NCERT Class 3 Environmental Studies (EVS) • Classic CBSE Track

Chapter 14: The Story of Food

Q: Identify which part of the plant we eat for each of the following: Carrot, Potato, Spinach, Clove, Wheat, Cauliflower.

• Carrot: Root• Potato: Underground Stem (Tuber)• Spinach: Leaf• Clove (Laung): Dried Flower Bud• Wheat: Seed• Cauliflower: Flower / Inflorescence

Q: What natural kitchen remedy is traditionally used when: (a) You have a toothache (b) You get a bruise or body ache (c) You have a stomach ache with ga

• (a) Toothache: Pressing a whole clove (laung) or applying clove oil on the aching tooth.• (b) Bruise / Body Ache: Drinking warm turmeric milk (haldi doodh) and applying a paste of turmeric and lime.• (c) Stomach Ache with Gas: Chewing carom seeds (ajwain) with a pinch of black salt and warm water.

Q: Contrast Venu's family and Rani's family in the chapter regarding sharing household chores.

In Venu's family, both parents share the housework (mother and father cook and clean together) and all family members eat together at the dining table. In contrast, in Rani's family, all domestic work falls entirely on the mother and daughter while the father and brother only sit and eat first, show

Q: Compare Venu's family with Rani's family from the chapter pictures:(a) In Venu's family, who cleans the house, cooks food, and eats meals?(b) In Rani'

Family Gender Dynamics:(a) Venu's Family:• Mother and father share household work equally: father sweeps the floor while mother cooks, and all family members sit and eat food together happily.(b) Rani's Family:• Mother does all the cooking alone, Rani serves food to her father and brother while they

Q: Classify the following edible plant parts into Roots, Stems, Leaves, Flowers, and Fruits:Spinach, Carrot, Potato, Cauliflower, Mango, Ginger, Kachnar

Edible Plant Parts:• Roots: Carrot, Radish.• Underground Stems: Potato, Ginger.• Leaves: Spinach.• Flowers: Cauliflower, Kachnar flowers.• Fruits: Mango.

Q: What home remedy from kitchen plants do elders give when:(a) You have a toothache?(b) You have a cough and sore throat?(c) You have a stomach ache / g

Home Remedies:• (a) Toothache: Pressing a piece of clove (laung) or clove oil against the aching tooth.• (b) Cough & Throat: Warm water with ginger juice, honey, and tulsi, or warm turmeric milk.• (c) Stomach ache / Gas: Chewing ajwain (carom seeds) with warm water and a pinch of black salt.

Q: Name two food items that are dried in the hot sun to preserve them for the entire year.

Sun-Dried Foods:1. Papad and potato chips / vadiyan.2. Red chilies and raw mango slices (amchur).

Q: In Chapter 14 ('The Story of Food'), what animals did the characters observe, and how do they move from place to place?

Observations:Animals move in diverse ways adapted to their bodies:• Birds (Crow, Pigeon): Fly using wings and hop on two feet.• Mammals (Cow, Dog): Walk and run on four legs.• Reptiles (Lizard, Snake): Crawl on walls or slither on the ground.• Insects (Ant, Grasshopper): Walk on six legs and hop/fly

Q: Name two animals that live:(a) On trees(b) In water(c) On land(d) Underground in burrows.

Habitats:• (a) On trees: Monkey, Squirrel, Owl.• (b) In water: Fish, Frog, Crocodile.• (c) On land: Horse, Elephant, Goat.• (d) In burrows: Rabbit, Earthworm, Snake.

Q: How do our five sense organs help us understand and navigate our daily environment?

Five Senses:1. Eyes: Help us see shapes, colours, and identify hazards.2. Ears: Help us hear traffic horns, spoken words, and alarm sounds.3. Nose: Helps us smell food, flowers, and detect smoke or gas leaks.4. Tongue: Helps us taste sweet, sour, salty, and bitter food.5. Skin: Helps us feel touch,

Plant and Animal Sources of Food; Gender Equality in Household Chores; Natural Home Remedies | CBSE Session 2026–27

Core Pedagogical Competencies & Concepts

Gender roles in families: Examining shared household work (cooking, cleaning) vs unequal burdens.
Plant parts as food: Roots (radish, carrot), stems (potato, ginger), leaves (spinach, cabbage), flowers (cauliflower, banana flower), and seeds (peas, wheat).
Animal food sources: Milk from cows/goats, honey from honeybees, eggs from hens.
Traditional medicinal home remedies: Turmeric milk for body pain/injuries, clove for toothache, ajwain for stomach ache.

All Textbook Exercises & In-Text Tasks (17 Questions)

100% Complete Ingestion

Q1 Botanical Plant Parts We Eat

Identify which part of the plant we eat for each of the following: Carrot, Potato, Spinach, Clove, Wheat, Cauliflower.

