CIR/253/07.11.

2023
 PCBO- JOE
REFERENCE MATERIAL
GRADE - 10
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
The reference material is an extended learning resource of the JOE syllabus shared already.
It gives an overview of what a student has to learn before appearing for the PCBO JOE.
The questions will be application based/ critical thinking based/ evaluation based, etc .
A student should be thorough in the basic concepts.
GK – specific topics are given. The student shall prepare accordingly.
Reasoning – tips & tricks are shared.
Other major subjects – core concepts are shared.

SYLLABUS:
ENGLISH

MATHEMATICS
SYLLABUS:
SCIENCE

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

REASONING
ENGLISH
 ENGLISH - CONTENT
I. Synonyms
A synonym is a word/phrase, the meaning of which is the same or nearly the same as another word or phrase.
Words that are synonyms are described as synonymous.
Synonym examples:
• Artful – Crafty
• Ballot – Poll

II. Antonyms
An antonym is a word/phrase that means the opposite of another word or phrase.
Antonym examples:
• Admire – Detest
• Bravery – Cowardice

III. ANALOGY
Analogy is a literary device that compares seemingly unrelated things to one another. For example, a common
analogy used in middle school biology is “Mitochondria are the battery of the cell.” When a biology teacher
calls mitochondria a battery, they are not giving a figurative description of microscopic Duracells scattered
throughout the human body. They are conveying a message about mitochondria’s function: they power the
cell the same way a battery powers a cell phone.
What is an analogy?
An analogy is a literary device that explains an unfamiliar or a complex topic by comparing it to a familiar
topic.

IV. NOUNS
Nouns are a part of speech that comprise words that are used to name people, places, animals, objects and
ideas. Almost every sentence will definitely have a noun, and they perform different roles in a sentence.
Nouns can act as the subject, an indirect object, a direct object, a subject complement and an object
complement. Nouns can also function as adjectives and verbs.

Types of Nouns
Nouns can be broadly classified into:
1. Proper Nouns: Nouns that are used to name a person, place or thing specifically are called a proper
noun. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.
2. Common nouns: Common nouns are those nouns that refer to a generic item, group or place. This
means that, unlike proper nouns, they are not used to identify specific people, places or objects. Common
nouns are not capitalised unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence.
3. Singular nouns: These are words that are used to name a single person, place, animal, bird or object.
4. Plural nouns: Plural nouns refer to a number of people, places, animals or things. Nouns are made
plural by adding an ‘s’ or ‘es’ or ‘ies’ or ‘ves’ to the existing root word. Nouns that end with an ‘s’ remain the
same. Some nouns remain the same in both their singular and plural forms, and some others have totally
different spelling.
5. Countable nouns are those nouns that can be counted or measured.
6. Uncountable nouns are those nouns that cannot be counted. This category of nouns includes both
concrete and abstract nouns.
7. Collective Nouns: A collective noun is a naming word that is used to denote a group of objects,
animals or
people.
8. Concrete Nouns: A concrete noun refers to objects that are material and can be perceived by the
human senses.
9. Abstract Nouns: Any entity that cannot be perceived by the five senses of the human body are called
an abstract noun.

V. VERBS
Verbs Referring to Actions
Verbs referring to action (action verbs) are those that involve the movement of one’s body in one way or
the other. Some examples of verbs referring to actions are as follows: Walk, Run, Talk
Auxiliary Verbs/Helping Verbs
Auxiliary verbs or helping verbs, as the name suggests, is a verb that is used to help another verb sound
sensible and meaningful. It is used to change the other verb’s tense, mood or voice. So, every time an
auxiliary verb is used, you always have one more verb, which acts as the main verb in a sentence.
Examples : Am, Is, Are, Was, Were, Have, Has, Do, Will, Can

VI. PHRASAL VERBS

Phrasal verbs include phrases that are formed by combining two or more parts of speech that performs the
same function as a verb in a sentence. In most cases, a phrasal verb results from a combination of a verb and a
preposition.
Some examples : Go by, Lay off, , Log in
Linking Verbs
A linking verb, just like the name suggests, is a type of verb that is used to link the subjects in a sentence to
the other parts of the sentence so that it is meaningful. It connects the subject to the object, an adjective and
even a prepositional phrase. All ‘to be’ forms of verbs and verbs like ‘seem’ and ‘become’ can act as linking
verbs.
Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs
Transitive and intransitive forms of verbs are used to denote how a verb acts when used with a direct object
and an indirect object. Let us look at a few examples.
• Vincent gave a box of chocolates to his brother. (Indirect object – his brother, Direct object – a box of
chocolates)
• Garry passed the water bottle to Kevin, who was sitting in the first row. (Indirect object – Kevin,
Direct object – the water bottle)
• The little girl ran around the park for two hours.
• Francey walked to school every day.
• My mom cleaned the house today. (Direct object – the house)
• Seena did not like the movie. (Direct object – the movie)
In the above examples, the verbs ‘gave’ and ‘passed’ in the first two sentences are seen to take a direct object
and an indirect object, whereas the verbs ‘ran’ and ‘walked’ take no object at all. In the last two sentences, the
verbs ‘cleaned’ and ‘did not like’ take a direct object and no indirect object.
Verbs that take a direct object alone are called transitive verbs, and those verbs that do not take either a
direct object or an indirect object are called intransitive verbs.
VII. ADVERBS
An adverb is a word or an expression that modifies a verb, adjective, determiner, clause, preposition or
sentence. Adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened. We
often use more and most, less and least to show degree with adverbs.
Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. If the adjective already ends in -y, the -y usually
changes to -i.
Examples :(1) Rohan ran quickly.
(2) John answered all the questions correctly.
(3) Rita sang sweetly.
Types of Adverbs
(1) Adverb of Manner- used to tell us the way or how something is done
(2) Adverb of Place- always talks about the location where the action of the verb is being carried out.
(3) Adverb of Time- tell us when an action happened, for how long, and how often.
(4) Adverbs of degree- tells us about the intensity or degree of an action, an adjective or an adverb.
(5) Adverb of frequency- describes how often something takes place.

VIII. ADJECTIVES
An adjective is a part of speech that can be used to describe or provide more information about a noun or
pronoun that acts as the subject in a sentence. Adjectives are found after the verb or before the noun it
modifies.
Forms of Adjectives – Degrees of Comparison
Adjectives can be used to compare similar qualities of different subjects that perform the same action. There
are three forms of adjectives or rather three degrees of comparison. The are:
Positive or Absolute Form, Comparative Form, Superlative Form
Positive Degree of Comparison:
The positive form or the positive degree of comparison is the form of the adjective used in the original form.
For example: This book is interesting. This form of adjective is used when there is no other subject to be
compared.
Comparative Degree of Comparison
The comparative form of the adjective is used when two subjects performing the same action or possessing
the same quality are compared. For example: The book I read yesterday was more interesting than the one I
read today.
Superlative Degree of Comparison
The superlative degree of comparison is used when comparing the same quality of two or more subjects and
to represent that a subject is superior to two or more subjects in performing an action. For example: This
fantasy novel is the most interesting book that I have ever read.
Types of Adjectives
Possessive Adjectives:
These adjectives, like possessive pronouns, are used to show or represent possession of a quality. For
example: my, your, his, her, their, its, whose, etc.
Interrogative Adjectives:
An adjective that is used to modify a noun or a pronoun by asking a question is called an interrogative
adjective. There are only a few adjectives that can be termed as interrogative adjectives. They are whose, what
and which.
Demonstrative Adjectives:
Demonstrative adjectives are mainly used to describe the position of a subject (a noun or pronoun) in space or
time. This, that, these and those are the demonstrative adjectives in English.

Compound Adjectives:
Compound adjectives consist of two or more adjectives that are combined together to form an adjective that
can be used to modify the subject. Some examples of compound adjectives are cotton-tailed, curly-haired,
absentminded, happy-go-lucky, etc.

IX. ARTICLES
Types of Articles
There are three articles in English – ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’. These articles are divided into two types
namely: Definite Article, Indefinite Article
A definite article is used to determine something that is specific or particular. It is also used before plural
nouns and to indicate the superlative degree of comparison. The article ‘the’ is the only definite article.

An indefinite article, as the name suggests, is used to indicate something that is not definite or specific. It can
also be used before singular nouns. The articles ‘an’ and ‘an’ are termed as indefinite articles.

X. PREPOSITIONS
A preposition is a short word that is employed in sentences to show the relationship nouns, pronouns or
phrases have with other parts within the respective sentences. Prepositions are normally found positioned in
the latter part of the sentence, but before a noun or pronoun.
Types of Prepositions
Prepositions of Time – used to show when something is happening.
Prepositions of Place – indicate the place or position of something.
Prepositions of Direction – used to denote the direction in which something travels or moves.
Prepositions of Location – employed to denote the location of a particular object.

Prepositions of Spatial Relationship – used to denote an object’s movement away from the source.
Prepositional Phrase – a combination of a preposition and a noun(the object it is affecting).
XI. CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction is “word that joins words, phrases or sentences, for example and, but or so”.
Types of Conjunctions
Conjunctions are mainly used to join actions, ideas and thoughts. They are categorised into three main types:
• Coordinating conjunctions – used to combine two independent clauses. Examples of coordinating
conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so.
• Subordinating conjunctions – used to combine an independent clause and a dependent clause.
Examples of subordinating conjunctions are if, although, though, after, before, because, as if, unless, until,
when, while, etc.
• Correlative conjunctions – used to combine two phrases or parts of the sentence which have equal
importance within a sentence. Examples of correlative conjunctions are not only…but also, either…or,
neither…nor, whether…or, rather…or, if…then, etc.
XII. PUNCTUATIONS
The Punctuation Marks in English Grammar A punctuation mark is defined as “a sign or mark used
in writing to divide sentences and phrases”. Have a look at the following table to understand each
punctuation mark and to see how they can be used in sentences.

Punctuation Punctuation mark Sentence example

mark (Symbol)

Full stop / . I am a student.

Period

Comma , Ashlin, my sister’s daughter, came home today.

Colon : You have two options: Take a bus or hire a cab.

Semicolon ; I did not like the dish; however, I ate it since I did not want
to waste it.

Apostrophe ’ Ritu’s brother is moving to Sydney.

Quotation marks “” My mom said, “Make sure you get home before 7 p.m.”

Hyphen – We have a black–eyed white bunny.

Dash — My mom’s friends — Sheela, Immaculate and Agnes —

visited her today.

Parentheses () Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (popularly known as ‘Mother

Teresa’) was born on August 26, 1910.

Slash / You can use a noun/pronoun to start a sentence.

Question mark ? What would you like to have for dinner?

We wrote in the comments section, “We were here. This is

Ellipsis … the … again.”
XIII. VOICE
The term ‘voice’ is a term that is used to denote the form of the verb which shows if the subject in a given
sentence is the doer or receiver of the action. The voice of a verb describes the relationship between the action
and the participants (subject or object) in a sentence.
The Two Voices in the English Language
There are two voices in the English language and they are as follows:
Active Voice & Passive Voice
Let us look into the two voices a little in detail with the help of the meaning and definition given below.
What is the Active Voice? – Meaning and Definition
The active voice, in a sentence, denotes that the noun or pronoun that acts as the subject in the sentence is the
doer of the action. In other words, the subject performs the action or acts upon the verb.
What is the Passive Voice? – Meaning and Definition
The passive voice, on the other hand, represents that the subject is one acted upon by the action or verb in the
sentence. It can also be said that the passive voice indicates that the subject in the sentence is no longer active
but passive.

Active Voice Passive Voice

Denotes that the subject is performing Denotes that the subject is acted upon by the
the action. verb or action in the sentence.

The active voice does not require a The passive voice uses a linking verb followed
linking verb to make sense. by the past participle of the main verb.

The active voice focuses on the doer The passive voice comes in handy when the doer
of the action. of the action is undetermined.

Has a direct, clear and strong tone. Has an indirect, weak and subtle tone.

Examples: Examples:
• I decorated the hall. • The hall was decorated by me.
• Devi gave Shanthi a gift. • Shanthi was given a gift by Devi.
XIV. SPEECH
The words spoken by a person can be reported in two ways—Direct and Indirect. When we quote the exact
words spoken by a person, we call it Direct Speech.

Sohan said to Mohan, “I am going to school.”

The exact words spoken by Sohan are put within inverted commas. But when we give the substance of what
Sohan said, it is called the Indirect Speech.
Direct and Indirect Speech
Sohan told to Mohan that he (Sohan) was going to school.
1. Reporting Clause and Reported Speech:
Sohan told Mohan that he was going to school. The words which generally come before the inverted commas
are called the reporting clause, i.e. Sohan said to Mohan and the verb ‘said’, is called the reporting verb. The
words spoken by Sohan and put within inverted commas are called the reported speech, i.e. “I am going to
school.”
2. Rules for Changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech:
• In the Indirect speech, no inverted commas are used.
• The conjunctions that, if, whether, are generally used after the reporting verb.
• The first word of the reported speech begins with a capital letter.
• The tense of the reporting verb is never changed.
• The reporting verb changes according to sense: it may be told, asked, inquired
XV. CONCORD
A verb must agree with its Number and Person.
In other words, the Verb of a sentence agrees with the Number and Person of the Subject of that sentence.
Error of Proximity
The price of the apples was very high. (✓)
The price of the apples were very high. (✗)
XVI. CONDITIONALS
Conditional sentences express conditions that are required to be followed in order to achieve the desired end
results. A conditional sentence is defined as “a sentence that begins with if or unless and expresses a
condition”.
XVII. COLLOCATIONS
Collocations Are Groups Of Two Or More Words Which Are Generally Used Together. A Collocation Is
Therefore A Fixed Combination Of Words Which Are Used In Order To Convey A Specific Meaning. For
Example, The Words ‘Make’ And ‘Belief’ Are Used Together In Order To Mean ‘Fake’.
Consider The Following Examples:

The Words ‘Break’ And ‘Crack’ Are Synonyms. However, We Always Use ‘Break’ And Not ‘Crack’ With
‘Law’. Similarly, ‘Crack’ Is Always Used With ‘Code’. This Predetermined Combination Of Words Is
Known As Collocation.
XVIII. PHRASAL VERBS
Types of Phrasal Verbs
Words that are similar and maybe spelt similarly but differ in meaning. Homonyms are considered to be a
synonym for homographs and homophones.
XXII. HOMOPHONES
Homophones have the same pronunciation and may have the same or different spelling but differ in meaning.
For example, they’re, their, and there are homophones.

