ONLINE CLASS 7: 7 SOCIAL SCIENCE NOTES 2021-2022

R/11
CIVICS
Ch.3: State Government: The Executive
Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.
1. Who is the official head of the state executive? Who is the real head?
Answer: The Governor is the official head of the state executive. The Chief Minister is the real head.
2. What shows that the governor is a representative of the union government?
Answer: The governor is appointed by the president of India, which shows that the governor is a representative of the union government.
3. Who does the day-to-day administrative work in the departments of the state government?
Answer: The day-to-day administrative work in the departments of the government is done by officials of the civil service.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions in not more than 40 words.
1. Write briefly about the governor’s power.
Answer: The governor appoints many of the high officials of the state executive, including chief minister and the members of the state’s council of ministers. He has discretionary powers.
2. How is the chief minister of a state chosen and appointed?
Answer: The majority party chooses one of its leaders to become the chief minister of the state. The chief minister and the ministers chosen by him are formally appointed by the governor.
3. Who administers a union territory?
Answer: A union territory is administered by a lieutenant governor or chief administrator or chief commissioner acting on the president’s instructions.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.
1. What are the main functions of the chief minister?
Answer: The chief minister is the real head of the state executive. The governor, who is the official head, acts on the chief minister’s advice. The chief minister heads the state’s council of ministers. The chief minister chooses some members of the Vidhan Sabha to form the state’s council of ministers. He also presides over their meetings and coordinates their work. The chief minister communicates all executive decisions to the governor. The chief minister and his council of ministers work on the principle of collective responsibility.

Exercise: F: Fill in the blanks.
1. The governor is appointed by the ……….. for a normal term of …….. years.
Answer: President and 5 years
2. The governor can exercise …………… powers without consulting the chief minister.
Answer: Discretionary
3. In India, the three main categories of ministers are …………, ……….. and ……………..
Answer: Cabinet ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers
4. Each independent department of government in charge of a cabinet minister is called a …………..
Answer: Portfolio
5. The …………. heads the state civil service.
Answer: Chief Secretary
6. ……………. is a union territory that has a legislature of its own.
Answer: Pondicherry

Exercise: G: State whether the statements are true or false.
1. The same person can be the governor of more than one state at a time.
Answer: True
2. The governor heads the state’s council of ministers.
Answer: False
3. If a vote of no confidence is passed against one minister, the whole council resigns.
Answer: True
4. The State Public Service Commission selects all the civil servants in the state.
Answer: True
5. The President of India makes laws for the union territories.
Answer: False
6. The governor of a state may be put in charge of administration a neighbouring union territory.
Answer: True

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HISTORY
Ch.3: The Delhi Sultanate
Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.
1. Name the five dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate.
Answer: The Delhi Sultanate had five dynasties- the Slave, Khalji and Tughluq dynasties origin, and the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties of Afghan origin.
2. Name Zia-ud-din Barani’s historical work. What is its importance?
Answer: Tarikh-i-Firoz-Shahi was written by Zia-ud-din Barani, which gives a fairly unbiased picture of the reigns of the Khaljis and the Tughluqa.
3. What is the meaning of masjid?
Answer: A masjid is a place of Islamic prostrate (lie face down) in worship.
4. Mention one advantage that Ala-ud-din Khalji got by conquering Gujarat.
Answer: Ala-ud-din Khalji conquered Gujarat which gave him access to its ports and overseas trade.
5. Mention three problems faced by the Sultans of Delhi.
Answer: The Sultans’ of Delhi faced many problems such as defeated rulers, often revolted against Turkish rule. Secondly, Nobles conspired to overthrow Sultans. Thirdly, there were several Mongol invasions from central Asia.
6. What was the chihalgani?
Answer: Iltutmish organised a group of forty Turkish bandagan (slave officers). The group was called the bandagan-i-Turk chihalgani.
7. Who were the barids? What was their job?
Answer: The barids were the network of spies maintained by the Sultan. The barids kept the Sultan informed about all the happenings within the empire.
8. Why Muhammad-bin-Tughluq did shift his capital to Devagiri?
Answer: Muhammad-bin-Tughluq shifted his capital from Delhi to Devagiri because he considered Devagiri was safe from Mongol attacks.
9. Why did Muhammad-bin-Tughluq plan a military campaign in Central Asia?
Answer: Muhammad-bin-Tughluq planned a military campaign in Central Asia to stop Mongol expansion.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions in not more than 40 words.
1. What are the main drawbacks of the tarikhs written during the Sultanate period?
Answer: The court historians, who were patronized by the rulers, wrote tarikhs (histories) of the period. However, they usually wrote to please their patrons.
2. What was Minhaj-us-Siraj’s attitude towards Raziyya?
Answer: Minhaj-us-Siraj acknowledged Raziyya’s abilities as a ruler. But, he wrote that her abilities were useless, as rising a woman to the throne was against the custom.
3. How did Balban assert his authority over the nobles?
Answer: Balban continued Iltutmish’s policy of suppressing revolts and strengthening the Sultan’s hold over its territories.
4. How did Iltutmish save India from a Mongol invasion?
Answer: Iltutmish saved India from a Mongol invasion by wisely refusing shelter to the ruler of Iran, who had been ousted by the Mongol chief Chenghiz Khan.
5. What steps did Ala-ud-din Khalji take to strengthen his army?
Answer: Ala-ud-din Khalji was the first Delhi Sultan to maintain a well-equipped standing army. He paid his soldiers in cash and gave them imported horses of good breed.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.
1. Describe the iqta system introduced by Iltutmish.
Answer: Iltutmish granted lands called iqtas to members of his army. In return, the iqta holder, called the iqtadar or muqti, had to give the Sultan military help in times of war. The muqti was answerable to the Sultan and his iqta was transferable. He collected revenue from his iqta to meet the cost of administration and the cost of maintaining his troops and horses. The muqti and his soldiers and attendants camped at the iqta headquarters with their family members. To ensure their safety, they fortified the campsites.

2. Discuss the economic measures adopted by Ala-ud-din Khalji as part of his Mongol policy.
Answer: Ala-ud-din Khalji’s able generals drove back the Mongol raiders, who raided India several times during his reign. So, then he took some economic measures to strengthen his territory. He fixed the prices of all essential goods so that soldiers and other salaried people could afford to buy these goods. Weights and measures were standardized, and cheating was severely punished. These measures benefited the soldiers as well as the general people.

3. What economic measures did Muhammad-bin-Tughluq adopt? Why did these fall?
Answer: To meet the expenses of the army, Muhammad-bin-Tughluq increased land tax in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Many farmers rose in rebellion. They were ruthlessly crushed, and large areas were laid waste, resulting in famine conditions. The Sultan had to provide six month’s supplies from the royal granary at cheap rates. Peasants had to be given loans to restore cultivation. Muhammad-bin-Tughluq wanted to preserve gold and silver to meet the expenses of his planned campaigns outside his empire. So, he introduced bronze token coins. However, he failed to check the large-scale forgery of the bronze coins. The value of money fell sharply. Trade suffered as foreign merchants stopped business. The Sultan had to withdraw the token currency and pay gold and silver coins in exchange.

