Read about science and nature
key notes :
🌍 What is Science and Nature?
- Science is the study of how things work in the world around us.
- Nature includes all living things (plants, animals, people) and non-living things (rocks, water, air).
🔬 Branches of Science
- Life Science – Study of living things like plants and animals.
- Earth Science – Study of the Earth, weather, rocks, and land.
- Physical Science – Study of matter, energy, and how things move.
🌱 Understanding Nature
- Ecosystems – Communities of plants, animals, and their environment.
- Habitats – Places where plants and animals live.
- Food Chains – Show how energy moves from plants to animals.
🧪 Why Reading About Science and Nature is Important
- Helps us understand the world better.
- Encourages curiosity and exploration.
- Teaches problem-solving through observing and asking questions.
📚 How to Read Science and Nature Texts
Look for headings and keywords.
Use diagrams, pictures, and captions to understand better.
Ask yourself:
- “What is this about?”
- “Why is it important?”
- “What did I learn?”
Learn with an example
▶️ Read the text.
Tiny Troopers
Bacteria are bad, right? Aren’t bacteria the tiny little ‘germs’ that make us sick? We have antibacterial soaps and cleaning products to kill bacteria, and we have antibiotic medicines to stop infections caused by bacteria. People and bacteria don’t get along, right? Well, the truth isn’t that simple. Actually, most bacteria are our friends. We could not live without these tiny living organisms.
It’s a good thing that most bacteria are not the enemy—because they are everywhere. They are in the soil, the air, the water and in and on every part of our bodies. Some bacteria can even survive in extreme habitats, such as deep underground or in boiling hot springs. Bacteria are the smallest known living things on the planet, with about ten thousand species discovered so far.
Each person’s body has trillions of bacteria. In our digestive systems, bacteria help break down the food we eat so our bodies can use the nutrients and get rid of the waste. Some bacteria in our bodies likely produce important nutrients, such as vitamin K, themselves. One of the most important jobs for our bodies’ good bacteria is to keep the bad bacteria out. Good bacteria help keep our bodies strong and ready to fight off diseases caused by bad bacteria.
Bacteria are not only important for our bodies. They are important for the environment, too. Bacteria in soil break down dead plant and animal materials. This cleans things up, and it also fertilises the soil to help new plants grow. Bacteria have even been used to break down rubbish stored in landfills and oil that pollutes water after oil spills. Researchers have even discovered bacteria that feed on plastic, one of the hardest types of rubbish to break down.
While there are many benefits of bacteria, some scary diseases can be caused by bad bacteria. For example, the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, killed millions of people in the fourteenth century. Dangerous, contagious diseases like these can quickly spread to others, making large numbers of people sick at once. Thankfully, most diseases today that are caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics. However, antibiotics cannot tell the difference between good and bad bacteria. So, they kill off good bacteria along with the bad. At times, some bad bacteria can survive the antibiotics and become even stronger. So, doctors try to use antibiotics only when they are truly needed to fight off certain bacterial infections.
The benefits of bacteria in our world are many and growing. While it is true that we have to be careful about spreading bad bacteria, there are many more good bacteria that are our friends. They’re like a microscopic army fighting alongside us to make our bodies and our world healthier.
What is the text about?
- It is about how important it is to destroy all bacteria because they cause bad diseases.
- It is about how washing one’s hands is the best way to stop the spread of disease.
- It is about how diseases caused by bacteria have been stopped by antibacterial products.
- It is about how some bacteria can be bad but most bacteria do good things for us.
The text discusses the following ideas:
- The text says that ‘most bacteria are our friends’ even though there are frightening diseases caused by bad bacteria.
- The text also talks about different ways that bacteria ‘make our bodies and our world healthier’.
So, the text is about how some bacteria can be bad but most bacteria do good things for us.
▶️ Read the text.
Secrets of the Seashell
If you have ever collected seashells, you know that they come in a wide range of shapes and colours. But why is that? Many things help decide a shell’s appearance, including where it is formed and how it is used for protection.
To understand a shell’s appearance, it’s important to first understand what shells are. Most seashells are the exoskeletons of different kinds of molluscs, such as snails, clams and oysters. An exoskeleton is an animal’s hard outer covering. As a mollusc grows, it uses chemicals from the sea to produce a compound of calcium, which becomes the hard exoskeleton. The exoskeleton shields the mollusc’s soft, slimy body. When the mollusc dies, its soft body rots away or is eaten by a predator. Its exoskeleton may wash to the shore, where people call it a seashell.
