HALF YEARLY EXAM

Grade – 9
Sub : SOCIAL SCIENCE Div : Roll No.
Name : _________________________________ Date :
Time Allowed: 3 Hours Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions:
1. The question paper comprises Six Sections – A, B, C, D, E and F. There are 37 questions in the Question paper. All
questions are compulsory.
2. Section A – From questions 1 to 20 are MCQs of 1 mark each.
3. Section B – Question no. 21 to 24 are Very Short Answer Type Questions, carrying 2 marks each. Answer to each
question should not exceed 40 words.
4. Section C contains Q.25to Q.29 are Short Answer Type Questions, carrying 3 marks each. Answer to each question should
not exceed 60 words
5. Section D – Question no. 30 to 33 are long answer type questions, carrying 5 marks each. Answer to each question
should not exceed 120 words.
6. Section-E - Questions no from 34 to 36 are case based questions with three sub questions and are of 4 marks each.
Answer to each question should not exceed 100 words.
7. Section F – Question no. 37 is map based, carrying 5 marks with two parts, 37a from History (2 marks) and 37b from
Geography (3 marks).
8. There is no overall choice in the question paper. However, an internal choice has been provided in few questions. Only
one of the choices in such questions have to be attempted.
9. In addition to this, separate instructions are given with each section and question, wherever necessary.
10. Note: CBQ stands for “Competency Based Question”. 50% weightage allocated for competency-based questions.

SECTION A
MCQs (1X20=20)
1. The speech of Robespierre was printed in which newspaper? 1
a) Le Monde
b) Le Moniteur Universal✔
c) Le Figaro
d) La Croix
2. Which of the following refers to women's right to vote? 1
a) Suffragette
b) Jadidist
c) April Theses
d) Universal suffrage✔

3. Assertion (A): The hilly region has a rugged terrain in contrast with the plains. 1
Reason (R): This area has mountains and valleys which make its terrain rugged.
a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
c) A is true but R is false.✔
d) A is false but R is true
4. On the given map of France, A is marked as one of the port cities from where
the merchants of France sailed to buy slaves from African countries. Identify it
from the following options.
1 On the political map, A is also marked as the smallest state. Identify it from the 1
0. following options.

6. Who a)headed
Sikkimthe party after the death of Lenin? 1
b) Puducherry
a) Trotsky
c) Goa✅
b) Stalin✅
d) Diu apon
c) Father
1 In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family of kings ascended the throne of France.
d) Kerenskii 1
1. He was 20 years old and married to an Austrian princess. Upon his accession,
7. a. Analyze the information and name the event in Russian history: 1
the i.new
On king found1905,
9th January an empty
a masstreasury.
of peacefulLong years
workers oftheir
with warwives
had and
drained the
financial resources
children of France.
was fired Added to
at St. Petersburg this
while onwas thetocost
its way of maintaining
the Winter Palace to an
presentcourt
extravagant a petition
at theto immense
the Tsar. Palace of Versailles. To whom did Louis XVI
ii. More than a hundred workers were killed and about 300 were wounded.
get married?
a) Bloody Sunday✅
a) b)Queen
The Elizabeth
Great Depression
b) c)Marie Antoinette✅✅
Winter Palace Massacre
c) d)None of these Crises
Subsistence
d) Olympe de Gouges
1 ‘Constituency ‘A’ was declared as a reserved constituency. What does this stand 1
8. Where 1
2. for? did the most devastating famine occur in India in 1943?
a) those
A. Only Surat who belong to SC and ST can caste their votes.
B. Only Ahmedabad
b) someone who belongs to the Scheduled Cast/Scheduled Tribe can
c)
contestBengal✅
the elections.
a) Nantes✅
a)d)b)Both
Mumbai
A and B are true
Brest
b) c)A isMarseille
false but B is true
9. Which country among 1
c) d)Both A and
Bordeaux B areIndia's
false neighbors is the smallest?
a) Bangladesh
d) A is true but B is false✅
b) Bhutan✅
c) Pakistan
d) Sri Lanka
1 Read the information given below and select the correct option 1
3. Bloody Sunday started a series of events. Strikes took place all over the country
and universities closed down when student bodies staged walkouts, complaining
about the lack of civil liberties. Lawyers, doctors, engineers and other middle-class
workers came together and demanded a constituent assembly. Which union was
established by lawyers, doctors, engineers and other middle-class workers? Choose
with the help of given information.
a) Union of Labours
b) Union of Unions✅
c) Union of Warriors
d) All of these
1 What is the name of Chinese parliament? 1
4. a) National Congress
b) National People's Congress✅
c) Congress
d) Communist Congress
1 1. Assertion (A): National Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of 1
5. obligations and taxes.
Reason (R): Taille, a tax levied by the church, was revoked.
a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.✅
c) A is true but R is false.
d) A is false but R is true.
1 Which of the following geographic feature India is bounded in the north to west, 1
6. north, and north to the east?
a) Young fold mountains✅
b) Plateaus
c) Northern plains
d) Desert
1 In which country the people belonging to Russian minority find it difficult to 1
7. get the right to vote.
a) Estonia ✅
b) Pakistan
c) Iraq
d) Luxemburg
1 Which is the most common form of democracy in today’s world? 1
8. a) Representative Democracy✅
b) Direct Democracy
c) Presidential Democracy
d) Participatory Democracy

1 Name the great leader of Indian freedom movement who was not the member 1
9. of the Indian constituent assembly.
a) Motilal Nehru
b) Mahatma Gandhi✅
c) Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
d) Dr. Bhimarao Ambedkar
2 The voter’s list is also known as : 1
0. a) Election
b) Voter Identity Card
c) Electoral Roll✅
d) None of these