Exercise: G: Fill in the blanks.
1……………..defeated ……………. in the second battle of Tarain in 1192.
Answer: Muhammad Ghori and Prithviraj
2. Dhillika was possibly built by the ……………. around the year 736.
Answer: Tomaras
3. Qutb-ud-din Aibak was to the……….. dynasty what Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was to the Tughluq dynasty.
Answer: Mamluk
4. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at …………..
Answer: Panipat
5. Balban introduced the Persian custom of …………… in his court.
Answer: Zaminbos
6. The token coins introduced by Muhammad-bin-Tughluq were made of …………….
Answer: Bronze

Exercise: H: State whether the following statements are true or false.
1. Qutb-ud-din Aibak built the Alai Darwaza as a gateway to the Qutb complex.
Answer: False
2. Raziyya Sultana was known to favour non-Turkish nobles.
Answer: True
3. Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq was succeeded by Jauna Khan.
Answer: True
4. Tumur Lang was a Mongol ruler who invaded India.
Answer: True
5. The Sultan had no control over the iqtadars, as the iqtas were not transferable.
Answer: False
6. Muhammad-bin-Tughluq’s new capital at Devagiri was named Tughluqabad.
Answer: False

Exercise: I: Choose the correct option.
1. Malik Kafur was the vice-regent under
(a)   Iltutmish           (b) Balban              (c) Ala-ud-din Khalji           (d) Muhammad-bin-Tughluq
Answer: (c) Ala-ud-din Khalji
2. The nobles refused to cooperate with Muhammad-bin-Tughluq because he
(a)   Took away their titles            (b) raised common people of merit to high positions    (c) did not recognise the merit of the nobles       (d) did not reward the nobles
Answer: (b) raised common people of merit to high positions
3. In 1398, India was invaded by
(a)   Jauna Khan             (b) Khizr Khan              (c) Timur Lang           (d) Babur
Answer: (c) Timur Lang
4. The Delhi Sultanate lasted from
(a)   1192 to 1206             (b) 1192 to 1526              (c) 1206 to 1290       (d) 1206 to 1526
Answer: (b) 1192 to 1526
5. Muhammad-bin-Tughluq increased land tax in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab to
(a)   Suppress rebellions          (b) live in luxury          (c) meet the expenditure on his army     (d) give loans
Answer: (c) meet the expenditure on his army

R/9
GEOGRAPHY
Ch.3: Water
Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.
1. Define humidity.
Answer: The amount of water vapour present in the atmosphere is known as humidity.
2. When is air said to be saturated?
Answer: When the air contains as much water vapour as it can hold at a given temperature. It is said to be saturated.
3. What is meant by water cycle?
Answer: The cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation goes on all time, and is known as the water cycle.
4. What are the three main types of rainfall?
Answer: The three main types of rainfall are the relief rainfall, the conventional rainfall and the frontal or cyclonic rainfall.
5. In which general directions do ocean currents move in the Northern and Southern hemisphere?
Answer: Generally, the ocean currents move clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and anticlockwise in the Southern Hemisphere due to the rotation of the earth.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions in not more than 40 words.
1. How does humidity vary from place to place and from time to time?
Answer: Humidity varies from place to place and from time to time. It is lesser over land than over oceans, greater over hot regions than over cold regions, it increases in summer and decreases in winter and it also decreases as one goes higher up into the atmosphere.

2. Why is frontal rainfall common in the subpolar low-pressure belts?
Answer: Frontal rainfall is very common in the subpolar low-pressure belts because cyclones occur when the warm westerlies are forced to raise the cold polar air.

3. What do you understand by saline water and fresh water?
Answer: Water containing a large amount of dissolved salts is called saline water. Water that contains very little dissolved salts is called fresh water.

4. What are tides and why do they occur?
Answer: The level of water in a sea or ocean rises and falls alternately at regular intervals every day. These changes in the level of sea water are called tides.

5. Why does the harbour of London not freeze during winter?
Answer: The harbour of London does not freeze during winter because the saline waters of the sea freeze at lower temperature than river water does and the sea water rushing during high tide prevents harbour from freezing in winter.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.
1. What is condensation? How are clouds formed?
Answer: When the temperature of saturated air falls, the air is no longer able to hold all the water vapour it is carrying. The excess vapour then changes into tiny droplets of water. This process is called condensation. When warm, moist air rises upwards. It gets cooled. Ultimately, it gets saturated. When its temperature falls further, some of the water vapour in it condenses around dust particles and forms minute droplets of water. If the temperature is low enough, the vapour may condense into tiny crystals of ice. These droplets or crystals are so light that they float in the air, carried by air currents. Visible masses of floating water droplets or ice crystals are called clouds.

2. Define precipitation. Explain how it occurs.
Answer: The falling of condensed water vapour is called precipitation. Clouds have millions of tiny droplets. Some of these droplets fall very slowly, while some are carried up by air currents. The moving droplets bump into each other and stick together to form larger droplets. In this way, the droplets grow in size until they are too heavy to float. Then, they fall as rain. Like water droplets, ice crystals present in clouds may also grow in size, become heavy and fall as flakes of snow.

3. What is a tsunami? What caused killer tsunamis in the Indian Ocean in December 2004? Which regions were the worst affected? Why did so many people die?
Answer: A tsunami is a very long wave caused by a submarine or coastal earthquake, landslide or volcanic eruption. A powerful earthquake occurred on the floor of the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004. It originated near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where the Indian plate slides under the Eurasian plate. Due to this tsunami, more than 275,000 people killed. The regions worst affected were the coasts of Indonesia, South India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The tsunami also travelled across the globe, causing deaths on the eastern coast of Africa and also noticed on the western coasts of North and South America.

4. How do ocean currents modify the climate of coastal regions? Give one example.
Answer: Ocean currents make a place colder and hotter. If cold currents flow near the coasts, it changes the climate of the coast into cold. If there is warm ocean currents flow, it increases the temperature and humidity of the coastal regions. Ocean currents also influence rainfall. Winds passing over warm currents pick up moisture and cause heavy rainfall. Eastern USA and the western coast of Europe receive such rainfall. On the other hand, winds passing over cold currents become cool and dry, and bring hardly any rainfall. Hence, deserts are found near the western coasts of continents, along which cold currents generally flow. The Atacama Desert in South America and the Namib Desert in Africa are examples of such deserts.

