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Class 3 · Environmental Studies · Stage: Classes 3-5

Human body, senses and hygiene

Generic topic

This topic comes from GayaGnan's India-wide K–12 catalog. It is not copied from, or an official chapter of, any board's textbook: check your board's syllabus for the exact chapter and depth.

🎯 Learning outcomes

  • Name major internal organs and organ systems (digestive, breathing, circulation, skeleton, muscles)
  • Explain how sense organs work with the brain
  • Explain how germs spread and how hygiene, vaccination and clean surroundings prevent disease

Before you start: External body parts and the five senses.

📖 Explanation

Inside the body, organs work in teams called systems. The digestive system (mouth, food pipe, stomach, intestines) breaks food down. The lungs take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. The heart pumps blood through blood vessels to every part. The skeleton supports and protects, and muscles move bones.

Sense organs send messages along nerves to the brain, which decides what to do: when you touch something hot, the message travels to the brain or spinal cord and you pull your hand away quickly.

Germs spread through dirty water, unwashed hands, coughs and sneezes, flies and mosquitoes. Washing hands, covering coughs, safe water, clean toilets and vaccines prevent many diseases. Stagnant water lets mosquitoes breed, spreading malaria and dengue.

🇮🇳 Example from India

India's Pulse Polio campaign gave polio drops to crores of children, and India was declared polio-free in 2014.

⚠️ Common mistake

✗ The heart is on the far left of the chest
✓ The heart sits roughly in the middle of the chest, tilted slightly to the left, between the lungs.

🧪 Try this activity

Count your pulse at the wrist for one minute while sitting, then after skipping for one minute. Explain why it is faster after exercise.

✍️ Question bank with answers

Tap an option to check multiple-choice answers. Open “Answer” or “Marking points” for the others.

  1. Multiple choice 1 mark · easy

    Which organ pumps blood?

    Answer

    B. heart

    The heart pumps blood through the body.

  2. Multiple choice 1 mark · easy

    Mosquitoes breed in

    Answer

    B. stagnant water

    Still water in pots, tyres and coolers lets mosquitoes lay eggs.

  3. Multiple choice 1 mark · easy

    Which system breaks down food?

    Answer

    A. digestive

    The digestive system digests food.

  4. Very short answer 1 mark · easy

    Which organ controls the whole body?

    Answer

    the brain

  5. Very short answer 1 mark · easy

    Name a disease spread by mosquitoes.

    Answer

    malaria or dengue

  6. Short answer 2 marks · medium

    Why should we cover our mouth while coughing or sneezing?

    Marking points
    • Germs spread through tiny droplets in the air
    • Covering stops them reaching others
  7. Long answer 4 marks · hard

    Describe the journey of food from mouth to intestines.

    Marking points
    • Teeth chew and saliva mixes in the mouth
    • Food pipe carries food to the stomach
    • Stomach churns and digests
    • Small intestine absorbs digested food; waste goes on
  8. Application 2 marks · medium

    Water collects in an old tyre near your home. What should be done and why?

    Answer
    • Empty it or cover it
    • Stops mosquitoes breeding and spreading dengue or malaria
  9. Diagram / label 2 marks · medium

    Draw an outline of the body and mark the heart, lungs, stomach and brain.

    Answer
    • Brain in the head
    • Lungs on both sides of the chest
    • Heart between the lungs
    • Stomach in the upper abdomen

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