NCERT Solutions for class 7 English chapter 8 – Fire : Friend and foe

Comprehension Check

Answer the following questions:

Q 1. Mark the correct answer in each of the following.

(i) Early man was frightened of

(a) lightning and volcanoes.

(b) the damage caused by them.

Ans. (c) fire

(ii) (a) Fire is energy.

(b) Fire is heat and light.

Choose the right answer.

Ans. (c) Fire is the result of a chemical reaction.

Q 2. From the boxes given below choose the one with the correct order of the following sentences.

(i) That is fire.

(ii) A chemical reaction takes place.

(iii) Energy in the form of heat and light is released.

(iv) Oxygen combines with carbon and hydrogen.

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) b. (ii) (iii) (i) (iv)
(iv) (iii) (ii) (i) d. (iv) (ii) (iii) (i)

Ans. d. (iv) (ii) (iii) (i)

Working with the text

Answer the following questions.

Q 1. What do you understand by the ‘flash point’ of a fuel?

Ans. Every fuel has a specific temperature at which it starts to burn. This specific temperature is called the flash point or kindling temperature of the fuel.

Q 2. (i) What are some common uses of fire?

(ii) In what sense is it a “bad master”?

Ans. (i) Some common uses of fire are:

It is used to produce electricity

It is used for cooking.

It is also used to heat our home in winters.

(ii) Fire is a “bad master” because if it is not under control, it can create huge damage to lives, properties, forests, etc.

Q 3. match item in column A with those in column B.

	A	B
i.	Fuel	Lighted matchstick
ii.	Oxygen	Air
iii.	Heat	Coal Burning coal Wood Smouldering Paper

Ans.

Fuel

Coal

Burning coal

Wood

Smouldering paper

Cooking gas

ii.

Oxygen

Air

iii.

Heat

Lighted matchstick

Burning

Coal

Q 4. What are the three main ways in which a fire can be controlled or put out?

Ans. Fire can be put out by taking away the fuel, stopping the supply of oxygen or by lowering down the temperature around the fuel, so that the fuel is not able to attain its flash point.

Q 5.

i. To burn paper or a piece of wood	a. it absorbs heat from the burning material and
ii. small fires can be put out	b. lower the temperature.
iii. When water is spread on fire	c. reduces the risk of fire.
iv. A carbon dioxide extinguisher is the best thing	d. with a damp blanket.
v. space left between building	e. we heat it before it catch fire.
	f. to put out an electrical fire.

Ans.

i. To burn a paper or a piece of wood	a. we heat it before it catches fire.
ii. small fires can be put out	b. with a damp blanket.
iii. when water is spread on fire.	c. it absorbs heat from the burning material and
iv. A carbon dioxide extinguisher is the best thing	d. to put out an electrical fire.
	e. reduces the risk of fire.

Working with Language

Q 1. Read the following sentences.

To burn paper or a piece of wood, we heat it before it catches fire. We generally do it with a lighted match. Every fuel has a particular temperature at which it burns.

The verbs in italics are in the simple present tense. When we use it, we are not thinking only about the present. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly or that something is true in general.

Ans.

Fire is the result of a chemical reaction.
This is what we call fire.
To burn a piece of paper or wood, we heat it before it catches fire.
Oxygen comes from the air.
It is sometimes said that fire is a good servant, but a bad master.
The third way to putting out a fire is to remove heat.
We spend millions of rupees each year in fighting fire.
It absorbs heat from burning fuel.
It only means that fire is very useful.

10.Fire is still worshipped in many parts of the world.

Q 2. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with words from the box. You may use a word more than once.

Carbon cause fire smother

Gandhiji’s life was devoted to the ……………. of justice and fair play.
Have you inspired your house against …………..?
Diamond is nothing, but ………….. in its purest form.
If you put too much coal on the fire at once you will ………. it.
Smoking is said to be the main ………… of heart disease.
When asked by an ambitious writer whether he should put some ……….. into his stories. Somerset
Maugham murmured, “No, the other way round”.
She is ……………. a copy of her mother.
It is often difficult to ……………. a yawn when you listen to a long speech on the value of time.

Ans.

cause
fire
carbon
smother
cause
fire
carbon

Q 3. One word is italicised in each sentence. Find its opposite in the box and fill in the blanks.

Spending shut destroy subtract increase

You were required to keep all the doors open, not ……………
Pupil: What mark did I get in yesterday’s Maths test?

Teacher: You got what when you add five and ……………… five and ten from the total?

Run four kilometers a day to preserve your health. Run a lot more to …………….. it.
If a doctor advises a lean and lanky patient to …………… reduce his weight further, be sure he is doing it to his income.
The world is too much with us; late and soon.

Getting and ………….. we lay waste our powers. -WORDSWORTH

Ans.

shut
subtract
destroy
increase
spending

Q 4. Use the words given in the box to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

Across Along Past Through

The cat chased the mouse …………… the lawn.
We were not allowed to cross the frontier.

So, we drove …………. it as far as we could and came back happy.

The horse went ……….. the winning post and had to be stopped with difficulty.
It is not difficult to see ………….. your plan. Anyone can see your motive.
Go ……………. the yellow line, then turn left. You will reach the post office in five minutes.

Ans.

across
along
past
through
along

Speaking and Writing

Q 1. Look at the following three units. First re-order ( the items in each unit to make a meaningful sentence. Next, re-order the sentences to make a meaningful paragraph. Use correct punctuation marks in the paragraph.

and eighteen fire tenders struggled/the fire began on Monday/ to douse the blaze till morning
in a major fire/ over 25 shops/ were gutted
but property/was destroyed/worth several lakhs/no causalities were reported.

Ans.

1.The fire began on Monday and eighteen fire tenders struggled to douse the blaze till morning.

2.Over 25 shops were gutted in a major fire.

No causalities were reported, but properties worth several lakhs were destroyed.

Q 2. Read the following newspaper report given in the box below.

Fire Station Goes Up In Flames

A fire chief was embarrassed when a station without a smoke alarm went up in flames. The building and a fire engine were destroyed in the blaze. Nobody was injured in the fire that was tackled by 30 firefighters in six fire engines from neighbouring towns.

Ans. Do it yourself.

Extra Questions.

Q . What will students learn from Unit 8 of NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English?

Ans. The advantages and disadvantages of fire as an invention. Students will also learn about the three key requirements to produce a fire and how to prevent it.

Q .What did the early man know about fire as mentioned ?

Ans. Early man only knew the damages a fire could cause and didn’t know what fire was. He must have watched lightning and volcanoes long before he began to use fire himself. In fact, it actually puzzled him. The early man had the perception that fire was powerful and dangerous, and thus he was frightened.

Q .What is fire and its requirements as explained ?

Ans. Fire is just the result of a chemical reaction. Scientifically, when the oxygen in the air combines with carbon and hydrogen in a fuel, a chemical reaction takes place. In this process, energy in the form of heat and light is released. The three things that are needed to make fire are fuel, oxygen and heat.

Why the early man was afraid of fire?

Ans. The early man might have seen volcanoes or lightning before he started using fire and was hence knew it was dangerous and powerful. So, he was scared of fire.

Give some examples of fuel.

Ans. Wood, coal, cooking gas and petrol are examples of fuel.

Why a newspaper or stick lying in the open does not catch fire on its own?

Ans. A fuel in presence of oxygen alone can’t start burning. Heat is required for a fuel to catch fire. That is the reason why a newspaper or stick lying in the open doesn’t catches fire.