NCERT Textbook: How Nature Works in Harmony | Science Curiosity Class 8 - New NCERT PDF Download

 Page 1


190
Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8 190 Curiosity — Science Textbook for Grade 8
12
How Nature Works 
in Harmony
Elephant Corridor
Probe and ponder
 z How might the loss of forest cover and changes in rainfall patterns 
lead to elephants to enter human farms and villages? 
 z Imagine you are a tree in a dense forest. What kind of relationships 
would you have with water, sunlight, other animals, and other 
components of the forest? 
 z Do you think the Earth can thrive without humans? Can humans 
survive without the earth?
 z If two kinds of birds compete for the same fruit, how might their 
way of living change over time?
 z Can human actions cause natural disasters?
 z Share your questions
 
  ?
Chapter 12.indd   190 Chapter 12.indd   190 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
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190
Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8 190 Curiosity — Science Textbook for Grade 8
12
How Nature Works 
in Harmony
Elephant Corridor
Probe and ponder
 z How might the loss of forest cover and changes in rainfall patterns 
lead to elephants to enter human farms and villages? 
 z Imagine you are a tree in a dense forest. What kind of relationships 
would you have with water, sunlight, other animals, and other 
components of the forest? 
 z Do you think the Earth can thrive without humans? Can humans 
survive without the earth?
 z If two kinds of birds compete for the same fruit, how might their 
way of living change over time?
 z Can human actions cause natural disasters?
 z Share your questions
 
  ?
Chapter 12.indd   190 Chapter 12.indd   190 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
Chapter 12?—?How Nature Works in Harmony 191
In several parts of India, particularly in states like Odisha, 
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, and Chhattisgarh, elephants 
often enter farms and villages. When vegetation is scarce and 
waterholes dry up in their natural habitat, elephants may wander 
in to nearby farms or plantations in search of food like bananas 
and sugarcane. This can lead to in crop damage and at times, even 
harm people and domestic animals. 
Changes in rainfall and temperature affect vegetation. Cutting 
down trees for constructing roads and buildings makes it worse. 
This leads to the shrinking and drying of forests, the natural home 
of animals. When forests cannot support wildlife, animals tend to 
move into human habitats. Elephants are adapted to forest life, 
but sudden changes make it hard for them to survive. Wildlife 
ecologists have identified  and marked corridors in many parts of 
the country to allow safe movement of animals. These corridors 
correct forest habitats, enabling wildlife—such as elephants to 
travel in need between large forest areas without coming into 
conflict with human settlements.
This chain of events shows how closely nature’s elements are 
connected. To understand such interconnections, we must study 
the components of our environment.
12.1  How Do We Experience and Interpret 
Our Surroundings?
You have learnt in Curiosity, Grade 6 chapter ‘Diversity in the 
Living World’ that different habitats have different kinds of plants 
and animals. A habitat is simply place where an organism lives. 
It could even be just the bark of a tree. The plants and animals 
interact with each other and adapt to survive in the surrounding 
conditions they live in. Explore two nearby habitats and identify 
both the living organisms and the non-living components in each.
Activity 12.1: Let us explore
Caution: Explore the habitat in groups with your teacher.
 z Identify two habitats in your surroundings. 
 z These could be any two of the following: a pond, a forest, an 
agricultural farm, or even a large tree like banyan, mango, 
or pilkhan (white fig) tree.
 z List the living beings and non-living things that you observe 
in these habitats.
 z Record your observations in Table 12.1.
Chapter 12.indd   191 Chapter 12.indd   191 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
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Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8 190 Curiosity — Science Textbook for Grade 8
12
How Nature Works 
in Harmony
Elephant Corridor
Probe and ponder
 z How might the loss of forest cover and changes in rainfall patterns 
lead to elephants to enter human farms and villages? 
 z Imagine you are a tree in a dense forest. What kind of relationships 
would you have with water, sunlight, other animals, and other 
components of the forest? 
 z Do you think the Earth can thrive without humans? Can humans 
survive without the earth?
 z If two kinds of birds compete for the same fruit, how might their 
way of living change over time?
 z Can human actions cause natural disasters?
 z Share your questions
 
  ?