Exercise: F: Fill in the blanks.
1. When the temperature of saturated air ………………. the water vapour in the air starts condensing.
Answer: Falls
2. A mixture of fog and smoke is known as ……………….
Answer: Smog
3. Relief rainfall is also called ………………. rainfall.
Answer: Orographic
4. A ………………. is an instrument used for measuring rainfall.
Answer: Rain Gauge
5. Waves are caused by the action of ……………….
Answer: Winds
6. Ocean currents are caused chiefly by the action of the ………………. winds.
Answer: Planetary winds
7. Warm ocean currents move from ………………. latitudes to ………………. latitudes.
Answer: lower and higher

Exercise: G: State whether the following statements are true or false.
1. Condensation of water vapour leads to the formation of clouds, fog, mist and dew.
Answer: True
2. Fogs occur when condensation takes place in the higher layers of the atmosphere.
Answer: False
3. Oceans account for about 97 per cent of the water present on the earth.
Answer: True
4. Neap tides occur during new moon and full moon.
Answer: False
5. Deserts are found near the eastern coasts of continents, along which warm currents generally flow.
Answer: False

Exercise: H: Choose the correct option.
1. When the temperature rises, the capacity of the atmosphere to hold water vapour
(a)   Rises             (b) falls               (c) remains constant           (d) may rise or fall
Answer: (a) rises
2. Smog is common in
(a)   Industrial areas              (b) agricultural area         (c) high mountain areas       (d) forest areas
Answer: (a) Industrial areas
3. Conventional rainfall is most common in the
(a)   Polar regions               (b) equatorial region            (c) subpolar regions       (d) subtropical regions
Answer: (b) equatorial region
4. The forces of the moon and the sun act in the same line giving rise to spring tides every
(a)   Full moon day        (b) new moon day       (c) full moon and new moon day      (d) spring season
Answer: (c) full moon and new moon day
5. Deserts are found near the western coasts of continents because
(a)   Warm currents flow along these coasts
(b)  The winds passing over the cold currents flowing along these coasts are dry
(c)   Cold and warm currents meet near these coasts
(d)   No currents flow in these regions
Answer: (a) warm currents flow along these coasts
6. Plankton thrive in areas where
(a)  Two cold ocean currents meet
(b)  Two warm ocean currents meet
(c) Warm and cold ocean currents meet
(d)  The salinity of the water is very high
Answer: (c) warm and cold ocean currents meet
7. The region near Newfoundland is rich fishing zone because
(a)   Unusually high tides occur here
(b) The warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador Current meet in this region
(c)   The warm Gulf Stream flow along this region
(d)  The North Atlantic Drift raises the temperature of the waters
Answer: (b) The warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador Current meet in this region.

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CIVICS
Ch.2: State Government: The Legislature
Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.
1. What does a bicameral state legislature in India consists of?
Answer: A bicameral state legislature in India consists of two houses of legislature. The upper house is called the Vidhan Parishad and the lower house is called the Vidhan Sabha.

2. What are the members of the Vidhan Sabha called? How are they elected?
Answer: The members of the Vidhan Sabha are called the Members of Legislative Assembly or MLAs. They are directly elected by the people of the state.

3. Who presides over the Vidhan Sabha? Who presides in his absence?
Answer: The speaker presides over the Vidhan Sabha. The Deputy speaker presides in his absence.

4. Which house of the state legislature can pass a vote of no confidence against the ministers of state executive?
Answer: Vidhan Sabha may pass a vote of no confidence against the ministers of state executive.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions in not more than 40 words.
1. What is the normal term of office of the Vidhan Sabha? How can it be extended?
Answer: The normal term of office of the Vidhan Sabha is five years. Under certain special conditions, its term can even be extended by the parliament (our central legislature).

2. Mention some of the subjects on which the state legislature can make laws. Why do different states need to have different laws on these subjects?
Answer: These subjects including agriculture, land revenue, public health, law and order, police, etc., are subjects on which the state legislature makes laws. A state legislature makes laws that apply only to the state concerned. The states have different laws on these subjects because that has to deal with according to the special needs of the state concerned.
3. What are the functions of the presiding officer of a legislature assembly?
Answer: The speaker presides over the meetings of the Vidhan Sabha, maintains order within the house and takes votes on issues.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.
1. How are MLCs of a state elected?
Answer: The members of the Vidhan Parishad are called MLCs. The MLCs are elected indirectly by the MLAs of the state, members of local government bodies, university graduates, teachers of secondary school, colleges and universities and some of them are elected by the governor of the state as follows:
(i) One- third of them are elected by the MLAs of the state.
(ii) One-third is elected by the members of local government bodies such as municipalities and district boards.
(iii) One- twelfth is elected by the university graduates.
(iv) One-twelfth is elected by the teachers of secondary schools, colleges, and universities.
(v) The remaining one-sixth is nominated by the governor of the state from among distinguished artists, authors, social workers, etc.

2. Explain in brief how a bill introduced in the legislature becomes a law?
Answer: A proposal to pass a new law or to change an existing one is called a bill. A bill introduced in any house of the legislature is discussed and debated in three stages. Then, it is put to vote. If the majority of the members present vote for the bill, it is sent to the other house. There it goes through a similar process.
A bill passed by both the houses is sent to the governor for his consent. In a unicameral legislature, a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly is sent directly to the governor. When the governor signs the bill, it becomes a law. Before signing a bill, the governor can return it to the legislature with suggestions. The legislature may or may not accept the suggestions before sending the bill back for the governor’s signature. This time, the governor has to sign it.
The governor may hold back a bill for the president of India to consider. The president may give his consent or suggest changes. The state legislature then has to pass the bill within six months, with or without the suggested changes.

Exercise: F: State whether the following statements are true or false
1. The Vidhan Sabha is the lower house of the state legislature.
Answer: True
2. Most states of India have a bicameral legislature.
Answer: False
3. The higher the population of the state, the larger is the number of members in its legislative assembly.
Answer: True
4. The Vidhan Parishad is dissolved once every six years.
Answer: True
5. The laws made by a state legislature apply only to the state concerned.
Answer: True

Exercise: G: Choose the correct option.
1. A unicameral legislature does not have
(a) The Vidhan Sabha (b) the Vidhan Parishad
(c) MLAs (d) a Speaker
Answer: (b) the Vidhan Parishad
2. The Speaker is to Vidhan Sabha what to the Vidhan Parishad is the
(a) Deputy Speaker     (b) governor     (c) MLC (d) chairman
Answer: (d) chairman
3. The state legislature makes laws on
(a)   Subjects of the State List only
(b)   Subjects of the Concurrent List only
(c)    Subjects of the State List and the Concurrent List
(d)   Subjects of any one of the above lists
Answer: (c) subjects of the State List and the Concurrent List
4. The governor may hold back a bill for the consideration of the
(a)   Chief minister     (b) president (c) MLAs       (d) parliament
Answer: (b) president

R/6
HISTORY
Ch. 2: The Kings and Kingdoms of the Early Medieval Period

Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.

