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NCERT Solutions for Class 4th Maths Chapter 8 A dripping tap — Water Conservation in Everyday Life

Book page 127 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
Have you ever noticed a small drip of water flowing from your tap or water purifier? Have you considered how much water is actually being wasted?
Answer

Yes, a slow drip is easy to miss, but it never stops.

About 10 drops make 1 ml
A slow tap drips about 40 times in a minute
In one minute it wastes about 4 ml

A single drip looks like nothing, but it goes on all day and all night. Even a slow drip wastes several litres every day.

Why it happens: A drop is tiny, but the drops never stop coming. Many small amounts added again and again make a big amount.
Tip: Tell an elder as soon as you see a dripping tap. A new washer costs very little and saves a lot of water.
Q2.
Take a container and put it under the leaking tap or water purifier for an hour. How much water is lost in an hour from just a slow drip? Did it surprise you?
Answer

Do the activity like this:

  1. Put an empty measuring bottle under the dripping tap.
  2. Note the time and leave it for exactly one hour.
  3. Read the level on the bottle.

Sample answer: My bottle had water up to the 250 ml mark after one hour.

Water lost in 1 hour = 250 ml
That is one full drinking glass, from a tap that was not even open!

Yes, it is surprising. A tap nobody is using can still fill a glass every hour.

Why it happens: The drops keep adding up. In one hour there are 60 minutes, and every minute sends a few more millilitres into the bottle.
Tip: Your own answer may be more or less than 250 ml. Write down what your bottle really shows.
Q3.
How much water is lost in a day?
Answer

One hour wasted 250 ml. A day has 24 hours.

1 hour = 250 ml
4 hours = 250 + 250 + 250 + 250 = 1000 ml = 1 l
24 hours = 4 hours, six times
So 1 day = 1 l six times = 6 l

About 6 litres of water is lost in one day from just one slow drip.

Why it happens: Four hours fill one litre, and there are six fours in twenty-four. So the day wastes six litres.
Tip: 6 litres is about half a bucket. That much clean water is thrown away every day by one tap that nobody has fixed.
Q4.
How much do you think is lost in a week?
Answer

A week has 7 days, and each day wastes about 6 l.

6 l + 6 l + 6 l + 6 l + 6 l + 6 l + 6 l
6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42
So one week = 42 l

About 42 litres of water is lost in one week.

Why it happens: The same 6 litres is lost every day, so we add 6 seven times — once for each day of the week.
Tip: 42 litres is nearly three full buckets. One family could bathe with that water.
Q5.
How would this wastage of water affect us?
Answer

Wasted water hurts everyone, not just the person whose tap is dripping.

  • Wells, ponds and tanks go dry sooner, so there is less water for everyone.
  • Water has to be pumped and cleaned before it reaches our tap. Wasting it wastes that work and that electricity too.
  • Farmers get less water for their crops, so less food grows.
  • Animals and birds find less water to drink.
  • In summer, taps may run only for an hour a day.
One tap wastes 42 l in a week
10 such taps waste 42 × 10 = 420 l in a week
Why it happens: Only a small part of the water on Earth is clean water we can drink. Once it is wasted we cannot make more of it.
Tip: Three easy habits: close the tap while brushing, bathe with a bucket, and get every dripping tap repaired.
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