Summary
Chapter 2 of the Class 2 Maths NCERT textbook (Joyful Mathematics), "Shapes Around Us", introduces solid shapes — cube, cuboid, cone, cylinder, and sphere — through hands-on activities that help children identify and compare the faces, edges, and corners of everyday objects.
- Recognising Shapes in Musical Instruments — Children look at pictures of musical instruments and identify which ones share the same shape — for example, finding instruments shaped like a drum or a matka. This activity builds the habit of spotting solid shapes in familiar real-world objects.
- Faces, Edges, and Corners of a Box — Through the story of Heena and Atif decorating a gift box, children discover that a cube has 6 faces, 12 edges, and 8 corners. They count stars for faces, ribbon stripes for edges, and pompom balls for corners to make the ideas concrete.
- Matching Objects to Solid Shapes — Children match everyday objects and musical instruments to their solid shape — cube, cuboid, cone, cylinder, or sphere. This helps them see that many different objects can share the same solid shape.
- Comparing Shapes by Their Properties — A table activity asks children to look at objects and record how many faces, edges, and corners each one has. They learn that a sphere has no corners or edges, while a cone has just one corner.
- Touch and Tell Game — In the 'Touch and Tell' game, a child is blindfolded and picks an object based on clues about its faces, corners, or edges given by classmates. Children also do project work making shapes from cardboard with a given number of faces.
Key points & formulas
- 01A cube has 6 faces, 12 edges, and 8 corners.
- 02A sphere has no corners and no edges.
- 03A cone has one corner (tip).
- 04Children match musical instruments and objects to solid shapes: cube, cuboid, cone, cylinder, and sphere.
- 05Decorating a gift box with stars, ribbons, and pompom balls makes counting faces, edges, and corners fun.
- 06The 'Touch and Tell' game has a blindfolded child guess a shape using clues about its faces and corners.
- 07Project work asks children to build a shape with four faces and another with one face using cardboard.
Frequently asked questions
01What is Chapter 2 of Class 2 Joyful Mathematics about?
It is about solid shapes found all around us, such as cubes, cuboids, cones, cylinders, and spheres. Children learn to identify these shapes and explore their faces, edges, and corners through activities and games.
02How many faces, edges, and corners does a cube have?
A cube has 6 faces, 12 edges, and 8 corners. In the chapter, Heena and Atif use this to count stars, ribbons, and pompom balls needed to decorate a gift box.
03What solid shapes are introduced in this chapter?
The chapter introduces five solid shapes: cube, cuboid, cone, cylinder, and sphere. Children match everyday objects and musical instruments to each of these shapes.
04How does the gift-box decoration activity help children learn?
By placing a star on each face, a ribbon on each edge, and a pompom ball on each corner, children count the parts of the box in a hands-on way. This makes the ideas of faces, edges, and corners easy to understand and remember.
05What is the 'Touch and Tell' game in this chapter?
A child is blindfolded and picks an object from a collection based on clues given by classmates — such as 'find an object with one corner.' This game helps children recognise solid shapes by touch.
06How many corners does a cone have?
A cone has one corner (its pointed tip). Children identify objects with one corner in a sorting activity in the chapter.
07Does a sphere have any corners or edges?
No, a sphere has no corners and no edges. It belongs to the 'no corners' group in the chapter's sorting exercise.
08What activity uses musical instruments to teach shapes?
Children look at a picture of musical instruments and circle or tick the ones that match the shape of a drum, matka, or shehnai. They also explain how the harmonium's shape differs from a drum's.
09What is the project work in Chapter 2?
Children take a cardboard sheet and try to make an object that has four faces, then try to make one that has only one face. This encourages them to explore solid shapes by building them.
10What does the 'Cross the odd one out' activity involve?
Children look at a group of objects or shapes and identify which one does not belong because its shape is different from the others in the group.
11How are solid shapes matched to objects in this chapter?
A matching activity asks children to draw lines from musical instruments and everyday objects to their solid shape — cube, cuboid, cone, cylinder, or sphere — with one example already done for them.
12Why are some ribbon stripes for the gift box short and some long?
A cuboid (gift box) has edges of different lengths — some shorter and some longer — so the ribbons placed on those edges must match those different lengths.
13What objects can children use to feel faces, edges, and corners?
The chapter suggests everyday classroom objects like a chalk box, a duster, and a piece of chalk so children can touch and explore their surfaces, edges, and corners directly.
14What does the 'Let us Think' table activity ask children to do?
Children look at various objects, decide which solid shape each one looks like, and fill in a table recording the number of faces, edges, and corners for each object.
More chapters in Joyful Mathematics
Read Chapter 2 of Joyful Mathematics, the Class 2 Mathematics NCERT textbook (2026-27 edition), online for free: the complete chapter as published by NCERT with every diagram, solved example and exercise, with step-by-step solutions, answers and revision notes. Open the NCERT PDF above, or browse all NCERT Class 2 textbooks.
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