NCERT Solutions for Class 5th The World Around Us Chapter 3 What do microbes need to grow? — In-text Question
Book page 43 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
She went back to her Anna and asked, “What do these microbes need to grow?”.
Answer
Microbes need three things to grow: moisture, air and the right temperature. If we take away even one of these three, they cannot grow — we can stop them in their tracks. That is Finding #2 in Disha's notebook.
Every method of preserving food takes away one of the three things microbes need.
What microbes need
Why they need it
The method that takes it away
Moisture
Like all living things, they need water to live
Sun-drying and dehydration — chillies, papad, badi, dried fish
Air
They need air to survive and grow
A layer of oil on a pickle; airtight cans and packets
The right temperature
They grow best in warmth; cold slows them down
A fridge or a freezer
Why this is the key to the whole chapter: Anna added one more sentence — all life needs water and air to survive. Microbes are alive, so the rule applies to them too. Once you know this, every preservation method in the chapter stops being a separate trick. Each one is simply a way of removing moisture, or air, or warmth.