XXIII. TENSES

The term ‘Tense’ denotes the form of a verb which shows the time at which an action happened. So, the tense
shows two things : (i) the time of the action (ii) state expressed by the verb.

Categories of one-word substitutions

1. Generic Terms
2. Government/Systems
3. Venue/Spots
4. Group/Collection
5. People/Person
6. Murder/Death
7. Profession/Research
8. Sound

XXVI. SPELLINGS

English is a language with words that have spellings which you might not normally guess. There are words
with similar sounds denoted by a combination of different letters and also those with the same combination of
letters having different sounds. For instance, take a look at these two sets of words – ‘through’ and ‘threw’,
and ‘tough’, ‘plough’, ‘cough’ and ‘through’. So, it is important that you prioritise learning the spellings of
words as you learn new words.

XXVII. IDIOMS

Idioms are words or phrases that aren’t meant to be taken literally. "[It] has a meaning that differs from the
literal meaning of its parts taken together." For example, if you say someone has “,” it doesn’t mean their toes
are actually cold. Rather, it means they’re nervous about something.
The examples below demonstrate how you can’t easily understand the meaning of idioms without knowing
what they mean within the culture. The next time someone says "" you’ll know it has nothing to do with
animals, but rather that it's raining quite hard.
MATHS
MATHEMATICS - CONTENT

REAL NUMBERS
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION
 POLYNOMIALS

QUADRATIC EQUATIONS
COORDINATE GEOMETRY
 CIRCLE AND ITS AREA
Area of a circle
Length of an arc of a sector
COORDINATE GEOMETRY
TRIGONOMETRY
HEIGHTS AND DISTANCE
PROBABILITY & PERMUTATION
TRIANGLES
MENSURATION
STATISTICS
PHYSICS
 PHYSICS – CONTENT

ELECTROMAGNETISM
Electric charge is a basic property of matter similar to mass and length. It also determines the nature
and magnitude of the force between two charges. There are two types of charges in nature negative and
positive charge.

Unit
(a) S.I. unit of charge is coulomb.
(b) coulomb is denoted by C.
(c) One coulomb is defined as the charge passing through a wire if 1 A current flows through the wire in 1 sec.
(d) Magnitude of charge on an electron and a proton are equal.

Properties of Electric Charge

The basic properties of electric charges are as follows:
(i) The magnitude of the charge is independent of the type of charge.
(ii) Similar electric charges tend to repel each other while opposite electric charges tend to attract each other.
(iii) Electric charge is a scalar quantity.
(iv) Charges are additive in nature.
(v) Charge is a conserved quantity.
(vi) Charge is quantized. This means that electric charge comes in discrete amounts, and there is a smallest
possible amount of charge that an object can have.

Electric Field and Electric Potential

The flow of electric current is analogous to the flow of liquid in a pipe. The liquid pipe is analogous to the
electric conductor, while the amount of liquid flowing through a point per second corresponds to electric
current. Figure show how the pump (P) builds up and maintains pressure by lifting water from a tank (B) to
the reservoir (A) through the pipe (R). Note that along the pipe, different points are at different pressure.
Water in the pipe flow from say, a point N to M only when the pressure at N is greater than that at M. Thus,
when the valve (V) is open, water start flowing into the reservoir.
In the same manner electrons will move along a wire only if there is a difference of electric pressure called
potential difference along the conductor. Potential difference is produced by the cell or a battery, which acts
like a water pump in the circuit. The chemical action within the cell produces a potential difference due to
which electrons start moving. The movement of electrons produces the electric current. We define the electric
potential difference between the two points, A and B as the work done to move a unit charge from A to B.
Potential difference (V) between the points A and B = work done (W)/charge (Q).
The unit of potential is volt, named after a scientist Alessandra (1745 - 1827).
One volt is defined as the otential difference between two points if 1 joule of work is done to move a charge
of 1C between the two points.

Electric Field
Electric field is the space around a charge where the electrostatic force can be experienced by any other
charge. If a test charge experiences no force at a point, the electric field at that point is zero.
Electric field intensity at any point is the strength of electric field at that point. It is defined as the force
experienced by a unit positive charge placed at that point.

Electric Potential
The electric potential at a point in an electric field is defined as the amount of work done in moving a unit +ve
charge from infinity to that point without acceleration or without any change in its K.E.
S.I. unit of electric potential is volt (V), 1 V = 1 J/C. This unit occurs often in our study of electricity, so it has
been named as volt, in honour of the scientist Alessandra Volta (the inventor of the voltaic cell).
Potential is a scalar quantity, therefore it is added algebraically. For a positively charged body potential is
positive and for a negatively charged body potential is negative.

Ohm’s Law
Ohm's law states that, the current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential
difference across the ends of the conductor while temperature remains constant
Thus, if I is the current flowing through a conductor and V is the potential difference (or voltage) across the
conductor, then according to Ohm’s law.
I α V (when temperature is constant)
or, I = VR ...(i)
where R is a constant called the resistance of the conductor.

Resistance of Conductor
The motion of electrons in a conductor gives rise to the flow of current. The moving electrons collide with
each other as well as with the positive ions present in the metallic conductor. These collisions tend to slow
down the speed of the electrons and hence oppose the flow of electric current.
The property of a conductor by virtue of which it opposes the flow of electric current through it is known as
resistance of the conductor.
(i) Resistance is denoted by the letter R.
(ii) The SI unit of resistance is ohm. The ohm is denoted by the Greek letter (W) called omega.
(iii) Resistance is a scalar quantity.

Resistance of a Conductor depends on the following factors:

(i) length of the conductor.
(ii) Area of cross-section of the conductor (or thickness of the conductor).
(iii) Nature of the material of the conductor.
(iv) Temperature of the conductor,
On the basis of experiments that
(i) The resistance of a given conductor is directly proportional to its length i.e.,

Where ρ (rho) is a constant known as resistivity of the material of the conductor. Resistivity is also known as
specific resistance.

Series Combination
In series combination two or more resistances are joined end-to-end so that the same current flows through
each of them.
When a series combination of resistances is connected to a battery, the same current (I) flows through each of
the resistances.

Law of combination of resistances in series : According to the law of combination of resistances in series,
their equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of the individual resistances. Thus, if R1, R2, R3 ..., etc. are
combined in series, then the equivalent resistance (R) is given by,
R = R1 + R2 + R3 + ... ...(i)

Derivation of equivalent resistances in series combination :

Let, R1, R2 and R3 be the resistances connected in series, I be the current flowing through each resistance,
and V1, V2 and V3 be the potential difference across R1, R2 and R3, respectively. According to Ohm’s law,
V1 = IR1, V2 = IR2 and V3 = IR3 ...(ii)
If, V is the potential difference across the combination of resistances then,
V = V1 + V2 + V3 ...(iii)
Let, R is the equivalent resistance of the circuit,
then V = IR ...(iv)
Using Eqs. (i) to (iv) we can write,
IR = V = V1 + V2 + V3
= IR1 + IR2 + IR3
or, IR = I (R1 + R2 + R3)
or, R = R1 + R2 + R3
Hence, when resistances are combined in series, the equivalent resistance is higher than each individual
resistance.

Some results of series combination :

In a circuit, if the resistances are connected in series :
(i) The current is same in each resistance of the circuit :
(ii) The net resistance of the combination of resistors is equal to sum of the individual resistors.
(iii) The total voltage across the combination is equal to the sum of the voltage drop across the individual
resistors.
(iv) The net resistance is greater than that of any individual resistance in the series combination.
Parallel Combination
In a parallel combination of resistances, two or more resistances are joined between two common points so
across each of them have the same potential difference.
When such a combination of resistances is connected to a battery, all the resistances have the same potential
difference across their ends.

Derivation of equivalent resistance in parallel combination:

Let, V be the potential difference across the two common points A and B. Then, according to Ohm’s law
Current passing through R1, I1 = V/R1 ...(i)
Current passing through R2, I2 = V/R2 ...(ii)
Current passing through R3, I3 = V/R3 ...(iii)
Let Rp is the equivalent resistance, then using Ohm’s law, the total current flowing through the circuit is given
by,
I = V/Rp ...(iv)
and I = I1 + I2 + I3 ...(v)
Substituting the values of I1, I2 and I3 in Eq. (v),
V/ Rp = V/R1 + V/ R2 + V/R3

Parallel Combination R3 I2
Fig. 10
In a parallel combination of resistances, two or more resistances are joined between two common points so
across each of them have the same potential difference.
When such a combination of resistances is connected to a battery, all the resistances have the same potential
difference across their ends.
U Derivation of equivalent resistance in parallel combination:
Let, V be the potential difference across the two common points A and B. Then, according to Ohm’s law
Current passing through R1, I1 = V/R1 ...(i)
Current passing through R2, I2 = V/R2 ...(ii)
Current passing through R3, I3 = V/R3 ...(iii)
Let Rp is the equivalent resistance, then using Ohm’s law, the total current flowing through the circuit is given
by,
I = V/Rp ...(iv)
and I = I1 + I2 + I3 ...(v)
Substituting the values of I1, I2 and I3 in Eq. (v),
p V R = 1 VR + 2 V R + 3 V R ...(vi) 94
On solving, we get
1/ Rp = 1/ R1 + 1/ R2 + 1/ R3

Electric Power:
The rate at which electric energy is dissipated or consumed, is known as electric power. The power P is given
by,
P = W/t = I2 R
The unit of electric power is watt.
One watt is the power consumed when 1 A of current flows at a potential difference of 1 V.
(i) Unit of power: The S.I. unit of electric power ‘watt’ which is denoted by the letter W. The power of 1
watt is a rate of working of 1 joule per second.
A bigger unit of electric power is kilowatt.
1 kilowatt (kW) = 1000 watt.
Power of an agent is also expressed in horse power (hp).
1 hp = 746 watt.

(ii) Formula for calculating electric power:

We know, Power, P = Work Time
and Work, W = V × I × t joules
\P = V t t × Ι ×
P=V×I
P=V×I
Power P in terms of I and R :
Now from Ohm’s law we have V R = Ι
V=I×R
P=I×R×I
\P = I2 × R
Power P in terms of V and R :
We know, P = V × I
From Ohm’s law I = VR
P = V × VR
P = 2 VR

MAGNETIC EFFECT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT

A magnet is a material that produces a field that attracts or repels other such materials of magnetic nature.
Lodestone (Fe3O4) is a naturally occurring magnet. It attracts materials like Iron, Nickel, Cobalt, etc.
A magnet is always bipolar with poles named north and south poles. These two poles always exist together
and can not be separated. North pole of a magnet is the side which points to Earth’s geographic north when it
is freely suspended.

Bar magnet: A bar magnet is a rectangular object, composed of iron, steel or any form of a ferromagnetic
substance, that shows permanent magnetic properties. It has two different poles, a north and a south pole such
that when suspended freely, the north pole aligns itself towards the geographic north pole of the Earth.
Magnetic Field and Field Lines
● The space around a magnet in which the force of attraction and repulsion caused by the magnet can be
detected is called the magnetic field.
● The curved paths along which iron filings arrange themselves due to the force acting on them in the
magnetic field of a bar magnet are called magnetic field lines.
Iron filings near the bar magnet align themselves along the field lines
● The direction of the magnetic field at any point is obtained by drawing a tangent to the field line at that
point.

Properties of Magnetic Field Lines

● A magnetic field line is directed from the North Pole to the South Pole
outside the magnet.
● A magnetic field line is a closed and continuous curve.
● The magnetic field lines are closer where the magnetic field is strong and
farther apart where the magnetic field is weak.
● The magnetic field lines never intersect each other.
● Parallel and equidistant field lines represent a uniform magnetic field.

Magnetic Field Due to a Current Carrying Conductor

Oersted’s experiment: When electric current flows through a current carrying conductor, it produces a
magnetic field around it. This can be seen with the help of a magnetic needle which shows deflection. The
more the current, the higher the deflection. If the direction of current is reversed, the direction of deflection is
also reversed.

Magnetic Field due to a Straight Current-carrying Conductor

● The magnetic field lines around a straight conductor carrying a current are concentric circles.
● The direction of a magnetic field is given by the Right-Hand
Thumb Rule.
The magnitude of the magnetic field due to a straight current-
carrying conductor at a given point is
● Directly proportional to the current flowing through the conductor
● Inversely proportional to the distance of that point from the
conductor
Right-Hand Thumb Rule:
Imagine that you are holding a straight current-carrying conductor in your
right hand such that the thumb points towards the direction of the current.
Then, your curved fingers wrapped around the conductor point in the
direction of the field lines of the magnetic field.

