NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 5 Footprints Without Feet

NCERT Solutions for CBSE Class 10 English Chapter 5 Footprints Without Feet are provided here. This story is written by H.G. Wells and includes many questions that are important for exams. We have solved all the NCERT questions of the lesson with a detailed explanation that help students to complete their assignments & homework. We have provided NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 5 Footprints Without Feet in PDF format so that you can download them for offline use.

Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 5 NCERT Questions and Answers

Read and Find Out (Page No. 26)

Question 1. How did the invisible man first become visible?

Answer: The invisible man (Griffin) first became visible after he slipped into a big London store for keeping warm and overslept there while wearing some clothes taken from the store. The clothes made him visible to the shop assistants when the shop opened in the morning. To escape from them, he had to shed all his clothes to become invisible again.

Question 2. Why was he wandering the streets?

Answer: Although Griffin was a brilliant scientist, but he was a lawless person. His landlord disliked him and tried to evict him from the house. In revenge, the scientist set the house on fire. To escape from the scene, he removed his clothes and became a homeless wanderer without clothes, no money and totally invisible roaming around the streets of London.

Read and Find Out (Page No. 28)

Question 1. Why does Mrs Hall find the scientist eccentric?

Answer: The arrival of a stranger at an inn in winter was in itself a strange occurrence. In addition, the stranger had an uncommon appearance. In spite of Mrs Hall’s attempts to be friendly, he would respond in a cold manner. He told her that he had no desire to talk, and that all he wanted was solitude. He did not wish to be disturbed in his work. For all these reasons she regarded him as an eccentric scientist.

Question 2. What curious episode occurs in the study?

Answer: In the early hours of one morning, the clergyman and his wife woke up by noises coming from their study. Creeping downstairs, they heard the sound of coins being taken from the clergyman’s desk. To their amazement, when they entered the study, the room was empty. He and his wife looked under the desk and behind the curtains and even up the chimney. However, they did not find anybody there. Yet the desk was found open and the housekeeping money was also missing.

Question 3. What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?

Answer: A series of extraordinary things happened at the inn. When Mrs Hall and her husband went into the scientist’s room and found its door wide open. Usually it was always shut and locked and the scientist became furious if anyone entered his room. However, when Mrs Hall and her husband peeped round the door, he was nowhere to be seen in the room. His clothes and bandages that he always wore were lying about the room. Suddenly, Mrs Hall heard a sniff close to her ear and the hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed itself into her face. Out of nowhere, the bedroom chair sprang into the air and pushed them both out of the room and then it slammed and locked the door after them. All these incidents made Mrs Hall believe that her furniture and the room was haunted by spirits, and that the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into her furniture.

Think About It (Page No. 31)

Question 1. “Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment.

Answer: Griffin was a lawless person. His landlord disliked him and tried to get rid of him. In revenge, he set fire to the house and ran away. He had no money. Therefore, he stole and robbed people after becoming invisible. When he went into the London store, he gave himself the pleasure of clothing. He fed himself without regard to expense. Later, he went to Drury Lane, which was the centre of the theatre world. He went to a suitable shop and came out wearing bandages round his forehead, dark glasses, false nose, big bushy side-whiskers, and a large hat. He was visible then. To escape without being seen, he callously attacked the shopkeeper from behind, and robbed him of all the money he could find. When he had exhausted all the money he had stolen, he robbed a clergyman. He even attacked the innkeeper and his wife when they tried to sneak into his room. Later, when the police came to arrest him, he threw off his clothes, thereby becoming invisible and running away.

Question 2. How would you assess Griffin as a scientist?

Answer: Griffin is a brilliant scientist, as he discovers how to make himself invisible. But he seems to enjoy the feeling of power which he gets out of his invisibility. The power to hurt anybody without getting noticed can give sadistic pleasure to some people. A true scientist should make discoveries for the larger benefit of society, not just for his own benefit.

Talk About It (Page No. 31)

Question 1. Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and disadvantages do you foresee, if you did?

Answer: It can be an exciting idea for most people. Like two facets of a coin, invisibility can have many advantages and disadvantages. For a child, invisibility may mean a licence for all kinds of pranks without getting caught. Like a Hindi movie, invisibility can help you beat all the villains black and blue and get rid of them. Once you become invisible, nobody would notice you. Within no time, the sadness of isolation will take over the excitement of being invisible. You will have no friend. You will tend to behave like the eccentric scientist in this story.

Question 2. Are there forces around us that are invisible, for example, magnetism? Are there aspects of matter that are ‘invisible1 or not visible to the naked eye? What would the world be like if you could see such forces or such aspects of matter? ‘

Answer: Yes, electrostatic and magnetic forces are good examples of invisible forces. The atoms and molecules in a particular matter are so tiny that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. Similarly, sound and heat energy are transparent and cannot be seen. Although it is quite an exciting idea to see invisible things, but their visibility could create a lot of issues too. For instance, if we are able to view the magnetic force, it might cause a lot of irritation to our senses.

Question 3. What makes glass or water transparent (what is the scientific explanation for this)? Do you think it would be scientifically possible for a man to become invisible, or transparent? (Keep in mind that writers of science fiction have often turned out to be prophetic in their imagination)

Answer: The fact that light can pass through glass or water makes them transparent. When light falls on an object, the reflected light from that object makes it visible to us. If some device can be made which can prevent reflection of light from the human body then the human body can be made invisible.