NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Chapter 8 Fire Friend and Foe

Students those who are searching NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Honeycomb Chapter 8 Fire Friend and Foe can refer to this article. This chapter contains many questions that are important for exams. Here we have provided answers to all these questions with a detailed explanation that help students to complete their assignments and homework.

Class 7 English Chapter 8 Fire Friend and Foe NCERT Questions and Answers

Comprehension Check

Question 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.
(c) fire.

Answer: (c) fire.

(ii) (a) Fire is energy.
(b) Fire is heat and light.
(c) Fire is the result of a chemical reaction.

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

Question 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.

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

Answer: d. (iv) (ii) (iii) (i)

Working with the Text

Answer the following questions.

Question 1: What do you understand by the ‘flash point’ of a fuel?

Answer: The particular temperature at which the fuel begins to burn is called the ‘flash point’ of a fuel.

Question 2: (i) What are some common uses of fire?
(ii) In what sense is it a “bad master”?

Answer: (i) Some of the common uses of fire are to cook food, warm the homes in winter and to generate electricity.

(ii) It is a “bad master” because if it is not kept under control, it can prove very dangerous. Each year thousands of homes and shops are damaged by fire. Vast areas of forest are also destroyed and hundreds of people are killed or injured.

Question 3: Match items in Column A with those in Column B

A	B
(i) fuel	Lighted matchstick
(ii) oxygen	Air
(iii) heat	Coal
	Burning coal
	Wood
	Smoldering paper
	Cooking gas

Answer:

A	B
(i) fuel	Smoldering paper
	Cooking gas
	Coal
	Wood
(ii) oxygen	Air
(iii) heat	Lighted matchstick
	Burning coal

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

Answer: The three main ways in which a fire can be controlled or put out are:

(i) By taking away the fuel. If the fire has no fuel to feed on, no burning can take place.

(ii) By preventing oxygen from reaching it

(iii) By bringing back the temperature below ‘flash point’ of the the fuel

Question 5: Match the items in Box A with those in Box B

A
(i) To burn paper or a piece of wood, (ii) small fires can be put out (iii) When water is spread on fire (iv) A carbon dioxide extinguisher is the best thing (v) Space left between buildings
B
• it absorbs heat from the burning material and • lowers the temperature. • reduces the risk of fire. • with a damp blanket. • we heat it before it catches fire. • to put out an electrical fire.

Answer:

(i) To burn paper or a piece of wood,	we heat it before it catches fire.
(ii) Small fires can be put out	with a damp blanket.
(iii) When water is spread on fire,	it absorbs heat from the burning material and lowers the temperature.
(iv) A carbon dioxide extinguisher is the best thing	to put out an electrical fire.
(v) Space left between buildings	reduces the risk of fire.

Question 6: Why does a burning candle go out when you blow on it?

Answer: A burning candle goes out when you blow on it because when we blow air, we remove the hot air around the flame bringing down its temperature below the flash point.

Question 7: Spraying water is not a good way of putting out an oil fire or an electrical fire. Why not?

Answer: Spraying water is not a good way of putting out an oil fire or an electrical fire. If water is sprayed onto an oil fire, the oil will float to the top of the water and continue to burn. This can be very dangerous because water can flow quickly carrying the burning oil with it and spreading the fire. Similarly, the person spraying water on an electrical fire might receive an electric shock and be killed.

Question 8: What are some of the things you should do to prevent a fire at home and in the school?

Answer: Some of the things we should do to prevent a fire at home and in the school:

(i) Precaution is better than cure. We should be alert about the use of inflammable substances and handle it with care.

(ii) There is always possibility of catching fire in old buildings of home and school due to short circuits. Therefore, over loaded wires should be replaced with new ones and Fuse should be checked at regular interval.

(iii) By spreading the knowledge about the handling of fuel, its flash point and about its protection after an accident.

(iv) Fire extinguisher should be installed and old wiring must be replaced. Keeping the contact number of fire police on speed dial in case if little accident may happen.

(v) Never taking the little accident of fire lightly as it may lead to greater one and finding a way out so that it may not happen in future. Not storing inflammable or combustible things like kerosene and petrol in our homes and in the school.

Working with Language

Question 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.

