ACTIVITY 1

How to study plant cells?

Materials Required:
Onion bulb, slides, covers slips, forceps, needle, brush, watch glass, glycerine,
safranin/methylene blue and compound microscope.

Procedure:
1. Take out a peel from the inner side of the fleshy scale leaf of onion bulb.
2. Put the peel in watch glass containing water and cut it into small rectangular pieces.
3. Transfer the cut pieces into another watch glass having safranin/ methylene blue, and leave
the peel for about 3 minutes.
4. Wash the peel with water to remove excess stain.
5. Put a drop of glycerine in the middle of a clean slide and transfer the stained peel onto it.
6. Place the cover slip on the material by lowering it slowly with the help of a needle.
7. Remove excess glycerine with blotting paper.
8. Keep the prepared slide on the stage of the microscope and observe under low power.
9. Draw what you have observed under microscope and label the diagram.

Fig. 1 Cells observed in an onion peel

Inference:
1. The onion peel cells are rectangular in shape and compactly arranged.
2. Each cell is surrounded by a thick cell wall.
3. A dense spherical body, the nucleus, is seen in each cell.
4. Cell membrane can also be observed.
 ACTIVITY 2
How to study animal cells?

Materials Required:
Wooden ice cream spoon, slides, cover slips, needle, brush, methylene blue, compound
microscope and glycerine.

Procedure:
1. Rinse your mouth with fresh water and gently scrap the inner side of the cheek with the
blunt edge of a wooden ice cream spoon.
2. Transfer the scrapped material into a drop of water on a clean slide.
3. Spread the material uniformly, and add a drop of methylene blue stain. After 3 minutes,
add a drop of glycerine over the material.
4. Place a cover slip on the material, by lowering it slowly with the help of a needle.
5. Remove excess glycerine with blotting paper.
6. Keep this prepared slide on the stage of the microscope and observe under low power.
7. Draw what you have observed under the microscope and label
the diagram.

Fig. 2 Animal cells

Inference:
1. Cheek cells are polygonal in shape.
2. Cell membrane and nucleus are visible.

Precaution:
1. Scrap the inner lining of the cheek very gently.
2. Avoid air bubbles while placing cover slip.

Extension:
You can observe other type of animal cells with the help of
permanent slides of muscles, blood, epithelium, etc.
 ACTIVITY 3
How to prepare and identify a homogenous mixture and a heterogeneous mixture?

Materials Required:
Sodium chloride/sugar, sand/chalk powder, water, micro beaker, stirring rod, funnel, filter
paper, tripod, starch powder and kerosene burner.

Procedure:
Part A
How to prepare a homogenous mixture (solution)?
1. Take 5 mL of water in a 10 mL micro beaker and add one spatula full of sodium chloride/
sugar to it.
2. Stir it well and filter.
3. What do you observe on the filter paper?
4. Do you observe any particles settling down in the solution?

Part B
How to prepare a suspension?
1. Take 5 mL of water in a micro beaker and add one spatula of sand/chalk powder to it.
2. Stir it well and observe carefully.
3. Filter the solution through a filter paper.
4. What do you observe on the filter paper?

Part C
How to prepare a colloidal solution?
1. Take one spatula of starch powder in a 10 mL micro beaker and make its paste with water.
2. Add the paste gradually by constant stirring to another beaker containing 5 mL water.
3. Heat the mixture with constant stirring. Do not boil.
4. Cool it and filter.
5. What do you observe on the filter paper? Do you observe some turbidity in the filtrate?

In this colloidal solution, you cannot see the particles of starch, whereas you could see the
particles of sand in the suspension. The particles in colloids are so small that you cannot see
them with naked eyes. But you can prove them to be present when a beam of light is passed
through the solution. These become visible by scattering the light.

Mixture in Part A is homogeneous mixture.

Mixture in Part B and Part C are heterogeneous mixtures
 Fig. 3
(a) Solution of sodium (b) Suspension of chalk (c) Colloidal solution in
chloride/sugar in water in water (Heterogenous of starch in water
(Homogenous mixture) mixture) (Heterogenous mixture)

Inference:
1. Salt/sugar in water forms a homogenous mixture.
2. Sand/Chalk powder in water forms a heterogenous mixture.
3. The residue was seen on the filter paper in case of heterogenous mixture.
4. The homogenous solution is transparent.
5. Suspensions are opaque.
6. Suspended solid can be separated by filtration.
7. Colloidal solutions are translucent and make a heterogeneous mixture.
8. Solid particles of a colloidal solution cannot be separated by filtration.
9. The enamel paint is an example of heterogeneous mixture and colloidal solution.