Magnetic Field due to a Current-carrying Circular Coil

● The magnetic field lines near the coil are nearly circular or concentric.
● The magnetic field at the centre of the coil is maximum and almost uniform.
● Looking at the face of a coil, if the current around it is in the clockwise
direction, then it faces the South Pole. If the current around it is in the
anticlockwise direction, then it faces the North Pole. This is called the Clock
rule.
● The magnitude of a magnetic field at the centre of the coil is
o Directly proportional to the current flowing through it
o Inversely proportional to the radius of the coil
o Directly proportional to the number of turns of the coil

Magnetic Field due to a Current-carrying Solenoid

● The pattern of the magnetic field lines around a current-carrying
solenoid is similar to that produced by a bar magnet as shown in the
figure below.
● The magnetic field inside a solenoid is uniform.
● In accordance with the Clock rule, the end of the solenoid at which
the current flows in the anticlockwise direction behaves as a North
Pole, while the end at which the current flows in the clockwise
direction behaves as a South Pole.
● The magnitude of the magnetic field inside the solenoid is directly
proportional to the
o Current flowing through it
o Number of turns per unit length of the solenoid

Force on a Current-carrying Conductor in a Magnetic Field

● A current-carrying conductor when placed in a magnetic field experiences a force.
● The direction of the force gets reversed when the direction of the current is reversed or when the direction of
the magnetic field is reversed.
● The force acting on a conductor is found to be maximum when the
current and magnetic field are at right angles to each other.
● When the conductor is placed parallel to the magnetic field, no force
acts on it.
● Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule gives the direction of the magnetic force
acting on the conductor.
● The force experienced by a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field is the underlying principle of an
electric motor where electric energy is converted into mechanical energy. Such motors are used to run many
electrical appliances, including fans, toys etc.

Electric motor
● An electric motor is a rotating device that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy.

Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule:

Stretch the thumb, forefinger and middle finger of the left hand such that they are mutually perpendicular to
each other. If the forefinger points in the direction of the field, and the middle finger in the direction of the
current, then the thumb gives the direction of motion or the force acting on the conductor.
● An electric motor consists of a rectangular coil ABCD of insulated copper wire. The coil is placed between
the two poles of a magnetic field such that the arm AB and CD are perpendicular to the direction of the
magnetic field.

● The ends of the coil are connected to the two halves P and Q of a split ring. The inner sides of these halves
are insulated and attached to an axle.
● The external conducting edges of P and Q touch two conducting stationary brushes X and Y, respectively.
● Current in the coil ABCD enters from the source battery through conducting brush X and flows back to the
battery through brush Y.
● The force acting on arm AB pushes it downwards while the force acting on arm CD pushes it upwards.
● Thus the coil and the axle O, mounted free to turn about an axis, rotate anti-clockwise.
● At half rotation, Q makes contact with the brush X and P with brush Y. Therefore the current in the coil gets
reversed and flows along the path DCBA.
● The split ring acts as a commutator which reverse the direction of current and also reverses the direction of
force acting on the two arms AB and CD.
● Thus the arm AB of the coil that was earlier pushed down is now pushed up and the arm CD previously
pushed up is now pushed down.
● Therefore the coil and the axle rotate half a turn more in the same direction. The reversing of the current is
repeated at each half rotation, giving rise to a continuous rotation of the coil and to the axle.
Commutator: A device that reverses the direction of flow of current through a circuit is called a commutator.
Armature: The soft iron core, on which the coil is wound including the coils is called armature. It enhances
the power of the motor.
Electromagnetic Induction (EMI)
● The phenomenon of generating an electric current in a circuit (coil) by changing the magnetic flux linked
with it is called electromagnetic induction.
● The change in magnetic flux in a coil may be due to the
o Relative motion between the coil and the magnet placed near it.
o Relative motion between the coil and a current-carrying conductor placed near it
o Change of current in the conductor placed near the coil
● This either happens when a conductor is set in a moving magnetic field (when utilizing AC power source)
or when a conductor is always moving in a stationary magnetic field. This law of electromagnetic induction
was found by Michael Faraday. He organized a leading wire according to the setup given underneath,
connected to a gadget to gauge the voltage over the circuit. So when a bar magnet passes through the snaking,
the voltage is
measured in the circuit. The importance of this is a way of producing electrical energy in a circuit by using
magnetic fields and not just batteries anymore. The machines like generators, transformers also the motors
work on the principle of electromagnetic induction.

Faraday’s law of Electromagnetic Induction

● First law: Whenever a conductor is placed in a varying magnetic field, EMF induces and this emf is called
an induced emf and if the conductor is a closed circuit than the induced current flows through it.
● Second law: The magnitude of the induced EMF is equal to the rate of change of flux linkages.
Based on his experiments we now have Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction according to which the
amount of voltage induced in a coil is proportional to the number of turns and the changing magnetic field of
the coil.
Fleming’s Right-Hand Rule is used to find the direction of induced current.

Stretch the thumb, forefinger and middle finger of the right hand such
that they are mutually perpendicular to each other. If the forefinger
points in the direction of the field and the thumb in the direction of the
motion of the conductor, then the middle finger gives the direction of the
induced current in the conductor.
Electric Generator
● An electric generator, mechanical energy is used to rotate a conductor in a magnetic field to produce
electricity.
● An electric generator consists of a rotating rectangular coil ABCD placed between the two poles of a
permanent magnet.
● The two ends of this coil are connected to the two rings R1 and R2. The inner side of these rings are made
insulated.
● The inner side of these rings are made insulated. The two conducting stationary brushes B1 and B2 are kept
pressed separately on the rings R1 and R2, respectively.
● The two rings R1 and R2 are internally attached to an axle. The axle may be mechanically rotated from
outside to rotate the coil inside the magnetic field.
● Outer ends of the two brushes are connected to the galvanometer to show the flow of current in the given
external circuit.
● When the axle attached to the two rings is rotated such that the arm AB moves up (and the arm CD moves
down) in the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnet.
● After half a rotation, arm CD starts moving up and AB moving down. As a result, the directions of the
induced currents in both the arms change, giving rise to the net induced current in the direction DCBA.
● The current in the external circuit now flows from B1 to B2. Thus after every half rotation the polarity of
the current in the respective arms changes.
To get a direct current (DC), a split-ring type commutator must be used. With this arrangement, one brush is
at all times in contact with the arm moving up in the field, while the other is in contact with the arm moving
down.
The direct current always flows in one direction, whereas the alternating current reverses its direction
periodically.

Domestic Electric Circuits

● In our homes, we receive electric power through a main supply called the mains. We receive an AC electric
power of 220 V with a frequency of 50 Hz.
● One of the wires in the electricity wiring of houses has a red insulation and is called the live wire. The
other, of black insulation is called the neutral wire. The third is the earth wire which has green insulation
and is connected to a metallic plate deep inside the Earth.
The earth wire in wiring is used as a safety measure to ensure that any leakage of current in the metallic body
does not give the user a severe shock.
A fuse is an important safety device used to protect circuits and appliances from short circuiting (which
occurs when a live wire and a neutral wire come in contact) or overloading (which occurs when an electric
circuit draws more current than the permitted value).
CHEMISTRY
 CHEMISTRY - CONTENT

1.ACIDS, BASES AND SALTS

INTRODUCTION:
In our daily life, we use a large number of edible substances such as lemon, baking soda, tamarind,
common salt, sugar, curd and vinegar. Some of these substances taste sour, some taste bitter, some taste sweet
and some taste salty. Acids, bases and salts are the three important groups of chemical substances that are
used by us in different ways. Some of the acids, bases and salts occur in nature and they can be made
artificially.
Acids:
It is defined as a chemical compound with a sour taste and a pH value less than 7. Examples of organic acids
are acetic acid (vinegar), citric acid (lemon juice), lactic acid (milk) and organic acids are hydrochloric acid
(HCl), sulphuric acid (H2SO4 ), nitric acid (HNO3).
Base:
It is defined as a chemical compound which has a bitter taste and a pH value more than 7. Examples are
sodium hydroxide (NaOH), calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2 ], potassium hydroxide (KOH).
Salt:
It is defined as a substance which is odourless, salty in taste and soluble in water. Its pH value is equal to 7.
ACID BASE THEORY:

 Arrhenius acid-base theory

 Lewis acid-base theory
 Bronsted Lowry conjugate acid-base pair
 Hard soft acid base theory
 pH scale acids and bases
Arrhenius acid-base theory
Arrhenius defines acids bases properties in water solution only.
 According to his definitions, an acid when dissolved in water, dissociate hydrogen ions and anions.
 Base when dissolved in water dissociates into hydroxyl ions and cations.
 Acids bases neutralization reaction has properties to the formation of the water molecules.
HCl → H+ + Cl−
NaOH → Na+ + OH−
H+ + OH− ⇆ H2O

Lewis acid base theory

INDICATORS:
Indicators – help to determine whether a substance is an acid or base in nature.
TYPES:
 Natural Indicators : Litmus, Turmeric and Red Cabbage, petals of flowers like Petunia and
Geranium;
 Litmus - natural, most common indicator used to determine the pH value of any substance. Acids
change the colour of blue litmus to red while Bases change the colour of red litmus paper to blue.

 Synthetic Indicators are Methyl Orange and Phenolphthalein synthesized in labs to test acids and
bases.
 Olfactory Indicators are Vanilla, Clove and Onion; they are substances which either lose their smell
or have no effect on their olfactories when added to acids or bases.
How do Acids and Bases React with Metals
 When acids react with metal, they release hydrogen gas and create a compound called Salt.
Acid + Metal → Hydrogen gas + Salt
 When base reacts with metal, they release hydrogen gas and produce salt.
 When sodium hydroxide reacts with zinc metal then it releases hydrogen gas and gives sodium zincate.
2NaOH(aq) + Zn(s) → Na2ZnO2 (s) + H2 (g) (Sodium zincate)
How Metal Carbonates and Metal Hydrogen carbonates react with Acids?
 Metal carbonate/Metal hydrogen carbonate + Acid → Salt + Carbon dioxide + Water
For instance, when Sodium Carbonate is mixed with Hydrochloric Acid, it produces Sodium Chloride,
Carbon dioxide, Water
Na2CO3 (S) + 2HCl (aq) → 2NaCl (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
How do They React with Each Other?
 When an acid reacts with a base, they tend to nullify each other’s effects. This is called a neutralisation
reaction because both substances have a neutralising effect on each other.
 A reaction between an acid and base results in the production of salt and water.
Acid + Base →Salt and Water
For instance, when sodium hydroxide is diluted with hydrochloric acid then it gives sodium chloride and
water
NaOH + HCl → NaCl + H2O
What Happens When Metallic Oxides React With Acids?
When metal oxide (also called basic oxides) reacts with acids, they nullify each other and give rise to its
corresponding salt and water.
CuO + 2HCl → CuCl2 + H2O
(Bluish green)
What Happens When Non-Metallic Oxides react with Bases?
Non- metallic oxides are acidic in nature which means that when a base reacts with non-metal
oxide, it nullifies the effect and produces salt and water.
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O
pH:
pH is quite useful to us in a number of ways in daily life. Some of its applications are:
Control of pH of the soil:
Plants need a specific pH range for proper growth. The soil may be acidic, basic or neutral
depending upon the relative concentration of H* and OH-. The pH of any soil can be determined by using pH
paper. If the soil is too acidic, it can be corrected by adding lime to it. If the soil is too basic, it can be corrected
by adding organic manure which contains acidic materials.
Regaining shine of a tarnished copper vessel by use of acids:
A copper vessel gets tarnished due to formation of an oxide layer on its surface. On rubbing lemon on
the vessel, the surface is cleaned and the vessel begins to shine again. This is due to the fact that copper oxide
is basic in nature, which reacts with the acid (citric acid) present in lemon to form a salt (copper citrate) which
is washed away with water. As a result, the layer of copper oxide is removed from the surface of the vessel and
the shining surface is exposed.
Self-defence by animals through chemical warfare:
 Stings of bees and ants contain methanoic acid. When stung, it causes lot of pain and irritation.
This can be cured by rubbing the affected area with mild base like baking soda.
Soil Treatment:
Excessive use of chemical fertilisers makes the soil acidic. Plants do not grow well when the soil
is either too acidic or too basic. When the soil is too acidic, it is treated with bases like quick lime (calcium
oxide) or slaked lime (calcium hydroxide). If the soil is basic, organic matter is added to it. Organic matter
releases acids which neutralises the basic nature of the soil.
Factory wastes:
The wastes of many factories contain acids. If they are allowed to flow into the water bodies, the
acids will kill fish and other organisms. The factory wastes are, therefore, neutralised by adding basic
substances.
ACID RAIN:
The rain containing excess of acids is called an acid rain. The rain becomes acidic because carbon dioxide,
sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide (which are released into the air as pollutants) dissolve in rain drops to
form Carbonic acid, Sulphuric acid and Nitric acid respectively. Acid rain can cause damage to buildings,
historical monuments, plants and animals.
BIOLOGY
 BIOLOGY - CONTENT
HEREDITY
Heredity and Inherited Traits: Mendel’s Experiment; Sex determination.
Heredity refers to the transmission of characters from parents to off springs. An inherited trait is a particular
genetically determined feature that distinguishes a person from the others for example; attached or free ear
lobes in human beings.

Rules for the inheritance of traits:

Mendel’s contribution: The rules for inheritance of traits in human beings are related to the fact that both
mother and father contribute an equal amount of genetic material i.e. DNA to their offspring. So an offspring
will get two versions of that trait from the two parents. Mendel worked out rules for inheritance of these traits.
Gregor Johann Mendel regarded as the ‘Father of Genetics’ performed his experiments with garden peas
(Pisum sativum) in the garden behind his monastery. He observed a number of contrasting characters in
garden peas and observed their inheritance.

Mendel’s Experiment: Mendel started his experiment on the pea plants. He conducted first monohybrid and
then dihybrid crosses.

Monohybrid Cross: The cross in which Mendel showed inheritance of dominant and recessive characters is
monohybrid cross. To observe inheritance of single pair of contrasting characters

he took pure tall (genotype TT) and pure dwarf (genotype tt) pea plants and cross pollinated them to obtain
first generation or first filial generation. In this figuration (F1 generation) he obtained only tall plants. This
meant that only one of the parental traits was seen, not the mixture of the two. The plants of F generation or
progeny are then self pollinated to obtain F2 generation or progeny. Now all plants were not tall. He obtained
75% tall plants and 25% dwarf plants i.e. the phenotypic ratio was 3:1. This indicates that in the F, generation
both tall and dwarf traits were inherited but tallness expressed it self. Tallness is a dominant trait and
dwarfness is a recessive trait. F2 generation has a genotypic ratio of 1 : 2 : 1 of three types of plants
represented by TT, Tt and tt as shown in the cross.
Conclusion: Phenotypic ratio—Tall : Dwarf 3 : 1
Genotype ratio—Pure Tall : Hybrid Tall : Pure Dwarf 1 : 2 : 1

Law of Dominance: When parents having pure contrasting characters are crossed then only one character
expresses itself in the Ft generation. This character is the dominant character and the character/factor which
cannot express itself is called the recessive character.

