g

a s em
Because a transparent container lets you see what is inside without opening it. That single

a l
gproperty gives several practical advantages.

s
1. You can identify the contents at a glance. A shopkeeper with fifty jars finds the rajma in a
m a
.co agl
second, without opening and closing lids.

a s em
2. You can see how much is left, so you know when to refill the sugar jar or reorder stock.

a l
3. You can check the quality —ginsects in the flour, fungus on the pickle, a change of colour,
stones among the pulses — all are visible from outside.

co
4. The food stays safe. Every time a container is opened, air, moisture, dust and flies get in. Am
m .
as e
transparent jar can be checked without opening it, so the food stays fresh longer.
m l
.co a g
5. It attracts customers. Sweets, dry fruits and biscuits in glass jars look inviting and the

a s em buyer can judge them before buying.

agl 6. It saves time and avoids mistakes — no chance of adding salt instead of sugar.
se m
com
When an opaque container is better instead: for things that are spoiled by light —
g l a
m . a
e
mustard oil, ghee, medicines, some syrups — shops use dark or opaque containers
asis always chosen to suit the purpose, not by habit.
a g l
on purpose. So the material

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
em . co agl
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a

co m
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m ase
.co


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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q4 State whether the statements given below are True [T] or False [F]. Correct the False
statement(s). (i) Wood is translucent while glass is opaque. (ii) Aluminium foil has
lustre while an eraser does not. (iii) Sugar dissolves in water whereas sawdust does
not. (iv) An apple is a matter because it occupies no space and has mass.

STATEMENT T/ CORRECTED STATEMENT
F

(i) Wood is translucent while glass is False Wood is opaque while glass is transparent. Nothing can
opaque. be seen through wood; things are seen clearly through
glass.

(ii) Aluminium foil has lustre while True Aluminium is a metal and shines; an eraser is rubber and is
an eraser does not. non-lustrous.

(iii) Sugar dissolves in water whereas True Sugar is soluble in water; sawdust is insoluble and floats
sawdust does not. on the surface.

(iv) An apple is a matter because it False An apple is matter because it occupies space and has
occupies no space and has mass. mass.

Where each false statement goes wrong: statement (i) simply swaps the two
words — it describes glass with wood’s property and wood with glass’s. Statement
(iv) gets the mass right but denies that the apple takes up space; if that were true
the apple could not be held in your hand at all. Matter must satisfy both
conditions — occupy space and have mass.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q5 We see chairs made up of various materials, such as wood, iron, plastic, bamboo,
cement and stones. Following are some desirable properties of materials which can
be used to make chairs. Which materials used to make chairs fulfil these properties
the most? (i) Hardness (does not bend or shake on sitting even after long use). (ii)
Lightweight (easy to lift or to take from one place to another). (iii) Does not feel
very cold when sitting during winters. (iv) Can be cleaned regularly and made to
look new even after long use.

DESIRABLE MATERIAL THAT WHY
PROPERTY FULFILS IT MOST

(i) Hardness — does not Iron (also stone and Iron is very hard and strong; an iron chair does not
bend or shake even after cement) bend or wobble even after years. Stone and
long use cement benches never bend at all.

(ii) Lightweight — easy to Plastic (bamboo and A plastic chair can be lifted by one child with one
lift and carry cane are also light) hand; an iron or stone chair cannot be moved
alone.

(iii) Does not feel very cold Wood and bamboo Wood and bamboo are poor conductors of heat —
in winter (plastic is also fine) they do not take heat away from the body. Iron,
stone and cement pull heat from you quickly and
feel icy.

(iv) Can be cleaned Plastic (polished wood Plastic has a smooth surface, does not soak up
regularly and looks new and painted iron come water, does not rust and does not get eaten by
even after long use next) termites, so a wipe with a wet cloth makes it look
new.

