Tirunelveli District Common First Mid Term Test - 2025
Standard 9 | SOCIAL SCIENCE
Time: 1.30 Hrs. | Marks: 50
Question Paper
I. Choose the correct answer:
7 × 1 = 7
1) Sir Robert Bruce Foote, a geologist from England first discovered the _______ tools at Pallavaram near Chennai.
2) The Harappans did not have the knowledge of
3) _______ is the rigid outer layer of the Earth.
4) _______ is seen in the lower course of the river.
5) The largest democratic country in the world is
6) The term pressure groups originated in
7) _______ is the state with highest installed solar capacity in India.
II. Answer any five questions.
5 × 2 = 10
8) Discuss how the age of speculation made humans become conscious and knowledgeable.
9) State the salient features of the Ziggurats.
10) What is Tsunami?
11) What are ox-bow lakes?
12) Give Abraham Lincoln's definition for democracy.
13) What is a Pressure group?
14) What is Solar Power?
III. Answer any five questions.
5 × 5 = 25
15) Fill in the blanks:
- Hand axes and cleavers are the important tool types of the __________ culture.
- __________ specifies the laws related to various crimes in ancient Babylonia.
- Mantle is called __________.
- __________ was the first Prime Minister of Independent India.
- The state having the highest literacy rate in India is __________.
16) Write about the hidden treasure of Indus civilisation.
17) Describe the structure of the earth.
18) Match the following:
| i) Red Sand dunes | - The Egyptian King |
| ii) Pharaoh | - Seven |
| iii) Eskers | - Teris |
| iv) National party | - Wild life protection act |
| v) 1972 | - glacial action |
19) Distinguish between:
- Shield volcano and Volcanic dome.
- Physical and Chemical weathering.
iii) Give Reasons: Wind can possibly erode the rocks from all sides.
20) What are the challenges to Indian democracy? Explain.
21) Differentiate between renewable and non-renewable resources.
Note: Answer any one question.
1 × 8 = 8
22) i) Explain the effects of volcanoes.
(OR)
ii) Mark the following places on the world map:
- Pacific Ring of fire
- Himalayas
- India
- Any two hot desert
- Indian ocean
- Australia
- Active volcano
Solutions
I. Choose the correct answer:
1) Answer: b) Paleolithic
2) Answer: b) Horse and Iron
3) Answer: c) Crust
4) Answer: c) Delta
5) Answer: b) India
6) Answer: a) USA
7) Answer: a) Tamil Nadu
- Note: While Rajasthan currently leads in installed solar capacity, Tamil Nadu has historically been a top state and is often cited as the leader in older textbook editions. For the context of this exam, Tamil Nadu is the most likely correct answer.
II. Solutions (Any Five)
8) The Age of Speculation and Human Consciousness
The age of speculation marked a significant cognitive revolution for early humans. It represents the shift from a life driven purely by instinct to one involving thought, reasoning, and abstract ideas. This development made humans more conscious and knowledgeable in several ways:
- Language and Communication: They developed complex language, allowing them to share knowledge, plan activities like hunting, and pass information to future generations.
- Art and Symbolism: Cave paintings, carvings, and ornaments show that humans began to think symbolically and express abstract concepts like beliefs and stories.
- Religion and Rituals: The practice of burying the dead with rituals suggests a belief in an afterlife and an attempt to understand concepts beyond the physical world.
- Problem-Solving: They improved their tool-making skills, adapting them for specific tasks, which indicates a growing understanding of cause and effect.
9) Salient Features of Ziggurats
Ziggurats were massive, stepped pyramid-like structures built in ancient Mesopotamia. Their key features are:
- Material: They were built with mud-bricks, as stone was scarce in the region. The exterior was often faced with baked bricks for durability.
- Structure: They had a terraced, stepped design with successively receding stories or levels. Ramps or staircases led to the top.
- Purpose: They served as temple complexes. A shrine or temple dedicated to the patron god of the city was placed at the very top.
- Function: Besides being religious centers, they also functioned as administrative hubs, storage facilities for grains and goods, and astronomical observatories.
10) What is a Tsunami?
A Tsunami is a series of extremely large ocean waves caused by a major disturbance on the ocean floor. Key points are:
- Causes: The most common cause is a powerful underwater earthquake. Other causes include volcanic eruptions, landslides, and meteorite impacts.
- Characteristics: In the deep ocean, tsunami waves are fast-moving but have a low height. As they approach shallow coastal waters, they slow down and their height increases dramatically, leading to immense destruction.
- Impact: Tsunamis can cause widespread flooding, destroy coastal communities, and result in a significant loss of life.
11) What are Ox-bow Lakes?
An ox-bow lake is a U-shaped body of water that forms when a wide meander (a bend) from a river is cut off, creating a freestanding lake.
Formation Process:
- A river flowing across a plain develops large bends called meanders.
- Over time, erosion on the outer bank and deposition on the inner bank make the meander's neck narrower.
- During a flood, the river cuts across the narrow neck, taking a shorter, straighter route.