Dihybrid Cross: Mendel also carried out experiments to observe inheritance of two pairs of contrasting
characters, which is called dihybrid cross. He cross breed pea plants bearing round green seed with plants
bearing wrinkled and yellow seeds. In the Fx generation he obtained all round and yellow seeds it means
round and yellow traits of seeds are dominant features while wrinkled and green are recessive. He self-
pollinated the plants of F: generation to obtain F2 generation, he obtained four different types of seeds round
yellow, round green, wrinkled yellow and wrinkled green in the ratio of 9 : 3 : 3 : 1. He concluded that traits
are independently inherited
Conclusion

 Round and yellow seeds-9.

 Round and green seeds-3.
 Wrinkled and yellow seeds-3.
 Wrinkled and green seeds-1.

How do traits get expressed?

Cellular DNA is the information source for making proteins in the cell.
A part of DNA that provides information for one particular protein is called a gene for that protein for
example; the height of a plant depends upon the growth hormone which is in turn controlled by the gene. If
the gene is efficient and more growth hormone is secreted the plant will grow tall. If the gene for that
particular protein gets altered and less of it is secreted when the plant will remain short. Both the parents
contribute equally to the DNA of next generation during sexual reproduction. They actually contribute a copy
of the same gene for example; when tall plant is crossed with short plant the gametes will have single gene
either for tallness or for shortness. F1 generation will get one gene for tallness and other for shortness also.
How do germ cells i.e. gametes get single set of genes from parents who have two copies in them ?
Each gene set is present, not as a single long thread of DNA, but as separate independent pieces each called a
chromosome. Each cell gets two copies of the chromosome, one from each parent. Each germ cell or gamete
has one copy of it because there is reductional division in the sex organs at the time of formation of gametes.
When fertilization takes place normal number of chromosomes is restored in the progeny ensuring the
stability of DNA of the species.
How is the sex of a newborn individual determined?
It is the process by which sex of a newborn can be determined.
Different species use different strategies for this :
 In some animals the temperature at which fertilized eggs are kept determines whether the
developing animals will be males or females.
 Some animals like snails can change sex indicating that sex is not genetically determined.
 In human beings sex of the individual is determined genetically; means genes inherited from
the parents decide the sex of the offspring.

Sex determination in human beings: In human beings, all chromosomes are not paired. 22 chromosomes are
paired but one pair called sex chromosome is odd in not having a perfect pair in males. Females have a perfect
pair both represented by XX. On the other hand males have a normal sized X but the other is short called Y so
it is shown as XY. All gametes or ova formed by the homogenetic female are similar i.e. have X chromosome.
Males heterogenetic form two types of sperms i.e. half with X chromosome and the other half with Y
chromosome. Sex of the baby will depend on fertilization. There are two possibilities :

Autosomes: Those chromosomes which do not play any role in sex determination.
Sex chromosomes: Those chromosomes which play a role in determining sex of the newborn.

 If the sperm having X chromosome fertilizes with ovum with X chromosome then the baby
will have XX chromosome and it will be female.
 If the sperm having Y chromosome fertilizes with ovum with X chromosome then the baby
will have XY chromosomes and it will be male.

 How to Organisms Reproduce

Role of DNA in reproduction:

We know that production of new organisms from existing organisms of the same species is known as
reproduction. DNA plays an important role in this, because chromosomes present in the nucleus of a cell
contains information to be transferred to offspring, in the form of DNA. This DNA in cell nucleus is the
information source for making proteins, which perform a lot of important functions in our body.

Therefore, a very important event in our body is the creation of DNA copy. From a single DNA, a copy is
made, which then has to be separated, although this again is a very complicated process. Effectively, a cell has
to divide to give rise to two cells.

These cells end up having some variations, thus the DNA copies generated are not identical with the original
one. These variations can or cannot be harmful.

In some cases, these variations are important, as they can give them a chance to survive when environmental
changes take place.

Sexual and asexual reproduction:

In asexual mode of reproduction, the offspring arises from a single parent, without the involvement of
gametes or sex cells.

However, in sexual reproduction, the offspring arises from two parents of different sexes, by combination of
their gametes.
We will study both these in detail, one by one.

Modes of asexual reproduction:

Fission: Many single-celled organisms simply split or break into 2 identical halves, leading to the creation of
two new organisms. This is called fission. For example, Amoeba, some protozoa and bacteria. However, some
single-celled organisms divide into many daughter cells simultaneously, rather than just 2. This is called
multiple fission and is shown by Plasmodium. Some Important Diagrams:

 Fragmentation – Now, some multi-cellular organisms with simpler body design also have the ability to
simply divide in 2 parts, where each part gives rise to a complete organism. For example, Spirogyra
 Regeneration – In many multi-cellular organisms, it is observed that some body parts can give rise to new
complete organisms. For example, Planaria can be cut into any number of pieces, and each piece gives rise to
a new individual, as seen in the diagram below:

 Budding – in budding, a small part of the of the parent’s body grows out as a bud, which then detaches
and becomes a new organism. For example, it takes place in Hydra.

 Vegetative propagation – This method occurs in plants. In this method, new plants are obtained from the
parts of old plant (like stems, roots and leaves). This is used for reproducing plants
like sugarcane, rose, etc. the advantage of using this method is that plants obtained
by this method bear fruits earlier, and we can also reproduce the plants that have
lost the ability to produce seeds.
 Spore formation – In this method, the parent plant produces hundreds of
microscopic reproductive units called ‘spores’. When these spores spread in air,
they land on food or soil or such a substance and under favourable conditions,
these germinate and produce new organisms. For example, Rhizopus.

Sexual reproduction in flowering plants

Main parts of a flower are sepals, petals, stamens and carpel. Out of this, stamen
and carpel are the reproductive parts.

Stamen – male reproductive part and it produces pollen grains

 Carpel – female reproductive part and is present in middle
of the flower. It in turn consists of three parts – swollen
bottom part (ovary), middle elongated part (style) and
terminal sticky part (stigma)

Ovary contains ovule – each ovule has an egg cell

Fusion of this female egg cell with male egg cell gives the
zygote, which is eventually gives rise to a new plant. This
process of fusion is called fertilization.

Now for this fusion to occur, pollen has to reach the ovary. For this, a tube grows out of the pollen grain and
travels through the style to reach the ovary.

After fertilization, zygote undergoes repeated division to form an embryo. The ovule is finally converted into
a seed. It contains the future plant, which develops under suitable conditions and the process is called
germination.
Ovary grows and turns into a fruit
Meanwhile, petals, sepals, stamens, etc fall off.
Sexual reproduction in humans

You must have observed that when a child is small, it becomes difficult to distinguish from appearance
whether the child is a boy or a girl.

But as we grow, changes start taking place in the body. These changes have been summarised below:

The period during which adolescent boys and girls reach sexual maturity and become capable of reproduction
is called puberty.

Changes that take place in boys during puberty
 Hair growth on face (moustache and beard),
chest, armpits and pubic regions
 Voice deepens
 Testes Increase in heightstarts to make sperms
 Chest and shoulders broaden
 Body becomes muscular (due to development of 
muscles)
 Rapid increase in height
Changes that take place in girls during puberty
 Breasts develop and enlarge
 Ovaries start releasing eggs (ova)
 Menstruation begins
 Hips broaden
 Hair growth in armpits and pubic regions
Let us now look at Male Reproductive System.

The male reproductive system consists of parts that make the germ
cells, and parts that deliver them to the site of fertilization.

The male sex-cells are sperms, that are tiny bodies that consist of
mainly genetic material and a long tail that helps them to move
towards the female germ-cell.

1. The formation of germ cells or sperms takes place in testes,

which are located outside the abdominal cavity in scrotum.
2. The sperms formed are delivered through the vas deferens.
3. Along this path, glands like the prostate and the seminal vesicles add their secretions to provide the
sperms a fluid medium to travel.

Female Reproductive System –

1. The female germ-cells are made in the ovaries. After

maturation, one egg is produced every month by one of the
ovaries.
2. The egg is carried from the ovary to the womb through
the fallopian tube.
3. The two oviducts unite into the uterus.
4. The uterus opens into the vagina through the cervix.
Let us now study how fertilisation takes place.

For fertilization to happen, male egg has to fuse with female egg cell. This is done in the following manner:

1. The sperms from the male enter through the vaginal passage during sexual intercourse.
2. They travel upwards and reach the oviduct where they may encounter the egg.
3. The cells fuse together, and the fertilised egg, the zygote, gets implanted in the lining of the uterus, and
starts dividing.
4. The embryo gets nutrition from the mother’s blood with the help of a special tissue called placenta. It
provides a large surface area for glucose and oxygen to pass from the mother to the embryo and waste
substances to pass from embryo to mother.
5. The child develops inside mother’s body and is born as a result of rhythmic contractions of the muscles in
the uterus.
Now, have you wondered what happens if fertilization does not take place!?

We saw that the ovary releases one egg every month. Thus, the uterus also prepares itself every month to
receive a fertilised egg. Its lining becomes thick and spongy for this purpose.

This would be required for nourishing the embryo if fertilisation had taken place.

Now, however, this lining is not needed any longer. So, the lining slowly breaks and comes out through the
vagina as blood and mucous. This cycle takes place roughly every month and is known as menstruation. It
usually lasts for about two to eight days.

Reproductive Health

We all know that our country’s population is increasing day by day, and this creates problem as we have a
limited number of resources. Therefore, birth control methods are being actively spread today. Not only this,
unsafe sexual act can also lead to many diseases, called sexually transmitted diseases. You can now see these
and some birth control methods on your screen now.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD):

1. Gonorrhoea (caused by bacteria)

2. Syphilis (caused by bacteria)
3. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) (caused by virus, HIV)

Birth control methods:

1. Barrier methods – this involves condoms, diaphragms. These devices prevent sperm from meeting the
ovum
2. Chemical methods – females can use 2 types of pills – oral pills and vaginal pills. Both of these help in
avoiding pregnancy
3. Intra-uterine Contraceptive Devices – example copper-T. It is placed inside woman’s uterus and prevents
implantation of fertilized egg in her uterus
4. Surgical methods – in males, this process is called ‘vasectomy’ and involves removal and then tying up a
part of vas deferens. In females, it is called ‘tubectomy’ and involves removal and tying up of a small portion
of oviducts.
 LIFE PROCESSES
Life Process Class 10 Science Notes

Nutrition in Plants and Animals – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

 Nutrition: The process by which an organism takes food and utilizes it, is called nutrition.
 Need for Nutrition: Organisms need the energy to perform various activities. The energy is supplied by
the nutrients. Organisms need various raw materials for growth and repair. These raw materials are provided
by nutrients.
 Nutrients: Materials which provide nutrition to organisms are called nutrients. Carbohydrates, proteins
and fats are the main nutrients and are called macronutrients. Minerals and vitamins are required in small
amounts and hence are called micronutrients.
 Modes of Nutrition
1. Autotrophic Nutrition.
2. Heterotrophic Nutrition.

Autotrophic Nutrition – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

The mode of nutrition in which an organism prepares its own food is called autotrophic nutrition. Green plants
and blue-green algae follow the autotrophic mode of nutrition.

 The organisms which carry out autotrophic nutrition are called autotrophs (green plants).

 Autotrophic nutrition is fulfilled by the process, by which autotrophs intake CO2 and H2O, and convert
these into carbohydrates in the presence of chlorophyll, sunlight is called photosynthesis.
 Equation
Nutrition in Plants: Green plants prepare their own food. They make food in the presence of sunlight.
Sunlight provides energy’, carbon dioxide and water are the raw materials and chloroplast is the site where
food is made.

What is Photosynthesis in biology class 10?

Photosynthesis: The process by which green plants prepare food is called photosynthesis.

 During this process, the solar energy is converted into chemical energy and carbohydrates are formed.
 Green leaves are the main site of photosynthesis.
 The green portion of the plant contains a pigment chloroplast, chlorophyll (green pigment).
 The whole process of photosynthesis can be shown by the following equation:

Raw Materials for Photosynthesis:

 Sunlight
 Chlorophyll: Sunlight absorbed by chloroplast
 CO2: Enters through stomata, and oxygen (O2) is released as a byproduct through stomata on the leaf.
 Water: Water + dissolved minerals like nitrogen, phosphorous etc., are taken up by the roots from the soil.

How do raw materials for photosynthesis become available to the plant?

 Water comes from the soil, through the xylem tissue in roots and stems.
 Carbon dioxide comes in the leaves through stomata.

Site of Photosynthesis: Chloroplast in the leaf. Chloroplast contains chlorophyll (green pigment)

Main Events of Photosynthesis:

 Absorption of light energy by chlorophyll.

 Conversion of light energy into chemical energy + splitting (breaking) of water into hydrogen and oxygen.
 Reduction of CO2 to carbohydrates.
 Sunlight activates chlorophyll, which leads to splitting of the water molecule.
 The hydrogen, released by the splitting of a water molecule is utilized for the reduction of carbon dioxide
to produce carbohydrates.
 Oxygen is the by-product of photosynthesis.
 Carbohydrate is subsequently converted into starch and is stored in leaves and other storage parts.
 The splitting of water molecules is a part of the light reaction.

Other steps are part of the dark reaction during photosynthesis.

Stomata – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

 Stomata: These are tiny pores present in the epidermis of leaf or stem through which gaseous exchange
and transpiration occur.

Functions of stomata

 Exchange of gases, O2 and CO2.

 Loses a large amount of water (water vapour) during transpiration.
Opening and closing of stomatal pores:

 The opening and closing of stomatal pores are controlled

by the turgidity of guard cells.
 When guard cells uptake water from surrounding cells,
they swell to become a turgid body, which enlarges the pore in
between (Stomatal Opening).
 While, when water is released, they become flaccid
shrinking to close the pore (Stomatal Closing).

