Questions Answers

Read and Understand

A. Fill in the blanks.

1. Issac Newton was born at a small village of Woolsthorpe in England.

2. Grand mother was advised to apprentice him to a clockmaker.

3. Isaac made a clock, by the dropping of water.

4. The sun-dial made by Isaac is still in existence at Woolsthorpe.

5. Isaac constructed a model of the windwill.

B. Choose the correct synonyms for the italicized words.

1. Isaac was chiefly remarkable for his ingenuity.

a. common

b. notable

 c. neglected

 d. unknown

[Answer: (b) notable]

2. He will make a capital workman.

a. wealth

b. excellent

c. profitable

d. head

[Answer: (a) wealth] 

3. Nobody could tell what the sunshine was composed of.

a. made

b. known

c. full

d. felt

[Answer: (a) made]

4. He cared little for earthly fame and honors.

a. Disrespect

b. attraction

c. proud

d. popularity

[Answer: (d) popularity]

Section -II

Read and Understand

A. Choose the correct antonym for the italicized word

1. His Grandmother was very kind to him.

a. affectionate

b. loving

c. disrespectful

d. cruel

[Answer: (d) cruel]

2. The boy seemed to have a taste for mathematics.

a. delicious

b. sweet

c. distaste

d. against

[Answer: (c) distaste]

3. Isaac possessed a wonderful faculty of acquiring knowledge.

a.owned

b. controlled

c. lacks

 d. have

[Answer: (c) lacks]

4. He was observed to be usually busy with his tools.

a. common

b. rarely

c. unwontedly

 d. usually

[Answer: (b) rarely]

B. Answer the following questions in one or two

1. Who was taking care of Newton after his father's death?

Answer: His grandmother was taking care of Newton after his father’s death.

2. What did Isaac manufacture at his young age?

Answer: Isaac manufactured a set of little tools and saws of various sizes.

3. How did the young boy find the strength of the wind?

Answer: The young boy found the strength of the wind by first jumping against the wind. According to the length of his jump, he could calculate the force of a gentle breeze, a brisk gale or a tempest.

4. Why were his friends attracted by the windmill?

Answer: His friends were attracted by the windmill because they thought that they had not seen anything so pretty and wonderful in the whole world.

5. How was Newton honoured by the king?

Answer: Newton was made a Member of the Parliament and received the honour of knighthood from the king.

C. Answer the following in about 100 words

1. Why did Newton's friends advice his grand mother to apprentice him to a clockmaker?

Answer: In his early years, Newton was chiefly remarkable in his ability to invent things.

He had manufactured a set of little tools and saws of various sizes. With the help of these things, he invented curious articles, at which he worked with so much skill. His friends and neighbours admired at the things manufactured by him. Some of his friends advised his grandmother to apprentice him to a clockmaker because, besides his mechanical skill, Newton seemed to have a taste for mathematics, which would be very useful to him in that profession. After sometimes he could set up one for himself.

2. How did Newton learn about the way a windmill operated?

Answer: Newton frequently went to the windmill that operated on a new plan. He spent hours in examining the various parts of the windmill. When the mill was not working, he examined its internal machinery. When the windmill’s broad sails were in motion by the wind, Newton examined the process by which the mill-stones revolved and crushed the grains, put into its hopper. Thus Newton gained a thorough knowledge of the construction and operation of the windmill.

3. Mention some of Newton's inventions.

Answer: Sir Isaac Newton is best known for his laws of motion. In mathematics, his inventions included laying the groundwork for differential and integral calculus. His inventions in mechanics and gravitation were summarised in ‘The Principia’.

The reflecting telescope and Binomial Theorem were also some of his best inventions. He was the first to find out the nature of light. He invented the reflecting telescope which was used to view and map out the orbits of the planets. He also used his theory of gravity to calculate the elliptical orbits of planets around the sun accurately.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

Very Short Questions and Answers :

1. How did Newton create many curious articles?

Answer: Newton created many curious articles with the help of his little tools and saws of various sizes.

