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CHAPTER 8
BODY MOVEMENTS
Look around you – 
Do you see any movement? 
 
 

There are so
many things and people that move around us
all the time.  
We see people and animals moving from one
place to another.
Some non-living things such as a fan, vehicles
etc also show movement.  
 
TyPES OF BODY MOVEMENTS 
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Human beings (and other animals) show two types

of body movements.
Movement of body parts
When we move our body parts like
mouth, head, arms, hands, fingers etc.,
our body may remain at the same place.
Movement of the whole body from one
place to another

- The ability of an organism to

change its position to move from
one place to another is called
locomotion​.eg. walking, running,
hopping, swimming etc.
- Locomotion helps an organism to find
food, to escape from predator and also to
avoid harsh climatic conditions.
- Whereas; ​movement​ can happen with or
without change in the initial position of an
organism.

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Have you observed any movements taking place in 

your body when you 
exercise or perform 
yoga? What are they? 
There are a variety of
movements that happen
in the human body.
● We move our mouth when we chew food.
● We move our head up and down or side to side while
nodding.
● We rotate our shoulder while bowling a cricket ball.
● We move our legs and hands while walking/running.
● We blink our eyes, time to time.
ACTIVITY 
Try to move various parts of your body and record
their movements in the table below.​(​NCERT, Table 8.2​) 
 
 
 
 
 

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DID YOU KNOW? 

Plants cannot move from one place to 
another. However, they display some kind 
of movement. 
 

Try pressing your hand against your head, 

jaws, neck, shoulder, chest, arms, legs etc. 
Could you feel certain hard structures 
inside them? 
These hard structures inside our body are called
bones.

Imagine what would an arm or a leg without a

bone look like?
What do you think the purpose of
bones is?

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SKELETON- FRAMEWORK OF BONES 

Bones in our body form a framework that supports

the whole body. This framework is called the
skeleton.​ ​In human beings, the skeleton is inside
the body, so it is called ​endoskeleton​.​ ​(‘​endo’
means inside).
On the other hand an ​exoskeleton​ is the external
skeleton that supports and protects animal body.
Eg. Grasshopper, cockroach, ant, bee, crab,
lobster, snail, scorpion etc have exoskeleton.

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FUNCTIONS OF SKELETON 
✔ Holds the whole body together and gives it a
definite shape.
✔ Protects the delicate internal organs of the
body from outside damage.
✔ Provides numerous attachment points for
muscles of the body.
✔ Helps in the movement of body parts and
locomotion, along with muscles.
Have you seen an X-ray image?

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We can get photographs of bones by a machine

called an ​X-ray machine.​ It shows the shape and
number of bones in various parts of our body.
Doctors use these photographs to examine the
injuries to bones.
The human skeleton is formed out of 206 bones​.

​DID YOU KNOW?

Babies at birth possess 300 separate 
bones. Later some of the bones fuse 
together and finally an adult has 206 bones 
making up the skeleton. 

 
  
 
a cell and a tissue –  
A cell is a basic unit or a building block of living
things.

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Tissue is a group of cells having similar structure and

functions. So cells make up a tissue and the tissues
make an organ.
eg. Muscle cells make muscle tissue and muscle tissues
make up an organ called a muscle.
 
The human skeleton:-  
 

The human skeleton consists of:- 

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❖ A strong ​backbone​/spine​ with skull at top

❖ Skull/​cranium​ with eye sockets, upper jaw
and lower jaw
❖ Shoulder bones​ ​consisting of ​collar bone
(​clavicle​) and ​shoulder blade ​(​scapula​), just
below the neck.
❖ Ribs ​attached to the upper part of backbone
forming a ​rib cage.
❖ Breastbone ​(​sternum)​ in front of the ribcage
❖ Wide and strong ​hip bone​ ​at the lower end
of the back bone.
❖ The ​upper arm​ ​consists of a single bone
humerus​ ​and the ​lower arm​ ​is made up of
two bones ​radius​ and ​ulna.
❖ The ​hand​ consists of various small bones
which form wrist, palm and fingers
❖ The ​upper leg​ ​consists of a single bone
caller ​femur​ ​(thigh bone) and the ​lower leg
consists of two bones ​tibia​ ​and ​fibula
❖ The ​kneecap​ ​is called ​patella
❖ The ​foot​ consists of various small bones
which form the ankle, toes etc.
PARTS OF HUMAN SKELETON 
The skeleton can be classified into two parts –
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a) axial​ skeleton b) ​appendicular skeleton

The axial skeleton consists of

i) skull
ii) spine
iii) ribs
The appendicular skeleton
consists of bones in:-
i) shoulder area
ii) pelvic/hip area
iii) arms and legs
Skull/cranium 
The bony part of our head is called the skull.
Functions:​ 1) It protects the
brain and the sense organs of
the face (eyes, ears and nose).
2) It also gives shape to our
head.
Backbone 
The backbone or vertebral column is a
long, hollow, rod-like structure running
from the neck to the hips. ​It is attached to

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the shoulder bones, ribs and hip bones by muscles.

