NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 10 .5 Life Cycle of Animals — In-text Questions

Book page 19610 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Have you ever observed how animals grow over time? Draw sketches of their young ones and name them.
Answer

Yes. Some young ones look like small copies of their parents; others look completely different. Draw them and write both names.

AnimalYoung oneDoes the young one look like the adult?
CowCalfYes — a small cow with long legs
HenChickYes — a fluffy little bird
CatKittenYes
GoatKidYes
FrogTadpoleNo — a tailed swimmer with no legs at all
ButterflyCaterpillarNo — a crawling, leaf-eating worm-like larva
MosquitoLarva (wriggler)No — it lives in water and cannot fly
Silk mothLarva (silkworm)No
Why the difference matters: where the young one looks like the adult, growth is simply an increase in size. Where it looks completely different — mosquito, butterfly, frog — the animal goes through significant changes in appearance, body shape and structure, and sometimes even changes its home from water to land. Those are the life cycles this chapter studies in detail.
Try This: in your notebook draw two columns — “young one” and “adult”. Sketch a chick beside a hen, and a tadpole beside a frog. The two columns tell the whole story at a glance.
Q2.
We are advised not to allow water to stagnate anywhere in our surroundings. Why is it so? Does stagnant water have any relation with mosquitoes laying eggs?
Answer

Yes — there is a direct relation. Mosquitoes need stagnant water to breed, so stagnant water anywhere near a house means mosquitoes in the house.

  • The adult female mosquito lays her eggs directly on or near water.
  • The larvae and pupae live in water — they cannot develop anywhere else.
  • They need still water. In a flowing river or a fast drain the eggs and larvae are washed away, which is why it is stagnant water that is dangerous.
  • Female mosquitoes are blood-sucking insects that transmit several diseases such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya.

Common places where stagnant water gathers — check these in a safety audit of your home and school: desert coolers, planted pots and their trays, any open container, old tyres, discarded tins and coconut shells, overhead tanks left uncovered, and blocked drains and terraces after rain.

The logic behind the advice: it is far easier to break the life cycle at the start than to chase adult mosquitoes with a swatter. Empty the water and the eggs, larvae and pupae go with it — no adults are ever produced.
Do this at home: once every week, empty and dry the cooler tray, the flower-pot saucers and any bucket that has been standing. A week is short enough — a mosquito needs about 7 to 10 days to go from egg to adult.
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