NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 4 Projects and further exploration — Exploratory Projects

Book page 56 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

Dhokra, Bidriware, Pembarthi, and Kamrupi are some of India’s famous metal art styles. Find out the states where these artworks are made. Also, make a collage of their photographs.

Answer

Metal art style	State(s)	Metal used and what it looks like
Dhokra	Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand (also parts of Telangana)	Brass/bronze figures cast by the lost-wax method — tribal figures, elephants, lamps, with fine thread-like lines on the surface
Bidriware	Karnataka (Bidar)	A blackened zinc-copper alloy inlaid with silver wire — vases, boxes, hookah bases
Pembarthi	Telangana (Pembarthi village, Jangaon district)	Sheet-brass work beaten into temple lamps, plates and panels — a direct use of malleability
Kamrupi	Assam (Kamrup region, especially Hajo and Sarthebari)	Bell-metal and brass utensils — xorai, bota, bowls and plates

How to make the collage:

Collect four to six pictures for each style — from old magazines, newspapers, tourism pamphlets, or printouts.
Divide a chart paper into four regions, one per style.
Paste the pictures and label each with the style name, the state and the metal used.
Draw a small outline map of India in a corner and mark the four regions with arrows to the correct panel.
Add one line under each panel on the property of the metal the craft depends on — malleability for Pembarthi sheet work, the ability of molten brass to fill a mould for Dhokra.

Q2.

On a map of India, mark the states where iron, gold, aluminium and other metals are found.

Answer

Use an outline political map of India and one colour or symbol per metal.

Metal	Ore mined	Chief states
Iron	Haematite, magnetite	Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra
Gold	Gold ore	Karnataka (Kolar, Hutti), Andhra Pradesh (Ramagiri), Jharkhand
Aluminium	Bauxite	Odisha, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra
Copper	Copper ore	Rajasthan (Khetri), Jharkhand (Singhbhum), Madhya Pradesh (Malanjkhand)
Manganese	Manganese ore	Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
Zinc and lead	Zinc-lead ore	Rajasthan (Zawar, Rampura Agucha)

Tip: add a legend box in a corner of the map, and colour the state, not just a dot — you will notice at once that a broad belt through Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh carries most of India's iron. That is why the country's big steel plants stand there.

Q3.

Explore the metals and non-metals found in smartphones and find out how they help the phone work properly.

Answer

Element	Metal or non-metal	Where it is in the phone and what it does
Copper	Metal	The wiring and the tracks on the circuit board — carries electricity because it is a good conductor and very ductile
Gold	Metal	Thin plating on connectors and contacts — conducts well and does not corrode, so the contact never goes bad
Aluminium	Metal	The body/frame — light, strong and carries heat away from the chip
Lithium and cobalt	Metals	The rechargeable battery, which stores and supplies the energy
Silver	Metal	Conducting pastes and switch contacts — the best conductor of electricity of all
Silicon	Behaves in between (a semiconductor)	The processor and memory chips — the “brain” of the phone
Carbon	Non-metal	The plastics of the case and the graphite in the battery electrode
Oxygen (in glass)	Non-metal	The screen glass, which is hard, transparent and does not conduct electricity

Why it matters: the phone works only because metals and non-metals are placed exactly where their properties are needed — conductors to carry the current, non-conductors to keep it from going where it should not, and a hard transparent non-metallic glass in front of it all. Many of these metals are scarce, which is why old phones should be given for recycling rather than thrown away.

Q4.

Organise a classroom debate on whether the use of metals for comfort and luxury should be increased or decreased.

Answer

How to run it: divide the class into two teams, give each 15 minutes to prepare, 3 minutes per speaker, then 5 minutes of cross-questioning. Choose a student chairperson and a timekeeper. Ask each speaker to bring one fact or number, not only opinion.

“Increase” — points for	“Decrease” — points against
Metals make life safer and easier — vehicles, hospitals, kitchens, buildings	Ores are limited; once mined out, they are gone for our children
Mining and metal industries give employment to lakhs of people	Mining destroys forests, displaces communities and pollutes rivers
Metals last long and can be recycled again and again, unlike plastic	Extracting metal from ore needs enormous energy and adds to air pollution
Modern technology — phones, solar panels, trains — is impossible without metals	Much metal goes into show and luxury, not need — that part can be cut without loss

Sample closing statement (a balanced position you can adapt): “The question is not metal or no metal, but which use. Metal in a railway line, a bridge or a hospital serves everyone. Metal used only to show wealth serves no one and costs a forest. Our team therefore argues for reducing luxury use while protecting essential use, and above all for recycling — in India iron and aluminium are already recycled in large amounts, and every recycled tonne is a tonne that need not be mined.”

Tip: a debate is judged on evidence and courtesy, not on volume. Before you speak, write down the strongest point of the other side and prepare one honest answer to it.

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