Unit 2: Matter and Material

3 Keeping Safe

Expected Learning Outcomes

Knowledge to be gained : • Safety at home and outside home • First aid
Skill to be developed : • Assembling a first aid kit.
A tude to be inculcated : • Always follow safety rules everywhere.

Wherever you go, or whatever you do, always follow the golden rule of safety rst. It means
that it is always better to be safe than to be sorry.
Newspapers carry news of accidents almost every day. Accidents cause harm to life and
property. Accidents may take place inside as well as outside our house. To avoid accidents,
we should be careful and alert. We should follow safety rules everywhere. In this chapter, we
will learn more about safety inside and outside our home and also some rst aid tips.

SAFETY AT HOME
Most of us think that our home is the safest place, where no accidents can happen. But this is
not true. Accidents can take place anywhere—at home, in the kitchen, bathroom, and at
other place—when we are careless. But if we follow safety rules at home, then we can avoid
such accidents.
Safety in the Kitchen
Ÿ Do not play near the gas stove. Your clothes may catch re.
Ÿ row vegetable and fruit peels in the dustbin to avoid
stepping on them and slipping.
Ÿ Always pick up a knife by its handle. Never try to play with
a knife.
Ÿ Keep pan handles turned away
from the edge of the cooking
counter.
Ÿ Avoid playing with matchbox and
matchstick s. I t can be ver y
dangerous.
Ÿ Use tongs or a thick towel when
you handle anything hot.
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 Safety in the Bathroom
Ÿ Keep the oor clean. If you spill something on the
oor, clean it off quickly so that you yourself, or
someone else, does not slip and fall.
Ÿ Place a mat just outside the bathroom door to wipe
your wet feet.
Ÿ Do not leave the bar of soap on the bathroom oor.
Someone might slip on it and hurt himself or herself Bathroom mats prevent
badly. us from slipping
Ÿ Keep the bathroom oors dry when the bathroom is not in use.

Safety at other Places

Ÿ Do not touch plugs and switches with wet hands.
Ÿ Do not play with razors or blades. ey can cut your
ngers or hand.
Ÿ Do not climb on any furniture which does not balance
well when you want to reach for something placed high.
Ÿ Do not take any medicine without consulting an adult.
Ÿ Do not run, jump or skip on the steps of the staircase.
Do not touch plugs with wet hands

SAFETY OUTSIDE HOME

To be safe outside our home, we should be extra careful and alert. We should follow these
safety rules:
Ÿ Never run on the road. Always use a footpath
for walking.
Ÿ Do not play on the road.
Ÿ Never draw your head or your hand out from a
moving vehicle.
Ÿ Cross the road only at zebra crossings.
Ÿ Wait for your turn at the swings in the
playground.
Ÿ Do not rush up and down the stairs.
We should cross the road at the zebra crossing
Ÿ Do not run around in the classroom.
Ÿ Do not play on the escalators at railway station, mall, cinema hall, etc. While using an
escalator, hold the hand rail rmly or hold the hand of an adult.
Ÿ Use a swimming tube for swimming, if you are not an expert swimmer. Always swim in
the presence of an adult.
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Ÿ Do not accept anything, especially eatables offered by any stranger. Never take a lift from
any stranger.
Ÿ Never give your name, address or other details to unknown persons.

CHECK YOURSELF

A. Tick (3) the correct option:

1. Vegetable and fruit peels should be thrown into:
(a) classroom (b) dustbin (c) water bodies
2. Bathroom floors should always be kept:
(a) dry (b) wet (c) dirty
3. One should use tongs to handle anything:
(a) cold (b) beautiful (c) hot

FIRST AID ANTIBIOTIC

LOTION

ANTISEPTIC

In case of accidents, there are some things you can WIPES

do which would be of use, before the doctor comes. CREPE

BANDAGE FIRST AID BOX TORCH
MASK

THERMOMETER

This immediate care is called first aid. We should BAND-AID

ANTISEPTIC
ANTIBIOTICS

have a first aid box both in our house and in our STICKY TAPE

COTTON

school. GLOVES
INSTANT
COLD PACK
PAD

SCISSORS

A rst aid box should contain: First aid kit

1. An antiseptic lotion such as, Dettol or Savlon 2. An antiseptic cream
3. A crepe bandage 4. A pair of scissors
5. A bottle of methylated spirit 6. Cotton pads
7. Sticky tape 8. Some Band-Aid
First Aid Tips
1. If a person has fainted
Ÿ Make the person lie down with their head lower than the body, so that the supply of
blood to the brain may increase.
Ÿ Prevent people from surrounding the victim. It can suffocate them further. Free owing
air can improve his/her condition.
2. For cuts and wounds
Ÿ Completely wash the wound with water to remove dirt.
Ÿ en clean it with cotton dipped in a few drops of antiseptic lotion like Dettol or Savlon.
Ÿ If it is a small cut, put a band-aid on it. For major cut, use a cotton swab and a sterilised
bandage.
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 1 2 3