- Deposition of sediment eventually seals off the old meander, leaving a curved, abandoned channel of water called an ox-bow lake.
12) Abraham Lincoln's Definition for Democracy
Abraham Lincoln, in his famous Gettysburg Address (1863), defined democracy as:
"government of the people, by the people, for the people."
This means that the government is formed from the citizens (of the people), is run by the citizens or their elected representatives (by the people), and exists to serve the interests of the citizens (for the people).
13) What is a Pressure Group?
A pressure group is an organization formed by people with common interests or occupations who try to influence government policies and public opinion to achieve their specific goals. Unlike political parties, they do not seek to win elections or form a government.
- Examples: Trade unions, business associations (like FICCI), farmers' associations, and environmental advocacy groups (like Greenpeace).
- Methods: They use methods like lobbying, media campaigns, public protests, and petitions to promote their cause.
14) What is Solar Power?
Solar power is the energy derived from the sun's radiation that reaches the Earth. It is a clean, abundant, and renewable source of energy.
It can be harnessed in two main ways:
- Photovoltaics (PV): Using solar panels to directly convert sunlight into electricity.
- Solar Thermal: Using the sun's heat to warm water or air for domestic use, or to generate steam that drives turbines to produce electricity in large power plants.
III. Solutions (Any Five)
15) Fill in the blanks
- Hand axes and cleavers are the important tool types of the Lower Paleolithic culture.
- The Code of Hammurabi specifies the laws related to various crimes in ancient Babylonia.
- Mantle is called Asthenosphere (the upper, semi-molten part).
- Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of Independent India.
- The state having the highest literacy rate in India is Kerala.
16) The Hidden Treasure of Indus Civilisation
The "hidden treasure" of the Indus Valley Civilisation is not gold or jewels, but the wealth of knowledge about their highly advanced and sophisticated urban society, which remained buried and unknown for thousands of years. This treasure includes:
- Urban Planning: Well-planned cities with grid-like street patterns, such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.
- Advanced Sanitation: Every house had a bathroom and access to a remarkable, well-covered drainage system—a feature unseen in most other ancient civilisations.
- Standardisation: They used standardised, burnt bricks for construction and had a system of standardised weights and measures for trade and commerce.
- Trade and Economy: Evidence of extensive trade networks, indicated by the discovery of Indus seals in Mesopotamia and the presence of a dockyard at Lothal.
- Art and Culture: Unique artifacts like the bronze 'dancing girl' statue, the steatite 'priest-king' sculpture, and thousands of intricate seals depicting animals and an undeciphered script. This script itself is a major "hidden" mystery.
17) Structure of the Earth
The Earth is composed of three concentric layers: the Crust, the Mantle, and the Core.
- 1. The Crust:
- It is the thinnest, outermost layer of the Earth.
- It is divided into two types: Continental Crust (thicker, less dense, made of granite) and Oceanic Crust (thinner, denser, made of basalt).
- 2. The Mantle:
- Located beneath the crust, it is about 2,900 km thick and makes up about 84% of Earth's volume.
- The upper part, known as the Asthenosphere, is semi-molten and rock flows slowly, allowing the tectonic plates to move on it. The lower mantle is solid and hotter.
- 3. The Core:
- It is the innermost layer, composed mainly of iron and nickel.
- It is divided into two parts: the Outer Core (liquid, its movement generates Earth's magnetic field) and the Inner Core (solid, due to immense pressure).
18) Match the following
| Question | Correct Match |
|---|---|
| i) Red Sand dunes | Teris |
| ii) Pharaoh | The Egyptian King |
| iii) Eskers | glacial action |
| iv) National party | Seven (likely referring to the number of national parties at the time the textbook was written) |
| v) 1972 | Wild life protection act |
19) Distinguish Between
i) Shield volcano and Volcanic dome
| Feature | Shield Volcano | Volcanic Dome (Lava Dome) |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Broad, with gentle slopes, like a warrior's shield. | Steep-sided, mound or dome-shaped. |
| Lava Type | Fluid, low-viscosity (runny) basaltic lava. | Thick, high-viscosity (sticky) silica-rich lava. |
| Eruption Style | Effusive, non-explosive eruptions where lava flows freely. | Lava is too thick to flow far and piles up around the vent; often associated with explosive eruptions. |
| Example | Mauna Loa in Hawaii. | Lava dome at Mount St. Helens. |
ii) Physical and Chemical Weathering
| Feature | Physical Weathering | Chemical Weathering |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Mechanical breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces. | Decomposition of rocks through chemical reactions. |
| Composition | The chemical composition of the rock does not change. | The mineral composition of the rock is altered, forming new substances. |
| Agents | Temperature changes (exfoliation), frost action, wind, water (abrasion). | Oxygen (oxidation), water (hydrolysis, solution), carbon dioxide (carbonation), acid rain. |
| Example | Rocks cracking due to freezing and thawing of water. | Iron in rocks 'rusting' (oxidation) and turning reddish-brown. |
iii) Give Reasons: Wind can possibly erode the rocks from all sides.