1. What led to the decline of the Gurjara-pratiharas?
Answer: the tripartite struggle led to the decline of the Gurjara-pratiharas. The Pratiharas declined after they were defeated by Mahmud, the ruler of the Afghan town of Ghazni.
2. Name four Rajput clans that established kingdoms on the reigns of the Pratiharas kingdom.
Answer: The four most important Rajput kingdoms that rose on the ruins of the Pratihara kingdom were those of the Chandellas of Bundelkhand, the Paramaras of Malwa, the Solankis of Gujrat and Chauhans of Delhi.
3. Name three important dynasties of peninsular India in the early medieval period.
Answer: The Rashtrakutas of Malkhed, in the north-west Deccan, rose to prominence under Dantidurga, the Chalukyas of Vengi in the north-eastern Deccan and the Pallavas of Kanchipuram ruled in South- eastern Deccan.
4. Why did Court scholars compose prashastis of their rulers?
Answer: The Court scholars composed prashastis to help rulers win people’s admiration.
5. What were the achievements of Rajendra Chola’s army in North India?
Answer: According to an inscription from Tirumala, Rajendra Chola’s army defeated the Pala ruler of Bengal and reached the river Ganga. After this, Rajendra Chola proclaimed himself Gangaikonda (the conqueror of the Ganga).
6. How did the victory of Rajendra Chola’s navy in South-East Asia affect Chola overseas trade?
Answer: The navy of Rajendra Chola- I went to South-East Asia and defeated the forces of the kingdom of Shrivijaya. This restored the Cholas flourishing trade with South-East Asia and Southern China.
7. Give an example of an inscription that tells us about local government under Cholas.
Answer: An inscription found at Uttaramerur in Tamil Nadu describes how members were elected to the committees of its Sabha.
8. What is the difference between the terms Brahmadeya and Devadana?
Answer: The tax-free lands granted to Brahmadeya. The temple are said to have been the largest land holders during the Chola period. Often entire villages were given to temples. These were called Devadana villages.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions in not more than 40 words.
1. Name the dynasties that fought for the control over Kanauj in the early medieval period. Why did they want to control over Kanauj?
Answer: In the early medieval period, the three powers – the Palas of Bengal, the Gurjara-Pratiharas of western India and the Rashtrakutas of the north- western Deccan competed for control over Kanauj. Because Kanauj was situated in the heart of the Ganga plain, and the plain could be best controlled from there.
2. Why was it necessary for some medieval rulers to proclaim their Kshatriyas caste status? Name one ritual performed for this purpose and one ruler who performed it.
Answer: Traditionally, kings and warriors belonged to Kshatriya caste. As a result, people accepted a ruler more easily if he was a Kshatriya. Rulers who were non-Kshatriyas by birth could become Kshatriyas by performing certain rituals. For example, when the Rashtrakuta ruler Dantidurga conquered Malwa and parts of Gujrat, he performed a ritual called the Hiranyagarbha (golden womb) mahadana to proclaim himself as a Kshatriya ruler.
3. Mention some of the lofty titles taken by Samantas. When could a samanta take such a title?
Answer: The Samantas who had many sub feudatories were permitted to attend royal courts and often given high administrative posts. They also took lofty titles such as Mahasamanta and Mahamandaleshwar.
4. How did temples become storehouses of wealth?
Answer: the medieval rulers built beautiful temples to improve their public image and to bring divine sanction to their rule. These temples became through donations received from rulers and wealthy devotees. Temples were often plundered and even destroyed during wars among the regional kingdoms.
5. Define the term ur, sabha and Nagaram.
Answer: Local administration worked through three types of assemblies- the Ur, the Sabha and the Nagaram. The Ur was a village assembly of all classes of people who owned land within the village. The Sabha was a Brahman assembly in village owned only by Brahmans. The assembly of an area inhabited mainly by traders was called Nagaram.
6. How did land grants improve agriculture?
Answer: Land grants improved agriculture because for increasing revenue, the land-owners had wells, tanks, and canals dug for irrigation. They also introduced better methods of farming in their lands. They even cultivated the wastelands. All this helped improve agriculture and bring more land under cultivation.
7. What was the condition of the lowest castes under the Cholas?
Answer: The majority of the people were those who labored for benefit of the rest of the society. The lowest castes were discriminated against by the upper castes. Many restrictions were placed on them. For example, they were not allowed to draw water from the village wells and not allowed to enter temples.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.
1. Who were Samantas? What was their role in the weakening of central authority? Explain with an example.
Answer: The king often gave his officials land grants instead of cash salaries. Those who received such lands became the king’s feudatories. A feudatory had to pay a part of the revenue collected from his lands to the king and give the king military support during wars. He had complete authority to collect taxes and administer justice in his lands as long as he fulfilled these obligations. Defeated kings were often allowed to retain their lands under similar obligations. Feudatories were referred to variously as samanta, raja, ranaka, or thakura. To increase their wealth and strength, the samantas took steps to increase agricultural produce and maintained large armies.
The king became increasingly grew dependent on his feudatories. The feudatories grew ambitious, and some of them became independent when the king’s power declined. For example, the Rashtrakutas were feudatories who raised to power by overthrowing their overlords- the Chalukyas of Vatapi.
2. Briefly describe the process of election to a Sabha under the Cholas.
Answer: Membership was open to men who were aged above 35 and below 70 years, owned land on which they paid taxes, owned the houses in which they has lived, well- versed in business, and were not in any committee for the past three years.
The area was divided into wards. In Uttaramerur there were 30 wards. Each member of a ward wrote the name of any eligible candidate on a ticket of palm leaf. All the tickets from a ward were bunched together and placed in a pot. The bunches from all the other wards, too, were placed in the same pot. Then, in the presence of the village assembly, a young boy picked a bunch and put it in an empty pot. This pot was shaken and the boy drew one ticket to choose the candidate from that ward. The candidates from the other wards were chosen by the same process.
3. The Chola temples were not merely places of worship. Justify this statement.
Answer: The Chola temples were not merely places of worship. Here, Brahman priests imparted education in Sanskrit. Important meetings were sometimes held inside the temples complex. Fairs were organised during religious festivals. Temples gave employment to a large number of people including priests, image-makers, garland- makers, musicians, dancers, cooks, cleaners, and so on. Carnatic music and classical dance form Bharatanatyam developed in the temples, as devotional art forms.

