NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 2 Sections 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 — In-text Questions

Book page 20 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

Is there any relation among the seed of a plant, types of root and leaf venation? Are all seeds similar?

Answer

No, all seeds are not similar — and yes, the seed decides both the root type and the leaf venation.

Seeds are of two kinds. Soak a chana (chickpea) and a maize grain in water for two or three days and open them:

The chana splits neatly into two equal halves. Each half is a cotyledon, a store of food for the baby plant. Such a plant is a dicotyledon (dicot).
The maize does not split into halves; it has a single thin cotyledon. Such a plant is a monocotyledon (monocot).

Dicot seed (2 cotyledons) → reticulate venation → taproot e.g. chana, rajma, mustard
Monocot seed (1 cotyledon) → parallel venation → fibrous roots e.g. maize, wheat, rice

Why one feature settles all three: the seed is where the whole plant comes from. The number of cotyledons is decided at the very beginning, and the same plan then builds the roots and the leaves. That is why these three features travel together and never mix.

Q2.

Just like plants, animals too are significantly different from one another. How can we group such a wide variety of animals? What features can you think of to group them?

Answer

Animals can be grouped in many ways. We simply pick a feature that is easy to observe and that every animal clearly has or does not have.

Basis of grouping	Group 1	Group 2
Type of movement (used in the chapter)	Fly — pigeon, housefly, butterfly	Walk / crawl / swim — goat, ant, fish
Body part used for movement	Legs and wings — pigeon, grasshopper	Fins — fish; no legs — snake, earthworm
Habitat	Terrestrial — camel, dog, lion	Aquatic — fish, whale, dolphin
Food habits	Plant eaters — cow, goat, grasshopper	Animal eaters — lion, frog, kingfisher
Number of legs	Two — birds; four — cow, dog	Six — insects; none — snake, fish
Body covering	Feathers — birds; hair — mammals	Scales — fish, lizard; hard shell — tortoise
Backbone	Present — cow, fish, pigeon, lizard	Absent — ant, cockroach, earthworm
How young ones are produced	Lay eggs — hen, fish, frog, lizard	Give birth — cow, goat, whale, bat

Which basis to choose: the same one rule as for plants — the feature must be easy to check and must place every animal in exactly one group. "Beautiful or ugly" fails both tests; "has a backbone or not" passes both. The chapter itself takes up movement and the body parts used for it.

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