NCERT Solutions for Class 3 EVS Chapter 5: Plants and Animals Live Together – Free PDF Download

Chapter 5 of Our Wondrous World (Class 3 EVS) is Plants and Animals Live Together. It explores how animals, birds and insects use trees and plants for food, shelter and rest, and what lives hidden in the soil beneath them. These Class 3 EVS Chapter 5 solutions are also useful as quick revision notes before exams.

Animals and Birds Around Plants

Q: What else can be found wherever there are plants?
A: The textbook explains that wherever there are plants, animals and birds are also found. Some live on trees, some live around them, and some even live underneath them, in the soil. Examples shown include a herd of elephants grazing on grass, a moth resting on a leaf, a caterpillar eating a leaf, a woodpecker sitting on a tree trunk, and an earthworm crawling in the soil.

Why Animals and Birds Want to Live Near Plants

Q: How do animals, birds and insects use plants for food, shelter and rest? Give examples.
A: Based on the pictures on page 63 of the textbook, animals, birds and insects use plants in these ways:

• A herd of elephants grazes on grass (for food).
• A moth rests on a leaf (for rest).
• A caterpillar eats a leaf (for food).
• An earthworm crawls among dry leaves and soil (for shelter).
• A tailorbird sings while sitting on a tree (for shelter).
• A woodpecker sits on a tree trunk (for food and shelter).
• Ants build their home using leaves (for shelter).
• A colourful insect lives on a leaf (for shelter and rest).
• A frog rests on a leaf (for rest).
• A butterfly hovers over a leaf (for rest and food).
• A squirrel hides and rests in a hollow in a tree trunk (for shelter).
• A bird makes its nest in a hollow in a tree and lives there (for shelter).

Life in the Soil

Q: What kinds of creatures can be found in soil, and what is soil made of?
A: The textbook explains that when the soil gets wet during the rains, we see the most insects, such as earthworms and centipedes. Soil is the topmost layer of the earth’s surface, formed from rocks that break down very slowly into tiny pieces over time. It also contains dry leaves, roots and stems of plants, as well as dead animals and insects.

Q: What changes are seen in the soil when it becomes wet during the rains?
A: During the rains, the textbook notes that even more insects (like earthworms and centipedes) become visible, more grass appears in the soil, and many different kinds of plants can be seen sprouting.

How Animals Use Different Parts of Plants

Q: What is the caterpillar and butterfly’s relationship with plants, and how do the squirrel and the bird use a hollow in a tree trunk?
A: The caterpillar needs the leaves of plants for food — the textbook’s picture shows a caterpillar eating a leaf, while a butterfly is shown hovering over a leaf. A squirrel hides and rests in a hollow in a tree trunk, and a bird uses a similar hollow to build its nest and live in — for both of them, the tree’s hollow serves as shelter.

Bird Calls

Q: What is the benefit of closing your eyes while listening to bird calls?
A: Closing your eyes helps your attention focus entirely on listening, so you can recognise the different calls of birds more clearly without seeing them. As shown in the picture, turning your face towards the direction a sound is coming from and listening carefully makes the calls even clearer. For example, a pigeon’s call is “gutar-goo.”

Let’s Reflect (End-of-Chapter Questions)

Q: What is soil made up of?
A: Soil is made up of tiny broken pieces of rock, along with dry leaves, roots and stems of plants, and dead animals and creatures.

Q: How does the root help a tree, and what work does the stem do?
A: The root anchors the tree firmly in the ground and draws water and nutrients from the soil; the stem carries this water and nutrients throughout the tree to its leaves, flowers and fruits.

Q: According to Suma and the caterpillar’s story, what is the correct order in which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly?
A: Suma noticed a caterpillar eating leaves on a tagar plant. As shown in the textbook, the correct order is: first the caterpillar eats leaves and grows bigger, then it forms a cocoon, and finally it emerges from the cocoon as a beautiful butterfly. This cycle of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly (metamorphosis) is the central message of the story.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do animals and birds live near plants?
Plants provide them with food (like leaves, fruits and grass), shelter (like hollows, leaves and branches), and places to rest.

What is soil made of?
Soil is made of tiny broken pieces of rock along with dry plant matter (leaves, roots, stems) and dead animals and insects.

What is the correct order of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly?
The caterpillar eats leaves and grows, forms a cocoon, and then emerges from the cocoon as a butterfly.

Written by Satish

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