Why no single material wins everything: iron is the hardest but the heaviest and
the coldest; plastic is light and washable but bends under a heavy person over time;
wood is warm and strong but can be attacked by termites and needs polishing. A
material is chosen for the purpose — that is why school classrooms use light plastic
chairs, gardens use iron benches, and village verandas use bamboo mudhas.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q6 You need to have containers for collection of: (i) food waste, (ii) broken glass and
(iii) wastepaper. Which materials will you choose for containers of these types of
waste? What properties of materials do you need to think of?

WASTE TO BE MATERIAL CHOSEN PROPERTIES THAT MADE YOU CHOOSE IT
COLLECTED FOR THE CONTAINER

(i) Food waste (wet Thick plastic bin with a tight Water-proof (does not leak or soak up gravy), does
waste) lid — or a steel bucket not rot, does not rust, smooth so it can be washed
daily, has a lid to keep out flies and smell. A paper or
cardboard box would become soggy and tear.

(ii) Broken glass A hard, thick-walled Hard and strong so sharp edges cannot pierce it,
container — a metal drum or thick walls so nobody gets cut while carrying it, and
a rigid, thick plastic bucket a lid so pieces do not fly out. A polythene bag or a
with a lid paper bag would be cut open at once.

(iii) Wastepaper A cardboard carton, a cane Paper is light, dry and harmless, so the container
(dry waste) basket or a light plastic bin — only has to be light, cheap and easy to empty. It
no lid needed must be kept dry and away from fire.

The properties to think about before choosing any container:

Hardness and strength — will the waste tear or pierce it?
Water-proof or absorbent — will wet waste leak through?
Does it rust or rot when it stays wet?
Weight — can it be lifted and emptied easily when full?
Ease of cleaning — a smooth, non-absorbent surface washes clean.
Cost and reuse — it should last many months.

Did you know? Municipalities across India use a colour code for exactly this reason
— green bins for wet (food) waste, blue for dry recyclable waste like paper and
plastic, and black or red for hazardous waste such as broken glass, blades and used
batteries.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q7 Air is all around us but does not hinder us from seeing each other. Whereas, if a
wooden door comes in between, we cannot see each other. It is because air is
________ and the wooden door is ________. Choose the most appropriate option: (i)
transparent, opaque (ii) translucent, transparent (iii) opaque, translucent (iv)
transparent, translucent

Correct option: (i) transparent, opaque.

Air is transparent — light passes straight through, so we see each other clearly

A wooden door is opaque — no light passes through, so we see nothing at all

Why the other options are wrong:

(ii) translucent, transparent — if air were translucent everything would look hazy, and if
the door were transparent we could see through it like a window.
(iii) opaque, translucent — this is exactly the reverse of the truth.
(iv) transparent, translucent — air is right, but a wooden door is not translucent; you
cannot see even a blurred shape through it. If it were made of frosted glass, this option
would be correct.

The clue in the question itself: the words “does not hinder us from seeing” mean
see clearly → transparent. The words “we cannot see each other” mean see nothing →
opaque. Had the question said “we can see a shadow but not clearly”, the answer
would have been translucent.

Q8 Imagine you have two mysterious materials, X and Y. When you try to press
material X, it feels rigid and does not change its shape easily. On the other hand,
material Y easily changes its shape when you press it. Now, when you mix both
materials in water, only material X dissolves completely, while material Y remains
unchanged. What can materials X and Y be? Can you identify whether material X is
hard or soft? What about material Y? Justify your answer.

Read off the two clues given for each material and put them together.

