Tamil Nadu HSE Second Year Home Science cheat sheet

Health is defined by WHO as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Communicable diseases spread by direct contact, droplet, airborne, vector-borne and vehicle (food, water) routes; isolation of the source interrupts the chain of infection.

Immunization schedule in Tamil Nadu: BCG, OPV-0 and Hepatitis B birth dose at birth; Pentavalent and OPV at 6, 10 and 14 weeks; Measles-Rubella first dose 9-12 months, second dose 16-24 months; DPT and OPV boosters at 16-24 months.

Vitamin A prophylaxis: 1 mL (1 lakh IU) at 9 months with the measles dose, then 2 mL (2 lakh IU) every 6 months up to 5 years.

Iron and folic acid supplementation under the National Programme: 60 mg elemental iron with 500 mcg folic acid weekly for adolescent girls and boys, and daily for pregnant women from the second trimester for 180 days.

Pulse polio, DPT and MR are given free through government PHCs and sub-centres; a cold chain of 2-8 degrees Celsius must be maintained for most vaccines.

Sanitation: a sanitary latrine, safe drinking water, handwashing with soap at five critical times, and safe disposal of refuse are the pillars of environmental health.

Disease surveillance: an outbreak is two or more linked cases of the same illness; the health worker reports notifiable diseases to the PHC within 24 hours.

Prenatal development stages: germinal (0-2 weeks), embryonic (3-8 weeks, organogenesis, most vulnerable to teratogens) and fetal (9 weeks to birth).

Birth weight below 2.5 kg is low birth weight; below 1.5 kg is very low birth weight.

Growth is increase in size and is measurable (height, weight); development is progressive change in function and skill, proceeding cephalocaudally (head to foot) and proximodistally (centre to periphery).

Developmental milestones: social smile 6 weeks; head control 3 months; sits with support 6 months; sits alone 8 months; stands with support 9 months; walks alone 12-15 months; two-word sentences 18-24 months.

Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (0-2 years), preoperational (2-7), concrete operational (7-11), formal operational (11 and above).

Erikson's first stages: trust vs mistrust (infancy), autonomy vs shame (1-3), initiative vs guilt (3-6), industry vs inferiority (6-12), identity vs role confusion (adolescence).

Adolescence spans roughly 10-19 years; puberty in girls begins with breast budding and in boys with testicular enlargement, with menarche usually 2-2.5 years after breast budding.

Family types: nuclear, joint, extended; functions are reproduction, socialization, economic, protective and emotional. Family life cycle stages run from beginning family to ageing family.

Macronutrients: carbohydrates 4 kcal/g, protein 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g; alcohol gives 7 kcal/g but is not a nutrient.

Balanced diet: 60-70% of energy from carbohydrates, 10-15% from protein and 20-30% from visible and invisible fats.

Protein quality: cereals are limiting in lysine, pulses in methionine; combining cereal and pulse (idli, sambar-rice, dal-roti) gives complementary proteins close to the reference pattern.

Deficiency diseases: vitamin A - night blindness, Bitot's spots, xerophthalmia; vitamin D - rickets in children, osteomalacia in adults; iron - microcytic hypochromic anaemia; iodine - goitre and cretinism; vitamin B1 - beriberi; niacin - pellagra (dermatitis, diarrhoea, dementia).

Food spoilage causes: microbial growth, enzymatic browning, oxidation of fats (rancidity), moisture and temperature abuse; water activity below 0.6 and pH below 4.6 suppress most bacteria.

Preservation methods: drying, salting, sugaring, pickling (acid), canning (heat sterilization), refrigeration (0-5 degrees Celsius), freezing (below -18 degrees Celsius) and irradiation.

Nutrient losses: water-soluble vitamins B and C leach into cooking water and are destroyed by prolonged high heat and by adding soda; pressure cooking and steaming retain more than boiling and draining.

Food safety: FIFO (first in, first out) storage, separate cutting boards for raw and cooked food, reheat leftovers to 74 degrees Celsius, and keep the danger zone of 5-60 degrees Celsius brief.

Adulteration tests: starch in milk detected by iodine (blue-black), metanil yellow in turmeric by dilute hydrochloric acid (pink), and chalk in sugar by effervescence with acid.

Natural fibres: cotton (cellulose, absorbs moisture, weak when wet strength is about 80% of dry), wool (protein, scales give felting, damaged by alkali and bleach), silk (protein, strongest natural fibre, damaged by sunlight and perspiration).

Regenerated and synthetic fibres: rayon (regenerated cellulose, low wet strength), polyester (strong, hydrophobic, thermoplastic, heat-sensitive), nylon (very strong, low moisture regain), acrylic (wool-like, pills).

Yarn properties: count (finer yarn = higher count in cotton; lower denier = finer filament), twist (more twist = stronger, harsher), and ply.