2. Which object made by Newton was of a great wonderment to all the people?

Answer: The water-clock made by Newton was a wonderment to all the people.

3. How did Newton’s grandmother know the time in shade and in the sunlight?

Answer: The water-clock told the time in the shade and the sun-dial in the sunlight.

4. Why did Isaac visit the windmill frequently?

Answer: Isaac went to the windmill frequently to examine its various parts.

5. What was the size of the windmill made by Newton?

Answer: The windmill made by the Isaac was of the size of the box-traps which boys set to catch squirrels.

6. What had Newton forgotten while making the windmill?

Answer: Newton had forgotten to make a miller for the windmill.

7. Sir Isaac Newton died in 1727. Express it in another way.

Answer: Sir Isac Newton ceased to live on earth. 

8. Name another astronomer, besides Newton, who was gifted with mechanical genius.

Answer: David Rittenhouse.

Give Short Answers:

1. What do you know about Newton’s grandmother? '

Answer: Newton’s old grandmother was kind and good to him. She sent him to school and never weary of talking pride words about him. She always believed that Issac would be a capital workman, do well in the world and be a rich man before he died. Grandma lived near a windmill. She used the sun-dial and water-clock made by Newton to know the time.

2. Describe the clock made by Newton.

Answer: Newton made a clock which nobody had ever heard of before. It was set going, not by wheels and weights, like other clocks, but by the dropping of water. It was an object of wonderment to all the people around.

3. How did Newton gain a thorough knowledge of the windmill and why?

Answer: Newton gained thorough knowledge of the windmill by frequently visiting the windmill near his grandma’s house. He spent many hours examining its parts, studied its internal machines, when the windmill was not working. When the sails were moving by the wind, he observed the process by which the mill-stones were made to revolve and crush the grains that was put into the hopper.

Newton gained a thorough knowledge of the windmill to construct a similar model of the windmill on his own.

4. Describe the sails of the windmill which Newton made.

Answer: The little sails of the windmill constructed by Newton were made of linen. They whirled round very swiftly when the mill was placed before a current of air. Even a little puff of air was sufficient to set the sails in motion.

5. What truth does Newton reveal when he speaks about the Miller?

Answer: Newton reveals that few two-legged men are dishonest like the small four legged animals. Newton did not make a miller for his windmill. He could have made a miniature figure of a man, but it would not operate the windmill. Hence the author writes that some human is dishonest.

6. Why did Newton’s mother send him back to school?

Answer: After Newton’s stepfather died, his mother made him leave school and assist her in managing the farm at Woolsthorpe. Newton tried to put his attention on farming but couldn’t, as his mind was bent on becoming a scholar. So his mother sent him back to school.

7. What is the comment of the author Nathaniel Hawthorne about Sir Isaac Newton after his death?

Answer: The author Nathaniel Hawthorne says that even after the spirit of Isaac Newton left his mortal body, it is still searching the endless wisdom and goodness of God and creator even more sincerely. He also says that the fame of Isaac would stay forever as his name is written in letters of light, formed by the stars in the mid sky. 

Answer in Detail:

1. Explain the hard work put by Isaac Newton while he contrived various things?

Answer: Isaac put great and different ways of hard work. To find the strength of wind, he jumped against the wind. He often walked to the windmill near his grandmother’s house. He spent many hours examining, observing, gaining knowledge and unusually busy working with his tools.

As Isaac grew older, he isolated himself, thought deeply, read books. At right, he looked at the stars for hours. He never permitted his mind to rest, until he searched all the laws about the sky, stars and planets. While doing researches on these, he spent night after night in a lofty tower, gazing at the heavenly bodies through the telescope without sleeping.

2. What were the queries Isaac had in his mind about the ‘heavenly bodies’?

Answer: Isaac wondered if the stars were worlds like our own, how great was their distance from the earth and what was the power that kept the stars in their courses. When the apple fell on his head, it made him think what made it fall down.

When he had once got hold of this idea, he never permitted his mind to rest until he had searched and made his findings. He felt he knew very little in comparison to what remained to be known by him.