Try segregating the things around you as pure substances or mixtures.

Abdul, while driving to school, computes the average speed for his trip to be 20 km h^-1. On his return trip along the same route, there is less traffic and the average speed is 40 km h^-1. What is the average speed for Abdul’s trip?

An object of mass 40 kg is raised to a height of 5 m above the ground. What is its potential energy? If the object is allowed to fall, find its kinetic energy when it is half-way down.

A driver of a car travelling at 52 km h^-1 applies the brakes and accelerates uniformly in the opposite direction. The car stops in 5 s. Another driver going at 3 km h^-1 in another car applies his brakes slowly and stops in 10 s. On the same graph paper, plot the speed versus time graphs for the two cars. Which of the two cars travelled farther after the brakes were applied?

Fig 8.11 shows the distance-time graph of three objects A,B and C. Study the graph and answer the following questions:

          Fig. 8.11

(a) Which of the three is travelling the fastest?
(b) Are all three ever at the same point on the road?
(c) How far has C travelled when B passes A?
(d) How far has B travelled by the time it passes C?

Two objects, each of mass 1.5 kg, are moving in the same straight line but in opposite directions. The velocity of each object is 2.5 m s^-1 before the collision during which they stick together. What will be the velocity of the combined object after collision?

Soni says that the acceleration in an object could be zero even when several forces are acting on it. Do you agree with her? Why?

Two objects of masses 100 g and 200 g are moving along the same line and direction with velocities of 2 m s^-1 and 1 m s^-1, respectively. They collide and after the collision, the first object moves at a velocity of 1.67 m s^-1. Determine the velocity of the second object.

How do poriferan animals differ from coelenterate animals?

The speed-time graph for a car is shown is Fig. 8.12.

          Fig. 8.12

(a) Find how far does the car travel in the first 4 seconds. Shade the area on the graph that represents the distance travelled by the car during the period.
(b) Which part of the graph represents uniform motion of the car?

How are sol, solution and suspension different from each other?

Give reasons

(a) A gas fills completely the vessel in which it is kept.
(b) A gas exerts pressure on the walls of the container.
(c) A wooden table should be called a solid.
(d) We can easily move our hand in air but to do the same through a solid block of wood we need a karate expert.

Suggest a method to liquefy atmospheric gases.

What are the methods of preventing or reducing soil erosion?

What would happen if the plasma membrane ruptures or breaks down?

Does the transfer of energy take place when you push a huge rock with all your might and fail to move it? Where is the energy you spend going?

Which postulate of Dalton’s atomic theory is the result of the law of conservation of mass?

Look at the activities listed below. Reason out whether or not work is done in the light of your understanding of the term ‘work’.
  • Suma is swimming in a pond.
  •  A donkey is carrying a load on its back.
  •  A wind-mill is lifting water from a well.
  •  A green plant is carrying out photosynthesis.
  •  An engine is pulling a train.
  •  Food grains are getting dried in the sun.
  •  A sailboat is moving due to wind energy.

During an experiment, a signal from a spaceship reached the ground station in five minutes. What was the distance of the spaceship from the ground station? The signal travels at the speed of light, that is, 3 × 10⁸ m s^-1.

Which characteristic of the sound helps you to identify your friend by his voice while sitting with others in a dark room?

The mass per unit volume of a substance is called density. (density = mass/volume). Arrange the following in order of increasing density – air, exhaust from chimneys, honey, water, chalk, cotton and iron.