A River’s Tale – Class 4 EVS NCERT Solutions

Explore the solutions for A River’s Tale, Class 4 EVS NCERT. This chapter teaches us about the importance of clean water, river pollution, and our responsibility towards keeping water bodies clean. Through this chapter, students learn about how human activities affect rivers and water bodies, and what steps we can take to protect them.

Chapter Summary (English)

“A River’s Tale” is an enlightening chapter that follows the journey of a river from its source in the mountains to where it meets the sea. The chapter illustrates how the river changes as it flows through various places – from pristine clean water in the mountains to increasingly polluted water as it passes through villages, towns, and cities. It explains various human activities that affect water quality and teaches about water solubility through simple experiments. The chapter emphasizes the importance of clean water and various methods of water purification.

अध्याय सारांश (Hindi)

“ए रिवर्स टेल” एक ज्ञानवर्धक अध्याय है जो एक नदी की यात्रा का वर्णन करता है, जो पहाड़ों से निकलकर समुद्र तक जाती है। यह अध्याय दर्शाता है कि कैसे नदी विभिन्न स्थानों से गुजरते हुए बदलती जाती है – पहाड़ों में स्वच्छ जल से लेकर गाँव, कस्बों और शहरों से गुजरते हुए प्रदूषित होती जाती है। यह मानव गतिविधियों के बारे में बताता है जो पानी की गुणवत्ता को प्रभावित करती हैं और सरल प्रयोगों के माध्यम से पानी में घुलनशीलता के बारे में सिखाता है। अध्याय स्वच्छ पानी के महत्व और पानी को शुद्ध करने के विभिन्न तरीकों पर जोर देता है।

Word Meanings

Exercise Solutions

1. Look at the picture of the river and write a story using the given words. Give a title to your story.

Title: The Journey of River Avni Once upon a time, there was a beautiful river named Avni that flowed from the mountains. At its beginning, the water was crystal blue and pure, with many colorful fish swimming happily among the water-plants. Along its river banks, people from nearby villages would come to do their daily activities like washing clothes and letting their animals drink water. As Avni flowed further, it passed through a big city. Here, large factories stood on its banks, releasing their waste into the water. The once-blue water started giving off a foul smell, and the number of fish began to decrease. Big ships carrying oil sometimes leaked, making the water even dirtier. The river noticed these changes with sadness. What was once a clean, life-giving river had become polluted and harmful. This story teaches us how human activities in cities and villages can affect our precious water resources, and why we must protect them.

2. What is the colour of the river where it begins?

At its source in the mountains, the river is crystal blue in color. This is because the water is pure and unpolluted at its origin, receiving fresh water from mountain springs and glaciers.

3. At some places, there are many fish in the river, at others there are only a few and at some places there are dead fish. What could be the reason for this?

The varying number of fish in different parts of the river is due to pollution levels:

• Areas with many fish: These are usually near the source or in clean parts of the river where the water has enough oxygen and is free from pollution.
• Areas with few fish: These are places where the water quality has started deteriorating due to moderate pollution from activities like washing clothes or bathing animals.
• Areas with dead fish: These are heavily polluted sections, usually near factories or cities, where toxic waste and chemicals make it impossible for fish to survive.

4. What can be seen in the river before it reaches the village?

Before reaching the village, we can see:

• Clear blue water flowing from the mountains
• Various water plants growing in the river
• Healthy fish swimming in the water
• Clean river banks with trees and vegetation
• Natural rocks and pebbles in the riverbed

5. At which places did the colour of the water in the river change? Why did this happen?

The color of the water changes at several places:

• Near villages: The water becomes slightly murky due to washing clothes and bathing animals
• Near factories: The water turns darker due to industrial waste and chemicals
• Near cities: The water becomes brownish or blackish due to sewage, garbage, and various pollutants
• Near industrial areas: The water might have an oily sheen due to oil spills and chemical discharge

6. Which of the places shown in the picture would you like to live in? Why?

I would like to live near the mountainous region where the river begins because:

• The environment is clean and unpolluted
• The water is pure and safe for drinking
• There is abundant greenery with trees and plants
• The air is fresh and clean
• There is natural beauty with mountains and clean river water

7. Would you like to change any of the things that you see in the picture? Why and how?

Yes, I would like to change several things in the picture:

• The factories should be moved away from the river and should have proper waste treatment plants
• Create designated washing areas with water treatment facilities for village activities
• Install garbage collection systems along the river to prevent waste dumping
• Plant more trees along the river banks to prevent erosion
• Set up water quality monitoring stations at regular intervals

8. Have you seen people throwing different things into rivers or water bodies?

Yes, I have observed people throwing various things into rivers and water bodies:

• Garbage and plastic waste
• Religious offerings and flowers
• Food waste and leftover materials
• Construction debris
• Industrial waste from small factories

9. What could be done to keep rivers clean?

Several steps can be taken to keep rivers clean:

