NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 1 The steps of the scientific method — In-text Questions
Book page 5, 6 & 7 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
So what are the steps that we can follow?
Answer
The book lists five steps, in this order:
The five steps of the scientific method, as printed on page 6 of Curiosity. If step 5 shows the guess was wrong, you go back to step 3 and guess again.
In the book's own words:
First, we observe something that we find interesting or we do not understand.
This makes us wonder and perhaps think of a question about it.
Then, we guess a possible answer to that question.
We test this guess through experiments or more observations.
We then try to analyse the results to see if it actually answers our question.
Why the order matters: the guess must come before the test, and the test must be able to prove the guess wrong. If you decide the answer first and then look only for things that agree with you, you are not doing science. The loop from step 5 back to step 3 is what keeps the method honest.
Did you know? Science is not only memorising facts and figures, and it is not only doing experiments. The book says clearly that it is about following a step-by-step process to find answers.
Q2.
Do you now realise that there are several daily-life situations where we knowingly or unknowingly apply the scientific method?
Answer
Yes. Once you know the five steps, you start spotting them everywhere. The chapter itself gives three examples, and there are dozens more at home.
Person
Observation
Question
Guess
Test
Cook
Dal has spilled out of the cooker
Why did it spill?
Too much water was put in
Cook the same dal with less water and watch
Cycle repairer
The tyre is flat
From where did the air leak out?
There is a hole in the tube
Fill the tube with air, dip it in water and look for bubbles
Electrician
The bulb does not glow
Is the fault in the bulb or the switch?
The bulb is fused
Fit the same bulb in another working holder
You
The mobile is not charging
Is it the charger, the cable or the socket?
The cable is broken inside
Use a different cable in the same socket
The chapter's big message: “Scientists are people who follow the scientific method… but anyone who follows the scientific method is working like a scientist.” A scientist is not defined by a laboratory coat but by the way of thinking. When we ask questions and find out answers, we are all, in a way, scientists.
Why we should still learn science: we all use the method a little, on small problems. Learning science trains us to use it well — on bigger problems such as cleaning a polluted river, growing more food, or curing a disease.