Significance of Photosynthesis:

 Photosynthesis is the main way through which solar energy is made available for different living beings.
 Green plants are the main producers of food in the ecosystem. All other organisms directly or indirectly
depend on green plants for food.
 The process of photosynthesis also helps in maintaining the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the
air.

Heterotrophic Nutrition – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

The mode of nutrition in which an organism takes food from another organism is called heterotrophic
nutrition. Organisms, other than green plants and blue-green algae follow the heterotrophic mode of nutrition.
Heterotrophic nutrition can be further divided into three types, viz. saprophytic nutrition, holozoic nutrition,
and parasitic.
 Saprophytic Nutrition: In saprophytic nutrition, the organism secretes the digestive juices on the food.
The food is digested while it is still to be ingested. The digested food is then ingested by the organism. All the
decomposers follow saprophytic nutrition. Some insects, like houseflies, also follow this mode of nutrition.
 Holozoic Nutrition: In holozoic nutrition, the digestion happens inside the body of the organism. i.e.,
after the food is ingested. Most of the animals follow this mode of nutrition.
 Parasitic Nutrition: The organism which lives inside or outside another organism (host) and derives
nutrition from it is known as parasites and this type of mode of nutrition is called parasitic nutrition. For
example Cuscuta, tick etc.

Nutrition in Amoeba

 Amoeba is a unicellular animal which follows the holozoic mode of

nutrition.
 In holozoic nutrition, the digestion of food follows after the ingestion of
food. Thus, digestion takes place inside the body of the organism.
 Holozoic nutrition happens in five steps, viz. ingestion, digestion,
absorption, assimilation and egestion.

Steps of Holozoic Nutrition:

 Ingestion: The process of taking in the food is called ingestion.

 Digestion: The process of breaking complex food substances into simple
molecules is called digestion. Simple molecules, thus obtained, can be absorbed by the body.
 Absorption: The process of absorption of digested food is called absorption.
 Assimilation: The process of utilization of digested food, for energy and for growth and repair is called
assimilation.
 Egestion: The process of removing undigested food from the body is called egestion.

Amoeba is a unicellular animal which follows the holozoic mode of nutrition. The cell membrane of amoeba
keeps on protruding into pseudopodia. Amoeba surrounds a food particle with pseudopodia and makes a food
vacuole. The food vacuole contains food particle and water. Digestive enzymes are secreted in the food
vacuole and digestion takes place. After that, digested food is absorbed from the food vacuole. Finally, the
food vacuole moves near the cell membrane and undigested food is expelled out.

Nutrition in Human Beings – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

Human beings are complex animals, which have a complex digestive system. The human digestive system is
composed of an alimentary canal and some accessory glands. The alimentary canal is divided into several
parts, like oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. Salivary gland, liver and
pancreas are the accessory glands which lie outside the alimentary canal.

Structure of the Human Digestive System:

The human digestive system comprises of the alimentary canal and associated digestive glands.

 Alimentary Canal: It comprises of mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine.
 Associated Glands: Main associated glands are
o Salivary gland
o Gastric Glands
o Liver
o Pancreas

Mouth or Buccal Cavity:

 The mouth has teeth and tongue. Salivary glands are also present in the mouth.
 The tongue has gustatory receptors which perceive the sense of taste.
 The tongue helps in turning over the food so that saliva can be properly mixed in it.
 Teeth help in breaking down the food into smaller particles so that, swallowing of food becomes easier.
 There are four types of teeth in human beings. The incisor teeth are used for cutting the food.
 The canine teeth are used for tearing the food and for cracking hard substances.
 The premolars are used for the coarse grinding of food. The molars are used for fine grinding of food.
Salivary glands secrete saliva: Saliva makes the food slippery which makes it easy to swallow the food.
Saliva also contains the enzyme salivary amylase or ptyalin. Salivary amylase digests starch and converts it
into sucrose, (maltose).

Oesophagus: Taking food from mouth to stomach by Peristaltic movement.

Peristaltic movement: Rhythmic contraction of muscles of the lining of the alimentary canal to push the food
forward.

Stomach

 Stomach is a bag-like organ. Highly muscular walls of the stomach help in churning the food.
 The walls of the stomach secrete hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid kills the germs which may be
present in food.
 Moreover, it makes the medium inside the stomach as acidic. The acidic medium is necessary for gastric
enzymes to work.
 The enzyme pepsin, secreted in the stomach, does partial digestion of protein.
 The mucus, secreted by the walls of the stomach saves the inner lining of the stomach from getting
damaged from hydrochloric acid.

Small Intestine: It is a highly coiled tube-like structure. The small intestine is longer than the large intestine
but its lumen is smaller than that of the large intestine. The small intestine is divided into three parts, like
duodenum, jejunum and ileum.

Liver: Liver is the largest organ in the human body. The liver manufactures bile, which gets stored in the gall
bladder. From the gall bladder, bile is released as and when required.
Pancreas: Pancreas is situated below the stomach. It secretes pancreatic juice which contains many digestive
enzymes.

Bile and pancreatic juice go to the duodenum through a hepatopancreatic duct. Bile breaks down fat into
smaller particles. This process is called emulsification of fat. After that, the enzyme lipase digests fat into fatty
acids and glycerol. Trypsin and chymotrypsin are enzymes which digest protein into amino acids. Complex
carbohydrates are digested into glucose. The major part of digestion takes place in the duodenum.
Large Intestine:

 Large intestine is smaller than the small intestine.

 Undigested food goes into the large intestine.
 Some water and salt are absorbed by the walls of the large intestine. After that, the undigested food goes
to the rectum, from where it is expelled out through the anus.
 Large Intestine bbsorb excess of water. The rest of the material is removed from the body via the anus.
(Egestion).

Respiration – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

Types of respiration, aerobic and anaerobic respiration, human respiratory system, respiration in plants.

Respiration: The process by which a living being utilises the food to get energy, is called respiration.
Respiration is an oxidation reaction in which carbohydrate is oxidized to produce energy. Mitochondria is the
site of respiration and the energy released is stored in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is
stored in mitochondria and is released as per need.

Steps of respiration:

 Breaking down of glucose into pyruvate: This step happens in the cytoplasm. Glucose molecule is
broken down into pyruvic acid. Glucose molecule is composed of 6 carbon atoms, while pyruvic acid is
composed of 3 carbon atoms.
 Fate of Pyruvic Acid: Further breaking down of pyruvic acid takes place in mitochondria and the
molecules formed depend on the type of respiration in a particular organism. Respiration is of two types, viz.
aerobic respiration and anaerobic respiration.
 Respiration involves
o Gaseous exchange: Intake of oxygen from the atmosphere and release of CO2 → Breathing.
o Breakdown of simple food in order to release energy inside the cell → Cellular respiration

Types of Respiration – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

 Aerobic respiration: This type of respiration happens in the presence of oxygen. Pyruvic acid is
converted into carbon dioxide. Energy is released and water molecule is also formed at the end of this process.
 Anaerobic respiration: This type of respiration happens in the absence of oxygen. Pyruvic acid is either
converted into ethyl alcohol or lactic acid. Ethyl alcohol is usually formed in case of anaerobic respiration in
microbes, like yeast or bacteria. Lactic acid is formed in some microbes as well as in the muscle cells.
o Glucose (6 carbon molecule) → Pyruvate (3 carbon molecules) + Energy
o Pyruvate (In yeast, lack of O2) → Ethyl alcohol + Carbon dioxide + Energy
o Pyruvate (In muscles, lack of O2) → Lactic Acid + Energy
o Pyruvate (In mitochondria; the presence of O2) → Carbon dioxide + Water + Energy

The equations for the above reactions can be written as follows:

Pain in leg muscles while running:

 When someone runs too fast, he may experience throbbing pain in the leg muscles. This happens because
of anaerobic respiration taking place in the muscles.
 During running, the energy demand from the muscle cells increases. This is compensated by anaerobic
respiration and lactic acid is formed in the process.
 The deposition of lactic acid causes pain in the leg muscles. The pain subsides after taking rest for some
time.

Exchange of gases:

 For aerobic respiration, organisms need a continuous supply of oxygen, and carbon dioxide produced
during the process needs to be removed from the body.
 Different organisms use different methods for the intake of oxygen and expulsion of carbon dioxide.
 Diffusion is the method which is utilized by unicellular and some simple organisms for this purpose.
 In plants also, diffusion is utilized for exchange of gases.
 In complex animals, respiratory system does the job of exchange of gases.
 Gills are the respiratory organs for fishes. Fishes take in oxygen which is dissolved in water through gills.
 Since, availability of oxygen is less in the aquatic environment, so the breathing rate of aquatic organisms
is faster.
 Insects have a system of spiracles and trachease which is used for taking in oxygen.
 Terrestrial organisms have developed lungs for exchange of gases.
 Availability of oxygen is not a problem in the terrestrial environment so breathing rate is slower as
compared to what it is in fishes.

Terrestrial organisms: Use atmospheric oxygen for respiration.

Aquatic organisms: Use dissolve oxygen for respiration.

The human respiratory system is composed of a pair of lungs. These are attached to a system of tubes which
open on the outside through the nostrils.
Following are the main structures in the human respiratory system:

1. Nostrils: There are two nostrils which converge to form a nasal passage. The inner lining of the nostrils is
lined by hair and remains wet due to mucus secretion. The mucus and the hair help in filtering the dust
particles out from inhaled air. Further, air is warmed up when it enters the nasal passage.
2. Pharynx: It is a tube-like structure which continues after the nasal passage.
3. Larynx: This part comes after the pharynx. This is also called voice box.
4. Trachea: This is composed of rings of cartilage. Cartilaginous rings prevent the collapse of trachea in the
absence of air.
5. Bronchi: A pair of bronchi comes out from the trachea, with one bronchus going to each lung.
6. Bronchioles: A bronchus divides into branches and sub-branches inside the lung.
7. Alveoli: These are air sacs at the end of bronchioles. The alveolus is composed of a very thin membrane
and is the place where blood capillaries open. This is alveolus, where the oxygen mixes with the blood and
carbon dioxide exits from the blood. The exchange of gases, in alveoli, takes place due to the pressure
differential.
 Passage of air through the respiratory system in human beings:

Breathing Mechanism

 The breathing mechanism of lungs is controlled by the diaphragm and the intercostalis muscles.
 The diaphragm is a membrane which separates the thoracic chamber from the abdominal cavity.
 When the diaphragm moves down, the lungs expand and the air is inhaled.
 When the diaphragm moves up, the lungs contract and air are exhaled.
Transportation – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

Circulatory system of human being, transportation in plants. Human beings like other multicellular organism
need a regular supply of foods, oxygen etc. This function is performed by a circulatory system or transport
system.

Transportation in Human Beings: The circulatory system is responsible for transport of various substances
in human beings. It is composed of the heart, arteries, veins and blood capillaries. Blood plays the role of the
carrier of substances.

1. Heart: Heart is a muscular organ, which is composed of cardiac muscles.

 It is so small that, it can fit inside an adult’s wrist. The heart is a pumping organ which pumps the blood.
 The human heart is composed of four chambers, viz. right atrium, right ventricle, left ventricle and left
atrium.
 Systole: Contraction of cardiac muscles is called systole.
 Diastole: Relaxation of cardiac muscles is called diastole.

2. Arteries:

 These are thick-walled blood vessels which carry oxygenated blood from the heart to different organs.
 Pulmonary arteries are exceptions because they carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to lungs, where
oxygenation of blood takes place.
3. Veins:

 These are thin-walled blood vessels which carry deoxygenated blood from different organs to the heart,
pulmonary veins are exceptions because they carry oxygenated blood from lungs to the heart.
 Valves are present in veins to prevent back flow of blood.

4. Capillaries: These are the blood vessels which have single-celled walls.

Blood: Blood is a connective tissue which plays the role of the carrier for various substances in the body.
Blood is composed of 1. Plasma 2. Blood cells 3. Platelets.

 Blood plasma: Blood plasma is a pale coloured liquid which is mostly composed of water. Blood plasma
forms the matrix of blood.
 Bloods cells: There are two types of blood cells, viz. Red Blood Cells (RBCs) and White Blood Cells
(WBCs).
(a) Red Blood Corpuscles (RBCs): These are of red colour because of the presence of haemoglobin which is a
pigment. Haemoglobin readily combines with oxygen and carbon dioxide. The transport of oxygen happens
through haemoglobin. Some part of carbon dioxide is also transported through haemoglobin.
(b) White Blood Corpuscles (WBCs): These are of pale white colour. They play important role in the
immunity.
 Platelets: Platelets are responsible for blood coagulation. Blood coagulation is a defense mechanism
which prevents excess loss of blood, in case of an injury.
Lymph:

 Lymph is similar to blood but RBCs are absent in lymph.

 Lymph is formed from the fluid which leaks from blood capillaries and goes to the intercellular space in
the tissues. This fluid is collected through lymph vessels and finally return to the blood capillaries.
 Lymph also plays an important role in the immune system.
 Lymph a yellowish fluids escape from the blood capillaries into the intercellular spaces contain less
proteins than blood.
 Lymph flows from the tissues to the heart assisting in transportation and destroying germs.

Double circulation: In the human heart, blood passes through the heart twice in one cardiac cycle. This type
of circulation is called double circulation. One complete heartbeat in which all the chambers of the heart
contract and relax once is called cardiac cycle. The heart beats about 72 times per minute in a normal adult. In
one cardiac cycle, the heart pumps out 70 mL blood and thus, about 4900 mL blood in a minute. Double
circulation ensures complete segregation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood which is necessary for
optimum energy production in warm-blooded animals.

Transportation in plants: Plants have specialized vascular tissues for transportation of substances. There are
two types of vascular tissues in plants.

