Sunita in Space
Questions with (*) sign are open-ended questions.
Page 100
What do you think?
If the earth is round like a globe, how is it that we do not fall off?
We do not fall of because earth’s gravitational force attracts everything towards itself.
Do the people in Argentina stand upside down?
No. they stand ‘up’ like us.
Page 101
Look at the photographs and write.
Can you think why Sunita’s hair was standing?
While we are on the earth, our hair remains in the downward direction because of the earth’s gravitational force. Once we are in space gravitational force does not act and the hair stands.
(*) Look at Sunita’s photographs and the dates written on each of them. Write what all is happening and when?
Page 103
The classroom becomes a spaceship
Close your eyes. Imagine that your class is a spaceship. Zoom in 10 minutes you have entered space. Your spaceship is now going around the earth. Now say:
Are you able to sit at one place?
No, we cannot sit at one place. We are floating in the air.
What about hair?
My hair is standing.
Oh look . . . where are your bags and books going?
Bags and books are also floating in the air.
And what is your teacher doing? Where is her chalk?
The teacher also floating in the air.
How did you eat your food during the break? How did you drink water? What happened to the ball that you threw up?
We have to grab the food items. Water floats in the form of blobs and we have to suck these blobs. The ball that threw up also floats in the air.
Act out or draw the scene.
Can you now say why Sunita’s hair kept standing?
Sunita’s hair kept standing as there is no gravity in the space.
Think why water flows downwards on any slope. On mountains, too water flows downwards, not upwards.
Water flows downwards on any slope. On mountains, too water flows downwards, not upwards because of the earth’s gravitational force.
Page 105
Look at this photograph and tell
Can you see India?
Yes, I can see India.
Can you recognize any other place?
Yes, I can recognize Sri Lanka.
Where is the sea?
The blue coloured part of the picture is the sea.
Do you find anything similar between the globe and this picture of the earth? In what ways are they different?
The similarity is that the land and the sea can be easily distinguished. The difference is that it is difficult to recognize the countries.
Do you think Sunita could make out Pakistan, Nepal and Burma separately, when she saw the earth from space?
No.
Look at a globe in your school and tell. Can you find India?
Yes, I can find India.
Where all do you find the sea?
The blue coloured part of the globe is the sea.
Which countries can you see?
I can see all the countries.
Can you see some of the countries with which India plays cricket matches? For example England, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa.
Yes, I can see these countries.
What else can you see on the globe?
We can see the mountains, the islands on the globe.
Page 106
Look at the map of your country and tell
Can you find the state in which you live? Write its name on the map.
Yes, I can find the state in which I live. I live in Maharashtra.
Which are the states next to the state you live in?
Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chattisgarh are the states next to Maharashtra.
Have you been to any other state?
Yes, I have been to states like Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Telangana.
Shamir thinks that there are lines drawn on the ground between the states. What do you think?
These lines are only on the maps and not on the ground.
Why don’t you try to do the same with a coin? How many centimeters away from the eye did you keep the coin to hide the moon?
When I kept the moon at 25 cm away from the eye the moon disappeared completely.
Think
Do you think the moon is flat like a coin or round like a ball?
The moon is round like a ball.
Page 107
Look at the moon tonight and draw what it looks like. Look and draw again after one week, and then after 15 days.
The different shapes of the moon are as follows.
Find out
When is the next full moon? At what time will the moon rise on this day? What does the moon look like on this day? Draw it.
The next full moon day is on the 10th of this month. The moor rise after the sunset. The full moon appears like a big complete circle.
What are the festivals related to the moon?
Festival related to the moon is Eid, Karwa Chauth, Khojagiri Poornima etc.
At night look at the sky carefully for 5 minutes. What could you see?
I could see the moon and the stars.
Did you see anything moving in the sky? What do you think it could be? A star or a shooting star or a satellite (satillites are used for the TV, telephones and for weather reports). Find out more about this.
Look at the table and tell
Given below are the times at which the moon rises and sets in Delhi (on the given days).
On 28 October the moon came out at 16 minutes past 7 O’clock.
On 29 October the moon came out at 20 minutes past 7 O’clock.
On 29 October there was a difference of 1 hour and 1 minute in the time of moonrise (as compared to 28 October).
If you saw the moon rising at 7 pm today, would you see it at the same time tomorrow?
No. The time of the moonrise changes every day.
On 31 October the time of setting of the moon is given as 12:03. Have you ever seen the moon at 12 in the afternoon? Why don’t we easily see the moon or stars during the day?
No, I have never seen the moon at 12 in the afternoon. During the daytime due to the sunlight, we cannot see the moon or the stars.
Page 109
Why do children always slide down the slide and not slide up? If this slide were there in Sunita’s spacecraft, would children slide like this? Why?
Children always slide down the slide and not slide up because of the gravitational force of the earth. In Sunita’s spacecraft, the children would not slide as there is zero gravity.
Why do we see stars mostly at night?
There is no sunlight at night, therefore we can see the stars mostly at night.
Looking at the earth from space, Sunita said, “Different countries cannot be seen as separate from here. These lines are on paper. They are made by us.” What do you understand by this?
Boundaries between the countries are created by human beings. The earth is a single piece without any boundaries.
Additional Questions.
1). Name any two astronauts of India?
Rakesh Sharma and Kalpana Chawla.
2). What is the shape of the earth?
The earth is like a sphere.
3). What is the globe?
The replica of the earth is called as globe.
4). Name one astronaut who had spent more than six months in space?
Sunita Williams.
5). What is the gravitational force of the earth?
The force of the earth that attracts everything towards itself is known as gravitational force.
6). What do you mean by spaceship?
The vehicle used by astronauts to travel in space is called a spaceship.
7). Name the first man to land on the moon.
Neil Armstrong.
8). In which year did Neil Armstrong land on the moon?
1969.
Fill in the blanks.
1). Sunita Williams has spent more than six months in space.
2). Sunita Williams went 360 kilometres away from the earth, in the spaceship.
3). The earth pulls everything towards itself.
4). In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.
