Half-Yearly Examination 2024-25

Grade : VIII Date: 14/10/2024

Subject : Social Science Marks: 80
Sub code: 087 Time: 3 hrs
General Instructions:
1. This Question Paper has 5 Sections A, B, C, D, E and F.
2. Section A has 20 MCQs carrying 1 mark each.
3. Section B has 4 questions carrying 02 marks each.
4. Section C has 5 questions carrying 03 marks each.
5. Section D has 4 questions carrying 05 marks each.
6. Section E has 3 questions carrying 04 marks.
7. Section F has 1 map-based question carrying 05 marks.
8. All Questions are compulsory. However, an internal choice has been provided in the 2, 3, and 5 mark
questions.

SECTION-A
MCQ’s (1x20=20)
1 was the first person to discover a trading route to India. 1
A) Vasco da Gama
B) James Cook
C) Columbus
D) Thomas Cook
2 Fine qualities of had big market in Europe when European traders started 1
marketing in India.
A) cotton
B) timber
C) wheat
D) pepper
3 Battle of Plassey took place in the year 1
A) 1757
B) 1789
C) 1760
D) 1755
4. The lathi weilding strongmen maintained by planters are: 1
(a) Ryots
(b) Peasant
(c) Lathiyals
(d) Vat-Beater
5. Who among the following introduced the Ryotwari Settlement system ? 1
(a) Thomas Munro
(b) Holt Mackenzie
(c) Lord Dalhousie
(d) Lord Cornwallis
6. From among the regions mentioned below, which region introduced the Mahalwari 1
Settlement System in 1822?
(a) Bombay
(b) Madras
(c) Bihar
(d) Uttar Pradesh
7. How do you implement exclusive rights over an invention? 1

A) By patenting it

B) By selling it to any company

C) By selling it to government authorities

D) Not revealing it
8. Which of the following is an example of Human Resources? 1
A) Forests
B) Latest Technologies
C) People
D) Animals & Birds
9. What is a biosphere reserve? 1
(a) Protected area linked through global network
(b) Land use for production
(c) Farmers Land
(d) None of these
10. Which one of the following is not a biosphere reserve? 1
(a) Dachigam
(b) Kanchenjunga
(c) Nanda Devi
(d) Sundarban
11. Which is the highest law making body in our country? 1
(a) Rajya sabha
(b) Lok Sabha
(c) Court
(d) None of these
12. How many members are there in the Rajya sabha? 1
(a) 240 elected members
(b) 233 elected members
(c) 230 elected members
(d) None of these
13. Who is the head of the Executive at the central level? 1
(a) President
(b) Prime Minister
(c) Chief Minister
(d) None of these
14. Which one of the following is a fundamental right? 1
(a) Right to freedom of religion
(b) Right to property
(c) Right to work
(d) All of these
15. What was the reason behind abolition of the evil practice of untouchability? 1
(a) To end the Muslims in India
(b) To end the discrimination
(c) To end the poverty
(d) None of these
16. What was the names of the Muslim dominant former French colonies? 1
(a) Tunisia (c) Algeria
(b) Morocco (d) None of the above

17. What is celebrated on 2nd October of every year? 1

(a) Christmas Day
(b) Children’s Day
(c) Gandhi Jayanti
(d) Diwali
18. When was our Constitution adopted and enforced? 1
(a) 26 January, 1950
(b) 15 August, 1947
(c) 2 October, 1950
(d) 26 November, 1949
19. Which type of soil is good for growing wheat? 1
(a) Desert
(b) Loamy
(c) Sandy
(d) None of these
20. Which Of the following are primary 1
(a) Agriculture
(b) Mining
(c) Fishing
(d) All of these
SECTION-B
Very Short Answer Questions (2x4=8)
21 What was the prime objective of East India Company? 2
22 Define the term ‘agriculture’ 2
23 What does the term ‘secularism’ refer to? 2
24 What is sustainable development? 2
SECTION-C
Short Answer Questions (3x5=15)
25 What is biosphere? 3
26 What are the three objectives of a secular State? 3
27 How was the Mahalwari system different from the permanent settlement. 3
Or
What were the circumstances which led to the eventual collapse of Indigo production in
Bengal.

28 Parliament is the most important symbol of Indian Democracy. Explain. 3

29 What are the climatic conditions required for growing maize ? Who are the leading 3
producers of maize?
SECTION-D
Long Answer-Based Questions (5x4=20)
30 Write a short note on Rajya Sabha 5
OR
Write a short note on Lok Sabha.