 Xylem: Xylem is responsible for transportation of water and minerals. It is composed of trachids, xylem
vessels, xylem parenchyma and xylem fibre. Tracheids and xylem vessels are the conducting elements. The
xylem makes a continuous tube in plants which runs from roots to stem and right up to the veins of leaves.
 Carry water and minerals from the leaves to the other part of the plant.
 Phloem: Phloem is responsible for transportation of food. Phloem is composed of sieve tubes, companion
cells, phloem parenchyma and bast fibers. Sieve tubes are the conducting elements in phloem.
 Carries product of photosynthesis from roots to other part of the plant.
Transportation in plants

Ascent of sap: The upward movement of water and minerals from roots to different plant parts is called
ascent of sap. Many factors are at play in ascent of sap and it takes place in many steps. They are explained as
follows :

 Root pressure: The walls of cells of root hairs are very thin. Water from soil enters the root hairs because
of osmosis. Root pressure is responsible for movement of water up to the base of the stem.
 Capillary action: A very fine tube is called capillaiy, water, or any liquid, rises in the capillary because of
physical forces and this phenomenon is called capillary action. Water, in stem, rises up to some height
because of capillaiy action.
 Adhesion-cohesion of water molecules: Water molecules make a continuous column in the xylem because
of forces of adhesion and cohesion among the molecules.
 Transpiration pull: Loss of water vapour through stomata and lenticels, in plants, is called transpiration.
Transpiration through stomata creates vacuum which creates a suction, called transpiration pull. The
transpiration pull sucks the water column from the xylem tubes and thus, water is able to rise to great heights
in even the tallest plants.
 Transport of food: Transport of food in plants happens because of utilization of energy. Thus, unlike the
transport through xylem, it is a form of active transport. Moreover, the flow of substances through phloem
takes place in both directions, i.e., it is a two-way traffic in phloem.
Transpiration is the process of loss of water as vapour from aerial parts of the plant.

Functions

 Absorption and upward movement of water and minerals by creating pull.

 Helps in temperature regulation in plant.

Transport of food from leaves (food factory) to different parts of the plant is called Translocation.

Excretion – Life Processes Class 10 Notes

Human excretory system, excretion in plants.

Excretion in human beings:

 Removal of harmful waste from the body is called excretion.

 Many wastes are produced during various metabolic activities.
 These need to be removed in time because their accumulation in the body can be harmful and even lethal
for an organism.
Human Excretory System:

 The human excretory system is composed of a pair of kidneys.

 A tube, called ureter, comes out of each kidney and goes to the urinary bladder.
 Urine is collected in the urinary bladder, from where it is expelled out through urethra as and when
required.

Excretory system of human beings includes :

 A pair of kidneys.
 A urinary bladder.
 A pair of the ureter.
 A urethra.

Kidney:

 Kidney is a bean-shaped organ which lies near the vertebral column in the abdominal cavity.
 The kidney is composed of many filtering units, called nephrons.
 Nephron is called the functional unit of kidney.

Nephron

 It is composed of a tangled mess of tubes and a filtering part, called glomerulus.

 The glomerulus is a network of blood capillaries to which renal artery is attached.
 The artery which takes blood to the glomerulus is called afferent arteriole and the one receiving blood
from the glomerulus is called efferent arteriole.
 The glomerulus is enclosed in a capsule like portion, called bowman’s capsule. The bowman’s capsule
extends into a fine tube which is highly coiled.
 Tubes from various nephrons converge into collecting duct, which finally goes to the ureter.
Urine formation in the kidney: The urine formation involves three steps:

 Glomerular filtration: Nitrogenous wastes, glucose, water, amino acid filter from the blood into bowman’s
capsule of the nephron.
 Tubular reabsorption: Now, useful substances from the filtrate are reabsorbed back by capillaries
surrounding the nephron.
 Secretion: Extra water, salts are secreted into the tubule which opens up into the collecting duct and then
into the ureter.

Urine produced in the kidneys passes through the ureters into the urinary bladder where it is stored until it is
released through the urethra.
The purpose of making urine is to filter out waste product from the blood i.e., urea which is produced in the
liver.

Haemodialysis: The process of purifying blood by an artificial kidney. It is meant for kidney failure patient.

Excretion in Plants

 Other wastes may be stored in leaves, bark etc. which fall off from the plant.
 Plants excrete some waste into the soil around them.
 Gums, resin → In old xylem
 Some metabolic wastes in the form of crystals of calcium oxalates in the leaves of colocasia and stem of
Zamikand.

OUR ENVIRONMENT
Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable Wastes, Ecosystem, Components of Ecosystem. The environment
includes our physical surroundings like air (or atmosphere), water bodies, soil (land and all the organisms
such as plants, animals, human beings and micro-organisms like bacteria and fungi (called decomposers). The
waste materials produced by the various activities of man £nd animals are poisonous to some extent and can
be divided into two main groups

1. Biodegradable Wastes: Substances that are broken down by the biological processes are said to be
biodegradable. These substances are decomposed through the actions of fungi, bacteria, and other living
organisms. Temperature and sunlight also play an important role in the decomposition of biodegradable
substances.
For Examples: Food waste, trees leaves, urine and fecal matter, sewage agricultural residue, paper, wood,
cloth, cow-dung etc.

2. Non-Biodegradable Wastes: Substances that are not broken down by biological

processes. These substances may be in solid, liquid or gaseous form. These substances are inert and simply
persist in the environment for a long time or may harm the various members of the ecosystem.
For Examples: These includes DDT (Di-chloro-di phenyl trichloro ethane-in-pheneyle the cheoro ethane),
insecticides, pesticides, mercury, lead, arsenic aluminum, plastics, polythene bags, glass, radioactive wastes.
These non-biodegradable wastes are major pollutants of the environment.
Harmful effects of biodegradable and Non-Biodegradable Substance

1. The waste destroys the natural beauty and our surroundings become dirty.
2. Decomposition of these wastes results in the production of foul smell, which spreads to the surrounding
areas.
3. These wastes may also block the drains creating pools of waste, which becomes the breeding sites of
mosquitoes. The latter is carriers of diseases like malaria and dengue.

Difference between Biodegradable and Non-Biodegradable wastes

Ecosystem: An ecosystem is a self-contained unit of living things (plants, animals and decomposers), and
their non-living environment (soil, air and water). For example; a forest, a pond, a lake, a green land etc.
In an ecosystem, energy and matter are continuously exchanged between living and non¬living components.
An ecosystem can be both natural or man-made. Some examples of natural ecosystems are grass land, forest,
sea, river, desert, mountain, pond, lake etc.

The desert, grass land and mountains represent the terrestrial ecosystem (land-based ecosystem).
The ponds, rivers, lakes and sea represent the aquatic ecosystem (water-based ecosystem). Man-made
artificial ecosystems are garden, crop fields, park, aquarium, etc.
Components of Ecosystem: There are two components of an ecosystem : (i) biotic component and (ii) abiotic
component.
1. Biotic component: It includes three types of organisms :
(a) Producers: All green plants, blue green algae can produce their food (Sugar and starch) from inorganic
substance using light energy (Photosynthesis). Therefore, all green plants are called producers. They are also
called autotrophs.
Planktons are very minute or microscopic organisms freely floating on the surface of water in a pond, lake,
river or ocean. Planktons are of two types : Phytoplanktons and Zooplanktons.
The microscopic aquatic plants freely floating on the surface of water are called phytoplanktons.
The microscopic aquatic animals freely floating on water are called zooplanktons. The freely floating
protozoa are an example of zooplankton.

(b) Consumers: They are organisms which consume other organisms or their products as their food. All
animals belong to this category. The consumers depend upon producers for their food directly or indirectly.
They get their food by eating other organisms or their products. For example, man, goat, deer, fish, lion, cow,
buffalo, etc., are common consumers.
The consumers can be classified into the following types :

 Herbivores.
 Carnivores.
 Parasite.
 Omnivores.

(i) Herbivores: These are organisms (animals) which get their food by eating the producers (or plant) directly.
Herbivores are also called first order consumers. Some common examples of herbivores are : deer, rabbit, rat,
squirrel, goat, cattle, etc.

(ii) Carnivores: These are organisms (animals) which consume other animals. Therefore, carnivores feed on
the flesh of herbivores. These are also called primary carnivores or second order consumers. Some common
examples are snake, wild cat, jackal, frog, some birds, fishes, etc.
There are animals which prey upon primary carnivores. They are called second order consumers or third order
consumers. For example, owl, peacock, tiger, lion, etc., are some second order carnivores and may be eaten by
third order carnivores. The carnivores which are not preyed upon further are called top carnivores. For
example, lion is a top carnivore.

(iii) Omnivores: The organisms which feed on both plants and animals are called omnivores. Human beings
are common example of omnivores because they eat both plants (For example; pulses, grams, oilseeds, fruit,
etc.) and animal products (milk, meat, egg, etc.).
(c) Decomposers: Fungi and bacteria which break down (decompose) the dead plants, animals complex
compounds into the simpler one. The decomposers help in the replenishment of natural resources. These are
also known as microorganism or saprotrophs. These are also called reducers.

Importance of Decomposers

 Decomposers help in disposing of the wastes and dead bodies of plants and animals. Therefore, they clean
the environment and create space for a living of newer generations of organisms.
 The decomposers release minerals and other raw materials trapped in organic matter. These are picked up
by plants. This also helps to maintain the fertility of soil.
 The decomposers produce some acids which are useful in solubilization of some minerals.
 Decomposers help in recycling the materials in the biosphere so that, the process of life may go on and on
like an unending chain.

2. Abiotic Components: These are non-living components of an ecosystem. These include the physical
environment.

 Edaphic factors like soil texture, topography, water, and air.

 Inorganic substances like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, water, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and
calcium. These are involved in the cyclic of materials in the ecosystem.
 Organic compounds like proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. These largely form the living body and link
the abiotic and biotic components.

Climatic factors: These are sunlight temperature, pressure humidity, moisture, rainfall, etc. these factors
affect the distribution of the organisms.

Functions of an Ecosystem

 Ecosystem indicates available solar energy and the efficiency of an ecosystem to trap the same.
 It gives information about the available essential minerals and their recycling periods.
 It provides knowledge about the web of interactions and inter-relationship among the various population
as well as between the population and the abiotic environment.
 It helps human beings to know about conservation of resources, protection from pollution and inputs
required for maximizing productivity.
 In the ecosystem, two processes of energy flow and biogeochemical cycles (nutrients movement) proceed
side by side. The energy flow is unidirectional while the movement of nutrients is cyclic.

Food chain, Food web, Trophic levels. Flow of energy ten percent law, Depletion of the ozone layer,
Biological magnification. Mode of waste disposal.

Food Chain: The sequence of living organisms in a community in which one organism consumes another
organism to transfer food energy, is called a food chain.
A food chain is unidirection where transfer of energy takes place in only one direction.
OR
Food chain is sequential process which represents “who eats whom”.
OR
Food chain refers to an arrangement of different biotic groups in a sequence of energy transfer. These biotic
groups are producer herbivores, carnivores.
For example, T1(Grass) → T2(Deer) → T3(Lion)
Examples of Food Chains: Simple food chain operating in a grass land or forest
Grass(Producer) → Deer(Herbivore) → Lion(Carnivore)
In this food chain, grass represent the producers (first tropic level). Grass synthesize their own food by the
process of photosynthesis. Grass is eaten up by deer, which represents the herbivores or the primary
consumers. Deer in turn is consumed by lion, the carnivores or the secondary consumers.
A food chain in grassland which has four steps is :
Grass(Producers) → Insect(Herbivores) → Frog(Carnivores) → Eagle(Secondary Carnivore)

Significance of Food Chains

 The study of food chains helps in understanding food relationships and interactions among the various
organisms in an ecosystem. The food chains, transfer energy and materials between various living
components of an ecosystem.
 The food chains transfer energy and materials between various living components in an ecosystem or
biosphere.
 The food chains give dynamicity to an ecosystem or biosphere.
 The movement of toxic substances like pesticides, weedicides, etc., through food chains, can prove very
harmful.

Food Web: The inter-connected food chains operating in an ecosystem which establish a network of
relationship between various species, are called a food web.
In a food web, one organism may occupy a position in more than one food chain. An organism can obtain its
food from different sources and in turn, may be eaten up by different types of organisms.

Trophic Levels: The various steps in the food chain at which the transfer of food (or energy) takes place is
called trophic levels.
There is a gradual decrease in the amount of energy transfer from one trophic level to the next trophic level in
a food chain.
So only 10% of energy is transferred to next trophic level while 90% of energy is used by present trophic level
in its life processes.
The various trophic levels are given below :

 The plant or the producers constitute the first trophic level.

 The herbivores or primary consumers form the second trophic level.
 Carnivores or secondary consumers make up the third trophic level.
 Large carnivores or the tertiary consumers which feed upon the small carnivores constitute the fourth
trophic level.

Flow Open Energy

Energy is used and conveyed from one trophic level to another in a food chain. This is called flow of energy.
Green plants capture about 1% of the solar energy incident on the Earth through the biochemical process of
photosynthesis. A part of this trapped energy is used by plants in performing their metabolic activities and
some energy is released as heat into the atmosphere. The remaining energy is chemical energy stored in the
plants as ‘carbohydrates’. When plants are eaten up by herbivores, the chemical energy stored in the plants is
transferred to these animals. These animals (herbivores) utilize some of this energy for metabolic activities,
some energy is “released as heat and the remaining energy is stored. The process of energy transferred is
similarly repeated with carnivores and so on.

Ten percent law: Ten percent law states that only 10 percent of the energy entering a particular trophic level
of organisms is available for transfer to the next higher trophic level.

For example, Suppose 1000 J of solar energy is received by green plants, then only 1% of solar energy
available on earth is utilized by plants. So only 10 J (1% of 1000 J) is trapped by plants and the rest 990 J of
energy is lost to the environment. So, plants utilizes only 10 J of energy. Next, only 10% of the 10 J energy of
plant, that is, 1 J, is available to the herbivore animal while 9 J is lost to the environment. Again, just 10% of
the 1 J of energy of herbivore animals is utilized by carnivore animals. Thus, carnivore animals have only 0.1
J of energy while 0.9 J is lost to the environment.