Exercise: F: Fill in the blanks
1. The Rashtrakutas overthrew the Chalukyas of ……………
Answer: Vatapi
2. The ………… dynasty stopped the expansion of the Pratiharas into the Deccan.
Answer: Rashtrakutas
3. The Islamic scholar………….. visited India during the reign of Mahmud of Ghazni.
Answer: Alberuni
4. …………..had the ………Temple, also called the Rajarajeshwara Temple, built at Thanjavur.
Answer: Rajaraja I and Brihadeshwara
5. Rajendra CholaI sent a naval force against the South-East Asian kingdom of ……………..
Answer: Shrivijaya
6. In the Chola kingdom, land held by non-Brahman individuals or by groups of small peasants was known as………………
Answer: Vellanvagai

Exercise: G: State whether the following are true or false.
1. The Rashtrakutas were overthrown by the Chilufya’s of Kalyani.
Answer: True
2. The Kakatiya dynasty ruled from Dwarasamudra.
Answer: False
3. The Rashtrakutas were feudatories who rose to power by overthrowing their overlords.
Answer: True
4. The art of making bronze statues flourished under the Cholas.
Answer: True
5. The Cholas traded overseas with South-East Asia and China.
Answer: True
6. The ur was an assembly of Brahmans.
Answer: False
7. The Chola rulers had dams constructed on rivers.
Answer: True
8. Carnatic music originated in the temples as a devotional art form.
Answer: True

Exercise: H: Choose the correct option.
1. The Rashtrakuta capital was at
(a) Vatapi (b) Malkhed (c) Vengi (d) Warangal
Answer: (b) Malkhed
2. After defeating the Palas, Rajendra Chola- I built the city called
(a) Thanjavur (b) Gangaikondacholapuram

(c) Kanchipuram (d) Gangaikonda
Answer: (b) Gangaikondacholapuram
3. Which of the following titles was taken by kings?
(a) Mahamandeleshwara (b) Araiyar

(c) Tribhuvan Chakravartin (d) Muvendavelan
Answer: (c) Tribhuvan Chakravartin
4. Vetti was
(a) An administrative unit (b) a title given to a Chola official

(c) a tax paid in cash (d) a tax paid in the form of forced labour
Answer: (d) a tax paid in the form of forced labour
5. For election to a sabha, a person did not have to
(a) Own land (b) know the Hindu sacred texts

(c) be a member of a committee (d) submit his accounts
Answer: (c) be a member of a committee
6. Pallichchanda referred to land granted to a
(a) Brahman (b) Hindu school

R/5
GEOGRAPHY
Ch. 2: Atmosphere

Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.

1. What is atmosphere?
Answer: The blanket of air that surrounds the earth is known as atmosphere.
2. What are the two main constituents of the earth’s atmosphere?
Answer: The two main constituents of the earth’s atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen.
3. What is meant by air pollution?
Answer: Any undesirable change in the composition of air is known air pollution.
4. Define atmospheric pressure.
Answer: The weight of the atmosphere pushing down on a unit area on the earth’s surface is called atmospheric pressure.
5. Name the instrument used for measuring atmospheric pressure.
Answer: Atmospheric Pressure is measured with the help of a barometer.
6. How does temperature affect pressure?
Answer: Air Pressure varies with temperature. Hot air, being lighter, rises, or flows upwards. Hence, it exerts lesser pressure. Cold air sinks, or flows downwards and exerts more pressure.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions in not more than 40 words.
1. What do you understand by weather and climate?
Answer:
Weather: The term weather means the state of the atmosphere at a particular place at a particular time.
Climate: The climate of a place is the average weather of the place.
2. What is meant by range of atmosphere?
Answer: The difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures gives the range of temperature. The difference between the mean temperatures of the hottest and coldest months of the year is called the annual range of temperature.
3. Explain the greenhouse effects.
Answer: The solar energy heats up the earth’s surface. The earth’s surface radiates heat and reflects towards the earth, mainly by the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere. As a result, that heat gets trapped. This effect is similar to the heating of a greenhouse. Hence, it is known as the greenhouse effect.
4. What is wind and how is it caused?
Answer: The horizontal movement of air is called wind. When hot air rises and creates a region of low pressure, cold air from neighbouring high pressure areas moves towards the low-pressure.
5. What are planetary winds? Name the three types of planetary winds.
Answer: The winds that blow from the permanent high-pressure belts towards the permanent low-pressure belts maintain their directions of flow throughout the year. They are called permanent prevailing, or planetary winds. The three planetary winds are the trade winds, the westerlies, and the polar winds.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.
1. How does the atmosphere receive nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide?
Answer: Atmospheric nitrogen is converted to nitrogen compounds by lightning and by certain types of organisms such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria present in the soil or in the roots of some plants. Plants absorb nitrogen compounds and convert them to proteins. Animals take in proteins by eating plants or other animals. Nitrogen returns to the atmosphere when denitrifying bacteria act on animal wastes and the dead bodies of plants and animals.
Oxygen is used up in process like the respiration of organism, the burning of fuels and the decay of organic matter. It is replaced by the oxygen released by green plants during photosynthesis. Similarly, the carbon dioxide used up during photosynthesis is replaced by the carbon dioxide released by the respiration of organisms, the burning of fuels and the decay of organic matter. Thus, nature has ways of maintaining the balance of gases in the atmosphere.
2. Describe the layer of the atmosphere nearest to the earth’s surface.
Answer: Troposphere: The lowest and densest layer of the atmosphere is known as the troposphere. About three fourths of the mass of the atmosphere is contained within this layer. The extent of this layer is about 18 km above the equator, but only about 8 km above the two poles. The troposphere acts like a blanket. It prevents days from becoming very hot and nights from becoming very cold. Within the troposphere, the temperature decreases as we move up. Most of the water vapour, clouds and dust particles of the atmosphere are found in this layer. The troposphere gets its name from the Greek word ‘tropos’ which means turning. This is because all the weather changes that we experience takes place in the troposphere.
3. How does temperature vary from place to place?
Answer: The temperature at a particular place does not remain constant. It varies with the time of the day and the time of the year. This is because of variations in the inclination of the sun’s rays and the duration of sunlight. The sum of maximum and minimum temperatures at a place on a certain day is divided by 2 resulted the mean temperature of the place on that day. Similarly, one may calculate the mean monthly and mean annual temperatures.
The temperature also varies from place to place, mainly due to variations in latitude, altitude and distance from the sea.
(i)  The higher the latitude of a place the lower is its temperature.
(ii)  The higher the altitude of a place the lower is its temperature.
(iii)  The greater the distance of a place from the sea the higher is its range of temperature.
4. State the locations of the important pressure belts of the world.
Answer: In the equatorial region, especially between 5* N and 5* S latitudes, it is hot throughout the year. So, the atmospheric pressure in this area is always low. This low pressure zone is called the equatorial low-pressure belt. In the polar region, it is extremely cold throughout the year, and the atmospheric pressure is always high. These regions are called polar high-pressure belts.
The hot air rising over the equatorial belt moves towards the poles. By the time the air streams reach the latitudes around 30* N and 30* S, they became cool and heavy and begin to sink. This creates belts of high pressure, known as the subtropical high pressure belts. The larger mass of warm air rises, creating a strong upward current. The cold polar air gets pulled up by this current. This creates belts of low-pressure called the subpolar low-pressure belts, in these regions.
5. Write briefly about the Super Cyclone.
Answer: The eastern Coast of India as one of the most cyclone hit regions of the world. Cyclones that develop over the Bay of Bengal generally strikes this region during the months of May, October and November. One such cyclone, named Super Cyclone, hit the state of Odisha on 29 October, 1999.
During the Super Cyclone, wind speeds reached up to more than 300 km per hour. These winds pushed a high wall of water onto the shore, flooding large areas along the coast.
The region hit by the cyclone was inhabited mostly by poor fishermen, who lived in thatched huts. Their homes were easily destroyed by the strong winds and the following flood. More than 10,000 people and large number of domestic animals were killed. About 15 million people were left homeless. Vast areas of farmland were flooded, causing a huge loss of crops.

