ANSWERS

Chapter 4 : Why Do We Fall ill?

Level-I
SECTION-B

1. (1) 2. (3) 3. (2) 4. (3) 5. (2) 6. (4) 7. (4)

8. (4) 9. (2) 10. (4) 11. (3) 12. (4) 13. (1) 14. (3)

15. (4) 16. (2) 17. (1) 18. (1)

Level-II
SECTION-B
1. (2) 2. (3) 3. (1) 4. (1) 5. (4) 6. (1) 7. (1)
8. (1) 9. (1) 10. (2) 11. (2) 12. (1) 13. (1) 14. (1)

15. (1) 16. (1) 17. (3) 18. (4) 19. (3) 20. (2)

SECTION-C
1. (4)
2. (4)
3. (2)
4. (1)

SECTION-D
1. (1) 2. (1) 3. (4)

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Why Do We Fall ill? 4
CHAPTER

Answers & Solutions

(Level-I)
SECTION-A : Very Short Answer Type Questions :
1. Typhoid and Tuberculosis.

2. AIDS, Polio, Hepatitis and Rabies.

3. Immunization can be defined as the process by which the body produces antibodies due to the
administration of a specific vaccine.

4. Antibiotics are the chemicals produced by a microbe, which in low concentration kills or prevents
the growth of other microbes.

5. The two main principles of treatment are killing the microbes and reducing the effect of the disease.

Short Answer Type Questions :

1. Vaccination refers to the administration of any vaccine so as to protect the organism against specific
disease. In this, dead or attenuated (weak) pathogen of the disease is injected, which cannot
produce a disease but induces the body’s immune system to produce antibodies against the
pathogen.

2. The agent or factor that actually causes the disease is called the first or immediate cause of the
disease. It may be virus, bacterium, fungus, protozoan, helminth or internal causes like defects in
genes and metabolism.

3. (a) Complete physical fitness.

(b) Mental and social well-being.

4. (a) Clean surroundings or environment. Clean drinking water.

(b) Good personal and domestic hygiene, balanced diet, regular exercise and relaxation.

5. The symptoms of the disease may be :

(a) Fever and headache, (b) Cough and breathlessness, (c) Dysentery or loose motions.

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 2 Why Do We Fall ill? Answers & Solutions of Biology - Class IX (Level-I)

If any of the above symptoms are observed we should think we are sick and go to the doctor for proper
diagnosis and treatment. If any one of the above symptoms is present, the doctor must be consulted,
because an untreated infection can spread and cause further damage to the body. The symptoms actually
depend on the tissue or organ which the microbe targets.

6. Balanced diet strengthens the immune system and provides nourishment to the body which is being
depleted by infectious agent. The functioning of the immune system, like any other system in our body,
will not be good if proper and sufficient nourishment and food is not available. Therefore, one of the basic
principle of prevention of infectious diseases is the availability of proper and sufficient balanced diet.

7. Vaccination refers to the administration of any vaccine inside the body whereas immunization refers to the
process by which the body produces antibodies in response to the administration of a specific vaccine
inside the body.

8. Means of spread of a disease implies the method by which the causal agent or the disease-causing
organism is passed from a diseased person to a new host. Some of the ways by which diseases spread
are :

(a) Air; e.g., cold

(b) Contaminated food and water; e.g., cholera

(c) Articles contaminated by the patient; e.g., chickenpox

(d) Animal vectors and carriers; e.g., malaria by female Anopheles mosquito, rabies by infected dog, etc.

(e) Sexual contacts and blood transfusion; e.g., AIDS.

9. Antibiotics are natural or synthetic substances that destroy microorganisms or inhibit their growth. They
block the biochemical pathways which are important to bacteria. For example, penicillin hampers the
process of cell wall formation in bacteria, hence it harms the bacterial pathogen. However, since the viruses
do not use these pathways, antibiotics do not work against virus.

10. Robin Warren and Barry Marshall found the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and peptic ulcer. These
are small curved bacteria present in the stomach. Robin Warren noticed that signs of inflammation were
always present around these bacteria. Further, these two scientists showed that the patients could be
cured of peptic ulcer only when the bacteria were killed off from stomach.

11. AIDS can be transmitted in a variety of ways. One way of transmission is from infected (AIDS patient)
mother to the child. However, the placenta of child would pass the infection, not the genes. For a disease
to be congenital, the disease has to be due to defective genes. So, AIDS is not a congenital disease.