Environmental Problems: Changes in the environment affect us and our activities change the environment
around us. This led to the slow degradation of the environment that arose many environmental problems. For
Example; depletion of the Ozone Layer and waste disposal.

Depletion of Ozone Layer: Ozone (O3) layer is largely found in the stratosphere which is a part of our
atmosphere from 12 km -50 km above sea level. This region is called ozonosphere. Ozone is deadly poisonous
at the ground level.
Ozone is formed as a result of the following photochemical reaction.
Ozone layer is a protective blanket around earth which absorbs most of the harmful U.V. (Ultraviolet)
radiation of the Sun, thus, protecting the living beings of the Earth from health hazards like skin cancer,
cataract in eyes, weaken immune system, destruction of plants etc. The decline of Ozone layer thickness in
Antarctica was first discovered in 1985 and was termed as OZONE HOLE.

Steps taken to limit damage of ozone layer: Excessive use of CFCs (Chloro Flouro Carbon) a synthetic, inert
chemical. For example; Freon which are used as refrigerants and also in fire extinguishers caused Ozone
depletion in the upper atmosphere. A single chlorine atom can destroys 1,00,000 Ozone molecules. U.N.E.P.
(United Nation Environment Programme) did an excellent job in forging an agreement to freeze CFC
production at 1986 levels (KYOTO Protocol) by all countries.

Biological Magnification: The increase in concentration of harmful chemical substances like pesticides in the
body of living organisms at each trophic level of a food chain is called biological magnification.
Example:

Maximum concentration of such chemicals gets accumulated in human bodies.

Garbage Disposal: Industrialization and rise in demand of consumer goods have created a major problem in
the form of wastes/garbage accumulation and its disposal especially in urban areas.
The disposal of waste should be done in a scientific way. There are different methods of waste disposal. The
method to be used depends on the nature of the waste. Some of the important modes of waste disposal are :

 Incineration: Burning of waste on high temperature to form ash is called incineration. This process is
carried out in an incinerator. Incineration is used to destroy household, chemical and biological wastes.
 Open dumping: A conventional method in which solid waste are dumped in selected areas of a town. It
actually cause pollution
 Land fillings: Wastes are dumped in low living areas and are compacted by rolling with bulldozers
 Composting: Organic wastes are filled into a compost pit (2m × 1m × 1m). It is then covered with a thin
layer of soil. After about three months the same garbage filled inside the pit changes into organic manure.
 Recycling: The solid wastes is broken down into its constituent simpler materials. These materials are
then used to make new items. Even non-bio degradable solid wastes like plastic, metal can be recycled.
 Reuse: A very simple conventional technique of using an item again and again. For example; paper can be
reused for making envelops, etc…

Environment: The combination of all the physical and biological conditions affecting the responses of living
organisms is called environment.

Biodegradable wastes: The wastes which are broken down by the activity of micro¬organisms and enter into
the biogeochemical cycle are known as biodegradable wastes.
Non-biodegradable wastes: The wastes which cannot be broken down by the enzymes produced by
microorganisms into simpler and harmless products in nature are called non- biodegradable wastes.

Garbage: Domestic wastes including the kitchen waste are termed as garbage.

Incineration: Destruction of waste materials by burning at high temperature is called incineration.

Biotic Community: A group of various populations of organisms living in a region is called the biotic
community.

Ecosystems: The self-contained and distinct functional unit capable of independent existence made by the
interaction of living and non-living components is called an ecosystem.

Ecosystem component consists of two components- Abiotic and biotic

 Abiotic: Components consist of inorganic and organic substances and climatic factors.
 Biotic: Components consist of a living organism.

Autotrophs: Those organisms which can produce their own food are called autotrophs or producers. All
green plants are producers.

Consumers: Those organisms which are unable to synthesise their food themselves and consume the food
produced by producers or eat other organisms as food, are known as consumers.

Decomposers: Bacteria and fungi which break down the complex organic compounds present in the dead
plants and animals and their products into simpler substances are known as decomposers.

Food Chain: A series of organisms in a community in which one organism consumes another organism to
transfer food energy is called a food chain.
Characteristics:

 A food chain helps in understanding the food relationship and interactions among various organisms in an
ecosystem.
 There is a progressive decline in the amount of energy available as we move from one trophic level to
another in a food chain.

Trophic levels: Each step of the food chain is known as a trophic level. 10% of food taken by one trophic
level is available for the next trophic level.

Food Web: The web formed by the interconnection of food-chains of the various trophic levels is called a
food web.

Biomagnification: The increase in the concentration of the harmful chemicals in the body of an
organism per unit its mass at each successive trophic level in a food chain is known as biomagnification.

Ozone Depletion: The thinning of the ozone layer is called ozone depletion.
Ozone-depleting substances: Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), oxides of nitrogen, methane, carbon tetrachloride
and chlorine are the ozone-depleting substances.

Four practices which can help in the protection of our environment:

 Disposal of wastes after separating them into biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste material.
 Use of unleaded petrol and alternate sources of energy, and keeping the engine properly tuned and
serviced and the tyres inflated to the right pressure so that the vehicle runs efficiently.
 The use of gunny bags and paper bags in place of polythene/plastic bags.
 Activities such as gardening, rain-water harvesting and use of compost in place of fertilizers will help
protect our environment from further damage.

Harmful effects of agricultural practices on the environment.

 Excessive use of fertilisers changes the chemistry of soil and kills useful microbes.
 Excessive use of non-biodegradable chemical pesticides leads to biological magnification.
 Extensive cropping causes loss of soil fertility.
 Excess use of groundwater for agriculture lowers the water table.
 Agricultural practices lead to some amount of damage to the natural ecosystem/habitat.

1. Environment: The physical, chemical and ‘ biological conditions of the region in which an organism lives
is called its Environment. It includes air, light, soil, temperature, water and the presence or absence of other
organisms, i.e., the conditions for development or growth.
The environment has three main components, viz :

 Physical surroundings [soil, air and water bodies]

 Living organisms [plants, animals, decomposers (bacteria and fungi)]
 Meteorological factors (or climatic factors) . [sunlight, temperature, rainfall, humidity, pressure and wind
speed].

2. Physical environment: It is also called a abiotic or non-living environment. It includes :

 Soil, water bodies and air on the surface of the earth.

 Meteorological factors.

The physical environment is essential for :

 Supply of nutrient elements to the living beings.

 Providing space to the organisms for living.
 Controlling weather of a place.

3. Biotic (or biological) environment: It includes :

 Plants.
 Animals (including human beings).
 Decomposers (bacteria and.fungi).
Other important constituents of the biotic environment includes Kites and vultures as they feed on dead
organisms and act as scavengers (cleansing agents) of the environment.

4. Ecosystem: A community of organisms, interacting with each other, plus the environment in which they
live and with which they also interact. The examples of the ecosystem are a pond; a desert; a forest; a lake; a
river; a mountain; the sea.
All the above ecosystems are made up of two main components.

5. Autotrophs (Producers) and Heterotrophs (consumers):

6. Food chain: The sequence of living organisms in a . community in which one organism.e^ts other and is
itself eaten by another organism to transfer energy is called a food chain. It is also defined as, “chain of
organisms, existing in any natural community, through which energy is transferred”.

7. Ozone layer : Ozone (O3) is a molecule formed by three atoms of oxygen unlike oxygen which is required
for respiration by aerobic forms, ozone is a deadly poison. However, at the higher levels of the atmosphere,

ozone performs an essential function. It shields the surface of the earth from ultraviolet (UV) radiation from
the Sun. This radiation is highly damaging to organisms, for example, it is known to cause skin cancer in
human beings.
Ozone at the higher levels of the atmosphere is a product of UV radiation, acting on oxygen (O2) molecule.
The higher energy UV radiations split apart some molecular
oxygen (O2) into free oxygen (O) atoms. These atoms then combine with the molecular oxygen to form ozone
as shown:
Depletion of ozone layer: Ozone layer gets depleted – due to the use of chemicals called aerosol, spray
propellants like chlorofluorocarbons. Depletion of ‘ ozone layer would cause skin cancer in men and animals
and severe damage to the plants.

8. Biological magnification: It means accumulation of non-biodegradable chemicals (like pesticides) in the

living organisms (like plants, animals, including man) in a food chain. “The increase in the concentration of
harmful chemicals in the body of living organisms at each trophic level of a food chain is called biological
magnification”.

9. Biodegradable wastes and Non-biodegradable wastes:

10. A generalised food chain:

11. Food web: A food web is a network of food chains which establish a network of relationships between
various species. Food web showing 8 interlinked food chains.
13. The flow of energy between various components of the environment:

 Green plants capture about 1 % of the energy and convert it into food energy.
 About f % of the food eaten is turned into the body of an organism and made available for the next level
of consumers.
 About 10% of organic matter is present at each step and reaches the next level of consumers.
 Since so little energy is available for the next level of consumers, food chains generally consist of only
three or four steps. The loss of energy at each step is so great that very little usable energy remains after four
trophic levels.
 There are generally a greater number of individuals at the lower trophic levels of an ecosystem, the
greatest number is of the producers.

REGULATORS
Endocrine System: The endocrine system is composed of several endocrine glands. A ductless gland is called
endocrine gland. Endocrine gland secretes its product directly into the bloodstream. Hormones are produced
in the endocrine glands. Hormone is mainly composed of protein. Hormones assist the nervous system in
control and co-ordination. Nervous do not react to every nook and corner of the body and hence hormones are
needed to affect control and coordination in those parts. Moreover, unlike nervous control, hormonal control
is somewhat slower.

Hormones: These are the chemical messengers secreted in very small amounts by specialised tissues called
ductless glands. They act on target tissues/organs usually away from their source. Endocrine System helps in
control and coordination through chemical compounds called hormones.

Endocrine Gland: A ductless gland that secretes hormones directly into the bloodstream.

Endocrine Gland Location Hormones Produced Functions

GH stimulates growth.
Growth hormone (GH).
TSH stimulates the
Pituitary gland (also Thyroid stimulating
At the base of the functioning of the thyroid
known as the master hormone (TSH). Follicle
brain gland.
gland) stimulating hormone
FSH stimulates the follicles
(FSH)
during ovulation.
 Controls general
Thyroid Gland Neck Thyroxine metabolism and growth in
the body.

Prepares the body for

emergency situations and
Adrenal gland Above kidneys Adrenalin
hence is also called ‘Fight
and flight’ hormone.

Pancreas Near stomach Insulin Controls blood sugar level

Sperm production,
development of secondary
Testis (male) In Scrotum Testosterone
sexual characters during
puberty.

Egg production,
development of secondary
Ovary (female) Near uterus Oestrogen
sexual characters during
puberty.
Iodised salt is necessary because: Iodine mineral is essential part of thyronine hormone so it is important that
we must consume iodised salt as in turn it is essential for thyroid gland as it controls carbohydrate, proteins
and fat metabolism for best balance of growth deficiency of iodine might cause disease called goitre.

Diabetes: Cause : It is due to deficiency of insulin hormone secreted by pancreas that is responsible to
lower/control the blood sugar levels.

Treatment : Patients have to internally administer injections of insulin hormone which helps in regulating
blood-sugar level.

In case of flight or fight reaction to an emergency situation, Adrenal glands → release adrenaline into blood
→ which acts on heart and other tissues → causes faster heart beat → more oxygen to muscles → reduced
blood supply to digestive system and skin → diversion of blood to skeletal muscles → increase in breathing
rate.

Feedback mechanism: A type of self-regulating mechanism in which the level of one substance in body
influences the level of another.
Control and Co-ordination in Plants: Movements in plants and plant harmones.
Co-ordination in Plants: Unlike animals, plants do not have a nervous system. Plants use chemical means for
control and co-ordination. Many plant hormones are responsible for various kinds of movements in plants.
Movements in plants can be divided into two main types :

1. Tropic movement
2. Nastic movement

1. Tropic Movement: The movements which are in a particular direction in relation to the stimulus are called
tropic movements. Tropic movements happen as a result of growth of a plant part in a particular direction.
There are four types of tropic movements.
(i) Geotropic movement: The growth in a plant part in response to the gravity is called geotropic movement.
Roots usually show positive geotropic movement, i.e. they grow in the direction of the gravity. Stems usually
show negative geotropic movement.

(ii) Phototropic Movement: The growth in a plant part in response to light is called phototropic movement.
Stems usually show positive phototropic movement, while roots usually show negative phototropic
movement. If a plant is kept in a container in which no sunlight reaches and a hole in the container allows
some sunlight; the stem finally grows in the direction of the sunlight. This happens because of a higher rate of
cell division in the part of stem which is away from the sunlight. As a result, the stem bends towards the light.
The heightened rate of cell division is attained by increased secretion of the plant hormone auxin in the which
is away from sunlight.

(iii) Hydrotropic Movement: When roots grow in the soil, they usually grow towards the nearest source of
water. This shows a positive hydrotropic movement.

(iv) Thigmotropism Movement: The growth in a plant part in response to touch is called thigmotropism
movement. Such movements are seen in tendrils of climbers. The tendril grows in a way so as it can coil
around a support. The differential rate of cell division in different parts of the tendril happens due to action of
auxin.

2. Nastic Movement: The movement which do not depend on the direction from the stimulus acts are called
nastic movement. For example, when someone touches the leaves of mimosa, the leaves droop. The drooping
is independent of the direction from which the leaves are touched. Such movements usually happen because
of changing water balance in the cells. When leaves of mimosa are touched, the cells in the leaves lose- water
and become flaccid, resulting in drooping of leaves.
Plant hormones: Plant hormones are chemical which help to co-ordinate growth, development and responses
to the environment.
Type of plant hormones: Main plant hormones are
 Auxin: (Synthesized at shoot tip).
Function: Helps in growth.
Phototropism: more growth of cells towards the light.
 Gibberellin: Helps in the growth of the stem.
 Cytokinins: Promotes cell division.
 Abscisic acid: Inhibits growth, cause wilting of leaves. (Stress hormone)

Control and Coordination in Plants

 Stimuli: The change in the environment to which an organism responds.

