CBSE

Class VIII Social Science

Term 1
Sample Paper – 2
Time: 2½ hours Total Marks: 75

General Instructions:
(i) All questions are compulsory.
(ii) Marks for each question are indicated against the question.
(iii) In each section, questions from serial number 1 to 5 are multiple choice
questions (MCQs) of 1 mark each. Every MCQ is provided with four alternatives.
Write the correct alternative in your answer book.
(iv) Questions from serial number 6 to 10 are 2 mark questions.
(v) Questions 11 and 12 are for 3 marks, whereas serial number 13 is a 4 mark
question.

SECTION A
History

Question 1 – What is the principal source of Indian historiography? [1]

a) Official records of British administration

b) Travelers’ accounts
c) Legends
d) Newspapers

Question 2 – Those who specialize in the art of beautiful writing are called [1]

a) Cartographers
b) Calligraphists
c) Archeologists
d) Linguists

Question 3 – When was the first English factory set up in India? [1]

a) 1651
b) 1653
c) 1455
d) 1551
Question 4 – In British revenue records, a revenue estate consisting of either a village or a
group of villages was called [1]

a) Mahal
b) Ryot
c) Baluta
d) None of the above

Question 5 – In the year 1824, the Company sepoys were ordered to travel by sea to which
country? [1]

a) Burma
b) Indonesia
c) South Africa
d) Cylon

Question 6 – In which decade was the National Archives of India established in Delhi? [2]

Question 7 – Who was seen as the natural leader of the 1857 rebellion? Why? [2]

Question 8 – Who are calligraphists and what role did they play in the preservation of
records during British rule? [2]

Question 9 – In which region was the mahalwari settlement in operation? Who devised it?
[2]
Question 10 – Which tribal community lived in the forests of Orissa, hunting wild animals
and living off forest produce? [2]

Question 11 – When and where was the decision to shift the capital of India from Calcutta
to Delhi announced? [3]

Question 12 – Explain in brief the recapture of Delhi by the British. [3]

Option 13 - Explain the reasons behind the dissatisfaction of the Company sepoys with the
Company administration. [4]
 SECTION B
Civics

Question 1 – The Constitution tells us about the fundamental nature of _________. [1]

a) Our nation
b) Our society
c) Our communities
d) Our people

Question 2 – What protects the people of the country against the power of the State as well
as against the tyranny of the majority? [1]

a) Fundamental Rights
b) Fundamental Duties
c) Directive Principles of State Policy
d) All of the above

Question 3 – In which year were elections to the Lok Sabha not held in Punjab? [1]

a) 1976
b) 1980
c) 1984
d) 1988

Question 4 – The most important provision in the Constitution is that [1]

a) All the citizens have equal opportunity for employment.

b) All the citizens have the Right to Life.
c) All the citizens are equal before the law.
d) All of the above.

Question 5 – The judiciary system provides a mechanism for resolving disputes between
[1]

a) Citizens
b) Citizens and the government
c) Governments of two or more states
d) All of the above

Question 6 – Define ‘tyranny’. [2]

Question 7 – What was the Indian National Movement? [2]

Question 8 – What do you mean by the freedom to interpret? [2]

Question 9 – How does the Indian Constitution ensure its objectives of a secular state? [2]

Question 10 – What is the principle of the Universal Adult Franchise? [2]

Question 11 – Whose role is important in helping the Parliament frame laws? [3]

Question 12 – Define the following terms: [3]

a) Appeal
b) Violation
c) Acquit
d) Eviction

Question 13 - ‘The Indian Constitution provides independence of the judiciary’. Explain the
statement with a suitable example. [4]

SECTION C
Geography

Question 1 - Name two factors that can change substances into resources? [1]

a) Machine and Raw material

b) Minerals and forests
c) Time and technology
d) None of the above

Question 2 – What kind of resource is iron ore? [1]

a) Renewable
b) Localized
c) Biotic
d) Potential

Question 3 - Which factors help in the formation of soil? [1]

a) Role of organic material

b) Time
c) Nature of parent rock
d) All of the above
Question 4 - Which type of natural vegetation does not shed its leaves simultaneously in
any season? [1]

a) Evergreen
b) Deciduous
c) Tundra
d) Temperate

Question 5 - Black gold is another name for _______. [1]

a) Coal
b) Silver
c) Petroleum
d) Tar

Question 6 - Why are resources important to us? [2]

Question 7 - Resources can become economically valuable with time. Explain. [2]

Question 8 - What are the major threats to the environment due to expansion of
agriculture and constructional activities [2]

Question 9 - What are landslides? [2]

Question 10 – What do you mean by shaft mining? [2]

Question 11 – Why do we need to use non-conventional sources energy? [3]

Question 12 – ‘Water is a renewable resource as it moves within the hydrological cycle’.

Explain the statement. [3]

Option 13 - Give the distribution of iron ore, bauxite, copper and limestone in India. [4]
 CBSE
Class VIII Social Science
Term 1
Sample Paper – 2 Solution
Time: 2½ hours Total Marks: 75

SECTION A
History
Answers

1. A
2. B
3. A
4. A
5. A

Answer 6 – The National Archives of India was established in Delhi in the 1920s.

Answer 7 - The Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was seen as the natural leader of the
1857 rebellion due to the symbolic importance of the Mughal dynasty as the ‘emperors of
Hindustan’.

Answer 8 – Calligraphists are professionals who specialize in the art of beautiful writing. In
the early years of the 19th century, the British government employed the services of many
calligraphists to carefully copy out official documents and write them down beautifully for
future records.

Answer 9 – The mahalwari system was implemented in the North Western Provinces of
the Bengal Presidency. An Englishman named Holt Mackenzie is credited with its
conception.

