CBSE Class 10 Board Exam Social Science Syllabus

Social Science syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Social Science in CBSE Class 10 Board Exam, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   India and the Contemporary World - II (History)

   5 topics

   • The Rise of Nationalism in Europe
     • French Revolution and idea of the nation
     • Unification of Germany and Italy
     • Nationalism and imperialism
   • Nationalism in India
     • Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience movements
     • Salt March and Gandhi's role
     • Sense of collective belonging
   • The Making of a Global World
     • Pre-modern trade and the silk routes
     • Indentured labour migration
     • Great Depression and interwar economy
   • The Age of Industrialisation
     • Proto-industrialisation
     • Industrialisation in India
   • Print Culture and the Modern World
2. 2

   Contemporary India - II (Geography)

   7 topics

   • Resources and Development
     • Types of resources and resource planning
     • Land and soil resources, soil erosion
   • Forest and Wildlife Resources
   • Water Resources and multipurpose projects
   • Agriculture
     • Cropping patterns and major crops
     • Food security and technological reforms
   • Minerals and Energy Resources
     • Conventional and non-conventional sources
   • Manufacturing Industries
   • Lifelines of National Economy (transport and communication)
3. 3

   Democratic Politics - II (Political Science)

   5 topics

   • Power Sharing
     • Belgium and Sri Lanka case studies
     • Forms of power sharing
   • Federalism
     • Features of federalism
     • Decentralisation in India
   • Gender, Religion and Caste
     • Gender and politics
     • Communalism and secularism
   • Political Parties and party systems
   • Outcomes of Democracy
     • Accountable and responsive government
     • Economic growth and dignity
4. 4

   Understanding Economic Development (Economics)

   5 topics

   • Development
     • Income and other goals
     • Human Development Index
     • Sustainability of development
   • Sectors of the Indian Economy
     • Primary, secondary and tertiary sectors
     • Organised and unorganised sectors
   • Money and Credit
     • Modern forms of money
     • Formal and informal credit sources
   • Globalisation and the Indian Economy
     • Production across countries and MNCs
     • Impact and fair globalisation
   • Consumer Rights

Social Science flashcards for CBSE Class 10 Board Exam

23 of 51 cards from the Social Science deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Who is regarded as the founder of the secret society 'Young Italy' that worked for the unification of Italy?

   Giuseppe Mazzini founded 'Young Italy' (in 1831, based in Marseilles), promoting a unified Italian republic.

2. What did the French artist Frédéric Sorrieu visualise in his 1848 series of prints?

   A world made up of democratic and social Republics, with peoples of the world (as nations) marching past the Statue of Liberty to pay homage to it.

3. What was the Zollverein, and in which year was it formed?

   A customs union formed in 1834 by Prussia that abolished tariff barriers among German states and created a unified economic territory.

4. In Indian nationalism, what does 'Satyagraha' mean as developed by Mahatma Gandhi?

   A method of mass agitation based on the power of truth and non-violence; it emphasises that if the cause is true, victory is possible without physical force.

5. Which event triggered the start of the Non-Cooperation Movement, and in what year was it launched?

   Anger over the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919) and the Khilafat issue; the Non-Cooperation Movement was launched in 1920.

6. Why did Gandhiji choose salt as the symbol for launching the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930?

   Salt was consumed by rich and poor alike, and the British salt monopoly/tax was one of the most oppressive faces of British rule, making it a powerful unifying symbol.

7. What was the Rowlatt Act (1919) and why was it opposed?

   A law allowing detention of political prisoners without trial; it was opposed for giving the government repressive powers and curbing civil liberties.

8. What is meant by 'indentured labour' in the context of the making of a global world?

   A bonded labourer under contract to work for an employer for a specific period (often 5 years) to pay off passage to a new country, common among Indian and Chinese migrants in the 19th century.

9. What were the three types of movement or 'flows' within the international economy identified for the global world?

   The flow of trade (goods), the flow of labour (migration of people), and the flow of capital (investment over short and long distances).

10. What was the Bretton Woods system established in 1944?

    A post-war monetary system creating the IMF and the World Bank to preserve global economic stability and full employment, based on fixed exchange rates linked to the US dollar/gold.

11. In the Age of Industrialisation, what is 'proto-industrialisation'?

    A phase of large-scale industrial production for an international market based not on factories but on decentralised, home-based handicraft production before the factory system.

12. Who created the first cotton mill, and which invention by Richard Arkwright was key?

    The early cotton mills emerged in England; Richard Arkwright created the cotton mill / 'water frame', bringing the costly machines under one roof and supervision.

13. Who set up the first Indian jute mill and where?

    Seth Hukumchand set up the first Indian jute mill in Calcutta in 1917; broadly, Bengal was the centre of jute industry.

14. What is a 'jobber' in the context of Indian industrialisation?

    An old and trusted worker employed by industrialists to recruit new workers; he got people from his village, ensured them jobs, and often demanded money/gifts in return, gaining power and authority.

15. Who developed the first known printing press with movable type, and in which century?

    Johann Gutenberg developed the first printing press in the 1430s (15th century); he printed the Bible around 1448.

16. What was the 'Vernacular Press Act' of 1878 in India?

    A law modelled on the Irish Press Laws that gave the government extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular (Indian-language) press.

17. How did print culture contribute to the Reformation in Europe?

    Printing enabled rapid spread of Martin Luther's writings (Ninety-Five Theses, 1517), challenging the Catholic Church and leading to a division within it and the Protestant Reformation.

18. On what basis are resources classified as renewable and non-renewable?

    By their exhaustibility: renewable resources can be renewed/reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical processes (e.g., solar, water); non-renewable resources take millions of years to form and get exhausted (e.g., fossil fuels).

19. What is the difference between potential resources and developed resources?

    Potential resources are found in a region but not yet utilised (e.g., solar/wind energy in Rajasthan); developed resources have been surveyed and their quantity/quality determined for utilisation.

20. Define land degradation and name two human activities that cause it.

    Land degradation is the decline in the productive capacity of land. Causes include deforestation, overgrazing, mining, and over-irrigation.

21. What are the three categories of species classified by the IUCN as discussed in Forest and Wildlife Resources?

    Normal species, endangered species, vulnerable species, rare species, endemic species, and extinct species (IUCN classification). Key memorised set: endangered, vulnerable, rare, endemic, extinct, normal.

22. What is the Project Tiger, and in which year was it launched in India?

    A wildlife conservation programme launched in 1973 to protect the tiger population from extinction by maintaining viable tiger populations in their natural habitats.

23. What is 'biodiversity' and why is it important?

    Biodiversity is the immense variety of flora and fauna and the web of life; it is important because all species are interdependent and humans depend on it for clean air, water, food, and ecological balance.

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