SECTION – B
VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (2X4=8)
2 Explain the two types of states found in India before 1947. 2
1.
2 What do you mean by the 'Theory of Plate Tectonics'? 2
2. OR
Explain the virtuous cycle of human development.
2 What do you understand by room for correction? 2
3.
2 Mention any two salient features of Democracy. 2
4.
SECTION C

SHORT ANSWER-BASED QUESTIONS (3x5-15)

Which groups of French society benefited from the revolution? Which groups
25. were forced to relinquish power? Which sections of society would have been 3
disappointed with the outcome of the revolution?
“The South African Constitution inspires Democrats all over the world". Justify
26. the statement. OR
What is the Preamble to the Constitution? 3
What was the impact of World War I on Germany's politics and society?
27. OR
Explain the collectivization policy of Stalin. 3
Highlight some issues which bring many limitations and challenges of the
28. Indian election to our attention. 3
29. What is meant by Indian Standard Time? Why do we need a Standard
Meridian for India? 3

SECTION D
LONG ANSWER-BASED QUESTIONS (5X4=20)
What were the main changes that came after the Revolution of October 1917?
30. OR 5
Differentiate between the ideas of liberals and radicals.
What are reserved constituencies? Explain the concept of reservation of
31. seats. 5
OR
What is a Universal Adult Franchise? Why has it been adopted in India?
What were the main causes for an empty treasury of France under Louis XVI?
32. 5
 Give an account of the four divisions of Himalayas from West to East along
33. with Purvanchal hills respectively. 5
SECTION E
CASE-BASED QUESTIONS ( 4X3=12)
a. Read the text carefully and answer the questions:
34.
The Indian desert lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills. It is an
undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes. This region receives very low 4
rainfall below 150 mm per year. It has an arid climate with low vegetation cover.
Streams appear during the rainy season. Soon after they disappear into the sand as they
do not have enough water to reach the sea. Luni is the only large river in this
region. Barchans cover larger areas but longitudinal dunes become more
prominent near the Indo-Pakistan boundary.
i. Let's say you've recently traveled through the Indian desert. Give a non-
Indian person a description of the desert. (Any two points)
ii. Define the term Barchans.
iii. Rina went on a vacation to a location where she went on a camel safari and
camped out at night. She enjoyed the puppet show as well and saw many
barchans. What place did Rina go to?
b. Read the text carefully and answer the questions:
35. In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup in October 1999. He 4
overthrew a democratically elected government and declared himself the ‘Chief
Executive’ of the country. Later he changed his designation to President and in 2002
held a referendum in the country that granted him a five-year extension. Pakistani
media, human rights organisations and democracy activists said that the
referendum was based on malpractices and fraud. In August 2002 he issued a ‘Legal
Framework Order’ that amended the Constitution of Pakistan. According to this
Order, the President can dismiss the national and provincial assemblies. The work
of the civilian cabinet is supervised by a National Security
Council which is dominated by military officers. After passing this law, elections were
held in the national and provincial assemblies. So Pakistan has had elections, and
elected representatives have some powers. But the final power rested with military
officers and General Musharraf himself. Clearly, there are many reasons why
Pakistan under General Musharraf should not be called a democracy. People may
have elected their representatives to the national and provincial
assemblies but those elected representatives were not really the rulers. They
cannot make the final decisions. The power to make final decisions rested with
army officials and with General Musharraf and none of them were elected by the
people. This happens in many dictatorships and monarchies. They formally have
an elected parliament and government but the real power is with those who are
not elected. In a few countries, the real power was with some external powers and
not with locally elected representatives. This cannot be called people’s rule.
i. What is the meaning of a Referendum? Also, explain it in the context of General
Musharraf.
ii. Why Pakistan cannot be considered a democracy while General Musharraf was
in power?
iii. Which designation did Pervez Musharraf choose for himself when he removed
Pakistan's democratically elected government in 1999?
a. Read the text carefully and answer the questions:
36.
The Indian landmass has a central location between East and West Asia. India is a 4
 southward extension of the Asian continent. The trans-Indian Ocean routes, which
connect the countries of Europe in the West and the countries of East Asia, provide
a strategic central location to India. The Deccan Peninsula protrudes into the Indian
Ocean, thus helping India to establish close contact with West Asia, Africa, and
Europe from the western coast and with Southeast and East Asia from the eastern
coast. No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and
indeed, it is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean, which justifies the naming
of an Ocean after it. Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance
from Europe has been reduced by 7000 km. India’s contacts with the World have
continued through ages but her relationships through the land routes are much
older than her maritime contacts. The various passes across the mountains in the
north have provided passages to the ancient travellers, while the oceans
restricted such interaction for a long time. These routes have contributed to the
exchange of ideas and commodities since ancient times.
i. When did the Suez Canal first open? How has it helped India?
ii. State any two reasons that make India's strategic location at the head of
the Indian Ocean so important.
iii. Which peninsula helps India to establish easy contact with West Asia, East
Africa, and Europe from the Western coast?

SECTION F
MAP SKILL-BASED QUESTION (2+3=5)

a) Two places A and B have been marked on the given outline map of the
37. world. Identify them and write their correct names on the lines drawn near 2

them.
A. The allied power country of the second world war
B. The central power country of the first world war
b) On the outline map of India locate and label ANY THREE of the following 3
with suitable Symbols.
a. Chotta Nagpur Plateau - Plateau
b. Konkan - Coastal Plains
c. Western Ghats.
d. Northern Plains.