NCERT Solutions for Class 5th Maths Chapter 14 Naming a place on a grid with two numbers, (column, row) — Locating the Animals in the Zoological Park (Zoo)
Book page 178 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
To reach the tortoise, move ________ steps towards east and reach the _________ column. Then move _______ step(s) _______ and reach the first _______.
Answer
Move 4 steps towards east and reach the fourth column. Then move 1 step north and reach the first row.
Follow the rule printed in the yellow strip on the page: first move horizontally from 0 and then vertically.
Step 1: Start at 0, the bottom-left corner of the grid.
Step 2: Move east (to the right) along the bottom. Count the columns as you pass them: 1, 2, 3, 4. Stop at the fourth column.
Step 3: Now move north (up) by 1 step. You are on the first row.
Step 4: The tortoise is sitting exactly where the fourth column crosses the first row. We write that place as (4,1).
The two numbers in (4,1) are the two moves: 4 across, then 1 up.
Why the order matters: Everybody must move the same way round, or the same pair of numbers would mean different places to different people. The book fixes the order: across first, then up. So in (4,1) the 4 is the column and the 1 is the row — always.
Q2.
The location of the tortoise is (4,1). What is at (1,4)?
Answer
At (1,4) there is the snake — the cobra with its hood raised, on the left-hand side of the map.
Step 1: Start at 0 and move 1 step east. You are at the first column.
Step 2: Move 4 steps north. You are on the fourth row.
Step 3: The animal sitting there is the snake.
(4,1) → 4 across, 1 up → tortoise (1,4) → 1 across, 4 up → snake
Why they are different places: The numbers are the same but their jobs are swapped. In (4,1) the four belongs to the columns; in (1,4) the four belongs to the rows. Swapping them takes you to a completely different square of the zoo. This is the most important idea on the page — write the column first, every time.
Try this: Find (1,1) and (3,3) on the map. Those two are the only pairs on this page where swapping the numbers changes nothing, because both numbers are the same.
Q3.
1. Locate the animal at the following positions on the map. (a) (11,11) (b) (2,6) (c) (6,4) (d) (3,10) (e) (11,3) (f) (10,9)
The zoo map on page 178. Each column and each row has a number. Counting starts from 0 at the bottom left corner.
Answer
Read each pair as "go across this many, then go up this many".
Part
Position
Move across (east)
Then move up (north)
Animal
(a)
(11,11)
11 columns
11 rows
Toucan — the black bird with the big orange beak, in the tree at the top right
(b)
(2,6)
2 columns
6 rows
Leopard — the spotted big cat on the left
(c)
(6,4)
6 columns
4 rows
Elephant
(d)
(3,10)
3 columns
10 rows
Flamingo — the tall pink bird
(e)
(11,3)
11 columns
3 rows
Monkey — sitting in the big tree on the right
(f)
(10,9)
10 columns
9 rows
Zebra
A plan of the zoo grid with each animal at its crossing point.
About the spotted cat at (2,6): the picture in the book is small. It is the orange big cat with dark rosettes — a leopard. Whatever name your class gives it, it is the animal standing where column 2 meets row 6.
How to keep from slipping a square: Lay your ruler along the bottom edge and slide it up to the row you want. Then run your finger across it to the column you want. Where the ruler and your finger meet is the answer.
Q4.
2. Write the position of the following animals on the map. (a) Lion (b) Elephant (c) Tortoise (d) Deer (e) Panda (f) Crocodile
The zoo map on page 178. Each column and each row has a number. Counting starts from 0 at the bottom left corner.
Answer
This is the last question turned round. Now you start at the animal and read off its two numbers.
Part
Animal
Column it stands on
Row it stands on
Position
(a)
Lion
3
3
(3,3)
(b)
Elephant
6
4
(6,4)
(c)
Tortoise
4
1
(4,1)
(d)
Deer
10
6
(10,6)
(e)
Panda
1
1
(1,1)
(f)
Crocodile
10
1
(10,1)
Do it in three steps for each animal:
Put your finger on the animal and slide straight down to the numbers along the bottom. Write that number first.
Go back to the animal and slide straight left to the numbers up the side. Write that number second.
Put the two numbers in a bracket with a comma between them: (column, row).
Check it yourself: The panda was given in the book as (1,1) and the tortoise as (4,1) — and that is exactly what our method gives. Because the method got the two known answers right, we can trust it for the other four.
A useful thing to notice: The panda (1,1), the tortoise (4,1) and the crocodile (10,1) all have 1 as their second number. They are all on row 1, the bottom row of the zoo — and indeed all three are drawn along the bottom of the map, near the ZOO board.
Q5.
3. Place dots of different colours on the following positions. (a) (8,3) (Red) (b) (2,9) (Green) (c) (7,3) (Blue) (d) (3,8) (Orange) (e) (8,6) (Black) (f) (6,6) (Pink)
Answer
None of these six squares has an animal on it — they are open ground. Use the same two moves each time: across first, then up.
Part
Position
Colour of the dot
Where to put it
(a)
(8,3)
Red
8 across, 3 up — on the grass east of the elephant, below the monkey's tree
(b)
(2,9)
Green
2 across, 9 up — near the top left, below the flamingo
(c)
(7,3)
Blue
7 across, 3 up — just one square west of the red dot
(d)
(3,8)
Orange
3 across, 8 up — on the grass west of the hippo's pond
(e)
(8,6)
Black
8 across, 6 up — one square south of the lioness
(f)
(6,6)
Pink
6 across, 6 up — near the middle of the map, south of the pond
Mark them lightly in pencil first, check the two numbers, then colour them in.
Look at (8,3) and (7,3): both have 3 as the second number, so both sit on row 3 — side by side, one square apart. Two positions that share a number always share a line: the same row if the second numbers match, the same column if the first numbers match.
Check it yourself: (6,6) has both numbers the same, so it must lie on the slanting line that runs from (1,1) through (2,2), (3,3), (4,4) … Put a ruler from the panda's corner and see whether your pink dot sits on it.