A seashell’s appearance is affected by its environment. For example, warmer waters tend to produce more colourful seashells. This is partly because warm waters contain more food sources for molluscs. The foods contain different pigments, substances that give them their colour. Since molluscs in warmer waters eat foods with many different pigments, they create more colourful exoskeletons. Molluscs found in colder waters have a more limited food supply. Therefore, their exoskeletons tend to be darker and more uniform in colour.
The main role of a mollusc’s exoskeleton is to protect the mollusc inside. So, a shell’s thickness and shape depend on how it is used for protection. Thin shells are lighter than thick shells. Thus, molluscs that avoid predators by swimming away often have thin shells. The shell’s light weight allows the mollusc to move around more easily. To make up for their thinness, these shells often have spikes and ridges to give them more strength. In addition, the spikes and ridges give the mollusc extra protection against predators. molluscs that burrow underground, like clams, also have thin shells so they can dig quickly. These molluscs have smooth shells, however, since predators cannot easily get to them underground. Finally, some molluscs form thick, heavy shells to deter predators. These heavy shells are difficult for predators to break through, and they also help anchor the molluscs to surfaces like rocks and mud.
Every seashell was once a mollusc’s home. Each seashell was built differently in order to suit the creature living inside. These animals create shells that give them the best chance of living safely in their environments.
What is the text about?
- It is about why seashells have different shapes and colours.
- It is about where to collect seashells.
- It is about how seashells develop sharp spikes and ridges.
- It is about how seashells change their colours.
The text discusses the following ideas:
- Shells come in different shapes and colours.
- The shell’s colour is affected by its environment.
- The way the mollusc uses its shell for protection affects its shape and colour.
The text explains that shells come in different shapes and colours and states several reasons why.
So, the text is about why seashells have different shapes and colours.
let’s practice!
Read the text.
Living Lights
During the day, we get light from the sun. At night, we flick on an electric light switch or light a fire. But some bioluminescent organisms produce their own light. One familiar example of bioluminescence is the flashing light of fireflies, also known as lightning bugs. Bioluminescence is light produced by chemicals inside living things.
Many ocean predators use bioluminescence to find and catch their food. Some do so by using light to attract prey. For example, an anglerfish has a long, thin growth on its head, with a tip that lights up. Small fish swim towards the light, and the anglerfish grabs them with its sharp teeth. Other bioluminescent predators use light to better see their prey. One such predator is the dragonfish, a deep-sea fish with big, loose jaws. The dragonfish is one of the only sea animals that can see red light. It can also produce red light. So, the dragonfish can use the red light to see its prey without being seen itself.
Bioluminescence is also used for protection. In order to hide from predators, some fish disguise themselves by producing downwards-pointing light that looks like sunlight. Other creatures use more involved tactics for protection. Tiny plankton send out flashes of light when disturbed. This startles, confuses or scares away predators. Vampire squid shoot out a sticky bioluminescent gel that draws away an attacker’s attention, allowing the squid to escape. But a starfish-like creature called a brittle star has an even more special way of protecting itself: it has sticky bioluminescent ‘arms’ that can break off when it’s attacked.
One final way creatures are known to use bioluminescence is to attract mates. Flashlight fish, for example, have bean-shaped bioluminescent pouches beneath their eyes. They flash these lights on and off to communicate with mates. Another example is the Bermuda fireworm, a small worm that lives on the ocean floor. During the full moon, the female worms move to the surface and swim in circles, attracting the males with their bioluminescent light.
Humans are not bioluminescent, but they have benefited from this type of light. Long ago, miners used lanterns lit with fireflies to safely light their way into dark mines since using fire was too dangerous. During World War II, Japanese soldiers read by the light of tiny bioluminescent creatures known as sea fireflies. These creatures produced just enough light for the soldiers to read maps and messages without being seen. More recently, scientists have started using bioluminescence to study diseases and to find and fight hidden diseases in people’s bodies. In the future, bioluminescence could perhaps be used as an environmentally friendly source of light. This ‘living light’ could give new life to how we light our lives.