Chapter 12.indd   190 Chapter 12.indd   190 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
Chapter 12?—?How Nature Works in Harmony 191
In several parts of India, particularly in states like Odisha, 
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, and Chhattisgarh, elephants 
often enter farms and villages. When vegetation is scarce and 
waterholes dry up in their natural habitat, elephants may wander 
in to nearby farms or plantations in search of food like bananas 
and sugarcane. This can lead to in crop damage and at times, even 
harm people and domestic animals. 
Changes in rainfall and temperature affect vegetation. Cutting 
down trees for constructing roads and buildings makes it worse. 
This leads to the shrinking and drying of forests, the natural home 
of animals. When forests cannot support wildlife, animals tend to 
move into human habitats. Elephants are adapted to forest life, 
but sudden changes make it hard for them to survive. Wildlife 
ecologists have identified  and marked corridors in many parts of 
the country to allow safe movement of animals. These corridors 
correct forest habitats, enabling wildlife—such as elephants to 
travel in need between large forest areas without coming into 
conflict with human settlements.
This chain of events shows how closely nature’s elements are 
connected. To understand such interconnections, we must study 
the components of our environment.
12.1  How Do We Experience and Interpret 
Our Surroundings?
You have learnt in Curiosity, Grade 6 chapter ‘Diversity in the 
Living World’ that different habitats have different kinds of plants 
and animals. A habitat is simply place where an organism lives. 
It could even be just the bark of a tree. The plants and animals 
interact with each other and adapt to survive in the surrounding 
conditions they live in. Explore two nearby habitats and identify 
both the living organisms and the non-living components in each.
Activity 12.1: Let us explore
Caution: Explore the habitat in groups with your teacher.
 z Identify two habitats in your surroundings. 
 z These could be any two of the following: a pond, a forest, an 
agricultural farm, or even a large tree like banyan, mango, 
or pilkhan (white fig) tree.
 z List the living beings and non-living things that you observe 
in these habitats.
 z Record your observations in Table 12.1.
Chapter 12.indd   191 Chapter 12.indd   191 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
192
Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8
Pond Forest
Living beings Non-living things Living beings Non-living things
Fish Water Plants Soil
Grass
Trees
Birds
Table 12.1: Di?erent components of two habitats
What common characteristics do 
you observe in the two habitats in 
Activity 12.1? The similarities are that 
both habitats have living beings as 
well as non-living things. However, 
the types of living beings are different 
and the non-living things also vary. 
The living beings you have recorded 
in Table 12.1 are termed as the 
biotic components and non-living 
things as the abiotic components of 
a habitat. Have you wondered why 
some organisms live on land while 
others live in water? Every organism 
needs specific conditions to survive. 
From this activity, you can see that 
different habitats offer different 
living conditions.
In Activity 12.1, you listed fish as 
a biotic component of the pond. How 
do fish survive in a pond? A pond 
provides food, oxygen, shelter, and 
space to grow — conditions essential 
for survival of organisms. Fish obtain 
their biotic needs, such as food, from 
small plants and animals, and abiotic 
needs, such as oxygen, from water.
Other living beings also inhabit the pond, such as frogs, fresh 
turtles, snakes, dragonflies, mosquitos, snails, and ducks, along 
with plants like algae, diatoms, duckweeds, and lotus. They all 
interact with the other living beings and non-living things present 
in the places where they grow and thrive. 
(a) Pond habitat
Fig. 12.1: Two types of habitats
(b) Forest habitat
Chapter 12.indd   192 Chapter 12.indd   192 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM
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Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8 190 Curiosity — Science Textbook for Grade 8
12
How Nature Works 
in Harmony
Elephant Corridor
Probe and ponder
 z How might the loss of forest cover and changes in rainfall patterns 
lead to elephants to enter human farms and villages? 
 z Imagine you are a tree in a dense forest. What kind of relationships 
would you have with water, sunlight, other animals, and other 
components of the forest? 
 z Do you think the Earth can thrive without humans? Can humans 
survive without the earth?
 z If two kinds of birds compete for the same fruit, how might their 
way of living change over time?
 z Can human actions cause natural disasters?
 z Share your questions
 
  ?
