Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Public School - Vidyashram,

Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad

Half yearly Examination (2021-22) Date:
Class : VIII Max Marks: 40
Subject: Social Science Time: 90 Min
General Instructions:
1. The Question Paper contains four sections.
2. Section A has 24 questions. Attempt any 20 questions.
3. Section B has 22 questions. Attempt any 18 questions.
4. Section C has 12 questions (Case based). Attempt any 10 questions.
5. Section D contains 2 Map based questions. Attempt both the questions.
6. All questions carry equal marks.
7. There is no negative marking.

SECTION – A
(Attempt any 20 out of 24 questions)
1. Match the following terms in column A with their correct meaning given in column B
Column A Column B
1. Qazi a) a jurist of the muslim community responsible for expounding the law
2. Mufti b) men on horses
3. Sawar c) a heavy gun used by infantry soldiers
4. Musket d) a judge
Choose the correct options from the given below:
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a, 4-d
b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c
c) 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c
d) 1-b, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d
2. A natural area designated to protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for the present and future
generations is called a .
a) National park
b) Biosphere reserve
c) Zoo
d) Wildlife sanctuary
3. Which fundamental right is not listed in the Indian constitution?
a) Right to equality
b) Cultural and educational rights
c) Right to freedom
 d) Right to property

4. Identify the undermentioned policy used by the East India Company to expand their territory with the help
of the following clues:
I) It was introduced by Lord Dalhousie
II) It declared that if an Indian ruler died without a male heir, his kingdom would become the part of company
territory
III) The kingdom of Sambalpur and Nagpur were annexed by its application.
a) Doctrine of Lapse
b) Subsidiary alliance
c) Residency System
d) Mahalwari System
5. Parent rock determines:
i) Color of the soil
ii) Texture of the soil
iii) Permeability
iv) Thickness of soil profile
a) i and ii
b) i and iv
c) i, ii and iii
d) All of these
6. Who is known as the father of the Indian constitution?
a) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Dr. B.R Ambedkar
c) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
d) Mahatma Gandhi
7. Who is known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’?
a) Haider Ali
b) Tipu Sultan
c) Mir Qasim
d) Rana Pratap
8. Read the following statements and choose the appropriate option.
Statement 1: Broad flat steps or terraces are made on the steep slopes so that flat surfaces are available to grow
crops.
Statement 2: Mulching helps to retain the soil moisture.
a) Both are correct
b) Only statement 1 is correct
c) Only statement 2 is correct
d) Both are wrong
9. The first English factory was set up on the banks of the river in 1651.
a) Hugli
b) Tapi
c) Godavari
d) Ganga
10. What was the reason behind abolition of the evil practice of untouchability?
a) To end the poverty
b) To end the discrimination
c) To end the slavery
d) None of the above
11. Name the new title given to the Governor General of India after the new act of 1858.
a) Lord
b) Viceroy
c) Sir
d) None of these
12. Forest fire is a threat to the entire regional flora and fauna. It occurs due to:
1) Volcanic eruptions
2) Due to lightning
3) Heat generated in litter due to carelessness of people
a) Only 2 and 3
b) Only 1 and 2
c) Only 1 and 3
d) Only 1
13.After independence, it was unanimously (by everyone) felt that India should be a democratic state where
everyone has equal opportunities. What is the meaning of democracy?
a) A form of government with a king at the head.
b) A form of government with elected representatives.
c) A form of government without elected representatives.
d) A form of government where the police is in control.
14. Vasco- Da- Gama who had discovered the sea route to India was a explorer.
a) Dutch
b) French
c) British
d) Portuguese
15. Which among these is not a principle of sustainable development?
a) Respect and care for all forms of life
b) Conserve the Earth’s vitality and diversity
c) Clear forest land to build more and more factories
d) Minimize the depletion of natural resources.
16. What happened in Hitler’s Germany?
a) Several million Jews were killed
b) Bomb blast took place in Nagasaki
c) Assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi
d) People lived peacefully
17. Arrange the Nawabs of Bengal in chronological order of their rule in Bengal.
I. Siraj- Ud- Daulah
II. Murshid Quli Khan
III. Alivardi Khan
a) II, III, I
b) I, II, III
c) III, II, I
d) III, I, II
18. Mass movement of rock debris on earth down a slope is called:
a) Earthquake
b) Rock movement
c) Landslide
d) Land use
19. Consider the following statement on Indian secularism and select the correct option.
I. One religious community does not dominate others.
II. Some members do not dominate other members of the same religious community.
III. Hinduism is declared as a state religion.
a) I and II are correct
b) II and III are correct
c) I and III are correct
d) All are correct
20. Identify the major reason for the defeat of Nawab in the Battle of Plassey :
a) The forces led by Mir Jafar, one of Siraj-Ud-Daulah's commanders, never fought the battle
b) The Nawab’s army was weak
c) The British army had modern arms and ammunition
d) The Nawab was not willing to fight the battle.
21. The ‘Land use’ is determined by:
a) Topography
b) Soil
c) Population
d) All of these
22. We must always wear a protective helmet while riding our bikes, motorcycles, skating, even skiing. Why
are the Sikhs exempted from wearing a helmet?
a) Because pugri (turban) protects person’s head equal to helmet.
b) Because the Indian State recognises that wearing a pugri (turban) is in fashion to a Sikh’s religious practice and
in order not to interfere with this, allows an exception in the law.
c) Because the Indian State recognises that wearing a pugri (turban) is central to a Sikh’s religious practice and in
order not to interfere with this, allows an exception in the law.
d) Because the Sikh men do not like to wear helmet
23. British territories were broadly divided into administrative units called .
a) Subas
b) States
c) Districts
d) Presidencies
24. Careful use of resources and giving time to renew is resource .
a) Depletion
b) Conservation
c) Pollution
d) Development