4 5
Treating a cut
3. For burns
Ÿ Wash the burnt portion with water.
Ÿ Put an ice pack on the burnt part or dip it in cold
water till the pain is gone.
Ÿ Apply an ointment, such as petroleum jelly or aloe-
vera, on the affected area.
4. For insect bites
Ÿ Try to pull out the sting in case a wasp or honeybee
stings.
Ÿ Apply calamine lotion on the affected area.
Ÿ Never panic. Call an adult or a doctor.
Ÿ Do not crowd around the victim.
Ÿ Make sure the victim is comfortable.
Treating an insect bite
CHECK YOURSELF
A. Tick (3) the correct option:
1. Calamine lotion is applied on:
(a) injuries (b) sprains (c) insect bites
2. Which of these is not an electric appliance?
(a) Knife (b) Toaster (c) Geyser
3. Which of these is not a part of a first aid kit?
(a) Antiseptic cream (b) Fairness cream (c) Cotton pads

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New words
Footpath : a way for walking
An sep c : something that prevents infec on
Zebra crossing : the black and white lines marking a path on the roads
First aid : an immediate help given to an injured person
Sterilised : free from all germs
Razor : an instrument for shaving hair
Crepe : a type of loosely woven fabric
Suffocate : to cause or feel difficulty in breathing
Escalator : an automa c stair

SUMMARY
v We should follow safety rules everywhere.
v Never try to play with a knife.
v Avoid playing with a matchbox.
v Do not touch plugs and switches with wet hands.
v Do not play on the road.
v We should have first aid box both in our house and in our school.

Exercise
A. Name the following:
1. A part of the road having white and black strips. ________________
2. An antiseptic lotion. ________________
3. Immediate help given to a person. ________________
B. Select the best alternative in each of the following:
1. We should follow safety rules:
(i) only in the bathroom (ii) only in the kitchen
(iii) nowhere (iv) everywhere
2. One should always walk:
(i) on the road (ii) on the pavement
(iii) anywhere (iv) carelessly

29 Science-4
 3. In case of a minor burn, wash the burnt area with:
(i) warm running water (ii) hot running water
(iii) cold running water (iv) boiled water

4. Which of these can be applied in case of a cut?

(i) Salt and pepper (ii) Butter
(iii) Calamine lotion (iv) Antiseptic cream

C. Answer the following questions:

1. How can we avoid accidents?
2. Why should we not play with matchsticks?
3. Why is zebra crossing called so?
4. What will happen if a person who doesn't know how to swim goes for swimming
without wearing a life jacket?

D. Fill in the blanks:

1. Always use a thick towel to pick up _______________ utensils.
2. Always use _______________ for crossing the road.
3. We must always _______________ safety rules.
4. e aid given to an injured person before a doctor arrives is known as
_______________.
5. Apply ointment such as _______________ on the burnt skin.

E. Answer the following questions in your own words:

1. Should you leave your bar of soap on the bathroom oor? If not, why ?
2. What are the things you should be careful about when you are in the kitchen?
3. What is rst aid?
4. What should a rst aid box contain?
5. What rst aid will you give to the following people:
(a) A person who has fainted. (b) A person with a minor cut.
(c) A person bitten by an insect. (d) A person with a burnt nger.

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 Activity Time
A. Activity
Make your own rst aid box.
Take an empty plastic box (or any other box) and put the
following things in it:
• Cotton wool and gauze
• Antiseptic lotion
• Antiseptic cream
• Calamine lotion
• Bandage
• Surgical tape FIRST AID BOX
• Scissors
• Adhesive bandage, like Band-Aid
Your rst aid box is ready. You can also make a '+' sign with a red marker on it. Make a
rst aid box for your class too.
B. Role play
Ask your teacher to give you situations to act out so that you practise giving rst aid
when needed. Work in groups and give yourself marks for being efficient and follow the
steps in correct order.
C. Group Discussion
If you see an accident victim in need of help on the road, what would you do? Would you
stop to help or expect that somebody else will do this? Discuss.

Let Us Visit
Ask your parents to take you to a place where there is lots of traffic movement, like a busy
intersection in your town or the city. Take your notebook and pen with you. Wait for half
an hour at a safe place and observe whether people are following traffic rules or not. For
example, stopping when the traffic light is red, walking on the footpath and not on the
road, driving within the speed limits, etc. Note down what you have noticed and write a
letter to the traffic police about your experience.
31 Science-4
 Be a young
Researcher
Whenever your parents buy any new electronic gadget or any home appliance, you will
always find a User Manual along with that. Ask them to provide you with a few User
Manuals. In the User Manuals, you will find few Dos and Dont's. These are the safety rules
for using the appliance.
Read them, and if you do not understand them, ask your parents to explain these rules to
you. Observe whether these rules are followed at home or not. If you see someone
violating these rules, request them to follow the Safety Rules.

Subject Link : Mathematics and Art & Craft

Make a model traffic light with the help of basic
shapes likes circles and rectangles. Take an A3
sheet of paper and first draw a rectangle and colour STOP
it black. Draw three circles one below the other like
a traffic light. Colour the circles Red, Orange and WAIT
Green, respectively. Cut the rectangle and glue a
stick behind it. GO
Your traffic light is ready.

ANTIBIOTIC
LOTION

ANTISEPTIC
WIPES

MASK

CREPE THERMOMETER
BANDAGE FIRST AID BOX TORCH
BAND-AID

ANTISEPTIC
ANTIBIOTICS
STICKY TAPE

COTTON
GLOVES PAD
INSTANT
COLD PACK

SCISSORS

First aid box

FOOTNOTE
Ÿ All the children should be made to realise that rules, such as traffic rules, are meant for their own good, so it is important
to follow them.
Ÿ Make the children understand the importance of first aid. Tell them that timely first aid is very helpful in treating a person.

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