Chapter 12.indd   190 Chapter 12.indd   190 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
Chapter 12?—?How Nature Works in Harmony 191
In several parts of India, particularly in states like Odisha, 
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, and Chhattisgarh, elephants 
often enter farms and villages. When vegetation is scarce and 
waterholes dry up in their natural habitat, elephants may wander 
in to nearby farms or plantations in search of food like bananas 
and sugarcane. This can lead to in crop damage and at times, even 
harm people and domestic animals. 
Changes in rainfall and temperature affect vegetation. Cutting 
down trees for constructing roads and buildings makes it worse. 
This leads to the shrinking and drying of forests, the natural home 
of animals. When forests cannot support wildlife, animals tend to 
move into human habitats. Elephants are adapted to forest life, 
but sudden changes make it hard for them to survive. Wildlife 
ecologists have identified  and marked corridors in many parts of 
the country to allow safe movement of animals. These corridors 
correct forest habitats, enabling wildlife—such as elephants to 
travel in need between large forest areas without coming into 
conflict with human settlements.
This chain of events shows how closely nature’s elements are 
connected. To understand such interconnections, we must study 
the components of our environment.
12.1  How Do We Experience and Interpret 
Our Surroundings?
You have learnt in Curiosity, Grade 6 chapter ‘Diversity in the 
Living World’ that different habitats have different kinds of plants 
and animals. A habitat is simply place where an organism lives. 
It could even be just the bark of a tree. The plants and animals 
interact with each other and adapt to survive in the surrounding 
conditions they live in. Explore two nearby habitats and identify 
both the living organisms and the non-living components in each.
Activity 12.1: Let us explore
Caution: Explore the habitat in groups with your teacher.
 z Identify two habitats in your surroundings. 
 z These could be any two of the following: a pond, a forest, an 
agricultural farm, or even a large tree like banyan, mango, 
or pilkhan (white fig) tree.
 z List the living beings and non-living things that you observe 
in these habitats.
 z Record your observations in Table 12.1.
Chapter 12.indd   191 Chapter 12.indd   191 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
192
Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8
Pond Forest
Living beings Non-living things Living beings Non-living things
Fish Water Plants Soil
Grass
Trees
Birds
Table 12.1: Di?erent components of two habitats
What common characteristics do 
you observe in the two habitats in 
Activity 12.1? The similarities are that 
both habitats have living beings as 
well as non-living things. However, 
the types of living beings are different 
and the non-living things also vary. 
The living beings you have recorded 
in Table 12.1 are termed as the 
biotic components and non-living 
things as the abiotic components of 
a habitat. Have you wondered why 
some organisms live on land while 
others live in water? Every organism 
needs specific conditions to survive. 
From this activity, you can see that 
different habitats offer different 
living conditions.
In Activity 12.1, you listed fish as 
a biotic component of the pond. How 
do fish survive in a pond? A pond 
provides food, oxygen, shelter, and 
space to grow — conditions essential 
for survival of organisms. Fish obtain 
their biotic needs, such as food, from 
small plants and animals, and abiotic 
needs, such as oxygen, from water.
Other living beings also inhabit the pond, such as frogs, fresh 
turtles, snakes, dragonflies, mosquitos, snails, and ducks, along 
with plants like algae, diatoms, duckweeds, and lotus. They all 
interact with the other living beings and non-living things present 
in the places where they grow and thrive. 
(a) Pond habitat
Fig. 12.1: Two types of habitats
(b) Forest habitat
Chapter 12.indd   192 Chapter 12.indd   192 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM
Chapter 12?—?How Nature Works in Harmony 193
Each habitat has its own biotic components and physical 
conditions — air, sunlight, water, temperature, and soil. 
Different organisms living in the same habitat may use the 
resources in different ways. A forest might be warm during 
the day and cool at night. A snake that comes out at night and a 
rodent active during the day both live in the same habitat, but they 
face different conditions. This is how living organisms coexist in 
harmony in the same habitat.
12.2 Who All Live Together in Nature? 
You have observed fish in a pond in Activity 12.1. Did you see 
only a single fish? Most likely, you may have seen many fish of 
the same kind. This group of fish of the same kind living together 
in a pond habitat is called a population of that particular fish. 