12. Depending upon the duration of disease, diseases could be classified into two main categories :

(a) Acute diseases : These diseases are of shorter duration and are encountered from time to time. Such
diseases affect the body suddenly but recovery after treatment is often complete. Examples include
common cold, malaria, etc.

(b) Chronic diseases : These diseases are of longer duration (from months or years to life time). Such
diseases affect the body in such a way that the patient is often unable to lead a normal and productive
life. Examples include tuberculosis, diabetes, etc.

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 Answers & Solutions of Biology - Class IX (Level-I) Why Do We Fall ill? 3
Long Answer Type Questions :

1. Being healthy and being disease-free are two different things. Being healthy means to be in a state of
complete physical, mental and social well-being so as to be able to lead a socially and economically
productive life. On the other hand, to be disease-free simply means to be in a state where there is no
discomfort in the body. Further, health has a personal as well as a community aspect to it but disease-
free state is related only to an individual.

So, it can be said that disease-free does not necessarily mean to be healthy and the two terms are not
same.

2. The immune system is activated in response to infection. An active immune system sends many cells
(like WBCs) to the affected tissue in order to kill the disease causing microbes. The microbes are killed
by WBCs and macrophages by the process of phagocytosis. However, some microbes escape from the
WBCs and macrophages and enter the body cells and release harmful substances (toxins) to kill the cells.
In response, the mast cells and WBCs release histamine which causes the infected area to become
painful, red and swollen. This process of recruitment of cells to activate the immune system is called
inflammation.

3. By principles of treatment we mean how to treat a disease so as to cure the disease. There are two ways
to treat an infectious disease :

(a) Reduce the effect of disease : By treating the symptoms of disease and by providing proper bed
rest to the patient, the ill-effects of the disease can be reduced. Medications given to treat symptoms
include antipyretics (to reduce temperature), analgesic (to control pain), antiemetic (to relieve or prevent
nausea and vomiting), etc.

(b) Killing the microorganisms of infectious disease : By killing the causal agent of infectious disease,
the disease can be cured. However, since the disease-causing organisms are very diverse, a single
method may or may not work to kill the pathogen. Antibiotics are commonly used to kill the bacteria.

SECTION-B : Objective Type Questions :

1. Answer (1)

2. Answer (3)

3. Answer (2)

4. Answer (3)

5. Answer (2)

6. Answer (4)

7. Answer (4)

8. Answer (4)

9. Answer (2)

10. Answer (4)

11. Answer (3)

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 4 Why Do We Fall ill? Answers & Solutions of Biology - Class IX (Level-I)

12. Answer (4)

13. Answer (1)
14. Answer (3)
15. Answer (4)
16. Answer (2)
17. Answer (1)
18. Answer (1)

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Why Do We Fall ill? 4
CHAPTER

Answers & Solutions

(Level-II)

SECTION-A : Subjective Type Questions :

1. Mycobacterium tuberculosis
2. 1st December.
3. Skin.
4. Yes, it is possible because measles is an infectious viral disease which is communicable, i.e., it
can spread through nasal or throat discharge (droplet method).
5. Tuberculosis
6. In case, the number of pathogens is less, the manifestations of the disease will be minor.
7. No, we do not get sick every time we are exposed to a particular pathogen because the immune
system of our body is normally fighting off microbes. Specialised cells kill infecting microbes
whenever they enter our body.
8. Immunity can be defined as the disease fighting ability of an organism.
9. In case, the disease fighting cells of our body are not successful, we get infected with a particular
disease and become sick.
10. The immune system remembers the infectious microbes as it fights against those microbes. Upon
being infected for the second time, our immune system responds with even greater vigour and also
more quickly by producing a large number of antibodies immediately.
11. Long term effects on health are likely to be in case of pulmonary tuberculosis because it is a
bacterial infection in which the lungs are affected. Damage to lungs affects our general health as
well. Pulmonary tuberculosis being a chronic disease, has drastic and long-term effects on a
person’s health as compared to acute diseases like lice infestation or acne.
12. We can take the following precautions :
(a) Proper ventilated well-spaced classrooms.
(b) Advising students falling sick not to come to school.
(c) Ensuring safe drinking water.
(d) Proper cleanliness and sanitation.
(e) Protection against flies and mosquitoes.

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 6 Why Do We Fall ill? Answers & Solutions of Biology - Class IX (Level-II)

(f) Regular medical examination of students.