Answer 10 – The Khonds were the tribal community that lived in the forests of Orissa,
hunting animals for their meat and gathering forest produce.

Answer 11 - In the year 1911, King George V was crowned in England. Apparently, to
commemorate this occasion, a grand darbar was held in Delhi. It was at this darbar that the
decision to shift the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi was announced.
Answer 12 – The East India Company government had decided to suppress the popular
revolt of 1857 with all its might. Reinforcements were brought in from England and moved
into the centers of the insurrection. The nerve centre of the rebellion was undoubtedly the
Mughal capital – Delhi. The sepoys had captured Delhi at the very beginning of the revolt
and compelled the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar to bless their endeavour. With the
reinforcements coming in, the company launched a major offensive on Delhi and
recaptured it from the rebel forces in September 1857. Bahadur Shah was tried in court
and sentenced to life imprisonment. He and his wife were sent to prison in Rangoon in
1858 where Bahadur Shah died later. This way, the British moved with a firm hand and
succeeded in recapturing Delhi.

Answer 13 - Following are the reasons why the Indian sepoys were dissatisfied with the
Company administration:

i) The sepoys were dissatisfied with their pay, allowances and service conditions.

ii) Some of the new rules, it was felt, violated their religious beliefs and norms. In 1824,
Indian sepoys were ordered to travel to Burma by sea and fight for the Company.
The sepoys refused as it was considered blasphemous to cross the sea. Even though
they offered to travel the distance by land route instead, they were severely
punished. Since this issue kept festering for a long time, the Company was
compelled to pass a law that required sepoys to commit to traveling overseas if
necessary.

iii) Many of the sepoys came from the peasant families of the Indian heartland. As a
result, the anger and discontent of the peasantry was quickly reflected among them
and hence led to dissatisfaction with the Company administration.

SECTION B
Civics
Answers

1. B
2. A
3. C
4. C
5. D

Answer 6 – Tyranny is defined as the cruel and unjust use of power or authority.
Answer 7 – The Indian National Movement was a movement where thousands of men and
women came together to fight the British rule. It emerged in the nineteenth century. This
movement culminated during India’s Independence in 1947.

Answer 8 – Freedom to interpret means having independence to understand things in our

own way. It refers to peoples’ liberty to develop their own understanding and meaning of
the religion they practice.

Answer 9 – The Indian Constitution ensures its objectives of a secular state in the
following manner:

i) One religious community does not dominate another.

ii) Some members do not dominate other members of the same religious community.
iii) The State does not enforce any particular religion or take away the religious
freedom of individuals

Answer 10 – Universal Adult Franchise means that all the people of the country have a
right to vote and choose the government of their choice.

Answer 11 - The role of citizens is crucial in helping the Parliament frame different laws.
The laws may include the concerns that people might have. From establishing the need for
a new law to its being passed, the voice of the citizen is a crucial element at every stage of
the process. The voice of the people can be heard through TV reports, newspaper editorials,
radio broadcasts, local meetings--all of which help in making the work that the Parliament
does more accessible and transparent to the people.

Answer 12 – The definitions are as follows:

Appeal: It refers to an application to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower
court.

Violation: It is defined as the act of breaking a law or an act which is done unlawfully.

Acquit: The term is used when a jury or judge at the end of a criminal trial finds the
accused defendant not guilty.

Eviction: It is generic word used for the act of expelling (kicking out) someone from real
property by legal action.
Answer 13 - Our Constitution has been framed in such a manner that the Judiciary has
been kept independent of the Executive and Legislature. This has been done to keep a
check on the misuse of powers by the other two organs of the government and also to
provide a judgement which is impartial.

Thus, the courts do not fall under the government and do not act on their behalf. It is this
independence of the judiciary that allows the courts to play a central role in protecting the
Fundamental Rights of all the citizens. Thus, anyone can approach the courts if they believe
that their rights have been violated.

SECTION C
Geography
Answers

1. C
2. B
3. D
4. A
5. C

Answer 6 – Resources are important to us as we utilise them in our daily lives to satisfy all
our needs. They have value. Some resources like metals may have an economic value, while
others such as a beautiful landscape may not. However, both are important and satisfy
human needs. Resources also bring about development of the country.

Answer 7 - Resources can become economically valuable with time. Certain resources like
medicinal plants, home remedies etc have no commercial value today. Nevertheless, if they
are patented and sold by a medical firm tomorrow, they could become economically
valuable.

Answer 8 – Land degradation, landslides, soil erosion and desertification are the major
threats to the environment due to the expansion of agriculture and constructional
activities.

Answer 9 – Landslides are defined as the mass movement of rock, debris or earth down a
slope. They often take place in conjunction with earthquakes, floods and volcanoes.

Answer 10 – Deep bores called shafts have to be made to reach mineral deposits that lie at
greater depths. This is called shaft mining.
Answer 11 - A sharp increase in consumption of fossil fuels has led to their depletion at an
alarming rate. The toxic pollutants released from burning conventional fuels are also
causing concern as they cause environmental pollution.

We therefore need to use non-conventional sources of energy that are cleaner alternatives
to fossil fuels and are renewable.

Answer 12 – Water can neither be added nor subtracted from Earth. Its total volume
remains constant. Its abundance only seems to vary because it is in constant motion,
cycling through the oceans, the air, the land and back again, through the processes of
evaporation, precipitation and run-off. This as you already know is referred to as the 'water
cycle'. Hence water is a renewable resource.

Answer 13 – The distribution of these minerals is as follows:

Iron Ore – Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Goa, Maharashtra and
Karnataka.
Bauxite – Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and
Tamil Nadu.
Copper – Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Limestone - Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat
and Tamil Nadu.