It is made up of small bones called ​‘vertebrae’
Functions​: 1) Backbone provides the main support to
our body.
2) It protects the spinal cord which runs inside it.
3) It supports the head at its top.
Rib cage 
Ribs are the curved bones in our
chest.
There are 12 pairs of ribs in our
chest.​ ​The last two pairs of ribs are
not joined to the breast bone. They
are called ​floating ribs.
The hollow, bony, box-like
structure formed by the ribs is
called ​rib-cage.
Functions​: 1) Rib cage protects the delicate
internal organs like heart and lungs.
2) It also takes part in our breathing movements.
Shoulder bones  
Shoulder bones consist of
collarbone (clavicle) and shoulder
blade (scapula). Collar bones on

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the two sides of our neck keep our shoulders apart.

Shoulder blades attach the arms to our body. Shoulder
blades are attached to the backbone/spine by muscles to
allow the free movement of the shoulder.
Hip bone 
Hip bone (pelvic bone or pelvis)
forms a large, basin-shaped frame
at the lower end of the backbone, to
which legs are attached.
Functions​: 1) It supports and
protects the lower organs of our
body.
2) It provides sites for the attachment of muscles that
make us move legs, hips and trunk.
Bones of the hands and feet: 
Hand is made up of 3 parts- wrist, palm and
fingers. foot is made up of 3 parts- ankle, sole and
toes.
Our skeleton is made up of not only ​bones​ but also
a comparatively soft and elastic material called
cartilage​.
 
 
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Cartilage -  
- When you touch your ear and nose you will find it
flexible. This is due to the presence of cartilages.
- It is softer and more flexible than bone.
- Cartilage is also found between the joints of the knee and
hips​.
- The presence of cartilage discs between the vertebrae
makes the backbone flexible.

Functions of cartilage:-
1. It allows smooth movement of bones at joints without
causing friction.
2. It prevents wear and tear of the bones the at joint.
 

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Activity 
Let’s do the following 
actions. 
● Wave good-bye
● Hop on one leg
● Throw a ball
● Kick a ball
Now imagine your arms are made up of one long 
bone from shoulder to wrist and your legs are 

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made up of one long bone from hip to feet and 

try to repeat the same actions. 

Are you able to do​ ​these actions? 

What would have happened if 

our body was made of a single bone? 

The bones in the skeleton are interconnected
through ​joints​ to form various parts of our body.
Joints in the body 
Bones cannot be bent.
Our arm is not made up of a
single bone, and that is why
we can bend our elbow.
We can bend or move or
rotate our body only at those points where bones
meet eg. - elbow, knee, hip, shoulder and neck.

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These places where two or more bones meet are

called ​joints​.
TYPES OF JOINTS 
There are different types of joints in the human body to carry
out different movements and activities.
a) Ball and socket joint b) Hinge joint
b) Pivotal joint d) Fixed joint
e) Gliding joint

1) Ball and socket joint 

Have you seen a mortar and pestle and
how it moves? Does the pestle rotate
freely inside the mortar?
Imagine that the pestle is your arm and
the mortar is the part of your shoulder to
which your arm is joined​.
The rounded end of one bone fits into the cavity of the
other bone. Such a joint is called a ​ball and socket joint.

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The ball type end of one bone can turn freely in the
socket of the other bone, thereby ​allowing movement in
all directions (in 360 degree).

Eg: ​shoulder joint, hip joint

The ball on the top of the upper arm bone fits into the
socket in the shoulder blade bone.
The ball on the top end of the thigh bone fits into the
socket of the hip bone.

Activity
Are you ready to
make a ball and
socket joint on
your own?
Think about some other materials that
can be used to make your own ball and
socket joint.
https://sciencing.com/how-to-make-a-model-of-a-hum
an-ball-socket-joint-12743149.html
2) HINGE JOINT 
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Observe the movement of a door, a compass, a gate and

a divider. Do you find anything similar?
How do they move?

Hinge joints​ ​are found between two or more bones

where we need back and forth movement.
A hinge joint allows the movement of bones ​only in one
direction- forwards and backwards (in 180 degree)
Eg: ​elbow, knee,
knuckles and jaw

In both the elbow and knee

joints, like all other joints, the
bones are held together at the
joints by the ​Ligaments​.
Activity​ ​Are you ready to make a hinge joint on your
own?