Exercise: F: Fill in the blank.
1. The atmosphere is held to the earth’s surface by ……………..
Answer: force of gravity
2. …………….. protects us from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.
Answer: Ozone
3. A thermometer is for air temperature what a …………….. is for atmospheric pressure.
Answer: barometer
4. The equatorial low-pressure belt lies between the …………….. and …………….. latitudes.
Answer: 5⁰ N and 5⁰ S
5. Winds blow from regions of …………….. pressure to regions of …………….. pressure.
Answer: high and low
6. A wind is named after the direction …………….. which it blows.
Answer: from
7. The speed of wind blowing between two regions depends on the …………….. difference between the regions.
Answer: pressure
8. The …………….. is an instrument for measuring the speed of wind.
Answer: anemometer
9. The …………….. blow from the polar high-pressure belts to the subpolar low-pressure belts.
Answer: polar winds

Exercise: G: State whether the following are true or false.
1. The higher altitude of a place, the lower is its temperature.
Answer: True
2. Permanent winds are also called prevailing or planetary winds.
Answer: True
3. The polar winds are extremely hot winds.
Answer: False
4. The polar winds are also known as polar easterlies.
Answer: True
5. A local wind always blows in the same direction.
Answer: False
6. During any anticyclone, winds blow in an anticlockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere.
Answer: False

Exercise: H: Choose the correct option.
1. The ionosphere helps in radio communication as it contains
(a) Dust particles (b) charged particles called ions

(c) water vapour (d) ozone
Answer: (b) charged particles called ions
2. The temperature varies with seasons because of variations in
(a) The number of daylight hours (b) the inclination of the sun’s rays

(c) both (a) and (b) (d) neither (a) and (b)
Answer: (c) both (a) and (b)
3. The atmosphere pressure over a cold region is
(a) High (b) low

(c) air pressure (d) all of these
Answer: (b) wind direction
5. In both the hemisphere, the subtropical high-pressure belt develops near latitude
(a) 40⁰ (b) 30⁰

(c) trade winds (d) westerlies and trade winds
Answer: (c) trade winds
7. A sea breeze moves towards the land during
(a) Day (b) night

(c) seasonal local wind (d) westerly wind
Answer: (c) seasonal local wind
9. Which of the following would you find in a cyclone?
(a) Clear (b) high pressure at local center

R/3

CIVICS
Ch.1: Democracy and Equality

Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.
1. What is the form of government in our country?
Answer: The form of government in our country is representative democracy.
2. What is a political party?
Answer: A political party is an organisation of people who have similar views on political issues.
3. What is monarchy?
Answer: Monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen has absolute power and power to rule for life.
4. What is India’s stand on untouchability?
Answer: India’s stand on untouchability is illegal and punishable.
5. Who wrote the book Jhootan: A Dalit’s life?
Answer: Omprakash Valmik wrote the book Jhootan: A Dalit’s life.
6. What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbid?
Answer: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbade discrimination based on caste, race, colour, religion or national origin.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions not more than 40 words.
1. What do you understand by ruling party and opposition?
Answer: Ruling Party: The party which wins the election and forms the government is called ruling party.
Opposition Party: The political parties, who won second highest majority including other parties that oppose the government, are called opposition party.

2. What is dictatorship?
Answer: In this form of government, the power to rule rests with one person or a small group of people. Such power is often obtained forcibly. A dictatorship usually takes away much of the people’s freedom. Those who dare to criticize the government are severely punished.

3. Name a scheme that the Indian government runs to promote social equality. How does it help reduce caste discrimination?
Answer: The government runs various schemes for this purpose to attain a social and economic status equal to that of the rest of the society for Dalits. One of these is the scheme for providing the Midday Meal to students in schools. Students of all castes take the meal together, and often Dalit women are employed to cook the meal. All this help reduces caste discrimination.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.
1. What are the key elements of democracy?
Answer: The key elements of democracy are the people’s participation in government, the people’s freedom to express their views and criticize the government and the people’s right to get equal treatment. Conflicts among the people are resolved according to the laws of the land, which are the same for all the people. In a democratic country, the government is formed for a fixed period of time. If the people are satisfied with the government, they may vote it back to power. If not, they may change the government. In India, elections to the central and state legislature are held at least once every five years.

2. Explain the significance of the Indian citizens’ right to equality.
Answer: India’s constitution guarantees the right to equality to all the citizens of the country.
·         All Indian citizens are equal before the law and enjoy equal protection within Indian Territory. And, every citizen, be it the president or any ordinary person, has to obey the same laws.
·         All Indian citizens are socially equal before the state.
·         Untouchability is illegal and punishable.
·         The state cannot give any citizen any title that would give the recipient any special social privilege.
In India, all citizens formally enjoy the same status. Hence, no citizen can be looked down upon for belonging to a certain race, speaking a certain language, following a certain religion, doing a certain type of work, being a woman, being poor or suffering from a disability.

Exercise: F: Fill in the blanks:
1. …………….defined democracy as government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Answer- American president Abraham Lincoln
2. In India, the voting age is ………. years.
Answer- 18
3. In ………..monarchy, the monarch shares power with the people.
Answer- Constitutional
4. …………..ensures that nobody is above the law.
Answer- The rule of law
5. Members of castes which face social discrimination in India call themselves ………
Answer- Dalits

Exercise: G: State whether the following statements are true or false.
1. A country whose head of state is elected for a fixed term is a democratic country.
Answer: True
2. In India, elections to the central and state legislatures are held at least once every year.
Answer: False
3. In a monarchy or a dictatorship, people can easily change a government that cannot satisfy them.
Answer: False
4. The right to equality can stop the society from discriminating, but not the government.
Answer: False
5. The Indian government promotes equality by enacting laws and running various schemes.
Answer: True

R/2

HISTORY

Ch.1: Medieval Period

Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.

1. Which period of Indian history is called the medieval period?

Answer: In India, the medieval period lasted from the eight to the eighteenth century A.D.

