Chapter 1
The Wonderful World of Science
As human beings, we have always been curious about our surroundings. We start exploring our surroundings and asking questions right from our childhood. Did you enjoy discovering and exploring the world around you in the
Preparatory Stage of school? As you enter the Middle Stage, we will continue this fascinating journey, trying to explore and understand the beautiful world we live in. And for that, we have a new subject, Science. Welcome to the wonderful world of Science!
What is Science?
Science is a way of thinking, observing and doing things to understand the world we live in and to uncover the secrets of the universe. Think of it as a big adventure—we ask questions, explore the world and try to understand how things work. For this, the most important thing is to have ‘Curiosity’, which is where the title of this book comes from.
Whether it is studying tiny grains of sand or massive mountains, a leaf of grass or a vast forest, there is always something new and exciting to discover. Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered why the stars shine? Or watched a flower bloom and wondered how it knows when to open?
These are just a few of the many mysteries that science helps us unravel.
The most wonderful thing about science is that it is everywhere. From the depths of the ocean to the vastness of outer space, from what is cooking in the kitchen to what is happening on the playground, some of the most groundbreaking discoveries have often come from unexpected places.
A mountainous region
A Desert
A Coast
An underwater view of an Ocean
A Galaxy
Science is like a giant and unending jigsaw puzzle. Every new discovery we make adds another piece to that puzzle. And you know the best thing about this puzzle? There is no limit to what we can discover, since every new piece of knowledge leads to more questions and more things to find out. Sometimes, we find that a piece of this puzzle has been put in the wrong place and needs to be moved. New discoveries often change our understanding of the world. As you go through this book, you will encounter interesting ideas, do some thought-provoking experiments, and see how some of what we will find out is useful in our daily lives. And guess what happens as we
discover more and more? We start realising
that these ideas are all connected.
What will we explore with the help of this book?
We will start off by looking at our
home, planet Earth. It is the only planet
we know that supports life, and it has an
environment that we must protect. There
is an amazing variety of life on Earth—plants
and animals that have managed to survive and thrive in
different regions on this planet. You might have seen a seed
grow into a plant, a caterpillar transform into a beautiful
butterfly and many more such observations. How do these
plants and animals grow?
Of course, to grow, we need food to eat, and especially in
a large and diverse country like India, food is so fascinating.
Across the country, we have different cuisines with their many
tasty dishes. What are they made of? How do we find out?
Along with food, we need water to survive. Water is such
a delightful substance. Have you ever run and jumped in a
puddle when it rained? Do you ever wonder why and how it
rains?
Have you noticed that water freezes and becomes ice
when we cool it and boils and becomes steam when we
heat it? Do you enjoy drinking cool water in the summer
or showering with warm water in the winter? How do we
understand hot and cold? Whether it is water, or our own
body when we have fever, finding out how hot something is
can be important!
Then again, there are so many different things around
us—the paper we write on, the metal key, the plastic ruler
and the rubber eraser in our box, the magnet that keeps the
box closed, the clothes we wear, the cup we drink milk in
and so many other things. What are they made of? Are they
made of different materials? How do we separate different
materials from one another?
We will have an almost unending list of questions about
everything on Earth as we further explore this book. But
why limit our questions to the Earth alone? We can ask
questions on things beyond—the Sun, the Moon, and the
millions of stars that shine in the sky!
How can we try to find answers to our questions on our own
Whether you are learning about the
structure of a leaf, discovering how things
move, or separating the skin of a peanut seed,
we hope each chapter of this book will ignite
your spirit of inquiry. And hopefully you will
have lots of questions in your mind!
Even though you may not realise it, you
have already been finding answers to many
of your questions. Suppose your pen stops
writing. What would you do? You would ask yourself the
question, “Why did my pen stop writing?”. You might guess
that the ink finished.
You would then test this guess by opening
the pen and checking the ink refill. If it is
empty, you would know that your guess
was correct. But suppose you find that
the ink was not finished. Now what
would you do? You would make another
guess—perhaps the ink might have
dried up. To test if this guess is correct
or not, you will try something else.
This is exactly how Science
works! The way you tried to find
out why your pen stopped writing
is an example of the scientific
method.
Activity 1: Let us think and write
- Write about a similar problem that you tried to solve.
- What steps did you take?
Science is not just about memorising facts and figures or doing experiments. It is about following a step-by-step process that helps us find answers to our questions. So what are the steps that we can follow?
Scientists are people who
follow the scientific method to
solve problems or to discover
new things. But anyone who
follows the scientific method is
working like a scientist. Someone
cooking food may be wondering
why the dal has spilled out of
the cooker—was there too much
water?
Think of a bicycle repair
person trying to find out why a
tyre is flat—from where did the
air leak out? Or an electrician
trying to find why a light bulb
is not working—is there some
problem with the bulb or the
switch? When we try to ask
questions and find out answers,
in a way, we are all scientists!
Activity 2: Let us think and write
- Describe a daily life situation where you feel someone was following a scientific method
Do you now realise that there are several daily life situations
where we knowingly or unknowingly apply the scientific method? Though we all apply the scientific method to
some extent, learning science will develop our capabilities
for finding solutions to bigger problems and solving
more mysteries of the universe. And to be able to learn
science well, the first and foremost thing is to be curious
and observe your surroundings keenly. And when we are
curious, we start posing questions, asking how and why?
Just remember, the world is full of things we do not know,
things that are waiting to be explored.
Activity 3: Let us think and write
- If you have to ask “Why?” about something, what would
you ask about?
- Try to write down how you would attempt to find an
answer to your question.
Science is rarely done alone. Scientists across the world
work together, often in large teams. So, if you cannot find
an answer yourself, ask your friends to help you out! It is
always more fun to discover things together.
Of course, remember that you will not find answers to
all your questions within Grade 6. Do not worry, you are
embarking upon a journey of science for the next five years
or even beyond!
After all, to be a wise person, you must be a “whys” person!
Much like children enjoying
the rain, science is all about joyful
exploration. Enjoy your scientific
journey, keep exploring and never
stop wondering about the amazing
mysteries of the universe and asking
questions.
Are you ready to embark upon the exciting journey of
Science? Let us get started!!