Water
Class 6 Science · Chapter 11: Nature's Treasures · NCERT Curiosity section 11.2
Learn
Most of Earth is covered by water, but nearly all of it is salty seawater. Only a tiny part is fresh water we can use, and much of that is frozen as ice. So fresh water is precious!
We get fresh water from rain, rivers, lakes, ponds and groundwater (from wells and handpumps). Rainwater soaks into the ground and fills up the groundwater.
In dry places like Rajasthan and Gujarat, people built beautiful stepwells (baolis, vavs) and tanks centuries ago to store rainwater. Today we can do rainwater harvesting: collect rain from rooftops into tanks or let it soak into the ground.
Explore: save water or waste it?
- Sort each action.
Remember
- Only a small part of Earth's water is usable fresh water.
- Rainwater harvesting and saving water at home protect this treasure.
Quick check
Why do we need to save fresh water?
- Only a small part of Earth's water is fresh and usable
- Seawater is fine to drink
- Water never runs out anywhere
- Rain never falls
Answer
Only a small part of Earth's water is fresh and usable. Most water is salty seawater or ice.
Think about it
Suggest two ways your school could save or collect water.
One answer
Examples: collect rainwater from the roof into a tank; fix leaking taps; use water from washing vegetables to water the garden; put signs reminding students to close taps.
Practice
Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.