Page 48 of 57

ase
Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
MATERIAL X MATERIAL Y

mRigid, does not change shape easily as e
On pressing
.co a g l
Changes shape easily

se m
g l a
So it is
a
Hard Soft

In water Dissolves completely Remains unchanged

co m
m . ag
se
So it is Soluble Insoluble

l a
What it can
be
ag salt (rock salt), alum
Sugar crystals, mishri, common
(phitkari), a glucose tablet
Sponge, eraser (rubber), cotton wool,
wax, dough or clay

co m
Justification:
e m.
m l as
.co a g
em X stays rigid under your fingers, so it is hard. And since it disappears completely in
X is hard — the book defines hard materials as those that are difficult to compress or

a s
gl water, it is soluble. A crystal of sugar or of rock salt fits both clues perfectly.
scratch.

a
Y is soft — it can be compressed easily, which is the definition of a soft material. It stays
m a s
.co agl
visible in water, so it is insoluble. A sponge or an eraser fits both clues.

a s em
a gl and solubility are two separate, independent
The idea being tested: hardness
properties. A material can be hard and soluble (sugar), hard and insoluble (stone),
soft and soluble (jaggery, which crumbles easily), or soft and insoluble (sponge). You
co m
m .
e
must never guess one property from the other.
m l as
m .co a g
l a se
ag Q9 (i) Who am I? Identify me on the basis of the given properties. (a) I have lustre. (b) I
can be easily compressed. (c) I am hard and soluble in water. (d) You cannot see
se m
com g l a
. a
clearly through me. (e) I have mass and volume but you cannot see me. (ii) Make
m
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your own ‘Who am I?’

agl

co m
.
(i) Who am I?

em
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ag
.c
s e m
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co m
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m ase
.co


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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLUE PROPERTY ANSWER OTHER CORRECT
NAMED ANSWERS

(a) I have lustre. Lustrous — a metal Iron (a freshly cut Copper, aluminium foil,
piece) gold, silver, zinc

(b) I can be easily compressed. Soft Sponge Eraser, cotton wool, pillow,
rubber ball

(c) I am hard and soluble in Hard + soluble Sugar (a crystal of Common salt or rock salt,
water. mishri) alum (phitkari)

(d) You cannot see clearly Translucent Butter paper Frosted glass, thin plastic
through me. sheet, oiled paper

(e) I have mass and volume but Matter that is Air Oxygen, carbon dioxide,
you cannot see me. invisible — a gas water vapour

Read clue (d) carefully: it says “cannot see clearly”, not “cannot see at all”. That
points to a translucent material such as butter paper. Had it said “you cannot see
through me at all”, the answer would have been an opaque material such as wood
or cardboard.

(ii) Make your own ‘Who am I?’ — sample riddles you can use:

1. I am hard, transparent and I break if you drop me. Sand is used to make me. Who am I? —
Glass
2. I am soft and non-lustrous, I soak up water at once, and you write on me. Who am I? —
Paper
3. I am lustrous, hard, and a magnet pulls me. Who am I? — Iron
4. I am white, hard, soluble in water and I make your food tasty. Who am I? — Salt
5. I am insoluble in water, I float on it, and I come from cutting wood. Who am I? — Sawdust

Tip for making a good riddle: give two or three properties, not one. “I am hard”
could be a stone, iron, glass or sugar; “I am hard, white and soluble in water” can
only be salt or sugar.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q10 You are provided with the following materials—vinegar, honey, mustard oil, water,
glucose and wheat flour. Make any two pairs of materials where one material is
soluble in the other. Now, make two pairs of materials where one material remains
insoluble in the other material.

Two pairs where one material is soluble in the other:

PAIR WHAT HAPPENS ON STIRRING

Glucose + water The glucose powder disappears completely and the water stays clear — glucose is
soluble in water

Honey + water The honey mixes completely and the water becomes uniformly pale — honey is
soluble in water

also correct: Vinegar + Vinegar mixes completely with water and no separate layer forms
water

Two pairs where one material remains insoluble in the other:

PAIR WHAT HAPPENS ON STIRRING

Mustard oil + water The oil breaks into droplets while you stir, then collects as a separate layer on
top — insoluble

Wheat flour + water The water turns milky and the flour slowly settles at the bottom; it never
disappears — insoluble

also correct: Wheat flour + The flour stays as visible particles in the oil
mustard oil

How to test any new pair yourself: put a spoonful of the first material into half a
glass of the second, stir well, and leave it undisturbed for five minutes. If nothing at
all can be seen — no floating layer, no settled powder, no cloudiness — the first is
soluble in the second. Anything you can still see means it is insoluble.