Find ten examples of verbs in the simple present tense in the text ‘Fire: Friend and Foe’ and write them down here.
Do not include any passive verbs

Answer: 1…fire is the result of a chemical reaction.

2. Energy in the form of heat and light is released in this process.

3. When the oxygen in the air combines with carbon and hydrogen in a fuel, a chemical reaction takes place.

4. Oxygen comes from the air.

5. Every fuel has a particular temperature at which it begins to burn.

6. For instance, we use it to cook our food, warm our homes in winter and to generate electricity.

7…if fire gets out of control it can be very dangerous.

8. Vast areas of forest are also destroyed and hundreds of people are killed or injured.

9. It absorbs heat from the burning fuel and lowers the temperature.

10. The blanket of water also cuts off the supply of oxygen, and the fire is extinguished.

Question 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

(i) Gandhiji’s life was devoted to the __________ of justice and fair play.

(ii) Have you insured your house against __________?

(iii) Diamond is nothing but __________ in its pure form.

(iv) If you put too much coal on the fire at once you will __________ it.

(v) Smoking is said to be the main __________ of heart disease.

(vi) When asked by an ambitious writer whether he should put some __________ into his stories, Somerset Maugham murmured, “No, the other way round”.

(vii) She is a __________ copy of her mother.

(viii) It is often difficult to _________ a yawn when you listen to a long speech on the value of time.

Answer: (i) Gandhiji’s life was devoted to the cause of justice and fair play.

(ii) Have you insured your house against fire?

(iii) Diamond is nothing but carbon in its pure form.

(iv) If you put too much coal on the fire at once you will smother it.

(v) Smoking is said to be the main cause of heart disease.

(vi) When asked by an ambitious writer whether he should put some fire into his stories, Somerset Maugham murmured, “No, the other way round”.

(vii) She is a carbon copy of her mother.

(viii) It is often difficult to smother a yawn when you listen to a long speech on the value of time.

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

spending shut destroy subtract increase

(i) You were required to keep all the doors open, not __________.

(ii) PUPIL: What mark did I get in yesterday’s Maths test?

TEACHER: You got what you get when you add five and five and __________ ten from the total.

(iii) Run four kilometres a day to preserve your health. Run a lot more to __________ it.

(iv) If a doctor advises a lean and lanky patient to reduce his weight further, be sure he is doing it to __________ his income.

(v) The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and __________ we lay waste our powers.

Answer: (i) You were required to keep all the doors open, not shut.

(ii) PUPIL: What mark did I get in yesterday’s Maths test?

TEACHER: You got what you get when you add five and five and subtract ten from the total.

(iii) Run four kilometres a day to preserve your health. Run a lot more to destroy it.

(iv) If a doctor advises a lean and lanky patient to reduce his weight further, be sure he is doing it to increase his income.

(v) The world is too much with us; late and soon. Getting and spending we lay waste our powers.

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

across  along  past  through

(i) The cat chased the mouse _________ the lawn.

(ii) We were not allowed to cross the frontier. So we drove _________ it as far as we could and came back happy.

(iii) The horse went _________ the winning post and had to be stopped with difficulty.

(iv) It is not difficult to see _________ your plan. Anyone can see your motive.

(v) Go _________ the yellow line, then turn left. You will reach the post office in five minutes.

Answer: (i) The cat chased the mouse across the lawn.

(ii) We were not allowed to cross the frontier. So we drove along it as far as we could and came back happy.

(iii) The horse went past the winning post and had to be stopped with difficulty.

(iv) It is not difficult to see through your plan. Anyone can see your motive.

(v) Go along the yellow line, then turn left. You will reach the post office in five minutes.

Speaking and Writing

Question 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.

(i) and eighteen fire tenders struggled/the fire began on Monday/to douse the blaze till morning

(ii) in a major fire/over 25 shops/were gutted

(iii) but property/was destroyed/worth several lakhs/no casualties were reported.

Answer: (i) The fire began on Monday and eighteen fire tenders struggled to douse the blaze till morning.

(ii) Over 25 shops were gutted in a major fire.

(iii) No casualties were reported but property worth several lakhs was destroyed.

Question 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 neighboring towns.

Answer: Do it yourself.