NCERT Solutions for Class 4th The World Around Us Chapter 4 Caring for plants and animals — Let us reflect
Book page 67–68 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
What are the things that we use from nature in our daily life?
Answer
We take something from nature for almost every need. Fill the table like this.
Activities
Collected from nature
Eating
Fruits
Clothing
Cotton
Healthcare
Neem
Any other
Completed table:
Activities
Collected from nature
Eating
Fruits
Vegetables
Rice and wheat
Milk and honey
Clothing
Cotton
Jute
Wool
Silk
Healthcare
Neem
Tulsi
Ajwain
Turmeric
Any other
Wood for furniture
Clay for pots
Bamboo for baskets
Water and air
Why the list is so long: nothing we use is made out of nothing. Our food, clothes, medicines and homes all begin with a plant, an animal, the soil or the water. That is why nature must be looked after.
Tip: look around your own room. Count how many things came from a plant, an animal or the earth. You will be surprised.
Q2.
What challenges arise when we overuse natural resources? For example, if we overuse wood from nature, our forests deplete. Water: ______ Soil: ______ Sea products: ______ Any other: ______
Answer
Overusing anything from nature leaves less of it for later. Fill the blank lines like this.
Resource
Write here
Water
Soil
Sea products
Any other
Answer:
Resource
What goes wrong when we overuse it
Water
Wells, ponds and rivers dry up. There is less water to drink and less for the fields.
Soil
The soil becomes weak and bare. Crops grow poorly and the land turns hard.
Sea products
Fish become fewer. Fishermen catch less, and some sea animals may disappear.
Any other (wood)
Forests are cut down. Birds and animals lose their homes and the air gets dirtier.
Why this happens: nature fills up slowly. A tree takes many years to grow and rain fills a pond only once a year. If we take faster than nature can replace, the store runs out.
Try this: close the tap while brushing your teeth. Count how many mugs of water you save in one week.
Q3.
How can we protect the natural environment around us? At home / At school / In parks / In our locality
Answer
The book gives four places. Write one or two simple acts under each picture.
Four places from the book — a home, a school, a park and a locality — with an empty box under each.
Answer:
Place
What we can do
At home
Save water and switch off lights and fans. Grow plants in pots. Carry a cloth bag to the market.
At school
Plant trees in the school garden. Use both sides of the paper. Keep a bowl of water for birds.
In parks
Do not pluck flowers or leaves. Throw wrappers only in the dustbin. Do not trouble the birds.
In our locality
Join a clean-up drive. Say no to plastic. Plant saplings and tell others to save trees.
Why small acts count: a park stays green because many people each do one small thing. One person picking up one wrapper, done by a hundred people, cleans a whole park.
Tip: the chapter lists three ways on page 66 — reduce paper waste, say no to plastic, and spread awareness about saving plants. Use them in your answer.
Q4.
Design your herbal garden. Here is a space for your herbal garden. Draw pictures of your favorite herbs in different parts of the garden and write down their names. Are there some herbs that you like less? Draw them too!
Answer
An herbal garden is a garden of plants used as medicine. Draw your own inside the space given.
The empty garden space printed in the book, with a signboard that reads MY GARDEN.
What to do
Divide the white space into four or five patches with light pencil lines.
Draw one herb in each patch. Keep the drawing simple.
Write the name of the herb neatly below each drawing.
Now draw one or two herbs you like less, in a corner patch. Name them too.
Colour the leaves green and the flowers in their own colours.
Herbs you can draw
Herb
How to draw it
What it is used for
Tulsi
A short bushy plant with small pointed leaves
Cough and cold
Pudina (Mint)
Low plant with round crinkled leaves
Stomach upset; put in chutney
Ajwain
Thick soft leaves close to the ground
Stomach pain
Aloe vera
Long thick leaves with tiny spikes at the edge
Burns and skin problems
Adrak (Ginger)
Tall thin leaves; draw the root below the soil
Sore throat and cough
Neem
A small tree with many narrow leaves on one stalk
Keeps insects away
Sample answer: the garden divided into four patches, one named herb drawn in each.
Sample answer: “My garden has four patches. Tulsi is in front because we use it most. Pudina is beside it. Aloe vera and ajwain are at the back. I also drew neem in a corner, although I do not like its bitter smell.”
Why draw the ones you like less too: a herb is useful even when we do not like its taste or smell. Neem is bitter, but it keeps insects away from stored grain. Usefulness and liking are not the same thing.
Note about the book: page 68 prints “favorite”. The rest of the book uses British spelling, so it should read “favourite”.
Try this: plant one tulsi or pudina cutting in a pot at home. Water it a little every day and watch it grow.