2. How did the Muslim invasions of the later medieval period affect the Indian culture?

Answer: In the later medieval period, Turks, Afghans, and the Mughals from Central Asia conquered large part of India. Under their rule, a unique Indo-Islamic culture developed in India.

3. Name some European countries that began direct overseas trade with India in the medieval period.

Answer: In the medieval period, the European countries – the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, and the French began direct overseas trade with India.

4. How did the science of Cartography come to India?

Answer: The Indians were introduced to cartography through contact with the Arabs and Europeans.

5. Name five regional languages that came into wide use in medieval India.

Answer: Telangani used in Telangana, Kannada in Karnataka, Sindhi in Sind, Kashmiri in Kashmir, and Awadhi in Uttar Pradesh were the five languages widely used in medieval India.

6. How were forest dwellers absorbed into the caste system?

Answer: Caste system was based on occupation. During medieval period some forest dwellers, tribal herders and even some outcastes took to cultivation and were absorbed into the Shudra caste.

7. How did the absorption of tribal groups into Hindu society affect Hindu religious worship?

Answer: The absorption of some tribal and forest groups into Hindu society brought some tribal ideas of worship into Hinduism.

8. What is meant by Bhakti?

Answer: Bhakti meant personal devotion to god without the help of any middleman such as priest.

9. Who brought Islam to India?

Answer: Islam was brought to India by Arab traders.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions in not more than 40 words.

1. Why did the Indian kingdoms of the early medieval period rise and fall frequently?

Answer: The history of the early medieval period is centered on power struggle among regional kingdoms of both north and south India. This power struggle among regional kingdoms was leading to rise and fall of kingdoms frequently.

2. Why was the need for keeping records strongly felt during the medieval period?

Answer: In the medieval kingdoms in India, there were elaborated systems of administration, large –scale trade, and many types of crafts and religious and cultural activities. All this required the keeping of records.

3. Write briefly on the Jatis that emerged in medieval India.

Answer: The growth of new professions gave rise to a large number of sub-castes each called Jati. A Jati consisted of people who were in the same profession.

4. What is Islam? When and where did it arise? What is it based on?

Answer: Islam, the religion of Muslims, arose in Arabia in the seventh century A.D. Islam is centered on the belief in one god, Allah and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

5. What is Sufism?

Answer: From around the eighth century, some Muslims began to be influenced by Hindu, Greek and Buddhist religious ideas. This gave rise to a faith called Sufism. Sufi philosophy is basically Islamic.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.

1. What problems does a historian face while studying medieval literary sources?

Answer: As there was no printing press in medieval period, all Indian paper documents of the time were manuscripts. Often, scribes made copies of the original documents. While doing this, they sometimes copied wrong. Some scribes also put their own language or written their own thoughts on the subjects. All this gradually changed the original text. Historians have together information from these changed documents if they cannot find original documents. This is difficult because the historians have to study all the available versions carefully and cross-check the contents against other dependable evidences. Historians cannot read some of the documents because they are unable to read scribes handwriting or because the script is no longer in use.

2. Give an example to show how the usages of terms and expressions changed with time.

Answer: The term ‘Mlechcha’ was used during the ancient period for all non-Aryan people, including hill and forest dwellers. During the early medieval period, the term referred to all foreigners and culturally different people, from kings to untouchables. Gradually, as some mlechchas were absorbed into the Varna (caste) system, the term came to be applied to meat- eating people and those who did not observe caste rules.

The term Hindustan also represented different territories at different times. Around the third century A.D, the southern part of the Indus plain was called Hindustan, according to the inscription of the Sassanians of Persia (Iran) who ruled over the region. In the early medieval period, the Arabs referred to the land between the Indus and the Ganga –Yamuna Doab as Hindustan. They called its people Hindu. Today, the country India, as we know it, is called Hindustan.

3. Briefly discuss the religious developments that took place in India during medieval period.

Answer: Towards the end of the ancient period, around the seventh century A.D, several Hindu religious thinkers of South India had begun to challenge Brahman domination. They stressed on Bhakti- personal devotion to God without the help of any middleman such as Priest. From around the eighth century, some Muslims began to be influenced by Hindu, Greek and Buddhist religious ideas. This gave rise to a faith called Sufism. After the Turkish invasions, many Sufi saints came to India and spread their faith.

Exercise: F: Fill in the blanks

1. ……. Was a twelfth –century cartographer from Morocco.

Answer: Al-Idris

2. What Kitab-al-Hind is to Alberuni ………. is to Ibn Batutah.

Answer: Rihla

3. Historical paper documents are preserved in ……………

Answer: Archives

4. Most scholars and officials in medieval India wrote either in ………….or in ……….language.

Answer: Sanskrit or Persian

5. In the later medieval period, Hindustan referred to all of India except ……… India.

Answer: Extreme South

6. The Kayasthas were ……….. by profession.

Answer: a sub caste of scribes

7. After Prophet Muhammad’s death, the Muslim community split into two major sects ………and ……….

Answer: Shia and Sunni

8. The …….. school of Islamic law became popular in India.

Answer: Hanafi

Exercise: G: State whether the following statements are true or false.

1. The medieval period began almost at the same time in India and Europe.

Answer: False

2. The first European traders to come to India by sea in the medieval period were Englishmen.

Answer: False

3. In Al-Idris’s map of the world, south is at the top and north is at the bottom.

Answer: True

4. The term Mlechcha, which meant ‘non-Aryan’ during the ancient period, came to mean ‘meat- eating person’ and ‘breaker of caste rules’ in the later medieval period.

Answer: True

5. The members of each jati had to abide by their own caste rules as well as the civic rules of the local government bodies.

Answer: True

6. The Portuguese brought the water wheel to India, while Turks brought litchis.

Answer: True

7. India came in contact with Islam long before the Muslim invasions.

Answer: True

8. The ulema are Islamic customs and laws based on the deeds and words of Prophet Muhammad.

Answer: True

9. Sufism was brought to India by Arab traders.

Answer: False

Exercise: H: Choose the correct options. More than one option may be correct.

1. Ibn Batutah’s Rihla is

(a) A work of religious literature (b) a travel account (c) an eulogy (d) a translated Sanskrit work

Answer: (b) a travel account

2. A prashasti is a

(a) Writing praising somebody (b) travel account (c) historical work (d) kind of map

Answer: (a) Writing praising somebody

3. In which part of India was the Gauri language used in medieval times?

(a) Gujarat (b) Kashmir (c) Bengal (d) Uttar Pradesh

Answer: (c) Bengal

4. A historian may not be able to use an old document directly because

(a) The meanings of words may have changed over time

(b) The language used in the document may have gone out of use

(d) The names of the places mentioned may have changed over time

Answer: (a) The meanings of words may have changed over time and (b) The language used in the document may have gone out of use and (c) The script used in the document may have gone out of use

5. After Prophet Muhammad’s death, the Muslim community came to be headed by

(a) The ulema (b) the caliph (c) a Turkish ruler (d) another prophet

Answer: (b) the caliph

R/1
GEOGRAPHY
Ch 1: The Earth's Structure and Landforms

Exercise: B: Answer the following questions in not more than 20 words.