Did you know? This is exactly why a puri fried in oil does not get soggy but a puri
dropped in water does. Wheat flour does not dissolve in either, but water soaks into
it while hot oil does not.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Learning further — Page 121
Extended activities and projects

LEARNING FURTHER

Q1 Gather information on different materials which can be recycled. You can take help
from various sources, such as newspapers, magazines, elders in your community,
and the internet.

How to do it: collect information from three kinds of sources — the newspaper (municipal
notices about waste segregation), an elder or the kabadiwala in your mohalla, and a reliable
website. Write down each fact with the source next to it.
Sample answer — materials that can be recycled:

MATERIAL EXAMPLES OF ITEMS WHAT IT IS TURNED INTO

Paper and cardboard Old newspapers, notebooks, New paper, egg trays, packing board
cartons

Glass Bottles, jars, broken panes Melted and blown into new bottles and jars

Metals — iron, aluminium, Old utensils, cans, wires, Melted and cast into new metal goods; metals
copper, brass taps, nails can be recycled again and again

Plastics — PET, HDPE Water and cold-drink bottles, Chips, fibre for cloth and carpets, new plastic
buckets, mugs articles

Cloth and rags Old clothes, gunny bags Cleaning cloth, yarn, mattress filling

E-waste Old phones, chargers, circuit Copper, gold and other metals are recovered
boards

Rubber Worn-out tyres, slippers Playground mats, road-making material

Kitchen (wet) waste Peels, leftovers, leaves Compost for the garden — this is recycling too

Why recycling depends on properties: a material can be recycled only if it can be
melted, pulped or broken down and made again without losing its useful
properties. Metals and glass melt cleanly, so they recycle perfectly. Thermocol and
laminated wrappers do not, which is why nobody buys them.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 Recyclers buy old objects based on properties of the materials and do not bother
even if an object is broken. Conduct a survey with recyclers near you and find out
what properties of materials do they check before buying objects from households.
Which materials do they not buy and why?

How to conduct the survey: visit the kabadiwala with an elder, greet him, tell him it is a school
project, and ask five or six prepared questions. Note the answers on the spot in a table. Ask the
rate per kilogram for each material, and thank him at the end.
Questions to carry: What do you buy? How do you decide the price? How do you tell one metal
from another? What do you refuse to take, and why? What happens to the material after it
leaves you?
Sample answer — properties a recycler checks:

PROPERTY HOW HE CHECKS IT WHY IT MATTERS TO HIM
CHECKED

Which material it is By look, by the sound it makes Every material has a different rate per kg
when tapped, by the feel

Mass (weight) Weighs it on his balance He pays by the kilogram, not by the piece — so a
broken object is worth the same as a whole one

Whether a magnet Touches a small magnet to it Iron sticks; copper, brass and aluminium do not
sticks and fetch a much higher price

Colour and lustre Scratches the surface and Reddish shine = copper, yellow = brass, silvery =
looks at the fresh metal aluminium or steel

Whether it is clean Looks and smells Food-stained or oily plastic and wet paper cannot
and dry be recycled well

Whether materials Checks for rubber, plastic or Mixed articles have to be separated by hand, which
are mixed cloth attached to metal costs him labour

Materials they usually do not buy, and why:

Thermocol — very light, so a whole sackful weighs almost nothing and fetches no money.
Thin polythene bags, chips and biscuit wrappers — these are made of layers of different
materials stuck together and cannot be separated or melted.
Broken crockery, ceramic tiles, mirror glass — cannot be melted into new articles easily
and can cut the hands of the workers.
Used tissue paper, soiled or wet paper, and food-stained containers — cannot be pulped
cleanly.
Old batteries, tube lights and paint tins — hazardous, and need special handling.