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

• Carrot: Root
• Potato: Underground Stem (Tuber)
• Spinach: Leaf
• Clove (Laung): Dried Flower Bud
• Wheat: Seed
• Cauliflower: Flower / Inflorescence

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Correct botanical identification for all six foods 3 Marks

Q2 Herbal Home Remedies

What natural kitchen remedy is traditionally used when: (a) You have a toothache (b) You get a bruise or body ache (c) You have a stomach ache with gas?

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

• (a) Toothache: Pressing a whole clove (laung) or applying clove oil on the aching tooth.
• (b) Bruise / Body Ache: Drinking warm turmeric milk (haldi doodh) and applying a paste of turmeric and lime.
• (c) Stomach Ache with Gas: Chewing carom seeds (ajwain) with a pinch of black salt and warm water.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Clove for toothache 1 Mark

Turmeric for wounds/aches 1 Mark

Ajwain with warm water for gastric ache 1 Mark

Q3 Gender Equality at Home

Contrast Venu's family and Rani's family in the chapter regarding sharing household chores.

[2 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

In Venu's family, both parents share the housework (mother and father cook and clean together) and all family members eat together at the dining table. In contrast, in Rani's family, all domestic work falls entirely on the mother and daughter while the father and brother only sit and eat first, showing gender inequality.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Contrast of shared responsibilities vs gender stereotyping 2 Marks

Q4 Family Roles & Equality • The Story of Food

Compare Venu's family with Rani's family from the chapter pictures:
(a) In Venu's family, who cleans the house, cooks food, and eats meals?
(b) In Rani's family, who does all the work, and who eats first?
(c) Which family model promotes gender equality?

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Family Gender Dynamics:
(a) Venu's Family:
• Mother and father share household work equally: father sweeps the floor while mother cooks, and all family members sit and eat food together happily.

(b) Rani's Family:
• Mother does all the cooking alone, Rani serves food to her father and brother while they eat first, and the women eat last.

(c) Gender Equality:
• Venu's family promotes true gender equality, mutual respect, and healthy collaboration.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Shared work in Venu's family 1.0 M

Unequal burden in Rani's family 1.0 M

Venu's family chosen as egalitarian model 1.0 M

Q5 Plant Parts We Eat • Botanical Categories

Classify the following edible plant parts into Roots, Stems, Leaves, Flowers, and Fruits:
Spinach, Carrot, Potato, Cauliflower, Mango, Ginger, Kachnar flowers, Radish.

[4 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Edible Plant Parts:
• Roots: Carrot, Radish.
• Underground Stems: Potato, Ginger.
• Leaves: Spinach.
• Flowers: Cauliflower, Kachnar flowers.
• Fruits: Mango.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

All edible plant parts correctly classified into 5 categories 4.0 M

Q6 Kitchen Medicinal Remedies • Natural Cures

What home remedy from kitchen plants do elders give when:
(a) You have a toothache?
(b) You have a cough and sore throat?
(c) You have a stomach ache / gas?

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Home Remedies:
• (a) Toothache: Pressing a piece of clove (laung) or clove oil against the aching tooth.
• (b) Cough & Throat: Warm water with ginger juice, honey, and tulsi, or warm turmeric milk.
• (c) Stomach ache / Gas: Chewing ajwain (carom seeds) with warm water and a pinch of black salt.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Clove for toothache 1.0 M

Ginger/honey/tulsi for cough 1.0 M

Ajwain for stomach ache 1.0 M

Q7 Food Preservation • Sunlight Drying

Name two food items that are dried in the hot sun to preserve them for the entire year.

[2 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Sun-Dried Foods:
1. Papad and potato chips / vadiyan.
2. Red chilies and raw mango slices (amchur).

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Two authentic sun-dried foods named 2.0 M

Q8 Observation Time • Animals and Habits

In Chapter 14 ('The Story of Food'), what animals did the characters observe, and how do they move from place to place?

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Observations:
Animals move in diverse ways adapted to their bodies:
• Birds (Crow, Pigeon): Fly using wings and hop on two feet.
• Mammals (Cow, Dog): Walk and run on four legs.
• Reptiles (Lizard, Snake): Crawl on walls or slither on the ground.
• Insects (Ant, Grasshopper): Walk on six legs and hop/fly.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Birds, mammals, reptiles, insects movement 3 M

Q9 Find Out & Write • Animal Habitats

Name two animals that live:
(a) On trees
(b) In water
(c) On land
(d) Underground in burrows.

[2 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Habitats:
• (a) On trees: Monkey, Squirrel, Owl.
• (b) In water: Fish, Frog, Crocodile.
• (c) On land: Horse, Elephant, Goat.
• (d) In burrows: Rabbit, Earthworm, Snake.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Correct examples for all 4 habitats 2 M

Q10 Discuss & Share • Our Senses

How do our five sense organs help us understand and navigate our daily environment?