1. Define environment.
Answer: The physical and biological condition in which an organism lives is called an environment.
2. What are rocks made of? Name the three main types of rocks.
Answer: Rocks are made up of minerals. The three main types of rocks are- Igneous rocks, Sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks.
3. Define magma and lava.
Answer: Deep below the earth’s surface, rocks are in a molten state called magma. The magma, when comes out on to the surface of the earth is called as Lava.
4. What are fossils?
Answer: The remains of plants and animals trapped within layers of rocks are called fossils.
5. What are tectonic processes?
Answer: Such processes through which the plates of the lithosphere move, push, pull, slide, rise, sink, bend and break over the millions of years and create major landforms, these processes known as tectonic process.

Exercise: C: Answer the following questions in not more than 40 words.
1. How does the upper mantle differ from the lower mantle?
Answer: The upper mantle is about 670 km thick, while the lower mantle is nearly is nearly 2200 km thick. The top layer of the upper mantle is solid. Below this layer lies a soft layer called lower mantle.

2. What is a volcanic cone?
Answer: During a volcanic eruption, gases, ash, steam and even pieces of rocks are spewed out along with Lava. Gradually, ash, rocks and solidified lava pile up around the vent, forming a conical hill known as volcanic cone.

3. What are plates? What causes them to move?
Answer: The earth’s lithosphere is broken up into several pieces, just like the pieces of large jigsaw puzzle. These pieces, float on the soft layer of the mantle known as plates. The flow of partially molten material within the mantle causes the plates of the lithosphere to move relative to each other.

4. What are the effects of earthquakes on landforms?
Answer: Earthquakes do not create major landforms. It causes change in the existing landform. For example, thy may cause to open up in the ground. They may also lead to land-slides or cause giant waves in the Oceans.

5. Which region suffered the maximum damage due to the earthquake that hit Gujarat in 2001? Why?
Answer: The earth quake had its epicenter near Bhuj in Kachchh of Gujrat in 2001. This region suffered the maximum damage because the buildings are not earthquake resistant. So it caused huge damage, killing more than 20, 000 people and destroying nearly 400,000 houses.

Exercise: D: Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words.
1. Briefly describe the earth’s crust.
Answer: The uppermost layer of the earth is known as the crust. The crust is very thin, with an average thickness of about 35 km. However, the crust is not uniformly thick at all places. It is thinner under the oceans and thicker under the continents. The upper part of the continental crust, which is rich in Silica and Aluminum, is called Sial. The lower part of the continental crust and the whole of the ocean crust are composed mainly of denser materials rich in Silica and magnesium. They are together called Sima. The surface of the crust is also quite uneven.

2. What are igneous rocks? How are they formed?
Answer: Deep below the earth’s surface, the rocks are in a molten state called magma. When magma cools and solidifies, it forms a very hard rock known as igneous rocks (igneous means ‘fire’). Much of the earth’s crust is made up of igneous rocks. Igneous rocks are called primary rocks, as these were the first rocks formed when the earth’s crust solidified. Igneous rocks are formed either on the surface of the earth or below it. There are two types of igneous rocks- extrusive igneous rocks and intrusive igneous rocks. Extrusive igneous rocks are formed when magma cools and solidifies on reaching the surface. Basalt, andesite and rhyolite are examples of extrusive igneous rocks. Intrusive igneous rocks are formed when magma cools and solidifies below the earth’s surface. Granite and gabbro are examples of intrusive igneous rocks.

3. What are sedimentary rocks? Explain how they are formed.
Answer: Running water, wind and moving ice carry small particles of rock. When these rock particles are deposited on land or on the beds of oceans or rivers, they are called sediments. Sediments are deposited in layers. They harden over years because of the weight of the layers above and the presence of cementing materials like lime. When the layers are formed under water, the weight of the water also helps in hardening. Rocks formed by the deposition and hardening of the layers of sediments are called sedimentary rocks. Such rocks are usually made up of layers of different composition. Sandstone, limestone, shale, gravel, clay and conglomerate are examples of sedimentary rocks.

Exercise: F: Fill in the blanks
1. The ……… is the sphere of life.
Answer: Biosphere
2. ……… waves help to determine the structure of the earth.
Answer: Seismic
3. The average thickness of the earth’s crust is about ……. Km.
Answer: 35 km
4. In spite of its high temperature, the innermost part of the earth’s core is…….
Answer: Solid
5. ………. Igneous rocks are formed on the surface of the earth.
Answer: Extrusive
6. …………. Is a sedimentary rock formed by the decay of plant and animal remains that got buried millions of years ago.
Answer: Coal
7. Limestone is to marble what …… is to slate.
Answer: Shale
8. Fold mountains are formed by ………… processes.
Answer: Tectonic processes
9. Blocks of rock pushed up along a rift form ………. Mountains and sunken blocks form ……..valleys.
Answer: Block mountains and Rift valleys

Exercise: G: State whether the following statements are true or false.
1. The core lies between the crust and the mantle.
Answer: False
2. Basalt is an intrusive igneous rock.
Answer: True
3. Petroleum is found in sedimentary rocks.
Answer: True
4. An island may be the top of a volcanic cone rising from the sea floor.
Answer: True
5. The plates of the lithosphere float on the soft layer of the mantle.
Answer: True
6. The word ’tectonic’ comes from a Greek word which means ‘builder’.
Answer: True

Exercise: H: Choose the correct options. More than one option may be correct.
1. Which of the following is not a component of the physical environment?
(a)   Light              (b) water              (c) plants               (d) temperature
Answer: (a) Light
2. The oceanic crust is composed mainly of materials rich in
(a)   Nickel and iron       (b) silica and aluminum (answer)   (c) silica and magnesium              (d) Iron and magnesium
Answer: (c) silica and magnesium
3. Sandstone, clay and shale are
(a)   Metamorphic rocks      (b) sedimentary rocks       (c) igneous rocks        (d) fossil fuels
Answer: (b) sedimentary rocks
4. A rock whose original form has been changed due to heat or pressure is called
(a)   sedimentary rock          (b) metamorphic rocks         (c) igneous rocks            (d) fossil
Answer: (b) metamorphic rocks
5. Kilimanjaro is a
(a)   fold mountain           (b) block mountain           (c) volcanic cone           (d) rift valley
Answer: (c) volcanic cone
6. In the following diagram, which parts have been wrongly labelled?
(a)   Vent    (b) lava flow    (c) crater   (d) magma
Answer: (d) Magma