SECTION – B
(Attempt any 18 out of 22 questions)

25. Match the leaders with the places/ kingdoms associated with them:
Column A Column B
1. Rani Avantibai Lodhi a) Kanpur
2. Nana Saheb b) Ramghar
3. Kunwar Singh c) Bareilly
4. Bakht Khan d) Bihar
Choose the correct option from the given below:
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a, 4-d
b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c
c) 1-d, 2-a, 3-c, 4-d
d) 1-b, 2-d, 3-c, 4-d
26. The breaking up and decay of exposed rocks by temperature changes, frost action, plants, animals
and human activity is called .
a) Weathering
b) Mitigation mechanism
c) Deforestation
d) Afforestation
27. Which fundamental right will the following situation violate- If a group of people are not given
permission to open a Telugu medium school in Kerala.
a) Right to equality
b) Right to freedom
c) Cultural and educational rights.
d) Right to constitutional remedies
28. 85 sepoys at Meerut were dismissed from service and sentenced to ten- years in jail for disobeying their
officers and refusing to use the new cartridges. When did this incident happen?
a) 9 April, 1857
b) 9 May, 1857
c) 9 May, 1875
d) 9 Aug, 1878
29. means the exclusive right over any idea or invention.
a) Idea generation
b) Design
c) Discovery d) Patent
30. What does ‘to force someone to do something’ mean?
a) Coercion
b) Intervene
c) Interpret
d) Generosity
31. The land and property of Muslims was confiscated on a large scale after the revolt of 1857. Identify the
reasons for the same?
I. The British did not like the dress of the Muslim kings
II. The Muslims could not speak in English.
III. The British believed that the Muslims were responsible for the rebellion in a big way.
a) Only I
b) Both I & II
c) Only III
d) Both I & III
32. Indigo commission took decision in favour of:
a) Farmers
b) Zamindars
c) Planters
d) British officers
33. Which of these is not an organ of the state?
a) Judiciary
b) Executive
c) Legislature
d) Religious groups
34. Identify the person given in the picture with the help of clues given.

I. This emperor was the last of the Mughal rulers.

II. The name of his wife was Begum Zinat Mahal
III. He died in the Rangoon jail in1862.
a) Bahadur Shah Zafar
b) Shah Alam II
c) Aurangjeb
d) Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
35. What is 'VAT'?
a) A small village
b) A unit of measurement of land
c) A person who is owned by someone else
d) A fermenting vessel
36. What were the challenges before the constituent assembly while drafting the constitution?
a) Different languages
b) The partition of the country
c) Socio- economic condition of the masses
d) All of these
37. When soldiers as a group disobey their officers in the army, it is called:
a) Revolution
b) Movement
c) Mutiny
d) War
38. In which country most children are in govt. schools have to begin their school day reciting the
‘Pledge of Allegiance’?
a) France
b) USA
c) India
d) UK
39.. Which of the following statements are correct about permanent settlement.
I. The amount of revenue to be paid was fixed permanently.
II. It was introduced by Holt Makenzie
III. It was started in 1793.
a) Both I and II
b) Only I
c) Only II
d) Only I and III
40. The European cloth manufacturers used a plant named , which grew in temperate zones, to make blue
and violet dyes?
a) Woad
b) Lilac
c) Indigo
d) Palash
41. In a secular state….
a) People cannot display religious symbols within houses
b) People cannot have spiritual gurus
c) No one can publish religious texts
d) State run institutions do not display religious symbols
42. The statements are given in the question below as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Read the statement and
choose the appropriate option.
Assertion(A): After getting the Diwani rights of Bengal, East India Company stopped importing gold and silver from
Britain for purchasing goods.
 Reason(R): The revenue collected in Bengal could finance the purchase of goods for export.
a) Both assertion and reason are true, and reason is the correct explanation for assertion.
b) Both assertion and reason are true, but reason is not the correct explanation for assertion.
c) Assertion is true, but reason is false.
d) Assertion is false, but reason is true.

