NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 11 .2 Water — Activity 11.3: Let us find out (2026-27)

Q1.

Fill the Column II and Column III in Table 11.1: Wastage of water in your daily activities — 1. Hand washing 2. Washing clothes 3. Washing utensils 4. Taking shower 5. Cooking 6. Gardening 7. Brushing teeth

Answer

Here is Table 11.1 completed. Fill your own copy after watching what actually happens at your home.

Activity	How is water wasted?	Ways to reduce wastage of water
1. Hand washing	The tap runs while soaping the hands	Close the tap while soaping; open it only to rinse; use a half-open tap
2. Washing clothes	Machine run half-empty; too many rinses; soapy water thrown away	Run a full load; soak clothes first so less scrubbing is needed; use the rinse water to wash the floor or the courtyard
3. Washing utensils	Tap kept running throughout; utensils washed one by one	Scrape the leftovers first, soap all the utensils together, then rinse in a tub of water
4. Taking shower	A long shower uses far more water than needed; water runs while soaping	Bathe with a bucket and mug; keep the shower short; fix a low-flow shower head
5. Cooking	Vegetables washed under a running tap; extra water in which rice or dal was boiled is thrown away	Wash vegetables in a bowl; use the leftover water for plants or for kneading dough; take only as much water as needed
6. Gardening	Hosepipe left on; watering in the hot afternoon so most of it evaporates	Water early morning or evening with a can; put dry leaves (mulch) around the plants; use drip watering
7. Brushing teeth	The tap keeps running for the full two minutes	Use one glass of water; close the tap while brushing

Tip: Ajji’s method in the story is the simplest rule of all — water the plants in such a way that every drop is used and none goes waste.

Q2.

What conclusion can you draw from the information you gathered in the table? What can you and your family do to reduce this wastage of water?

Answer

Conclusion: most of the water we waste is not wasted by any one big activity — it leaks away in small amounts, many times a day, in ordinary jobs like brushing, bathing and rinsing. Almost all of it can be saved by small changes of habit that cost nothing.

What a family can do:

Turn off taps when they are not in use, and fix every leakage at once.
Bathe with a bucket and mug instead of a shower.
Recycle water — use the water from washing vegetables and rinsing clothes for plants, floors and the courtyard.
Do water harvesting — collect rainwater from the roof in a tank or lead it into a pit so it soaks into the ground.
Fit a float valve on the overhead tank so it never overflows.
Make one person the “water monitor” each week to check taps and report leaks.

Why it adds up: if one family saves even 50 litres a day, a colony of 100 families saves 5,000 litres a day — a full tanker. Saving water also saves the electricity used to pump it.