EN हिं

NCERT Solutions for Class 5th English Chapter 1 A. Matchsticks · B. The flame · C. Find the ‘d’ — Let us Do

Book page 9–10 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
Fun with matchsticks. Move 3 matchsticks to make 3 squares.
Answer

First, look carefully at what is drawn in the book. Twelve matchsticks are laid out to make a big square divided into four smaller squares.

Before: 12 matchsticks, 5 squares
The picture in the book. Count the squares: 4 small ones and 1 big one around them all — 5 squares in all.

Count them: 6 matchsticks lie flat (3 rows of 2) and 6 stand upright (3 columns of 2). That is 12 matchsticks. And there are 5 squares — the four small ones, and the one big square around them all.

We must end with exactly 3 squares, still using all 12 matchsticks. Three separate squares need 4 matchsticks each, and 4 + 4 + 4 = 12. So the three squares must be completely separate — no shared sides.

The three moves — do them in this order:

  1. Move 1. Take the flat matchstick in the top row, right-hand half (the one that runs from the top-middle corner to the top-right corner). Lay it down to the right of the top-right corner, so it points outwards.
  2. Move 2. Take the upright matchstick on the left side, lower half. Stand it up at the far right end of the matchstick you just laid down. This makes the right-hand side of a new square.
  3. Move 3. Take the flat matchstick in the bottom row, left-hand half. Lay it across to close the bottom of the new square.
square 1 square 2 square 3 After: the same 12 matchsticks, exactly 3squares
The three green matchsticks are the three you moved. Each square touches the next at just one corner, so no square shares a side with another.

Now count. Square 1 is the old top-left square. Square 2 is the old bottom-right square. Square 3 is the new one you just built on the right. That is 3 squares, and no other square is left — the big outer square is gone, because two of its sides are missing.

Why only 3 sticks were needed: The top-left square and the bottom-right square do not share a single matchstick — they only touch at one corner. So those 8 sticks could stay exactly where they were. Of the 4 sticks left over, one (the upright stick on the right, top half) was already in a useful place. It became one side of the third square, so only the other 3 had to move.
Check your work: Count the matchsticks — there must still be 12. Count the squares — there must be exactly 3. Make sure no square shares a side with another square.
Another correct answer: You may build the third square on the left instead, using the upright matchstick at the bottom-left. Any arrangement is right as long as all 12 matchsticks are used, only 3 were moved, and exactly 3 squares can be counted.
Q2.
Look at the flame. Touch the red star with the tip of your nose, and look at the candle. And lo! It starts burning!
Answer

What is printed on page 9: a thick candle with a black wick but no flame, a small red star just below and to the right of the candle, and a lit matchstick with an orange flame at the top right of the page.

How to do the activity, step by step:

  1. Hold the book up so that the red star is right in front of your face.
  2. Bring the page closer and closer until the tip of your nose touches the red star.
  3. Now, without moving the book, look at the candle.
  4. Keep looking. The flame slides across and sits on the candle — the candle seems to be burning.
Why it happens: Your two eyes are a little apart, so each eye sees the page from a slightly different place. When the page is that close, your eyes cannot bring the two views together. So you see double. One of the two flame pictures lands exactly on top of the candle wick — and the candle looks lit. Nothing on the page has changed; only the way your two eyes joined the picture has changed.
Try this: Hold one finger up at arm’s length and look past it at the wall. Your finger looks double. Now look at the finger — the wall looks double. Your eyes can join only one distance at a time.
Q3.
Look carefully. Can you find ‘d’?
Answer

Yes. The ‘d’ is in the fourth row, second column — counting the rows from the top and the columns from the left.

The grid on page 10 has 12 columns and 9 rows, which makes 108 letters. All of them are b except one. Here is the grid with the hidden letter marked in red.

bbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbb
bdbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbb
How to search a grid quickly: Do not let your eyes wander. Put your finger on the first row and read it across, left to right. Then drop to the next row. Row 1 — all b. Row 2 — all b. Row 3 — all b. Row 4 — the second letter is d. Found.
Why it is hard to spot: b and d are the same shape — a stick and a round belly. Only the side of the belly changes. In b the belly is on the right of the stick; in d it is on the left. Your eye skims past that tiny difference, exactly as Papa’s eye skimmed past his own head.
Tip for telling b and d apart: Make a fist with each hand and put your thumbs up. Your left hand makes a b. Your right hand makes a d. That is b–d, in the order of the alphabet.
Was this helpful?