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NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 1 –6Section 1.1 Happy Exploring! — Activity 1.1: Question the Answer

Book page 5 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Suppose the answer was ‘just make it half!’ — what all could this be a response to?
Answer

This is the worked example the book gives, to show that one answer can belong to many completely different questions. The textbook itself offers four:

  • “How do we ensure getting equal shares of cake?”
  • “My essay is too long.”
  • “I can’t fit this in the envelope.”
  • “I cannot dance to such a long song.”

A few more of our own, to show how far the same answer can stretch:

  • “This recipe is for eight people, but only four of us are eating.”
  • “The rangoli design is too big for this doorstep.”
  • “My school bag is too heavy to carry every day.”
  • “The speech is 10 minutes long but I have been given only 5.”
Why the book starts here: in an exam the question is fixed and only one answer is right. In real science it is the other way round — the answer is often in front of you and the hard part is asking the right question about it. A fossil, a stain, a reading on a meter: all are answers waiting for someone to ask what they mean.
Tip: Play this game in pairs. One person says an answer, the other has 30 seconds to invent three questions for it. You will find that the funnier the answer, the better the questions.
Q2.
Question: ______________________________________________? Answer: Just add some milk.
Answer

Any question that this could sensibly answer is correct — there are no wrong questions here. What makes a question good is that the given answer really does solve it.

Sample answers:

  • “The tea has come out far too strong and bitter — what do I do now?”
  • “How do I turn this cocoa powder into something I can drink?”
  • “The kheer has thickened too much while cooling. How do I loosen it?”
  • “The dough for the roti is crumbling. What should I add?”
  • “My coffee is too hot to sip and I have to leave in a minute!”
Try This: Write a question for which “just add some milk” would be a terrible answer — for example “How do I make this lemonade tastier?” Working out why an answer fails one question but fits another is itself good scientific thinking.
Q3.
Question: ______________________________________________? Answer: Because the cat’s teeth were crooked.
Answer

An answer beginning with “Because…” must belong to a “Why…?” question. That single clue makes this one easier than it looks.

Sample answers:

  • “Why did the mouse manage to escape from the cat?”
  • “Why did the cat leave half its fish untouched?”
  • “Why does this cat’s smile look so funny in the photograph?”
  • “Why could the cat not bite through the string?”
  • “Why did the vet ask the family to bring the cat back next week?”
Why this one is a good exercise: the answer states a cause, so you have to imagine the effect that goes with it. Working backwards from a cause to its possible effects is exactly what a scientist does when she asks, “If this is true, what else should we be seeing?”
Q4.
Question: ______________________________________________? Answer: Don’t panic, I have my towel.
Answer

This answer is a calm reply to somebody who is worried — so the question must describe a small emergency.

Sample answers:

  • “It has started raining and we are still half an hour from home — now what?”
  • “The water bottle has leaked all over the inside of the bag!”
  • “We forgot to pack anything for the swim after the picnic.”
  • “How will you dry your hair before the school photograph?”
  • “The bench at the sports ground is wet — where will we sit?”
Did you know? “Don’t panic” and the towel both come from the funny science-fiction book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, in which a towel is said to be the most useful thing a space traveller can carry. Your textbook is winking at the same book again in the next answer.
Q5.
Question: ______________________________________________? Answer: 42
Answer

A number can answer a thousand questions — but the book asks you not to take the obvious road (“What is 32+10?”). So look for questions where 42 is a real, interesting quantity.

Sample answers:

  • “How many students in our class took part in the science fair?”
  • “What was the highest temperature in °C recorded in our city last May?”
  • “How many laddoos were left after the whole class had eaten?”
  • “How many seconds does the school bell ring for?”
  • “How many pages of the notebook have we filled since April?”
  • “How many rows of seats are there in the school auditorium?”
What the exercise is really teaching: a number by itself means nothing. 42 becomes information only when it is attached to a question and a unit — 42 students, 42 °C, 42 seconds are three completely different facts. This is why, all through this book, you will be asked to write the unit with every measurement.
Did you know? In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a giant computer thinks for millions of years and declares that the answer to life, the universe and everything is 42 — but nobody remembers what the question was. That joke is exactly the point of this activity: an answer without its question is useless.
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