 Co-ordination: Working together of various organs of an organism in a systematic manner to produce a
proper response.
 Phyto-hormones: These are plant hormones.
 Auxin: It is a plant hormone which promotes cell enlargement and growth in plants.
 Gibberellins: A plant hormone which promotes cell differentiation and breaking dormancy of seeds and
buds.
 Cytokinin: A plant hormone which promotes cell division and the opening of stomata.
 Abscisic Acid: It helps in inhibiting the growth of the plant and promotes wilting and falling of leaves and
food.
 Tropism: A growth movement of a plant which determines direction with the stimulus.
 Nastism: A growth movement of a plant which does not determine direction with a stimulus.
 Phototropism: Movement of plants towards a light.
 Geotropism: Movement of plants towards the gravity of earth.
 Chemotropism: Movement of plants towards chemicals.
 Hydrotropism: Movement of plants towards the water.
 Thigmotropism: Movement of plants towards a response to the touch of an object.
 GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE
 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE - CONTENT

PLANTS & ANIMALS

Essential oils, plants, uses of animals

OUR ENVIRONMENT
Environment means what surrounds us. The term "Environment" refers to the surroundings in which living
organisms, including humans, exist and interact with each other and their surroundings. It encompasses both
the natural and built elements that shape our lives and influence our well-being.

Environment means what surrounds us. The term "Environment" refers to the surroundings in which living
organisms, including humans, exist and interact with each other and their surroundings. It encompasses both
the natural and built elements that shape our lives and influence our well-being.

FOOD CHAIN
A food chain is a simple representation of the feeding relationships in an ecosystem, and a network of two or
more than two food chains is called the food web.
A typical food chain consists of the following components:
1. Producers (eg. Grass)
2. Primary Consumers (eg. Grasshopper)
3. Secondary Consumers (eg. Frogs)
4. Tertiary Consumers (eg. Snake)
5. Decomposers (eg. Fungi/ Bacteria)
What is a rock?
A rock is a solid collection of minerals. There are three main types of rock, classified by how they are sourced
and formed:
 sedimentary
 igneous
 metamorphic

PHYSICAL WEATHERING OF ROCKS

OCEAN
 An ocean is a continuous body of salt water that is contained in an enormous basin on Earth’s surface.
The major oceans and their marginal seas cover nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface, with an average
depth of 3,688 metres (12,100 feet).

 The five major oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern oceans.
  By volume, 97.957 percent of the water on Earth exists as oceanic water and associated sea ice. Earth
is unique in the solar system because its mean temperature allows water to exist on Earth in all three
phases—solid, liquid, and gaseous—with the liquid phase predominating.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

1. Indian aerospace – Nation Center for Combustion R&D - IIT Madras.
2. ZEROe aircraft - India will contribute - research and development - work towards building.
3. Which the construction is centered around - The spar is a structural component - wing and provides the
main support and strength. - to distribute the aerodynamic forces and weight - rigid and stable during flight.
4. Added to a pure monocoque structure to support larger - powerful aircraft - longitudinal structural members
- fuselage and provide additional strength and rigidity- powerful engines.
5. 3D printers use a high-powered laser - polymer powder - printing and eliminates - complex geometrie -
including interior features – undercuts - thin walls and negative features.
6. Metal powders or wire - materials are strong and durable - making them suitable for applications -
industries.

THE WORLD
Indian Polity- Art & Culture – Boundaries & Plateaus – Monuments

SOCIAL STUDIES
Social work Research- Indian Geography
LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

MEDIA
Role of press and publications – Journalism – Media in India-

LIFE SKILLS
Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable humans to deal effectively with the
demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency.
In other words, life skills are skills that prepare an individual to live independently and productively within a
society.
Major categories:
Thinking skills (critical thinking, creative thinking, Problem solving, decision making)
Personal skills (self-awareness, self-management)
Critical thinking,
Communication skills,
Decision-making,
Interpersonal relationship skills,
Empathy and coping with stress skills.
It helps them tap into their capabilities, develop real-life skills, and prepare themselves to be successful in the
careers of their choice.
Skill-based learning improves employability and helps the youth earn more. Furthermore, it improves the
economy of a country and promotes its financial growth.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
Government schemes, business, economy &banking, defence, technologies, judicial, olymbic games, awards,
honours&person, politics,agriculture
REASONING
 REASONING – CONTENT

SERIES COMPLETION
Series completion problems deal with number’s alphabets and both together. While attempting to solve the
question, you have to check the pattern of the series. Series moves with certain mathematical operations. You
have to check in the examination:
(i) Find the missing term (s). (ii) Find the word term(s).

NUMBER SERIES:
(a) Some Important Patterns:
(i) a, a $ d, a $ 2d, a $ 3d.....................(Arithmetic Progression)
(ii) a, ak, ak2, ak3, .........................(Geometric Progression)
(iii) Series of prime number - i.e. 2,3,5,7,11 ................
(iv) Series of composite numbers - i.e. 4, 6,8,9,10,12.............
(v) a,a/k,a/k2,a/k3………………… (Geometric Progression)

ANALOGY
The word analogy means to make a comparison between two objects or ideas. This is a common practice in
the English language, considered helpful in writing and literature as in the daily figures of speech. Although
there are many forms of comparison, a literary term that covers most types of comparison is perhaps known as
an analogy. For example: ‘she’s as blind as a bat’, ‘life is a box of chocolates’, and so on.

CLASSIFICATION
Classification means ‘to assort the items of a given group on the basis of certain common quality they possess
and then spot the stranger out’.
 Read and understand the information carefully: Understand what is being asked in the question1.
 Analyze critical logical information: Look at the options and try to find a common trait or
characteristic among them.
 Think of all the possible solutions: Consider all possible traits that could be common among the
options1.
 Compare the answer obtained with other possibilities: Check if the trait you’ve identified applies to
three out of four options.
 Come to a correct logical conclusion: The option that doesn’t share the common trait is your answer.

Types of classification questions include:

1. Choosing the Odd Number: Analyze the relationships of the given numbers.
2. Choosing the Odd Numeral Pair: Figure out which pair or group is incorrect.
3. Picking the Odd Word: Choose the correct word from a list.
4. Choosing a Group of Odd Letters: Figure out which letter is incorrect.
5. Picking the Odd Set of Word: Choose based on your knowledge of synonyms and antonyms.

CODING DECODING:
Coding is a method of sending a message to the receiver, such that the third person doesn’t know about it.
Code language is formed by certain rules & patterns. To know this language following certain rules is called
‘Decoding’
TYPES OF CODING - DECODING:
(i) Letter - letter coding
(ii) Letter - number coding
(iii) To code letter/words in puzzle form
(iv) To code some objects in puzzle form
(v) To code as per table form/column form

How to prepare for coding-decoding questions?

 Read the question carefully and relate each coded letter.
 Once you understand the pattern, apply the same into word asked for the code.
 Try to learn the rank of each letter of the alphabet.
 In a letter to number coding, use their ranks to find the pattern.
 Practice each type of pattern to be comfortable with every type of question.

BLOOD RELATIONS
Problems on Blood Relations involve analysis of information showing blood relationship among members of a
family. In the questions, as chain of relationship is given in the form of information and on the basis of these
information relations between any two members of the chain in asked. Students are supposed to be familiar with
the knowledge of different relationship in a family.

SEQUENTIAL OUTPUT TRACING

A word and number arrangement machine when given an input line of words and numbers rearranges them
following a particular rule.
Sequential Output Tracing questions are a type of reasoning problem where a sequence of operations is
performed on an input to generate an output. Here are some steps to solve these types of questions:

 Understand the Problem: Read the problem carefully and understand the sequence of operations that
are being performed.
  Identify the Pattern: Try to identify the pattern or rule that is being followed in the sequence of
operations. This could be a certain order of rearrangement, a mathematical operation, or any other rule.

 Apply the Pattern: Once you have identified the pattern, apply it to the given input to generate the
output.

 Check Your Answer: Finally, check your answer with the given output to ensure it is correct.

Here are some examples:

 A word arrangement machine, when given an input line of words, rearranges it in every step following
a certain rule1.
 An electronic device when fed with the numbers, rearranges them in a particular order following
certain rules1.
 The admission ticket for an exhibition bears a password which is changed after every clock hour based
on set of words chosen for each day

DIRECTIONS SENSE TEST

There are four directions such as North, East and West. The word NEWS came from North, East, West and
south.
There are four regions:
North-East (i);
North-West (ii) ;
South-East (iii) ;
South - West (iv)

The directions OP, OS, OQ and OR are: North - East direction; North - West direction; South - West
direction; and South-East direction respectively. Distinguish between the regions and directions, i.e., between
North-East region and North-East direction. If you move with you face Eastwards, your left hand in towards
North and your right hand in towards South. Similarly the positions of the directions of the hands can be fixed
when you move in any of the other three directions.

LOGICAL VENN DIAGRAM

Solving logical Venn diagram based questions involves understanding the relationships between different
groups of things. Here are some steps to help you solve these types of questions:
 Mark up your circles with the given information and label the sets and regions.
 Use addition and subtraction to find the missing values in the regions. Use the formulas n(A ∪ B) = n(A) +
n(B) – n(A ∩ B) and n(A ∩ B) = Φ if the sets are disjoint.
 Allocate the neither region, which is the number of elements that are not in any of the sets.
 Finish the maths by adding up all the regions to get the total number of elements.
 Answer the question by finding the required region or set.

ALPHABET TEST (SERIES OF LETTERS):

(a) Pattern of Alphabets Show Variation Based on:
(i) Position of the letters
(ii) Difference between the alphabets

(i) Position of alphabets:

“A” Preceded by “B” means B A

“A” Followed by “B” means A B
“A” Precedes “B” means A B
“A” Follows “B” means B A
The Vowels are A, E, I, O, U
The Consonants are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z
A number which is divisible by any number except 1, are known as Prime Numbers.
Examples of Prime Numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, etc.
A number which is divisible by 2, is known as Even Numbers.
Examples of Even Numbers are 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, etc.
A number which is not divisible by 2 is known as Odd Numbers.
Examples of Odd Numbers are 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, etc.

NUMBER TEST
To solve number test based questions, you need to identify the pattern or rule that connects the numbers
in the sequence. Here are some steps and tips to help you:

Practice: Familiarize yourself with common types of sequences through practice1.

Basic Maths: Brush up on your basic arithmetic knowledge1.
Multiple Solutions: There could be more than one logical relationship between terms in the pattern1.
Check the Difference: Look at the difference between terms1.
Estimate: You can make an estimate if you’re unsure1.
LOGICAL TEST

Here are some steps to solve logical test-based questions:

 Read and understand the information carefully: Before you start solving, make sure you understand the
question and the information provided1.
 Analyze critical logical information: Look for patterns, sequences, and relationships between shapes or
numbers21.
 Think of all the possible solutions: Consider different possibilities that could lead to the answer1.
 Compare the answer obtained with other possibilities: Check your answer against other possible
solutions to ensure it’s correct1.
 Come to a correct logical conclusion: After analyzing all the information and possibilities, draw a
logical conclusion

ALPHA NUMERIC TEST

What do you mean by Alphanumeric Series?

Alphanumeric Series contains both alphabets as well as numbers, these questions have combinations of letters,
numbers and symbols also (such as @, &, and *,). We can say that alphanumeric questions are good scoring
and easy to solve questions in the Reasoning section. Students must have to attempt these questions and build
your score better in the exams.

Following are the topics which contain Alphanumeric Series :-

1. Alphabet Series
2. Alphanumeric Series
3. Numerical Series
4. Alphanumeric Symbol & Sequence Series

Let’s discuss the above topics:-

Alphabet Series: - Alphabet Series consists of words, where you have to apply words by rearranging them.

Alphanumeric Series: - Alphanumeric Series contains alphabets and numbers only.

Numerical Series: - Numerical Series contains set of numbers only.

Alphanumeric Symbol & Sequence Series: - This series contains alphabet numbers and symbols which are
arranged in a sentence.

MATHEMATICAL OPERATIONS
To solve mathematical operations based questions, you can follow these steps:

 Identify the operation: Look for key words that indicate what operation is needed to perform1. For
example, “sum” indicates addition, “difference” indicates subtraction, “product” indicates
multiplication, and “quotient” indicates division2.
  Translate the problem: Translate the problem into mathematical expressions or equations1. This
might involve replacing words with symbols or letters equivalent to signs3.

 Follow the BODMAS rule: The easiest way to solve these questions is to follow the BODMAS
rule3. As per this rule, you will have to begin solving the equation by eliminating the brackets, then
the order (powers and square roots, etc.), then division and multiplication (from left to right), and
finally addition and subtraction (from left to right)3.

 Solve the equation: Use the information and equations generated to solve for the answer

INSERTING THE MISSING CHARACTER

 To solve questions that involve inserting the missing character, you need to identify the pattern or
trend in the given data. This could be a mathematical operation, a sequence, or a pattern related to the
positions of letters in the alphabet. Here are some steps you can follow:

 Identify the Pattern: Look for common patterns or trends in the given characters or numbers. This
could be an arithmetic progression, a geometric progression, or even a specific sequence of letters.

 Apply the Pattern: Once you’ve identified the pattern, apply it to find the missing character. This
might involve performing a mathematical operation or identifying a corresponding letter in the
alphabet.

 Verify Your Answer: After you’ve identified what you believe to be the missing character, make sure
it fits with the rest of the pattern. If it doesn’t, you may need to reassess your understanding of the
pattern1234.

 For example, if you have a series like this: 4 x 1 = 4, 4 x 2 = 8, 8 x 3 = 24, 24 x 4 = 96, 96 x 5 = 480,
and you need to find the next number in the series, you would continue the pattern by multiplying