NCERT Solutions for Class 9th Social Science Chapter 3 My Carbon Footprint — LET'S EXPLORE

Book page 53–54 Updated on2026-09-08

Q1.

Step 1: My Daily Habits — Tick the options that best describe you. A. Transport; B. Electricity Use; C. Water Use; D. Waste and Plastics.

Answer

How to do this honestly. Tick the option that describes what you actually did last week, not what you intend to do. The whole exercise only works if the ticks are truthful — an activity that flatters you teaches you nothing.

The four sections, with the impact level the book assigns to each choice:

Habit	Low impact	Medium impact	High impact	Very high impact
A. Transport	I usually walk / use a cycle	I use public transport / carpool	I travel by private car even for short distances	I take flights more than twice a year
B. Electricity Use	I always switch off appliances when not in use	I sometimes forget to switch them off	I leave lights and fans on frequently	—
C. Water Use	I use water judiciously — one bucket for a bath	I sometimes waste water (running tap, long showers)	I rarely think about saving water	—
D. Waste and Plastics	I reuse, recycle and avoid single-use plastics	I sometimes use disposable plastics	I often throw away plastic and do not recycle	—

Why these four and not others: look back at the definition of carbon footprint in the margin — 'greenhouse gases released… as a result of human activities, such as energy use, transportation, or the production of goods and services'. Transport is the second of those; electricity is the first; plastic and waste are the third, since every plastic bottle carries the fuel burnt to make it. Water belongs there too, because water has to be pumped, treated and delivered, and all of that runs on energy.

Check it yourself: tick your row for a normal school week, then repeat the exercise for a holiday week. Most students find their transport score is quite different — which tells you that a footprint is not a fixed personal number but a record of choices, and choices can change.

Q2.

Step 2: Score Yourself — Low impact choices = 1 point; Medium impact choices = 2 points; High impact choices = 3 points; Very high impact choices = 4 points. Now add up your total score: ______ points.

Answer

Work out the range first, so you know what your total means. There are four sections — A, B, C and D — and you tick one option in each, so you add four numbers.

Lowest possible score = 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 points (every choice low impact)
Highest possible score = 4 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 13 points
(only Transport has a 'very high impact' option, worth 4; the other three stop at 3)
Midpoint of the scale = (4 + 13) ÷ 2 = 8.5 points

So read your total like this:

Total score	What it means
4 – 6	A small carbon footprint. Your habits are already close to what the chapter recommends — keep them, and help others change theirs
7 – 9	A middling footprint. Usually one or two sections are pulling the total up; find which, and start there
10 – 13	A large footprint. The good news is that a large score is the easiest to reduce, because the high-impact habits are the ones with the most room to change

Sample answer: 'I ticked public transport / carpool for transport (2), I sometimes forget to switch off appliances for electricity (2), I use water judiciously for water (1) and I sometimes use disposable plastics for waste (2). My total is 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 7 points out of a possible 13. My water habit is already at the lowest impact; the three points I can most easily save are in electricity and plastics.'

Tip: the useful number is not the total but which section scored highest. A total tells you how you are doing; the section tells you what to do next.

Q3.

Step 3: My Climate Action Pledge — Think about two simple changes you can make to reduce your score, and write them down below.

Answer

What makes a good pledge — three tests. It must be specific (a named action, not 'I will save energy'), repeatable (something you will do every day or every week, not once), and yours to control (a change you can make without needing anyone else's permission). Then check it against the scorecard: a good pledge should move one of your four ticks down by at least one impact level.

Sample answer:

Pledge 1 — Transport: 'From Monday I will walk or cycle to school and to the shops within two kilometres of my house, instead of asking to be dropped by car. I will keep a note on the calendar of the days I manage it.' Effect on my score: Transport moves from high impact (3 points) to low impact (1 point) — a saving of 2 points.
Pledge 2 — Electricity: 'I will switch off the fan and lights every time I leave my room, and I will check the whole house before I go to bed.' Effect on my score: Electricity moves from medium impact (2 points) to low impact (1 point) — a saving of 1 point.

Score before the pledge = 7 points
Saving from Pledge 1 = 3 − 1 = 2 points
Saving from Pledge 2 = 2 − 1 = 1 point
New score = 7 − 2 − 1 = 4 points — the lowest the scorecard allows

Why two small pledges beat one grand one: the chapter's whole argument is that this is a problem of collective and everyday action — 'every small step counts'. A promise to do something dramatic once is a single event; a habit repeated three hundred times a year is what actually changes a footprint. And a habit you keep is worth more than an ambition you abandon in a fortnight.

Try this in class: add up the whole class's saving. If forty students each save 2 points' worth of car journeys, the class as a group has made a change no single pledge could — which is exactly what the word 'collective' in the chapter means.

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