(g) Vaccinating the students against common infectious diseases from time to time.
(h) Educating students about causes of infectious diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, flu, AIDS, etc.
13. The measures that are taken at community level so as to prevent the spread of disease are called public
health measures. Some measures are
(a) To prevent overcrowding in schools, parks, etc.
(b) To provide clean drinking water.
(c) Proper disposal of waste water and garbage.

14. Infectious diseases Non-infectious diseases

(a) They are caused by attack of a pathogen. (a) They are caused by factors other than living
pathogen such as deficiency diseases,
degenerative diseases, etc.
(b) Also known as communicable diseases as (b) Also known as non-communicable diseases
they can spread from an infected person to a as they do not spread from person to person.
healthy person.
(c) Transmission of infection occurs through (c) Transmission of disease does not occur
direct contact or some other medium. except for hereditary diseases where it occurs
from parent to offspring.
(d) Community hygiene can reduce the incidence (d) Community hygiene is ineffective in reducing
of infectious diseases. the incidence of non-infectious diseases.
(e) Examples are malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, (e) Examples are diabetes, goitre, cancer, etc.
etc.

15. AIDS is a viral disease that spreads through following ways :

(a) Transfusion of contaminated blood from an infected person to a healthy person.
(b) Use of contaminated needles, razors etc.
(c) From infected mother to child during child birth or breast feeding.
(d) By unprotected sexual contact with an infected person.
16. Following preventive measures can be taken :
(a) Sterilising the place of work by using phenyl, etc.
(b) Sterilising the equipments that are used regularly.
(c) Washing hands with soap thoroughly after serious examination of patients.
(d) Using gloves and masks.
(e) Vaccination against most of the common diseases.
(f) Use of different dress or coat while visiting patients.
17. It is difficult to develop vaccines against viral diseases due to the following features of viruses :
(a) Viruses are host-specific.
(b) Viruses live and multiply only inside the host cell.
(c) Viruses are non-living outside the body of the host.
(d) Viruses use the machinery of the host cell only.
(e) Viruses cannot be cultured on artificial medium.
(f) Their genetic material is altered frequently.

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 Answers & Solutions of Biology - Class IX (Level-II) Why Do We Fall ill? 7
18. The full form of AIDS is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. This disease is caused by a virus - Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
(i) Symptoms :
(a) Swollen lymph nodes.
(b) Regular fever.
(c) Weight loss.
(d) Immunity of patient’s body is severely compromised. As a result, the patient dies mainly due to
secondary infections such as typhoid, diarrhoea, etc.
(ii) Preventive measures : Public awareness would help limit the spread of the disease.
™ Regular and mandatory screening of blood donors, pregnant women, etc.
™ Use of disposable syringes.
™ Compulsory blood check prior to transfusion.
™ Using condoms and adopting hygienic sexual habits.
™ Use of common blades at barber’s shop should be avoided.
19. Malaria is a protozoan disease caused by Plasmodium and female Anopheles mosquito is its vector.
Though the main symptoms of malaria include nausea, headache, muscular pain, high fever, etc. Each
malarial attack has three stages :
(a) Stage 1 - Cold stage : The patient feels cold and begins to shiver.
(b) Stage 2 - Hot stage : The patient suffers from high fever, elevated breathing rate and heart beat.
(c) Stage 3 - Sweating stage : The patient exhibits profuse sweating and with this, the body
temperature falls back to normal.
For the treatment of malaria, the bark of Cinchona tree has been used to develop a drug - Quinine. Other
medications include, mefloquine and artemisinin.
20. (i) Amoebiasis
(ii) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

SECTION-B : Objective Type Questions :

1. Answer (2)
2. Answer (3)
3. Answer (1)
4. Answer (1)
5. Answer (4)
6. Answer (1)
7. Answer (1)
8. Answer (1)
9. Answer (1)
10. Answer (2)
11. Answer (2)
12. Answer (1)
13. Answer (1)
14. Answer (1)

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 8 Why Do We Fall ill? Answers & Solutions of Biology - Class IX (Level-II)

15. Answer (1)

16. Answer (1)
17. Answer (3)
18. Answer (4)
19. Answer (3)
20. Answer (2)

SECTION-C : Assertion & Reason Type Questions :

1. Answer (4)
2. Answer (4)
3. Answer (2)
4. Answer (1)

SECTION-D : Match the Columns Type Questions :

1. Answer (1)
2. Answer (1)
3. Answer (4)

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