NCERT Solutions for Class 6th Science Chapter 2 Activity 2.9: Let us find out — How to group animals?
Book page 21–22 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Which body parts are used by the animals in the poster you created and those in Fig. 2.7 for movement?Fig. 2.7, page 21 — diversity in animals. Redrawn sketch of the pond-and-field scene printed in the book, with every animal named.
Answer
Fig. 2.7 shows a pond and the field around it, with several animals magnified in circles — an ant, an earthworm, a centipede, a tortoise, a snake, a butterfly, a frog and a fish, along with a cow, a rabbit, birds on a tree and egrets at the water's edge. This is the body part each one uses.
Animal in Fig. 2.7
Body part used for movement
How it moves
Ant
Six legs
Walks and crawls
Earthworm
Whole body — muscles and tiny bristles
Crawls by stretching and shortening
Centipede
Many pairs of legs
Crawls quickly
Butterfly
Wings and legs
Flies; walks on a flower
Snake
Whole body and scales (no legs)
Crawls / slithers
Tortoise
Four short legs
Walks slowly; swims
Frog
Strong hind legs with webbed feet
Hops on land, swims in water
Fish
Fins and tail
Swims
Cow
Four legs with hooves
Walks and runs
Rabbit
Four legs, hind legs longer
Hops and runs
Birds (sparrow, egret)
Wings and legs
Fly, walk, wade
The pattern to notice: the body part matches the surroundings. Wings for air, fins for water, legs for hard ground — and for animals that move through soil or grass, no limbs at all but a long muscular body that pushes against whatever it touches.
Q2.
List these animals in Table 2.5. Note the ways in which these animals move and name the body parts used for movement.Fig. 2.7, page 21 — diversity in animals. Redrawn sketch of the pond-and-field scene printed in the book, with every animal named.
S. no.
Name of the animal
Type of movement
Body parts used for movement
1.
Ant
Legs
2.
Goat
Walks and jumps
Legs
3.
Pigeon
Walks and flies
Legs and wings
4.
Housefly
Walks and flies
Legs and wings
5.
Fish
Fins
6.
Any other
7.
8.
Table 2.5, page 22 — Movements in animals and their body parts involved. The blank cells are the ones you fill in.
Answer
Here is Table 2.5 filled in, with the blanks of the printed table completed and a few animals of your own added.
S. no.
Name of the animal
Type of movement
Body parts used for movement
1.
Ant
Walks and crawls
Legs
2.
Goat
Walks and jumps
Legs
3.
Pigeon
Walks and flies
Legs and wings
4.
Housefly
Walks and flies
Legs and wings
5.
Fish
Swims
Fins
6.
Snake
Crawls
Whole body and scales
7.
Frog
Hops and swims
Hind legs with webbed feet
8.
Earthworm
Crawls
Muscles of the body and bristles
Tip: the two blanks in the printed table are for the ant (type of movement — walks and crawls) and the fish (type of movement — swims). Fill in your own rows 6, 7 and 8 with animals you have actually watched, not copied.
Q3.
What conclusions can you draw from the data given in Table 2.5?
S. no.
Name of the animal
Type of movement
Body parts used for movement
1.
Ant
Legs
2.
Goat
Walks and jumps
Legs
3.
Pigeon
Walks and flies
Legs and wings
4.
Housefly
Walks and flies
Legs and wings
5.
Fish
Fins
6.
Any other
7.
8.
Table 2.5, page 22 — Movements in animals and their body parts involved. The blank cells are the ones you fill in.
Answer
Three conclusions come straight out of the table.
Different animals have different types of movement. Animals can fly, run, crawl, walk, hop or jump, and swim.
They use different body parts to move. Wings, legs, fins — and some animals, like the earthworm and the snake, use the whole body because they have no limbs at all.
One animal may have more than one type of movement. A pigeon both walks and flies; a frog both hops and swims; a housefly both walks and flies. So the same animal can appear in two groups if we group by movement.
Why the third point matters: it shows that a basis of grouping must be stated carefully. "Animals that fly" and "animals that walk" overlap, because a pigeon does both. A sharper basis would be "animals that can fly" and "animals that cannot fly" — that puts every animal in exactly one group.
Q4.
How can we group animals based on their movements?
Answer
Pick one clear question about movement, and sort every animal by the answer.
Basis
Groups formed
Examples
Can it fly?
Flying / non-flying
Pigeon, housefly, butterfly, bat | cow, fish, ant, snake
How does it move on land?
Walkers / hoppers / crawlers
Goat, cow | frog, rabbit, grasshopper | snake, earthworm, ant
Does it swim?
Swimmers / non-swimmers
Fish, whale, duck, frog | goat, pigeon, ant
Which body part is used?
Legs / wings / fins / no limbs
Goat, ant | pigeon, housefly | fish | snake, earthworm
Number of legs
None / two / four / six / many
Snake | pigeon | goat | ant | centipede
Why grouping animals is worth doing: like plants, grouping animals is important for understanding their diversity. It also reveals a deeper idea — the way an animal moves is closely tied to where it lives. Fins go with water, wings with air, hooves with hard ground. That link is exactly what section 2.3 takes up next.
Try This: Make a poster of ten animals from your own area and mark each one with a symbol — a wing, a leg, a fin or a wavy line for no limbs. The poster then groups itself.