Page 53 of 57

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
The chapter’s idea at work: the kabadiwala is doing exactly what you did in Activity

m l a se
6.2 — classifying by properties. He does not care what the object was; he cares only
o
.c it is made of, because that is what decides whether
a git can be used
m
what material

l a se
ag
again.

o m
e m . c ag
s
Collect 20–30 objects from your household and classify them based on the
la are made up of. Were you able to put them in
Q3

a g
properties of the materials they
separate groups? What relationship do you see between the properties of the

m
materials and the use of the objects?
co
em.
m l as
.co g

m a
se
How to do it: collect 20–30 safe, small objects on a mat — spoon, key, comb, bangle, eraser,

g l a
a cloth piece, wooden ruler, glass jar. Then sort them once for each property.
marble, sponge, candle, chalk, nail, notebook, plastic mug, ball, diya, bulb, rubber band, coin,

m a s
PROPERTY GROUP 1
m .coGROUP 2 GROUP 3
agl
USED
l a se
a g
Lustre Lustrous — spoon, key, Non-lustrous — chalk, cloth,

co m
coin, nail notebook, sponge

m .
as e
com l
Hardness Hard — marble, bangle, Soft — eraser, sponge, cloth,

. a g
m
coin, diya rubber band

e
as Transparency
agl
Transparent — glass jar, Translucent — butter paper, Opaque — spoon, comb,
marble, bulb plastic mug diya, notebook

se m
com Insoluble — nail, chalk, candle, g l a
. a
Solubility in Soluble — sugar, salt, a

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ase
water glucose tablet sponge

agl
Were you able to put them in separate groups? Yes — for a single property every object lands

m
in exactly one group. But an object that is made of more than one material (a pen, a torch, a

. co
m
bag with a metal buckle) is hard to place; put it in the group of the material it has most of, and

m as e
corelationship l
write a note.
. a g
s e m
The between properties and use:
a
agl A tumbler is made of a material that holds water and is hard — steel, glass, plastic, clay.
c
Never cloth or paper.
m .
m a s e
co agl
A window is made of a transparent material so that light and the view come in.

m .
as e
A pillow is made of a soft material so it is comfortable.

a g l
A hammer head is hard and heavy, its handle is light and warm to hold — two different
materials in one tool.

co m
m .
m as e
.co


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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A raincoat is made of a material that does not soak water.

The one-line conclusion: the use of an object is decided by the properties of the
material it is made of. We choose the material to fit the job, which is why the same
object made for a different job is made of a different material.

Q4 Create and decorate a useful object of your choice using discarded materials and
bring it to the class. Discuss with your friends what they have made and the
materials they have used. Additionally, provide constructive feedback on areas for
improvement, considering functionality and any other points.

What a good project must have: it should be useful (not just decorative), made mainly from
discarded materials, safe to handle, and you should be able to explain why each material was
chosen.
Sample answer — a pen stand from a discarded plastic bottle:

1. Materials used: one empty 1 L plastic bottle, old newspaper, waste cloth pieces, a discarded
cardboard carton, glue, and left-over poster colours.
2. Making it: ask an elder to cut the bottle to about 12 cm height and smooth the cut edge by
folding tape over it. Paste a cardboard disc under it for a firm base. Cover the outside with
strips of newspaper and glue, let it dry, then paint it and stick on cloth flowers.
3. Why these materials: plastic is hard enough to stand up, light and water-proof, so ink
spills wipe off; cardboard is stiff and makes the base steady; cloth and paper are soft and
easily glued, so they decorate well.

Other good ideas: a bird feeder from a bottle and two spoons; a jewellery box from a match
box and old gift paper; a doormat woven from strips of old sarees; a lamp shade from a
punched tin can; a jute pen-holder from a can and old jute twine; a mobile stand from a
shampoo bottle.
How to give constructive feedback in class: say one thing that works and one thing that could
be better, and always give a reason.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

LOOK AT ASK EXAMPLE OF GOOD FEEDBACK

Functionality Does it really work and hold “Your pen stand is beautiful, but it tips over when full. A
up in daily use? wider cardboard base will fix it.”

