NCERT Solutions for Class 5th Maths Chapter 14 The ant crawls along the dotted lines of a 1 cm grid — Anthill in the Zoo
Book page 177 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
To collect food, the ant can only crawl along the dotted lines on the grid. Fill in the blanks below. (a) To get to the laddoos, the ant has to crawl 2 cm towards the east.
The grid on page 177. The ant is in the middle. The red dotted lines are the paths it can crawl. One square is 1 cm.
Answer
This one is done for you in the book, and the picture agrees: 2 cm towards the east.
Here is how the answer was read off the grid — use the same method for the rest.
Find the ant. It sits on a crossing of two grid lines. That crossing is the starting point.
Find the laddoos. They are on the same horizontal line, to the right of the ant.
Count the squares between them. There are 2 squares.
Each square is 1 cm across — the book prints "1 cm" beside a square in the top corner. So 2 squares = 2 cm.
Right on the page means east, so the answer is 2 cm towards the east.
The four food routes drawn on the grid, exactly as in the book.
Remember the two questions: for every blank, ask how many squares? and which way? Nothing else is needed.
Q2.
(b) To get to the sugar, the ant has to crawl ____cm in the _______direction.
Answer
3 cm in the north direction.
Start at the ant.
Look at the sugar. It is straight above the ant, on the same vertical line — the arrow on the grid points upwards.
Count the squares going up: 1, 2, 3.
3 squares = 3 cm, and up means north.
Number of squares upward = 3 1 square = 1 cm 3 × 1 cm = 3 cm towards the north
Why we count squares and not the picture: The sugar heap is drawn big, but the ant does not walk to the middle of the drawing — it walks to the red dot where the two grid lines cross. Always count to the dot.
Q3.
(c) To get to the bread, the ant has to crawl ____cm in the _______ direction; then ____cm in the _______direction.
Answer
3 cm in the west direction; then 2 cm in the south direction.
Step 1: From the ant, follow the arrow that points to the left. Count the squares: 1, 2, 3. That is 3 cm towards the west.
Step 2: The route now turns downwards. Count again: 1, 2. That is 2 cm towards the south.
Step 3: The red dot at the end is the bread. The ant has arrived.
3 squares left = 3 cm west 2 squares down = 2 cm south Total distance crawled = 3 + 2 = 5 cm
Check it yourself: Start at the bread and walk back — 2 cm north, then 3 cm east — and you land exactly on the ant. A route that works both ways is a correct route.
Q4.
(d) To get to the apple, the ant needs to crawl ______cm towards _________, and then ____cm towards _________, and finally ___cm towards______.
Answer
5 cm towards the south, then 3 cm towards the east, and finally 2 cm towards the north.
Follow the arrows drawn on the grid, one leg at a time.
Leg 1: From the ant the arrow points down. Count the squares: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. That is 5 cm south, right down to the bottom line of the route.
Leg 2: The route turns right. Count: 1, 2, 3. That is 3 cm east.
Leg 3: The route turns upwards. Count: 1, 2. That is 2 cm north, and there is the apple.
5 cm south + 3 cm east + 2 cm north Total crawl = 5 + 3 + 2 = 10 cm
Where the apple really is: The ant went 5 cm down and came 2 cm back up, so in the end it is 5 − 2 = 3 cm below the start. It also went 3 cm to the right. So the apple sits 3 cm east and 3 cm south of the ant — even though the ant crawled 10 cm to get there.
Q5.
Identify other routes to reach the point where apple is located. Which one is the shortest?
Answer
The shortest route is 6 cm long: 3 cm east, then 3 cm south (or 3 cm south and then 3 cm east — both measure 6 cm).
Some other routes that also reach the apple:
Route
Legs
Total length
The one drawn in the book
5 cm S + 3 cm E + 2 cm N
10 cm
Straight across, then down
3 cm E + 3 cm S
6 cm
Straight down, then across
3 cm S + 3 cm E
6 cm
Steps, like a staircase
1 E + 1 S + 1 E + 1 S + 1 E + 1 S
6 cm
A wandering route
2 cm N + 3 cm E + 5 cm S
10 cm
Both short routes measure 6 cm. The one in the book measures 10 cm.
Why 6 cm cannot be beaten: The apple is 3 squares to the east and 3 squares to the south of the ant. Along the grid lines the ant must make those 3 steps east and those 3 steps south somewhere in its journey — that is 6 cm at the very least. Any step towards the north or the west has to be undone later, and undoing it costs another step. So every extra step adds 2 cm to the journey.
Check it yourself: The book's route is 10 cm. It has 2 extra steps south that had to be undone by 2 steps north: 6 + 2 + 2 = 10 cm ✓