Weaves: plain (strongest, least lustrous), twill (diagonal lines, durable), satin (floats give lustre, snag easily), pile (velvet, corduroy).

Fabric finishes: mercerization (caustic soda, improves lustre and dye uptake of cotton), calendering, sanforizing (shrinkage control), water-repellent and flame-retardant finishes.

Laundry: sort by colour and fabric, use cold water for wool and silk, never wring wool, dry silk in shade, and use a mild neutral detergent for protein fibres.

Stain removal rule: treat a stain immediately, use cold water for protein and blood stains, solvents for grease, and always test a hidden seam first.

Body measurements for a garment: bust, waist, hip, shoulder width, back length, sleeve length; ease is added to body measurements (about 5-10 cm at bust for a loose-fitting garment).

Management process: planning, organizing, directing and controlling; decision-making runs through all steps.

Resources are human (time, energy, knowledge, skills, attitudes) and non-human (money, goods, property, community facilities); they are limited and alternative, so every choice has an opportunity cost.

Time management tools: work simplification, standardizing tasks, dovetailing, peak-load pricing of effort, and the Pareto principle (about 80% of results from 20% of activities).

Principles of design: balance (symmetrical and asymmetrical), rhythm, emphasis, proportion, harmony and unity.

Colour schemes: monochromatic, analogous, complementary, split-complementary and triadic; warm colours advance and cool colours recede.

Elements of design: line, form, colour, texture, space and light; light values are 3-5 times higher for detailed tasks such as sewing than for circulation areas.

Interior lighting: general, task and accent lighting; a mix of direct and indirect light reduces glare.

Budget types: balanced, surplus and deficit; a family budget records fixed, flexible and discretionary expenses, and the emergency fund should cover about 3-6 months of expenses.

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, then complementary feeding from 6 months while continuing breastfeeding up to 2 years and beyond.

Weaning foods start as thin liquids and progress to semi-solids and solids by 8-10 months; one new food at a time, introduced over 3-5 days to check for allergy.

Immunization and growth monitoring (weight-for-age plotted on the growth chart) are the two pillars of well-baby clinics.

Play stages: solitary (0-2 years), parallel (2-3), associative (3-4) and cooperative (4-6); play develops physical, cognitive, language and social skills.

Preschool education aims at holistic development through play-way methods, not formal reading and writing, which is discouraged before age 6.

Early childhood education approaches include Montessori (self-directed activity, prepared environment, didactic materials) and kindergarten (Froebel's gifts and occupations, play-based).

A child-care centre needs a safe indoor-outdoor space, low child-sized furniture, washable surfaces, safe toys without small detachable parts, and a clear emergency and first-aid plan.

First aid: for burns, cool with running water for 10-20 minutes; for choking in an infant, give 5 back blows then 5 chest thrusts; never give fluids to an unconscious child.

Consumer rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019: safety, information, choice, being heard, redressal and consumer education, plus the right to be protected against unfair trade practices.

A consumer complaint can be filed in the District Commission up to 50 lakh rupees, the State Commission above 50 lakh up to 2 crore, and the National Commission above 2 crore.

Standardization marks: ISI (BIS) for industrial goods, Agmark for agricultural produce, FSSAI licence for food, Hallmark for gold jewellery, and the Ecomark for environment-friendly products.

A label must state product name, ingredients, net quantity, manufacturing and expiry dates, batch number, manufacturer address and, for food, nutritional information and FSSAI number.

Adulteration is punishable under the Prevention of Food Adulteration provisions within the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Consumer aids: unit pricing, comparative shopping, cash versus credit cost (interest adds to price), and reading the warranty before purchase.

Savings and banking: recurring deposit builds a fixed corpus, fixed deposit gives higher interest than a savings account, and a post office savings scheme is suited to small rural savers.

Insurance: life insurance protects the family against the loss of an earning member; health insurance covers hospitalization; premiums rise with age and risk.

A project report structure: title, introduction, aims and objectives, review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion and references.

A hypothesis is a testable statement; a control group receives no treatment and the experimental group receives the treatment being tested.

Sampling: random sampling gives every member an equal chance; purposive sampling is chosen when a specific group is needed; record the sample size and method.

Measurements must be recorded in standard units (grams, millilitres, centimetres, degrees Celsius) with the instrument named; repeat each measurement three times and report the mean.

A food practical record includes the recipe, ingredients with standard measures, method, nutrient contribution and cost per serving.

A garment construction record includes body measurements, draft, fabric details, construction steps, finishing and cost.

A survey questionnaire should have clear, non-leading, single-idea questions with a pilot test on 5-10 respondents before the main survey.

Report presentation: use tables and labelled graphs, cite sources in a reference list, and acknowledge limitations honestly.

Costing a product: material cost plus labour cost plus overheads equals total cost; selling price equals total cost plus profit margin.