• Create public awareness about river pollution and its effects
• Install proper sewage treatment plants in cities and towns
• Enforce strict laws against industrial pollution
• Organize regular river cleaning drives
• Set up proper waste disposal systems near river banks
• Encourage eco-friendly practices for washing and bathing
• Plant trees along river banks to prevent soil erosion

10. If you wanted to drink some water, from which part of the river would you like to drink? Why?

I would choose to drink water from the upper reaches of the river near its source in the mountains because:

• The water is pure and unpolluted at its origin
• There are no human settlements to contaminate the water
• The water is naturally filtered through rocks and soil
• There is no industrial or agricultural pollution
• The water contains natural minerals from the mountains

11. In the last part of the picture, the river flows into the sea. Have you ever seen the sea? Where? In a movie, or somewhere else?

Yes, I have seen the sea both in real life and in movies. I visited the Mumbai beach last summer with my family. I have also seen beautiful scenes of seas and oceans in nature documentaries and movies. The vast expanse of water, waves hitting the shore, and the salty breeze make the sea a magnificent sight. The sea looks very different from rivers because of its huge size, salty water, and continuous waves.

12. Have you ever been near a river or sea? When?

Yes, I have been near both a river and sea:

• I visited the Ganges River in Haridwar during summer vacation last year
• I saw how people perform various activities near the river
• I observed the flowing water and the boats sailing on it
• I felt the cool breeze and peaceful atmosphere near the river
• I learned about the importance of rivers in our daily lives

13. Show with your hands, how the waves in the sea move.

To show sea waves with hands, I would:

• Move my hand up and down in a wavelike motion
• Start from a lower position and rise upward
• Create a rolling motion to show continuous waves
• Sometimes make bigger movements to show large waves
• Use both hands to show waves moving towards the shore

14. Is the water from the sea drinkable? Why?

No, seawater is not drinkable because:

• It contains high amounts of salt (sodium chloride)
• Drinking salty water can make us very sick
• It can cause severe dehydration in our body
• The salt content is much higher than what our body can handle
• It contains other minerals and substances that make it unsafe for drinking

15. Do you think that there would be changes taking place in a river, pond, or stream at different times of the year? What kind of changes would these be?

Yes, rivers, ponds, and streams undergo several changes throughout the year:

1. During Rainy Season:
   • Water level increases significantly
   • Water flows faster and becomes muddy
   • Banks might overflow
2. During Summer:
   • Water level decreases
   • Water flow becomes slower
   • Some small streams might dry up
3. During Winter:
   • Water becomes very cold
   • In some places, the surface might freeze
   • Water flow remains steady

Activity Section: Try This

16. Observation table for mixing different substances in water:

17. Do all things dissolve in water?

No, not all things dissolve in water. From our experiment, we observed that:

• Substances that dissolved: Sugar, salt, lemon juice, cooking soda, sherbet
• Substances that did not dissolve: Oil, flour, dal
• This shows that different substances behave differently when mixed with water
• Some substances mix completely while others float or sink without dissolving

18. Does the colour of the water always change?

No, the color of water doesn’t always change when substances are mixed in it. We observed that:

• Some substances like haldi and sherbet change the water’s color
• Many substances like sugar, salt, and cooking soda dissolve without changing the water’s color
• Even some non-dissolving substances like dal don’t change the water’s color
• The change in color depends on the properties of the substance being mixed

19. Did oil dissolve in water? How can you say whether it has dissolved or not?

No, oil did not dissolve in water. We can say this because:

• Oil forms a separate layer on top of the water
• We can clearly see the oil floating on the water surface
• The oil and water remain separate and don’t mix
• If we stir the mixture, oil breaks into small droplets but still doesn’t dissolve
• After letting it stand, the oil collects back on top of the water

Final Questions about Water Cleaning

20. How is drinking water cleaned in your house?

In my house, drinking water is cleaned through several methods:

• First, we filter the water using a cloth to remove visible impurities
• Then we use a water purifier that has different stages of filtration
• Sometimes we boil the water, especially during rainy season
• We store the cleaned water in clean, covered containers
• We clean the water storage containers regularly

21. Find out the many different ways of cleaning water at home.

There are several methods to clean water at home:

1. Boiling:
   • Most effective method to kill harmful germs
   • Water should be boiled for at least 10 minutes
2. Filtration:
   • Using cloth filter
   • Using water purifier
   • Using ceramic filters
3. Chemical Treatment:
   • Adding chlorine tablets
   • Using water purifying tablets
4. Natural Methods:
   • Using earthen pots
   • Sunlight exposure method

22. Draw pictures showing any two ways of cleaning the water.

I would draw:

1. Boiling Method:
   • A pot of water on a stove
   • Steam rising from the water
   • A covered container for storing boiled water
2. Filtration Method:
   • A water filter with different layers
   • Clean water coming out of the filter
   • A clean storage container below