Punjab PSEB Matric Home Science cheat sheet

Food groups: energy-giving (cereals, roots, sugars), body-building (pulses, milk, eggs, meat), protective (fruits, vegetables, milk) - a balanced diet draws from all three daily.

Macronutrient energy values: carbohydrate 4 kcal/g, protein 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g; dietary fibre supplies no energy but prevents constipation.

Deficiency mapping: vitamin A → night blindness; vitamin B1 (thiamine) → beriberi; vitamin C → scurvy and bleeding gums; vitamin D → rickets in children, osteomalacia in adults; iron → anaemia; iodine → goitre; calcium → weak bones and teeth.

Protein complementation: cereal proteins are low in lysine, pulses low in methionine; eating cereal and pulse together (dal-rice, roti-dal) raises protein quality.

Pasteurisation heats milk to about 63 °C for 30 minutes (holding method) or 72 °C for 15 seconds (HTST), then cools it rapidly; it kills pathogens while retaining most nutrients.

Germ theory of disease (Pasteur, Koch): many diseases spread by microorganisms carried in food, water, air, and by insects; handwashing with soap before eating and after toilet use interrupts faecal-oral transmission.

Balanced-diet adequacy is judged per person, not per family: age, sex, pregnancy/lactation, and activity level change energy needs, so adolescent girls and pregnant women need extra iron and calcium.

Meal planning rule: include one energy food, one body-building food, and at least two protective foods per main meal; use seasonal, locally available foods to cut cost.

Family life cycle stages - beginning (newly married), expanding (children born), contracting (children leave), and ageing - each stage shifts the family's needs for space, money, and care.

Small family norm: two children spaced at least three years apart lowers maternal health risk and allows more food, education, and attention per child.

Immunisation schedule (India, under National Immunisation Schedule): BCG and OPV-0 and hepatitis B birth dose at birth; pentavalent/OPV at 6, 10, 14 weeks; measles-rubella first dose at 9–12 months; DPT and OPV boosters at 16–24 months; DPT booster at 5–6 years; TT/Td for pregnant women.

First aid rules: for burns, cool under running water for about 10–20 minutes, do not apply oil or toothpaste, do not burst blisters; for a choking conscious adult, give back blows then abdominal thrusts.

Oral rehydration solution (ORS): one litre of clean water plus six level teaspoons sugar and half a teaspoon salt; give small sips frequently during diarrhoea, and continue feeding the child.

Home management process: planning → organising → implementing → evaluating; a work plan saves time by combining tasks (soaking pulses while cleaning vegetables) and by standardising frequently repeated jobs.

Budget rule: record income, list fixed expenses (rent, school fees) before flexible ones, keep a small emergency reserve, and distinguish needs from wants before purchase.

Kitchen safety and hygiene: separate boards for raw meat and cooked/ready-to-eat food, wash hands and utensils with soap, keep cooked food covered, and reheat leftovers thoroughly to prevent food poisoning.

Fibre classification: natural fibres are plant (cotton, jute, linen) or animal (wool, silk); man-made fibres are regenerated (rayon, from cellulose) or synthetic (polyester, nylon, acrylic).

Identification tests: burning cotton smells like burning paper and leaves soft grey ash; wool smells like burning hair and leaves a crushable black bead; silk behaves like wool; synthetics melt and form a hard bead.

Cotton is absorbent, cool, strong when wet, and shrinks; it takes starch and is suited to summer wear and household linen. Wool is warm, elastic, and absorbs moisture without feeling wet, but felts and shrinks with heat and friction.

Care labels and laundering rules: wash whites separately, use cold water for coloured cottons, dry clothes in shade to prevent fading, and iron at low heat for synthetics.

Stain removal principle: remove the stain while fresh, scrape solids, blot liquids, work from the outside inward, and use the mildest agent first; hot water sets protein stains such as blood and egg.

Consumer rights (Consumer Protection Act, 2019): right to safety, information, choice, be heard, seek redressal, and consumer education; a complaint can be filed in the District, State, or National Commission depending on claim value.

Standard marks for quality: ISI mark (Bureau of Indian Standards) for industrial goods, Agmark for agricultural produce, FSSAI licence number for food, and Hallmark for gold jewellery.

Sewing basics: take body measurements over fitted clothing; a plain seam is joined with a 1–1.5 cm seam allowance; backstitch at the start and end of a machine seam to lock the thread; clip curved seams to make them lie flat.