NCERT Solutions for Class 5th The World Around Us Chapter 1 Ocean water — Discuss
Book page 4 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Do you think we can drink the water present in the oceans?
Answer
No, we cannot drink ocean water. Ocean water is salty — it has a large amount of salt mixed in it.
Here is what happens if someone drinks it.
The salt goes into the body along with the water.
The body has to throw that extra salt out.
To do that, the body uses up even more water than was drunk.
So the person feels more thirsty, not less.
Why it happens: Our body needs freshwater — water without salt. All living things do. Look at page 4 of your book. If all the water on Earth filled a 200 ml glass, the freshwater would be only 5 ml — one teaspoon. The rest is salty ocean water, which is why freshwater must never be wasted.
Try this at home: Stir a spoon of salt into a glass of water and taste one drop. That is a small taste of what sea water is like — and sea water is even saltier.
Q2.
What can ocean water be used for?
Answer
Ocean water cannot be drunk, but it is very useful in many other ways.
To make salt. Sea water is spread in shallow flat beds called salt pans. The Sun dries the water away and leaves the salt behind. The salt pans of Gujarat are one of India's largest salt-producing areas.
As a home for sea life. Fish, crabs, prawns, turtles and whales live in the ocean. Fishing families earn their living from it.
For travel and trade. Big ships carry goods from one country to another across the ocean.
For the water cycle. Most of the vapour that makes our rain clouds rises from the ocean. The salt is left behind, so the rain that falls is fresh.
For work and play. Beaches bring visitors, and sea water is used for cooling in some large factories and power plants.
Why the rain is not salty: When sea water evaporates, only the water rises as vapour. The salt stays behind in the sea. So the clouds — and the rain — are made of freshwater.
Did you know? Ocean water can be turned into drinking water by removing the salt, but this needs big machines and a lot of energy, so it is expensive. Saving the freshwater we already have is far easier.