Grade 6 Chemistry
6. Materials Around Us
F. Answer the following questions in detail. (Notebook writing)
1. Taking a suitable example, explain the importance of sorting things at home.
Ans: Sorting of materials or things is useful for convenience and to make their
study more organised as it saves our time and effort. Similarities help us to
arrange things in the same group. Differences help us to arrange things into
separate groups. Some cooks have amazing flow. When things and materials in
kitchen is properly sorted and organised, it makes our task easier. We can
quickly find every gadget in their kitchen without shuffling everything on their
countertop.
2. List any four properties that can be used for sorting materials.
Ans: Properties that can be used for sorting materials –
• Appearance – All the materials usually look different from each other. For
example, wood looks different from glass.
• Hardness – Some substances can be compressed, whereas others cannot be.
The materials that can be compressed are called soft. The materials that
cannot be compressed are called hard.
• Texture – Some materials are smooth and some are rough. They have
different textures. The feel of any material is known as its texture.
• Transparency – Some materials allow light to pass through them, whereas
others do not. On the basis of amount of light that a material allows to pass
through, materials can be divided into the transparent, opaque and translucent
materials.
3. When do you label a material as translucent or opaque? Give two examples
to justify your answer.
Ans: Opaque materials are substances that do not allow light to pass through
them. Wood, metal and brick wall are examples of opaque materials.
Translucent materials are substances that. allow only a portion of light to pass
through them. Butter paper, tissue paper, thin plastic, frosted glass and ice are
examples of translucent materials.
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4. What do you observe when mustard oil and water are mixed together and
shaken? Explain by taking a suitable example.
Ans: Mustard oil does not mix with water. They form a separate layer. Liquids
that do not mix with each other are called immiscible liquids. Similarly,
kerosene and water are immiscible liquids. They do not dissolve in each other
and forms separate layer.
5. When milk or honey is added to water, the honey disappears in the water!
What does it indicate?
Ans: Some liquids such as honey and milk completely mix with water. It
indicates honey or milk is completely miscible in water.
6. Compare the properties of materials made from glass and plastics, taking
suitable examples.
Ans: Glass and plastic materials have different properties:
• Transparency: Glass is usually transparent, which means we can see
through it clearly (e.g., windowpanes). Plastic can be transparent,
translucent, or opaque depending on its type (e.g., plastic water bottles
are transparent, while plastic buckets are opaque).
• Appearance: Glass has a shiny, smooth, and often glossy appearance.
Plastic can look shiny or dull and comes in many colors and finishes.
• Texture: Glass is smooth and hard. Plastic can be smooth or rough, and it
is usually lighter and more flexible than glass.
• Breakability: Glass is brittle and breaks easily if dropped. Plastic is less
likely to break and is more durable.
These differences make glass and plastic useful for different purposes in our
daily lives.
7. Matter has mass and occupies space. Air is also matter. How will you prove
this?
Ans: Air is a general term for all the gases that are floating around. Gases are
atoms and they have mass and take up space. The definition of matter is
something that has mass and takes up space, therefore air is classified as
matter. Air is also matter can be proven by a simple experiment – Take a
deflated football. Weigh the football before filling up the air. Fill up the football
with air. Before you added the air to football, it was empty. When you added
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air, it expanded. That proves that air occupies space. Weigh the inflated
football again. Inflated football will be heavier. The compressed air is heavier
than its surroundings, so the air has mass or weight.
8. Can you recall a few things that are not made of matter?
Ans: Not everything is made of matter. Non-matter includes the light from a
torch, the heat from a fire, and the sound of a police siren. You cannot hold,
taste, or smell these things. They are not types of matter, but forms of energy.
9. How will you infer that water is a transparent material? Under what
conditions pure water can lose transparency?
Ans: Experiment to prove that water is a transparent material –
• Take a beaker half-filled with clean water.
• Put a coin in beaker of water.
• Place the beaker undisturbed for a few minutes where enough light is
present.
• Now, observe the coin immersed in water from the top of the beaker.
• You can clearly see the coin immersed in water.
This proves that water is a transparent liquid. Water on cooling, freezes to form
ice which is not transparent. Impurities added to water can make it
translucent.
10. Classify the following substances according to the given property.
a. Property: Lustre
Substances: wood, fresh piece of iron, aluminium foil, silk, steel
Ans: Lustrous substances – a fresh piece of iron, aluminium foil and steel.
Non-lustrous substances – Wood and silk.
b. Property: Hardness
Substances: brick, cotton wool, coal, diamond
Ans: Hard substances – Brick, coal and diamond.
Soft substances – cotton and wool.
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c. Property: Solubility in water
Substances: Sand, chalk powder, sugar, salt
Ans: Soluble in water – sugar and salt.
Insoluble in water – sand and chalk powder.
G. Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS): (Notebook writing)
1. How does the smell of food being cooked spread so fast?
Ans: The smell of food spreads fast because gases produced during cooking
move and spread quickly in all directions. This property of gases allows the
aroma of food to reach our nose from a distance.
2. Identify the property of the material in the following uses:
a. Metals are used in electric wires.
b. Glass is used in window panes.
c. Wood is used in boats.
d. Diamond is used in jewellery.
Ans: a. Metals in electric wires: Metals conduct electricity, which makes them
suitable for electric wires.
b. Glass in windowpanes: Glass is transparent, which allows light to pass
through.
c. Wood in boats: Wood floats on water due to its lower density.
d. Diamond in jewellery: Diamond has a high lustre, which makes it appealing
for jewellery.
3. Why is it easier to hold a steel tumbler with cold milk than the one with hot
milk?
Ans: It is easier to hold a steel tumbler with cold milk because no heat is
transferred to our hands. When the tumbler contains hot milk, heat is
conducted through the steel, which makes it uncomfortable to hold.
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