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🇮🇳 CBSE Class 9 · subject
CBSE Class 9 Social Science Syllabus
Every chapter and topic of Social Science examined in CBSE Class 9 — 4 chapters, 8 topics, plus 51 flashcards written against it.
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 9, not a summary of it.
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India and the Contemporary World
2 topics- The French Revolution
- Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution
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Contemporary India
2 topics- India - Size and Location
- Physical Features of India
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Democratic Politics
2 topics- What is Democracy? Why Democracy?
- Constitutional Design
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Economics
2 topics- The Story of Village Palampur
- People as Resource
Social Science flashcards for CBSE Class 9
23 of 51 cards from the Social Science deck — real questions with worked answers.
In what year did the French Revolution begin, and with what event is its outbreak associated?
It began in 1789, associated with the storming of the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789.
Into which three estates was French society divided before the Revolution?
The First Estate (clergy), the Second Estate (nobility), and the Third Estate (big businessmen, merchants, peasants, artisans, servants and labourers).
Which estate paid all the taxes in pre-revolutionary France, and which were exempt?
The Third Estate paid all taxes; the First Estate (clergy) and Second Estate (nobility) were exempt.
What was the 'tithe' in pre-revolutionary France?
A tax equal to one-tenth of agricultural produce, collected by the Church from peasants.
What was the 'taille'?
A direct tax paid by the Third Estate to the French state.
Who wrote 'The Spirit of the Laws' and what key idea did it propose?
Montesquieu; it proposed the separation of powers among the legislature, executive and judiciary.
What were the three ideals of the French Revolution?
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
What was the 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen' (1789)?
A charter adopted by the National Assembly declaring liberty, equality, freedom of speech and opinion to be natural and inalienable rights of every human being.
Who was the king of France during the outbreak of the Revolution, and what happened to him in 1793?
Louis XVI; he was convicted of treason and executed (guillotined) in 1793.
What was the 'Reign of Terror' and who led it?
The period 1793-1794 under Maximilien Robespierre, when those seen as enemies of the republic were arrested, tried and guillotined.
Who abolished slavery in the French colonies and in which year, and who later reintroduced it?
The Convention abolished slavery in French colonies in 1794; Napoleon reintroduced it in 1804.
When did Napoleon Bonaparte crown himself Emperor of France?
In 1804.
What does the term 'subsistence crisis' mean in the context of the French Revolution?
An extreme situation where the basic means of livelihood are endangered, e.g. food shortage and rising bread prices causing famine.
Who were the 'Jacobins' and after whom were they named?
A radical political club of the Revolution whose members were largely the less-prosperous sections; named after the former convent of St Jacob in Paris.
Define 'socialism' as understood in 19th-century Europe.
An ideology opposing private property and favouring social/collective control of property and resources to promote collective interests over individual profit.
Who wrote 'Das Kapital' and 'The Communist Manifesto'?
Karl Marx (the Manifesto co-authored with Friedrich Engels).
According to Karl Marx, what were the two main classes in a capitalist society?
The capitalists (bourgeoisie) who owned capital, and the workers (proletariat) who sold their labour.
What were the two main revolutions in Russia in 1917, and in which months?
The February Revolution (which ended Tsarist rule) and the October Revolution (the Bolshevik seizure of power).
Who was the Tsar of Russia whose rule ended with the February 1917 Revolution?
Tsar Nicholas II.
Who led the Bolshevik Party during the October Revolution of 1917?
Vladimir Lenin.
What were Lenin's 'April Theses' demands (the three demands)?
End the war, transfer land to the peasants, and nationalise the banks ('Peace, Land and Bread').
What were 'soviets'?
Councils of workers, soldiers and peasants formed during the Russian Revolution.
What was 'collectivisation' under Stalin?
The policy (from 1929) of merging individual peasant farms into large collective farms (kolkhoz) to increase grain production.
Planning Social Science for CBSE Class 9
Social Science is about 19% of the CBSE Class 9 syllabus by topic count — 8 of 43 topics, spread over 4 chapters. At roughly 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic, a first pass runs to about 6 hours.
The heaviest chapters are India and the Contemporary World (2 topics), Contemporary India (2 topics), Democratic Politics (2 topics) . Front-load those while your energy is high; the short chapters are better revision filler later.
Work top-down: read the chapter, then tick topics off individually rather than marking the whole chapter done. Sub-topics are where silent gaps hide.
Social Science (CBSE Class 9) FAQ
What is in the CBSE Class 9 Social Science syllabus?
Social Science is split into 4 chapters — India and the Contemporary World, Contemporary India, Democratic Politics and Economics, containing 8 topics and 0 sub-topics in total.
How many chapters are there in Social Science for CBSE Class 9?
4 chapters. Social Science accounts for about 19% of the topics in the whole CBSE Class 9 syllabus (8 of 43).
How long should I spend on Social Science for CBSE Class 9?
Budget around 6 hours for a first pass through Social Science — about 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic across its 8 topics. Add revision cycles on top.
Are there flashcards for CBSE Class 9 Social Science?
Yes — a 51-card Social Science deck. Sample cards are printed on this page, and the full deck is free in the Examius app with spaced repetition scheduling.