In this way, we can observe and record populations of different 
kinds of organisms in a single habitat. 
Activity 12.2: Let us record
We can understand the population of a particular type of plant 
by counting them at a given place and time. 
 z Divide students into four to five groups. 
 z Each group may identify any two organisms, plant(s) or 
animal(s).
 z Mark an area of 1 m × 1 m in your school garden.
 z Identify four organisms in this area, and count their numbers. 
 z Record the number of the organisms in Table 12.2.
 z Compile the data from all groups.
Name of organism
Population (Number of individual 
organisms)
Plant 1: 20
Plant 2 : 05
Animal 1 : 
Animal 2 : 
Table 12.2: Number of particular organisms at a given space 
and time
In the given example, there is a population of 20 ______ 
plants and is only 5 ______ plants in the same 1 × 1 m
2
 area. 
Chapter 12.indd   193 Chapter 12.indd   193 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM
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Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8 190 Curiosity — Science Textbook for Grade 8
12
How Nature Works 
in Harmony
Elephant Corridor
Probe and ponder
 z How might the loss of forest cover and changes in rainfall patterns 
lead to elephants to enter human farms and villages? 
 z Imagine you are a tree in a dense forest. What kind of relationships 
would you have with water, sunlight, other animals, and other 
components of the forest? 
 z Do you think the Earth can thrive without humans? Can humans 
survive without the earth?
 z If two kinds of birds compete for the same fruit, how might their 
way of living change over time?
 z Can human actions cause natural disasters?
 z Share your questions
 
  ?
Chapter 12.indd   190 Chapter 12.indd   190 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
Chapter 12?—?How Nature Works in Harmony 191
In several parts of India, particularly in states like Odisha, 
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, and Chhattisgarh, elephants 
often enter farms and villages. When vegetation is scarce and 
waterholes dry up in their natural habitat, elephants may wander 
in to nearby farms or plantations in search of food like bananas 
and sugarcane. This can lead to in crop damage and at times, even 
harm people and domestic animals. 
Changes in rainfall and temperature affect vegetation. Cutting 
down trees for constructing roads and buildings makes it worse. 
This leads to the shrinking and drying of forests, the natural home 
of animals. When forests cannot support wildlife, animals tend to 
move into human habitats. Elephants are adapted to forest life, 
but sudden changes make it hard for them to survive. Wildlife 
ecologists have identified  and marked corridors in many parts of 
the country to allow safe movement of animals. These corridors 
correct forest habitats, enabling wildlife—such as elephants to 
travel in need between large forest areas without coming into 
conflict with human settlements.
This chain of events shows how closely nature’s elements are 
connected. To understand such interconnections, we must study 
the components of our environment.
12.1  How Do We Experience and Interpret 
Our Surroundings?
You have learnt in Curiosity, Grade 6 chapter ‘Diversity in the 
Living World’ that different habitats have different kinds of plants 
and animals. A habitat is simply place where an organism lives. 
It could even be just the bark of a tree. The plants and animals 
interact with each other and adapt to survive in the surrounding 
conditions they live in. Explore two nearby habitats and identify 
both the living organisms and the non-living components in each.
Activity 12.1: Let us explore
Caution: Explore the habitat in groups with your teacher.
 z Identify two habitats in your surroundings. 
 z These could be any two of the following: a pond, a forest, an 
agricultural farm, or even a large tree like banyan, mango, 
or pilkhan (white fig) tree.
 z List the living beings and non-living things that you observe 
in these habitats.
 z Record your observations in Table 12.1.
Chapter 12.indd   191 Chapter 12.indd   191 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:26 PM
192
Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8
Pond Forest
Living beings Non-living things Living beings Non-living things
Fish Water Plants Soil
Grass
Trees
Birds
Table 12.1: Di?erent components of two habitats
What common characteristics do 
you observe in the two habitats in 
Activity 12.1? The similarities are that 
both habitats have living beings as 
well as non-living things. However, 
the types of living beings are different 
and the non-living things also vary. 
The living beings you have recorded 
in Table 12.1 are termed as the 
biotic components and non-living 
things as the abiotic components of 
a habitat. Have you wondered why 
some organisms live on land while 
others live in water? Every organism 
needs specific conditions to survive. 