Wind can erode rocks from all sides primarily through a process called abrasion. This occurs mainly in arid and semi-arid regions where there is little vegetation to protect the ground surface.
- Mechanism: Wind picks up and carries loose sand and dust particles. When this sand-laden wind blows against a rock, the particles act like sandpaper, scraping, scouring, and polishing the rock surface.
- Mushroom Rocks (Pedestal Rocks): Wind erosion is most effective near the ground, where the wind carries a larger load of sand. This causes more erosion at the base of a rock than at its top. Over time, this differential erosion carves the rock into a mushroom shape, demonstrating erosion from multiple sides at its base.
- Changing Wind Direction: Since wind direction can change frequently, it blows against different faces of a rock over time, leading to gradual erosion from all sides.
20) Challenges to Indian Democracy
Despite being the world's largest democracy, India faces several significant challenges that hinder its effective functioning. These include:
- Illiteracy: A large illiterate population cannot fully understand political processes or make informed choices, making them vulnerable to manipulation.
- Poverty: Widespread poverty forces people to focus on basic survival rather than political participation. It also fuels issues like vote-buying.
- Casteism and Communalism: Voting based on caste or religion rather than the merit of a candidate undermines the democratic spirit and creates social divisions.
- Regionalism: Excessive loyalty to one's own region over the country can lead to demands for separatism and conflicts over resources like water.
- Gender Discrimination: Women are under-represented in politics and face social and economic inequality, preventing their full participation in democracy.
- Corruption: Corruption in public office erodes public trust in the government and diverts funds intended for development.
- Political Violence: The use of violence and muscle power during elections disrupts free and fair polling.
21) Differentiate between Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources
| Basis | Renewable Resources | Non-Renewable Resources |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Resources that can be replenished naturally over a short period of time. | Resources that exist in a fixed quantity and cannot be replenished on a human timescale. |
| Availability | They are inexhaustible and available in abundance in nature. | They are exhaustible and available in limited quantities. |
| Environmental Impact | Generally eco-friendly and cause little to no pollution. | Their extraction and use often cause significant pollution and environmental damage. |
| Cost | High initial investment cost, but low running/maintenance costs. | Lower initial investment, but can have high running costs and are subject to price fluctuations. |
| Examples | Solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, biomass, geothermal energy. | Fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas), minerals, nuclear fuels. |
Note: Solution (Any One)
22) i) Effects of Volcanoes
Volcanoes have both destructive and constructive effects on the environment and human life.
Destructive Effects
- Loss of Life and Property: Lava flows, pyroclastic flows (fast-moving clouds of hot gas and ash), and volcanic bombs can destroy entire cities and cause immense loss of life.
- Lahars (Mudflows): Heat from the volcano can melt snow and ice, or heavy rain can mix with volcanic ash, creating fast-moving mudflows that bury everything in their path.
- Ash Clouds: Fine volcanic ash can travel thousands of kilometers, disrupting air travel by damaging jet engines. It can also blanket agricultural land, ruining crops.
- Climate Impact: Large eruptions release sulfur dioxide (SO₂) into the stratosphere, which forms aerosols that reflect sunlight, leading to short-term global cooling.
- Health Hazards: Volcanic ash and gases can cause respiratory problems and other health issues for people and animals.
Constructive Effects
- Fertile Soil: Weathered volcanic ash and lava produce some of the most fertile soils on Earth, ideal for agriculture.
- Land Formation: Volcanic eruptions create new landforms, such as mountains, plateaus, and islands (e.g., the Hawaiian Islands).
- Mineral Deposits: Valuable minerals like diamonds, copper, gold, and silver are often brought to or near the Earth's surface through volcanic processes.
- Geothermal Energy: The heat from underground magma can be harnessed to generate geothermal energy, a clean and renewable power source.
- Tourist Attraction: Scenic volcanic landscapes, geysers, and hot springs attract tourists, boosting local economies.
(OR)
22) ii) Marking Places on the World Map
Below is a description of where to locate each place on a world map.
- Pacific Ring of Fire: An imaginary horseshoe-shaped line along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. It runs up the western coast of the Americas (from Chile to Alaska), across the Aleutian Islands, down the eastern coast of Asia (through Japan, the Philippines), and includes New Zealand. This is where most of the world's volcanoes and earthquakes occur.
- Himalayas: The massive mountain range in Asia that forms an arc separating the Indian subcontinent in the south from the Tibetan Plateau in the north. It passes through India, Nepal, Bhutan, China (Tibet), and Pakistan.
- India: The large peninsula in South Asia, bordered by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast.
- Any two hot deserts:
- The Sahara Desert: Covers most of North Africa.
- The Arabian Desert: Covers most of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East.
- The Great Victoria Desert: Located in western and southern Australia.
- Indian Ocean: The third-largest ocean, located south of Asia, east of Africa, and west of Australia.
- Australia: The continent and country located in the Southern Hemisphere, southeast of Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans.
- Active volcano:
- Mount Fuji: On Honshu Island, Japan.
- Mount Vesuvius: Near Naples, Italy.
- Mount St. Helens: In Washington State, USA. (Any of these would be a correct example).