ACTIVITY 4
How to demonstrate third law of motion?

Materials Required:
Two identical spring balances.

Procedure:
1. Take two identical spring balances and join their hooks.
2. Hold them horizontally in your hands as shown in [Fig 9.9.2].

Fig. 4 Action and reaction forces are equal and opposite.

3. Keeping one spring balance fixed in your left hand, pull the other spring balance with your
right hand. Ensure that the rods of the spring balances do not touch their bodies.
4. Observe the readings of scales on both the spring balances. Are they equal?
5. Pull the right-hand spring balance with a different force. Observe the readings on both the
spring balances again. Are the two respective readings equal in each case?
6. What is the direction of action and reaction forces when you are pulling the spring
balances? What do you infer?

Inference:
The readings on both the balances are the same in each case. The action force exerted by the
spring balance held in right hand is equal to the reaction force exerted on the spring balance
held in the left hand. Thus, action and reaction forces are equal and opposite and act on two
different bodies.

ACTIVITY 5
How can you determine the density of a solid denser than water?

Materials Required:
A metal bob with a hook, thread, measuring cylinder and spring balance.

Procedure:
1. Take a metal bob with a hook. Suspend it from the hook of a spring balance using a thread.
Note down its mass (though the spring balance gives weight to the spring balance given in the
kit is calibrated to measure the mass.)
2. Take a measuring cylinder and fill about half of it with water. Note the reading of water
level in the measuring cylinder. Now suspend the bob in the measuring cylinder so that it is
completely immersed in water.
3. Note down the level of water in the measuring cylinder.
4. The difference in the two readings of the measuring cylinder is the volume of the metal
bob.
5. Find out the ratio of mass of the bob in air to the volume of the metal bob. This gives you
the density of material of the bob.

Inference:
The ratio of mass of a body to its volume is equal to the density of the material of which the
body is made.

ACTIVITY 6
Does a body experience a buoyant force when it is immersed fully or partially in a
liquid? What is the relation between this force and the weight of the liquid displaced by
the body?

Materials Required:
An overflow can, measuring cylinder, spring balance, thread, a piece of stone, a wooden
block and an iron stand.

Procedure:
1. Place an overflow can on a wooden block and fill it completely with water.
2. Take the measuring cylinder and place it under the spout of the overflow can.
3. Suspend a piece of stone from the hook of the spring balance with the help of a thread.
4. Note the reading of the spring balance.
5. Lower the stone into water in the overflow can such that about half of it gets immersed in
water.
6. Collect water displaced by the stone in the measuring cylinder and note its volume.
7. Also note the reading of the spring balance while the stone is partly immersed in water. It
is the weight of the stone when it is partially immersed in the water. Is there any relation
between the weight of the stone in air, weight of water collected in the measuring cylinder
and weight of the stone when partially immersed in water (Take weight of 1 mL
of water = 1g).
8. Further lower the stone into water till it gets completely immersed in it. Again, note
volume of water collected in the measuring cylinder and the reading of the spring balance.
9. Do you find any relation between the loss in weight of the stone immersed in water and the
weight of displaced water?

Fig. 5 Arrangement showing Buoyant Force

Inference:
When a body is immersed fully or partially in a liquid (or any fluid), it experiences a buoyant
force which is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by it. This is known as Archimedes
principle.

ACTIVITY 7
Are vibrations essential for producing sound?

Materials Required:
Tuning fork, plastic ball (1-2 cm diameter), thread, stand, large needle (about 8-10 cm) and
rubber pad.

Procedure:
1. Make a pair of diametrically opposite holes in the plastic ball.
2. Pass a thread through these holes using the needle and make a knot at one end so that the
ball can be hanged vertically. Suspend the ball from the stand.
3. Strike one of the prongs of the tuning fork with a rubber pad. Do you hear any sound?
4. Touch the ball gently with a prong of the vibrating tuning fork. What do you observe?
Fig. 3 Vibrations produced by a tuning fork.
5. Now touch one of the prongs of the vibrating tuning fork with your finger so that it stops
vibrating. Do you hear any sound now?
6. Touch the ball gently with the prong of this tuning fork again.
7. What do you observe now? Why does the ball move away in the first case and why not in
the second case?
8. What do you infer from these observations?

Fig. 6 Vibrations produced by Tuning Fork.

Inference:
Vibrations are essential for producing sound.