From this activity, you can see that 
different habitats offer different 
living conditions.
In Activity 12.1, you listed fish as 
a biotic component of the pond. How 
do fish survive in a pond? A pond 
provides food, oxygen, shelter, and 
space to grow — conditions essential 
for survival of organisms. Fish obtain 
their biotic needs, such as food, from 
small plants and animals, and abiotic 
needs, such as oxygen, from water.
Other living beings also inhabit the pond, such as frogs, fresh 
turtles, snakes, dragonflies, mosquitos, snails, and ducks, along 
with plants like algae, diatoms, duckweeds, and lotus. They all 
interact with the other living beings and non-living things present 
in the places where they grow and thrive. 
(a) Pond habitat
Fig. 12.1: Two types of habitats
(b) Forest habitat
Chapter 12.indd   192 Chapter 12.indd   192 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM
Chapter 12?—?How Nature Works in Harmony 193
Each habitat has its own biotic components and physical 
conditions — air, sunlight, water, temperature, and soil. 
Different organisms living in the same habitat may use the 
resources in different ways. A forest might be warm during 
the day and cool at night. A snake that comes out at night and a 
rodent active during the day both live in the same habitat, but they 
face different conditions. This is how living organisms coexist in 
harmony in the same habitat.
12.2 Who All Live Together in Nature? 
You have observed fish in a pond in Activity 12.1. Did you see 
only a single fish? Most likely, you may have seen many fish of 
the same kind. This group of fish of the same kind living together 
in a pond habitat is called a population of that particular fish. 
In this way, we can observe and record populations of different 
kinds of organisms in a single habitat. 
Activity 12.2: Let us record
We can understand the population of a particular type of plant 
by counting them at a given place and time. 
 z Divide students into four to five groups. 
 z Each group may identify any two organisms, plant(s) or 
animal(s).
 z Mark an area of 1 m × 1 m in your school garden.
 z Identify four organisms in this area, and count their numbers. 
 z Record the number of the organisms in Table 12.2.
 z Compile the data from all groups.
Name of organism
Population (Number of individual 
organisms)
Plant 1: 20
Plant 2 : 05
Animal 1 : 
Animal 2 : 
Table 12.2: Number of particular organisms at a given space 
and time
In the given example, there is a population of 20 ______ 
plants and is only 5 ______ plants in the same 1 × 1 m
2
 area. 
Chapter 12.indd   193 Chapter 12.indd   193 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:33 PM
194
Curiosity — Textbook of Science for Grade 8
From Activity 12.2, we can explain that the population is a group 
of the same type of organisms in a habitat at a given time. 
Can a habitat have only one type of living organism? What might 
happen then? If all organisms are the same, they would have the 
same requirements — food, water, space — leading to competition and 
possible scarcity of resources. What else do you think could happen?
In Activities 12.1 and 12.2, you observed that different 
group of organisms live together in a habitat. A community 
comprises different populations sharing the same habitat. The 
biotic components of a habitat, such as the plants, animals, and 
microorganisms together form the community. These organisms 
interact and depend on one another for survival.
Ever heard of ...
You may have seen brightly coloured flowers blooming around you. 
Have you ever looked closely at their parts? A flower has a stalk, green 
leafy structures called sepals, coloured petals and two reproductive 
parts. Carpels (female) and stamens (male). 
Stamens burst release yellow dust like pollen 
grains. Wind, ‘water insects, bats and birds  helps 
carry pollen from the stamens to the carpels of 
the same and different flowers. This process is 
called pollination (Fig.12.2). It is essential for 
the formation of fruits and seeds.
Fig. 12.2: Insect 
pollination 
12.3  Does Every Organism in a Community 
Matter?
Let us find out the role of different organisms in a community.
Activity 12.3: Let us read
 z Researchers conducted a study to see how fish in ponds 
affect seed production in the plants nearby. They observed 
Fig. 12.3: Pond A with fish and Pond B without fish 
Pond A Pond B
Chapter 12.indd   194 Chapter 12.indd   194 6/28/2025   6:09:39 PM 6/28/2025   6:09:39 PM