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Understanding Social Science: CBSE Class 9 Economics practice questions

Practise 50 questions on Understanding Social Science, free, with an explanation for each answer.

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Sample questions

Some people live in crowded cities, and others in small villages spread far apart. Social Science tries to explain differences like these. In simple words, what is Social Science?

A crowded city beside a village with fields
  1. The study of the natural world, such as forces, chemicals and living cells
  2. The systematic study of human society: what happens, where, and why
  3. A list of dates, maps and definitions to be memorised
  4. The study of how governments, and nothing else, make decisions
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B. The systematic study of human society: what happens, where, and why

Social Science is the systematic study of human society. It tells us what happened and where things are, and it also explains why events occur, how people live together, how governments and economies work, and how the past shapes the present. Physics, Chemistry and Biology study the natural world. Government is only one part of Social Science, and it is about understanding, not memorising.

For the Let's Analyse activity, a group surveys 40 households. Five years ago 10 of them used e-rickshaws to reach the market. Now 30 do. How has the share of households using e-rickshaws changed?

A student with a clipboard interviewing a person at a door, next to a bar chart
  1. From 10% to 30%
  2. From 25% to 50%
  3. From 25% to 75%
  4. From 33% to 100%
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C. From 25% to 75%

Earlier: 1040×100=25%\dfrac{10}{40} \times 100 = 25\%. Now: 3040×100=75%\dfrac{30}{40} \times 100 = 75\%. So the share rose by 50 percentage points. 10% to 30% treats the counts as if they were percentages. 25% to 50% simply doubles the old share. 33% to 100% divides by 30 (the new count) instead of by the 40 households surveyed. Surveys like this give social scientists evidence for their explanations.

At the village meeting, an old custom decides who speaks first and whose word is respected. A political scientist would study this custom as well as the formal panchayat rules. Why?

Villagers sitting in a circle under a big tree
  1. Because political power exists not only in formal institutions but also in social relationships, customs and ideas of legitimacy
  2. Because Political Science studies customs and ignores governments
  3. Because village customs are a kind of numismatic source
  4. Because the meeting is held outdoors in the natural environment
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A. Because political power exists not only in formal institutions but also in social relationships, customs and ideas of legitimacy

The chapter says political power exists not only within formal institutions but also in social relationships, customs and ideas of legitimacy. So studying politics means studying society itself, including its hierarchies and its struggles for more effective and accountable governance. Political Science also studies constitutions, governments and state institutions, so it does not ignore governments.

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