Choice of Was the property of the “A paper flower pot will get soggy the first time you
material material suited to the job? water it — line it with an old polythene sheet.”

Safety Any sharp edges, loose pins or “Cover the cut edge of the can with tape so nobody cuts a
unsafe glue? finger.”

Use of waste How much of it came from “Almost everything is reused — only the glue was
discarded things? bought. Very well done.”

Tip: Say what you liked before you say what should change, and speak about the
object, never about the person. That is what makes feedback constructive.

Chapter at a glance
Any substance used to create an object is a material. One object can be made of several
materials (a pen = plastic + metal + ink) and one material can make many objects (glass →
tumbler, window, bangle, bottle).
Arranging objects into groups is called classification. We classify on the basis of a common
property — shape, colour, lustre, hardness, transparency, solubility, and so on.
Appearance: materials with a shiny surface are lustrous (mostly metals — iron, copper,
zinc, aluminium, gold); dull ones are non-lustrous (paper, wood, rubber, jute). But “all that
glitters is not gold” — a polished or plastic-coated surface can shine without being a metal.
Feel: materials that are difficult to compress or scratch are hard (stone, iron, brick); those
easily compressed or scratched are soft (sponge, eraser, cotton). Hardness is relative —
rubber is harder than sponge but softer than iron.
Seeing through: transparent (see clearly — glass, water, air, cellophane), translucent (see
but not clearly — butter paper, frosted glass), opaque (cannot see at all — wood, cardboard,
metals).
In water: materials that dissolve and disappear are soluble (sugar, salt, glucose); those that
stay visible are insoluble (sand, chalk powder, sawdust). Some liquids and gases also
dissolve — oxygen dissolved in water keeps fish alive.
Mass (measured in g and kg) tells how much matter an object has; volume (measured in L
and mL) is the space it occupies. Anything that occupies space and has mass is called
matter.

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Class 6 Science Chapter 6 Materials Around Us AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Quick revision

TERM WHAT IT MEANS HOW YOU TEST FOR IT EVERYDAY INDIAN
EXAMPLE

Material Any substance used to create Ask: what is this thing made of? Steel in a tumbler, baked
an object clay in a diya

Classification The method of arranging Pick one property and sort A grocer keeping all
objects into groups on the everything by it spices in one corner
basis of a common property

Lustrous / Non- Lustrous = shiny surface Hold it in sunlight — does it Copper wire, aluminium
lustrous (usually a metal); non- shine? foil (lustrous); jute rope,
lustrous = dull surface chalk (non-lustrous)

Hard Difficult to compress or to Press it with your hand; scratch Brick, stone, iron tawa
scratch it with a metal key

Soft Easily compressed or It dents under your thumb, the Pillow, eraser, chalk,
scratched key leaves a mark sponge

Transparent Things can be seen clearly Hold your book behind it — can Window glass, clean
through it you read the letters? water, air, cellophane

Translucent Things can be seen, but not The letters look blurred and Butter paper, frosted
clearly hazy glass of a bathroom door

Opaque Nothing can be seen through No light comes through; you Wooden door, cardboard
it at all see only a shadow carton, steel plate

Soluble Dissolves in water and Stir a spoonful in water, wait a Sugar and salt in shikanji;
disappears few minutes — nothing is left to ORS powder
see

Insoluble Does not dissolve; stays Even after long stirring the Sand, chalk powder,
visible, settles down or particles are still seen sawdust, mustard oil
floats

Mass and Mass = quantity of matter Mass — weigh on a balance; 7 kg gas cylinder refill;
volume (g, kg); volume = space volume — read the ‘net 500 mL milk pouch
occupied (L, mL) quantity’ or the level in a
measuring jar

Matter Anything that occupies Does it take up room and weigh Water, sand, pebbles, the
space and has mass something? cup — and even air

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