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Five Senses:
1. Eyes: Help us see shapes, colours, and identify hazards.
2. Ears: Help us hear traffic horns, spoken words, and alarm sounds.
3. Nose: Helps us smell food, flowers, and detect smoke or gas leaks.
4. Tongue: Helps us taste sweet, sour, salty, and bitter food.
5. Skin: Helps us feel touch, heat, cold, roughness, and pain.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

All 5 sense organs explained with functions 3 M

Q11 Water Cycle & Weather • Rain and Clouds

Where does rainwater come from, and why do plants and trees look fresher and greener after a rain shower?

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Rain and Plant Health:
• Rain comes from water evaporating from rivers, ponds, and seas, forming clouds in the sky that cool and condense into rain droplets.
• Rain washes off thick dust accumulated on leaves, unblocks stomata for breathing, and deeply soaks the roots with fresh mineral-rich moisture.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Water cycle / cloud formation 1.5 M

Why plants look greener after rain 1.5 M

Q12 Food Diversity • Regional Diets

Why do people living in Kerala eat more rice, fish, and coconut, while people in Punjab eat more wheat chapatis, mustard greens, and lassi?

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Regional Food Factors:
• What people eat depends directly on what grows easily and abundantly in their climate and geography.
• Kerala has coastal climate, abundant rainfall, and coconut groves, making fish and rice staples.
• Punjab has fertile plains ideal for wheat and mustard cultivation, and a strong dairy culture.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Climate and agriculture connection 1.5 M

Kerala and Punjab examples explained 1.5 M

Q13 Cooking Methods • Kitchen Science

Match each food item to its primary method of cooking:
(a) Idli — (1) Frying
(b) Puri — (2) Steaming
(c) Roti — (3) Roasting on Tawa.

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Matching:
• (a) Idli — (2) Steaming
• (b) Puri — (1) Frying in oil
• (c) Roti — (3) Roasting on Tawa.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Idli-Steaming, Puri-Frying, Roti-Roasting 3 M

Q14 Shelter & Houses • Diversity in Homes

Why are houses in heavy-rainfall regions like Assam built on bamboo stilts with sloping roofs?

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Stilt Houses:
• Bamboo Stilts: Keep the house 10 to 12 feet above ground level to prevent floodwaters and wild animals from entering.
• Sloping Roofs: Allow torrential rainwater to slide off quickly without accumulating or causing leaks.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Reason for bamboo stilts (floods) 1.5 M

Reason for sloping roof (rain runoff) 1.5 M

Q15 Community Helpers • Occupations

Identify the worker who:
(a) Mends our shoes
(b) Delivers letters and parcels
(c) Shapes clay into earthen pots on a wheel
(d) Treats sick people and prescribes medicines.

[2 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Community Helpers:
• (a) Mends shoes: Cobbler
• (b) Delivers letters: Postman / Mail carrier
• (c) Shapes clay pots: Potter
• (d) Treats sick people: Doctor.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Cobbler, Postman, Potter, Doctor 2 M

Q16 Web of Life • Food Chain

What is the 'Web of Life'? Draw a simple food chain showing how grass, deer, and lion are connected.

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Web of Life & Food Chain:
• The Web of Life shows that every living organism is interconnected and depends on others for survival.
• Food Chain: Sunlight → Grass (Producer) → Deer (Herbivore) → Lion (Carnivore).
If grass disappears, deer starve; if deer disappear, lions cannot survive.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

Definition of Web of Life 1.5 M

Grass → Deer → Lion chain explained 1.5 M

Q17 Review Questions • True or False

Write True or False:
(a) Blind people can read books written in Braille script using their fingertips.
(b) Rainwater is the main natural source of fresh water on Earth.
(c) Animals do not have feelings and cannot communicate danger to each other.

[3 Marks]

✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working

Answers:
• (a) True: Braille uses raised dots felt with fingertips.
• (b) True: Rain replenishes rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
• (c) False: Animals communicate through warning calls, scents, and body language to alert their group of predators.

CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme

True, True, False with reasoning 3 M

🌟 NEP 2020 Competency-Based Case Study

Promoting Gender Equality: Challenging Domestic Stereotypes

In a class discussion, a boy says, 'Cooking, washing dishes, and sweeping are women's duties; men are only meant to earn money outside.'

Analytical Task: How does 'The Story of Food' challenge this stereotype, and why must all children learn life skills equally?

Evaluation & Model Answer:

The chapter illustrates that domestic work is not gender-bound; basic living tasks like cooking, cleaning, and laundry are essential survival life skills that every human being—boy or girl—must master to live independently. When chores are shared equally among all family members, mothers do not suffer burnout, homes run happily, and children grow up respecting equal partnership and mutual dignity.

Rubric: Deconstructing gender stereotypes, home management as essential survival life skills, promoting mutual equality (4 Marks).