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Chapter 11 of the Class 6 science book follows two children, Bhoomi and Surya, on a holiday at their grandmother's village in the Western Ghats. Along the way they meet every "treasure" that nature gives us, from the air we breathe to the petrol in a scooter. This post explains what the chapter teaches, works through the numbers in it, points out the mistakes Class 6 students usually make, and ends with a short routine for home.
Which chapter is this, and is it in the current book?
NCERT's Class 6 science textbook is Curiosity, Textbook of Science for Grade 6, and its contents page (Reprint 2026-27) lists Chapter 11 as "Nature's Treasures", just before the last chapter, "Beyond Earth". You can read the full Chapter 11 PDF free on the NCERT site. If your school uses a state-board book, ask your teacher which chapter matches.
The chapter has eight short sections: air, water, energy from the Sun, forests, soil with rocks and minerals, fossil fuels, renewable and non-renewable resources, and the resources we use every day.
What is air made of?
The book shows air as a grid of 100 squares: 78 for nitrogen, 21 for oxygen and 1 for argon, carbon dioxide and other gases. That matches NASA's Earth fact sheet, which gives dry air as 78.08% nitrogen and 20.95% oxygen, with argon at 9,340 parts per million and carbon dioxide at 420 parts per million.
Worked example. Imagine a 1,000 litre sample of air (a sample number, about the size of a large water tank).
Nitrogen: 78 out of every 100 parts, so 78 ÷ 100 × 1,000 = 780 litres.
Oxygen: 21 ÷ 100 × 1,000 = 210 litres.
Everything else: 1 ÷ 100 × 1,000 = 10 litres.
Carbon dioxide alone, at 420 parts per million: 420 ÷ 1,000,000 × 1,000 = 0.42 litres, less than half a litre.
Check: 780 + 210 + 10 = 1,000 litres. Carbon dioxide is a tiny share of air, yet the chapter shows why burning fossil fuels and adding more of it matters.
The book also explains wind: moving air turns a firki (paper pinwheel) and the blades of a windmill. It names Muppandal in Tamil Nadu, Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and Brahmanvel in Maharashtra as windmill farms.
If water covers most of Earth, why is it scarce?
The chapter says water covers about two-thirds of Earth's surface, but most of it is in oceans and seas and is salty. NOAA puts it in numbers: about 97 percent of Earth's water is in the ocean, about 2 percent is frozen in glaciers and ice caps, and less than 1 percent is fresh. Fresh water locked in ice or deep underground is hard to reach, so only a very small fraction, in ponds, rivers, lakes and wells, is easy to use.
The book's answer is to waste less and harvest rain. It shows rooftop rainwater harvesting and the stepwells known as bawadi in Rajasthan and vav in Gujarat.
Worked example: brushing with the tap on. These are sample numbers; measure your own tap.
Time how long the tap takes to fill a 1 litre bottle. Say it takes 10 seconds.
Flow per minute: 60 ÷ 10 = 6 bottles, so 6 litres a minute.
Brushing for 2 minutes with the tap running: 6 × 2 = 12 litres.
Brushing with half a mug (0.5 litres): saving = 12 − 0.5 = 11.5 litres.
Twice a day: 11.5 × 2 = 23 litres. For a family of four: 23 × 4 = 92 litres a day.
Why does the Sun count as a treasure?
The chapter calls the Sun the main source of energy on Earth. In one conversation, the children argue about where a grazing cow gets its energy. The right answer traces the chain: the grass needs sunlight to make food, and the cow eats the grass. Standing in the sunshine is not the point. The book also mentions solar panels, solar cookers and solar water heaters.
What does the chapter say about forests and soil?
Forests give food and shelter to many animals, and the book warns that forest cover has been decreasing, mainly from large-scale tree cutting. It describes the Chipko movement, which began in the early 1970s in present-day Uttarakhand, where local women hugged trees to stop them being felled, and Van Mahotsav, a forest festival held in July.
Soil forms when rocks break apart through the action of the Sun, water and living things over thousands of years. Roots hold soil in place, fallen leaves decay and enrich it, and earthworms loosen it.
What mistakes do students make in this chapter?
Calling soil renewable. The book's list of non-renewable resources includes minerals, soil, rocks, coal, petroleum and natural gas. Soil is on it because it takes thousands of years to form, far too slowly to replace within a reasonable time.
Assuming renewable means unlimited. Air, water and forests are renewable, but the book says a lost forest takes many years to regrow, and water can be polluted beyond use.
Saying "water is plentiful". Remember the difference between total water and usable fresh water.
Mixing up natural and human-made resources. Sunlight and river water are natural; a bulb, a bicycle and a solar panel are human-made, even though they are made from natural resources.
A short routine for student and parent
Read one section a day for a week and say its main idea aloud in one sentence.
Do the water audit above with real numbers from your home tap.
Do Activity 11.5, the vehicle and fuel survey on your street, and make a tally.
Sort 15 resources (sand, sunlight, coal, teak wood, LPG, rainwater and so on) into renewable and non-renewable, and give a reason for each.
Close the book and list the Keywords from memory, then check.
For more hands-on ideas, try our list of kitchen science experiments. If a word in the chapter, such as fossil fuel or mineral, needs a clearer explanation, the Fermi Concept Library covers every concept in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computing.
Tonight, time your tap with a one-litre bottle and work out how much water your family could save in a week.
