Extra questions of the chapter THE MAKING OF A SCIENTIST CLASS 10
Answers
Question 1. Why did viceroy butterflies copy monarchs?
Answer Viceroy butterflies copied monarchs because monarchs do not taste good to birds. Viceroy butterflies on the other hand taste good to birds. So, the more they look similar to monarchs, the less likely they are to become a bird’s prey. Thus they protect themselves.
Question 2.Why did Richard Ebright give up tagging butterflies?
Answer:
Richard Ebright lost interest in tagging butterflies as it was tedious and there was not much feedback. He could recapture only two butterflies in all the time he did it and they were not more than seventy five miles away from where he lived.
Question 3.What are the ingredients in the making of a scientist?
Answer:The author gave examples from Richard Ebright’s life to show the ingredients to make a scientist. Start with a first rate mind, add curiosity, and mix in the will to win for the right reasons.
Question 4.What was the common belief about the twelve tiny gold spots on a monarch pupa? What is the actual purpose of these tiny gold spots?
Answer:
These twelve tiny gold spots were believed to be ornamental only. The actual purpose of these tiny gold spots is to produce a hormone necessary for the butterfly’s full development.
Question 5.“But there was one thing I could do-collect things”. What collection did Ebright make? When did he start making collection?
Answer:
Ebright began collecting butterflies, rocks, fossils and coins. He began as early as when he was in kindergarten. He collected with same determination that had marked all his activities.
Question 6.What other interests besides science did Richard Ebright pursue?
Answer:
Richard Ebright was a champion debater and public speaker. He was a good canoeist and all-around outdoor person. He was also an expert photographer, particularly of natural and scientific exhibits.
Question 7.How did Richard Ebright’s mother help him to become a scientist?
Answer:
Ebright’s mother was his only companion. She used to encourage the child to learn whatever he wanted to learn. She took him on trips, brought him telescopes, microscopes, cameras, mounting materials and other such equipments.
Question 8.Which book did Ebright mother get for him? How did it change his life?
Answer:
Ebright’s mother got a children’s book called The Travel of Monarch X’ for him. The book invited readers to help study butterfly migrations and actively participate in tagging butterflies to help in the research being conducted by Dr Frederick A. Urquhart. Ebright then went on to raise an entire flock of butterflies in the basement of his home. In this way the book managed to keep his enthusiasm in the study of butterflies alive for several years and opened the world of science to the young collector who never lost his scientific curiosity. ,
Question 9.Why did Richard Ebright raise a flock of butterflies?
Answer:
At the end of the book, “The travels of Monarch X’, readers were invited to help study butterfly migrations. They were asked to tag butterflies for research by Dr Frederick A. Urquhart. The butterfly collecting season around reading lasts six weeks in late summery. If Ebright went to chase them one by one, he could not catch very many. So he decided to raise a flock of butterflies.
Question 10.Mention any two Ebright contributions to the world of science.
Answer:
Ebright made valuable contributions to the world of science. He discovered an unknown insect hormone and also determined how the cell could read the blueprint of its DNA.
Question 11.What lesson did Ebright learn when he did not win anything at the science fair?
Answer:
When Ebright did not win anything at the science fair, he learnt a lesson that he needed to do real experiments, not simply make a neat display. His entry was slides of frog tissues which he showed under a microscope.
Question 12.What lesson does Ebright learn when he does not win anything at a science fair?
Answer:
Ebright realizes that were display of his collection does not mean science. To win at a science fair he will have to do real experiments and prove his worth.
Question 13.What experiments and projects does he then undertake?
Answer:
He then undertakes the projects and experiments to find out what actually causes the viral disease that kills nearly all Monarch caterpillars. He then works on a project to test the theory that viceroy butterflies copy monarchs to survive.
Question 14.What are the qualities that go into the making of a scientist?
Answer:
The author mentions three qualities that go into the making of a scientist—a first-rate mind, curiosity, and the will to win for the right reasons. Richard Ebright was a very intelligent student. He was also a champion debater, a public speaker, a good canoeist and an expert photographer. He always tried to put that extra effort in his work. He was competitive, but for the right reasons. From the very beginning, he had a driving curiosity along with a bright mind; and it was this curiosity that ultimately led him to his theory about cell life.