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Make a cylinder with cardboard/thick chart paper or use

a toilet paper roll.
Attach a small pencil to the
cylinder by piercing the
cylinder at the centre.
Make a hollow half cylinder
from cardboard such that the
rolled-up cylinder can fit
inside it easily.
3) Pivotal joint 
Have you noticed the movement of a swivel chair? How
does it move?
A ​pivotal joint​ ​is where a cylindrical bone
rotates in a ring-type bone.
The ​joint where our neck joins the
head​ is a pivotal joint.
It allows us to bend our head forward and
backward and turn the head to our left or
right. It is a rotatory movement around single axis.

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Another pivotal joint occurs in the ​forearm near the

elbow. ​It helps us turn our forearm to hold the palm up
or down.
Activity
Are you ready to make a pivotal joint on your own?
See how the pencil moves inside the hole in the
cardboard. Think about some other ways to make your
own pivotal joint.

4) FIXED/immovable JOINTS -  

Some joints between the bones in our
head do not allow the bones attached to
move. Such joints are called ​fixed
joints​. Though they do not move, they give stability.
1) There is a fixed joint between the bones in the skull.
They provide strength and support to the body and
protect delicate organs like the brain which cannot
withstand any deformation.
2) Fixed joints are also present in ​hip bones​.
3) Hip bone is also connected to the backbone by a fixed
joint.

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE?

What types of joints are used when a cricket bowler
bowls the ball?
What is a broken bone?​ ​How are broken bones treated?

What is a muscle? 
A muscle is an organ made of a band or
bundle of tissues.
Muscles are responsible for
producing movement due to their
ability to contract.
Do you know?
Muscle is a soft tissue found in most animals.  
The human body has more than 600 muscles. 

Why can muscles only pull but not push? 

Muscles can pull bones, but they can't push them back to the 
original position. So they work in pairs. When one muscle in 
a pair contracts, to bend a joint for example, its counterpart 
then contracts and pulls in the opposite direction to 
straighten the joint out again​. 
Let us understand with help of examples: 

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GAIT OF ANIMALS:  
Gait: Manner of walking.

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Movement in Earthworm: 

​ ave-like
Can you name such a type of movement in which w
muscle contractions​ occur?
Yes, Earthworms perform peristaltic locomotion.

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Movement in Snail 
Snail possesses wavy movement with muscular contraction.
It also secretes a sticky
substance called ​mucus
which helps to reduce grip
between the snail and the
ground so that they can
move easily.​
● It has a shell on its back
which is hard but not made
of bone which is important
for protection.

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Movement in Cockroach, Bird and Snake.

Cockroach:  
● Cockroaches walk, climb and also fly in the
air.
● They have t​ hree pairs of legs.​ These help in
walking.
● The body is covered with a hard-outer
​ uter skeleton is made of
skeleton. This o
different units joined together and that
permits movement.
● There are ​two pairs of wings​ attached to the
breast. The cockroaches have distinct muscles
— those near the legs move the legs for
walking.
● The breast muscles move the wings when the
cockroach flies. A cockroach can move in
different terrains like sand and wired meshes
because of the spines on its legs.

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Bird 

● Birds fly in the air and walk on the ground.

Some birds like ducks and swans also swim in
water. The birds can fly because their bodies
are well suited for flying.
​ ones are hollow and light,​ and they
● Their b
don’t have a urinary bladder.
● The ​bones of the hind limbs are typical for
walking and perching.
● The bony parts of the ​forelimbs are modified
as wings.​ The shoulder bones are strong.
● The ​breast bones are modified to hold the
muscles of flight,​ which are used to move the
wings up and down. ​The tail controls the
direction of flight.

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SNAKE 
​ ave a long backbone and many thin
● Snakes h
muscles. These are connected to each other even
though they are far from one another. The muscles
also interconnect the backbone, ribs and skin. It is
this i​ nterconnected muscles that helps them slither.
​ ove in S-shaped loops and in a zigzag
● Snakes m
manner.​ Each loop of the snake gives it a forward
push by pressing against the ground. Since i​ ts long
body makes many loops and each loop gives it this
push, the snake moves forward very fast and not in
a straight line.
● Snakes have difficulty in moving on very smooth
surfaces, but can move in grass, sand and water.
They can even climb
trees though they do
not have arms or legs.

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Fish 
● The head and tail of the fish are smaller
than the middle portion of the body, and the
body tapers at both ends. This body shape is
called streamlined.
● The shape is such that water can flow
around it easily and allow the fish to move
fast in water.
● The skeleton of the fish is covered with
strong muscles. During swimming, the
muscles make the front part of the body
curve to one side and the tail part swings
towards the opposite side.
● The fish forms a curve then, quickly, the
body and tail curve to the other side. This
makes a jerk and pushes the body forward.
A series of such jerks make the fish swim
ahead. This is helped by the fins of the tail.
The tail moves from side to side, and helps
the fish swim in the right direction.
● Fish also have other fins on their body
which mainly help to keep the balance of
the body and to keep direction while
swimming.
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