WORKSHEET 1

#CalmTheCorona

Week 1 – Topic 3

What are viruses?

• Viruses are tiny particles that cannot be seen with our naked eyes.
• They cause several diseases and infections in human beings and other living
organisms.
• Viruses are active ONLY inside other living organisms, also known as a host*. They
cannot perform any functions outside a living organism.
• Once a virus enters a host organism, it multiplies rapidly and infects* the
organism.

How do viruses spread?

1. From one infected person to another by shaking hands, hugging or through air
when an infected person sneezes or coughs
2. From touching objects used by the infected person
3. From eating food or drinking water that is contaminated*
4. From insect bites/animals

Viruses can cause many diseases in humans ranging from the common cold, flu, chicken
pox and measles to the more dangerous diseases such as the ebola, rabies and smallpox.

*host: The animal or plant that the virus gets into to start multiplying

*infect: affected by a disease-causing organism like virus or bacteria

*contaminate: adding something unclean/impure to our food or water

1
 Journal Question

Talk to your parents and grandparents (if they live with you) about their childhood
experiences. Ask them questions about the kind of foods they ate, games they played
with their friends, TV shows they watched, punishments they were given by their
parents/teachers and any other fun questions that you can think of.

Write their name/relationship with you (e.g., father) and one fun fact about each of them.

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