31 Why is wildlife important to us? 5

OR
Suggest possible measures to conserve water at an individual level.
32. Explain the system of subsidiary alliance
OR

Write a paragraph about Tipu Sultan the Tiger of Mysore.

33. Explain in your own words how a farm in India 5

OR
Explain in your own words about a farm in USA
SECTION-E
Case-based (4x3=12)
34. Read the text carefully and answer the questions:
Finally, in 1765 the Mughal emperor appointed the Company as the Diwan of the provinces
of Bengal. The Diwani allowed the Company to use the vast revenue resources of Bengal.
This solved a major problem that the Company had earlier faced. From the early eighteenth
century, its trade with India had expanded. But it had to buy most of the goods in India with
gold and silver imported from Britain. This was because at this time Britain had no goods to
sell in India. The outflow of gold from Britain slowed after the Battle of Plassey, and entirely
stopped after the assumption of Diwani. Now revenues from India could finance Company
expenses. These revenues could be used to purchase cotton and silk textiles in India, maintain
Company troops, and meet the cost of building the Company fort and offices at Calcutta.

Questions:
34.1 Why was there an outflow of gold from Britain to India? 1
34.2 Until when did the outflow of gold continue? 1
34.3 What major problem did the system of Diwani solve? 2
35 Read the text carefully and answer the questions:
In mixed farming the land is used for growing food and fodder crops and rearing livestock.
Nomadic Herders with their camels. A Sugarcane plantation Rationalized 2023-24 26
Resources and Development It is practiced in Europe, eastern USA, Argentina, southeast
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Plantations are a type of commercial farming
where single crop of tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew, rubber, banana or cotton are grown. Large
amount of labor and capital are required. The produce may be processed on the farm itself or
in nearby factories. The development of a transport network is thus essential for such
farming. Major plantations are found in the tropical regions of the world. Rubber in Malaysia,
coffee in Brazil, tea in India and Sri Lanka are some examples. Major Crops A large variety
of crops are grown to meet the requirement of the growing population. Crops also supply raw
materials for agro based industries. Major food crops are wheat, rice, maize and millets. Jute
and cotton are fiber crops. Important beverage crops are tea and coffee. Rice: Rice is the
major food crop of the world. It is the staple diet of the tropical and sub-tropical regions. Rice
needs high temperature, high humidity and rainfall. It grows best in alluvial clayey soil,
which can retain water. China leads in the production of rice followed by India, Japan, Sri
Lanka and Egypt. In favorable climatic conditions as in West Bengal and Bangladesh two to
three crops are grown in a year. Cotton: Cotton requires high temperature, light rainfall, two
hundred and ten frost-free days and bright sunshine for its growth. It grows best on black
and alluvial soils. China, USA, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt are the leading producers of
cotton. It is one of the main raw materials for the cotton textile industry. Jute: Jute was also
known as the ‘Golden Fiber’. It grows well on alluvial soil and requires high temperature,
heavy rainfall and humid climate. This
crop is grown in the tropical areas. India and Bangladesh are the leading producers of jute.
Questions:
35.1 What's the use of land in mixed farming? 1
35.2 What's the major food crop of the world? 1
35.3 What climactic conditions are required for the growth of cotton? 2
36. Read the text carefully and answer the questions:
The Indian Constitution mandates that the Indian State be secular. According to the
Constitution, only a secular State can realise its objectives to ensure the following: 1. that one
religious community does not dominate another; 2. that some members do not dominate other
members of the same religious community; 3. that the State does not enforce any particular
religion nor take away the religious freedom of individuals. The Indian State works in various
ways to prevent the above domination. First, it uses a strategy of distancing itself from
religion. The Indian State is not ruled by a religious group and nor does it support any one
religion. In India, government spaces like law courts, police stations, government schools and
offices are not supposed to display or promote any one religion. Government schools cannot
promote any one religion either in their morning prayers or through religious celebrations.
This rule does not apply to private schools. The second way in which Indian secularism
works to prevent the above domination is through a strategy of non-interference. This means
that in order to respect the sentiments of all religions and not interfere with religious
practices, the State makes certain exceptions for particular religious communities.
Questions: 1
36.1 What does the Indian constitution mandate? 1
36.2 What role do government schools play in upholding secularism in our country? 2
36.3 How does the Indian State maintain a distance from religion?
SECTION-F
Map skill-based questions: (1x5=5)
37 (i) Locate and label the following items on the given outline map of India: 5
(a) Delhi
(b) Lahore
(c) A state famous for the cultivation of wheat
(d) A state famous for the cultivation of coffee
(e) A state famous for the cultivation of tea

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