43. Identify the picture:

It shows the process of collecting rainwater from roof tops and directing it to an appropriate location where it is
stored for future use.
a) Trickle irrigation
b) Drip irrigation
c) Rainwater harvesting
d) Rock dam
44. is the third tier of government in India.
a) State government
b) Union government
c) Panchayati Raj
d) District courts
45. In the Munro system ownership rights of land were given to the .
a) Village headman
b) Cultivators (ryots)
c) Zamindars
d) All of these
 46. Wild animals are poached for various body parts and their illegal trade. Match the animals to the product for
which they are poached.
Column A Column B
Animal Body part
I. Elephant a) skin
II. Crocodile b) horn
III. Peacock c) Teeth
IV. Rhinoceros d) Feather
Choose the correct option from the given below:
a) I-a, II-c, III-b, IV-d
b) I-b, II-d, III-c, IV-a
c) I-c, II-a, III- d, IV- b
d) I-d, II-c, III-a, IV-d
SECTION – C
(There are total of 12 questions in this section.
Attempt any 10 questions from this section.)

Read the source given below and answer the questions by choosing the most appropriate
option:
The Parliament of India consists of the President, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. After the
Lok Sabha elections, a list is prepared showing how many MPs belong to each political party. For
a political party to form the government, they must have a majority of elected MPs. Since there
are 543 elected (plus 2 Anglo-Indian nominated) members in Lok Sabha, to have a majority a
party should have at least half the number i.e. 272 members or more. The Opposition in
Parliament is formed by all the political parties that are not part of the majority party/coalition
formed. The largest amongst these parties is called the Opposition party. One of the most
important functions of the Lok Sabha is to select the executive. The executive, is a group of
persons who work together to implement the laws made by the parliament. This executive is
often what we have in mind when we use the term government. The Prime Minister of India is
the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha. From the MPs who belong to her party, the Prime
Minister selects ministers to work with him/her to implement decisions. These ministers then
take charge of different areas of government functioning like health, education, finance etc.
47. The Parliament of India consists of….
a) Vice President, Vidhan Sabha,
b) Prime Minister, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha
c) President, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha
d) None of the above
 48. A temporary alliance or groups of parties after elections when no party has been
able to get adequate seats to form a clean majority is called:
a) Superannuation
b) Coalition
c) Majority
d) Assosiation
49. How many members are nominated by the President to Lok Sabha?
a) 5
b) 12
c) 2
d) 15
50. Who implement the laws?
a) The Judiciary
b) The executive
c) The legislature
d) The speaker
51. How many members are there in Lok Sabha?
a) 545
b) 250
c) 500
d) 375
52. What do you mean by the Houses of people?
a) Rajya Sabha
b) Vidhan Sabha
c) Lok Sabha
d) Vidhan Parishad
Read the source given below and answer the questions by choosing the most appropriate
option:
Types of Resources
Resources are generally classified into natural, human made and human.
Resources that are drawn from Nature and used without much modification are called natural
resources. The air we breathe, the water in our rivers and lakes, the soils, minerals are all natural
resources. Many of these resources are free gifts of nature and can be used directly. In some
cases tools and technology may be needed to use a natural resource in the best possible way.
Natural resources can be broadly categorised into renewable and non-renewable resources.
Renewable resources are those which get renewed or replenished quickly. Some of these are
unlimited and are not affected by human activities, such as solar and wind energy. Yet careless
use of certain renewable resources like water, soil and forest can affect their stock. Water seems
to be an unlimited renewable resource. But shortage and drying up of natural water sources is a
major problem in many parts of the world today. Non-renewable resources are those which have
a limited stock. Once the stocks are exhausted it may take thousands of years to be renewed or
replenished. Since this period is much more than human life spans, such resources are considered
non-renewable. Coal, petroleum and natural gas are some examples. The distribution of natural
resources depends upon number of physical factors like terrain, climate and altitude. The
distribution of resources is unequal because these factors differ so much over the earth.
Sometimes, natural substances become resources only when their original form has been
changed. Iron ore was not a resource until people learnt to extract iron from it. People use
natural resources to make buildings, bridges, roads, machinery and vehicles, which are known as
human made resources. Technology is also a human made resource.
53. Resources that are drawn from Nature and used without much modification
are called:
a) Human resources
b) Artificial resources
c) Natural resources
d) Human made resources
54. Few of the renewable resources are becoming scarce due to the careless use
of humans. Identify the suitable option.
a) Water and sunlight
b) Water and wind
c) Water and forest
d) Sunlight
55. Resources are distributed unequally over the Earth because of:
a) Terrain
b) Climate
c)) Altitude
d) All of these
56. Technology is an example of:
a) Natural resources
b) Human made resources
c) Human resources
d) Both (a) and (b)
 57. Non-renewable resources have a limited stock. Which of the following
examples of non-renewable resources?
a) Crude oil and coal
b) Solar energy and wind energy
c) Tidal energy
d) Hydel power
58. Renewable resources are those which get quickly.
a) Replenished
b) Exhausted
c) Conserved
d) None of the above

Section D
(Attempt both the Map based questions)
On the given outline map of India, identify the locations with the help of specified information.
59. Leading producer of coal in the world.
a) Brazil
b) China
c) Canadian Shield
d) Chile

60. Leading producer of bauxite in the world.

a) Australia
b) Africa
c) North America
d) Asia
e) Chile