NCERT Solutions for Class 5th The World Around Us Chapter 7 Energy—How Things Work
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
Energy is what makes things happen. Look at the kitchen picture on page 114. The food is cooking. The knife is cutting. Sunlight is coming in through the window. Something must be making each of these things happen. That something is energy . We cannot see energy itself. We only see what it does. Energy does five kinds of jobs. The book lists them on page 115 — energy makes things move , gives light , makes sound , makes things hot , and makes things cool . So the book's own definition is: energy is what makes things move, light up, produce sound, do work and change temperature. Food is the energy source for every living thing. When we are hungry we feel tired. After we eat we feel active and ready to play. That is because food gives us energy. A dog running, a bird flying, a fish swimming
- What is Energy?
- Activities we see in nature and society
- What is behind all these activities
- The balloon, and the Balloon Air Rocket
- Making the balloon rocket faster or slower
- Rubber Band Guitar
- Thin bands and thick bands
- Sun-powered Water Warmer
- Sources of Energy
- Animals and their energy
Quick revision
| Word | What it means | Where it appears | An everyday example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | What makes things move, light up, make sound, do work and change temperature | What is Energy?, page 115 | A fan turning; a bulb glowing |
| Source of energy | The thing an object gets its energy from | Sources of Energy, page 118 | Food, fuel, the Sun, wind, water, electricity |
| Food | The source of energy for every living thing | Sources of Energy, page 118 | Feeling active after breakfast |
| Fuel | Something we burn to get heat and light, or to run a machine | Energy from Fuel, page 119 | Petrol, diesel, LPG gas, wood, coal, diya oil |
| Electricity | The energy that comes through wires and runs our machines | Electricity, page 121 | Fan, bulb, television, fridge |
| Sound energy | The energy of something that is vibrating | Activity 2, page 117 | A plucked rubber band; a dholak |
| Heat energy | The energy that makes things warm | Activity 3, page 117 | Water warming up in the Sun |
| Vibrate | To shake to and fro very fast | Activity 2, page 117 | A rubber band still buzzing after you pluck it |
| Solar panel | A flat black sheet that catches sunlight and makes electricity | Page 126 | The panel on the roof in the picture on page 127 |
| Windmill | A tall machine whose blades the wind turns to make electricity | Page 126 | Windmills standing in a field |
| Clean energy | Electricity made from the Sun, wind or water — no smoke, no waste | Page 126 | A school running on solar power |
| Energy efficiency | Using less energy to do the same work | Do you know?, page 122 | An LED bulb in place of an old bulb |
| Stored energy | Energy kept safely for later use | Do you know?, page 129 | A torch battery; the energy stored in our body |
| Gharaat | A watermill in the hills that grinds grain using flowing water | Page 123 | A gharaat turning on a hill stream |
| Pollution | Smoke and harmful gases that make the air dirty | Page 123 | Black smoke from burning coal |
Exercises
- What is Energy? — In-text Question Page 114
- Activities we see in nature and society — In-text Question Page 115
- What is behind all these activities — Discuss Page 115
- The balloon, and the Balloon Air Rocket — Activity 1 Page 116
- Making the balloon rocket faster or slower — Think Page 116
- Rubber Band Guitar — Activity 2 Page 117
- Thin bands and thick bands — Think Page 117
- Sun-powered Water Warmer — Activity 3 Page 117
- Sources of Energy — In-text Questions Page 118
- Animals and their energy — In-text Question Page 119
- Energy from Fuel — Think Page 119
- Cooking at home — Write Page 119
- Fuel at home — Discuss Page 120
- Understanding How Fuel Works — Activity 4 Page 120
- Electricity — In-text Question Page 121
- Five things that run on electricity — Activity 5 Page 121
- A day without electricity — Think Page 122
- Sources of electricity that do not pollute — In-text Question Page 123
- Generating Energy from the Sun, Wind and Water — Think Page 123
- Pinwheel — Activity 6 Page 123–124
- Sunlight in Focus — Activity 7 Page 124
- Water Wheel — Activity 8 Page 124
- Drying in the sunlight — Think Page 125
- More uses of the Sun, wind and flowing water — Write Page 125
- Vehicles that run on electricity — In-text Question Page 127
- Energy All Around Us — Write Page 127
- Energy Flow Game — Activity 9 Page 128
- Closing questions — Let us reflect Page 130