NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 10 .1 — In-text Questions (2026-27)

Q1.

Now that you know how to identify a living being, fill up the remaining two columns (IV and V) of Table 10.1 and complete the activity.

Answer

Now use the eight characteristics as a checklist. Here is the completed Table 10.1.

(I) Name	(II) My guess	(III) Reason / Remarks	(IV) Correct answer	(V) Reason / Remarks for the correct answer
Pencil	Non-living	Does not move or grow by itself	Non-living	Shows none of the eight characteristics — no nutrition, growth, respiration, excretion, response or reproduction
Book	Non-living	It just lies where it is kept	Non-living	Made from paper, which came from a tree — but the paper itself no longer grows, respires or responds
Pigeon	Living	It flies away when disturbed	Living	Moves, eats grain, grows from a chick, respires, excretes, responds, lays eggs and finally dies
Car	Non-living	It moves, but only with a driver	Non-living	Movement alone is not life. It takes fuel, not food; never grows; never reproduces
Plant	Living	It becomes taller	Living	Grows, makes its own food, respires through stomata, excretes droplets, bends towards light, produces seeds, and dies
House lizard	Living	It runs across the wall	Living	Catches insects, grows, respires, responds instantly to light and sound, lays eggs
Seed (the tricky one)	Non-living (a common first guess)	It lies still and does nothing	Living	It holds a tiny living embryo. Given water and air it germinates, grows and becomes a whole plant

Why columns II and IV may differ: that difference is the whole point of the activity. A first guess is based on how a thing looks; the correct answer is based on testing it against the characteristics of life. The seed usually changes sides between column II and column IV.

Q2.

In which category would you place a seed—living or non-living? Why?

Answer

A seed is living.

Why it looks non-living at first: a dry seed does not move, does not visibly grow, shows no response and eats nothing. It can lie in a tin for a year and look exactly the same. In this state the seed is said to be dormant — its life activities are running at an extremely low level.

Why it is really living:

Inside the seed coat there is a tiny embryo — a baby plant, complete with a small root and shoot.
Give it the right conditions — water and air — and it germinates: the coat softens, the root pushes down, the shoot pushes up.
It then grows, respires, responds to light and gravity, and finally produces flowers, fruits and new seeds.

A dead or roasted seed given the same water and air never germinates → so germination proves the ordinary seed was alive all along.

Check it yourself: take ten gram seeds from the kitchen and ten roasted gram (bhuna chana). Keep both sets on wet cotton for three days. The ordinary seeds sprout; the roasted ones only swell and then rot. Roasting killed the embryo.