The Rowlatt Act of 1919 was opposed by Indians chiefly because it:

allowed political prisoners to be detained without trial for two years

imposed a heavy new tax on salt

partitioned Bengal along religious lines

reserved all senior government posts for the British

The Corn Laws of nineteenth-century Britain were laws that:

restricted the import of grain into Britain

taxed British farmers who left their fields uncultivated

fixed the wages of agricultural labourers in Britain

required Britain to buy all its wheat from its colonies

Why did the export of Indian cotton textiles decline sharply in the early nineteenth century?

Britain placed import duties on Indian cloth while machine-made British cloth entered India with little or no duty

Indian weavers abandoned weaving and turned entirely to agriculture

The East India Company banned the cultivation of cotton in India

India stopped exporting raw cotton, so cloth could no longer be woven

Mica is used extensively in the electrical and electronics industries because it:

splits into very thin transparent sheets and is an excellent insulator

conducts electricity better than copper does

melts at a low temperature and can be moulded easily

is magnetic and can therefore store an electric charge

Which of the following correctly describes the Zollverein formed in 1834?

A customs union that abolished tariff barriers among most German states

A military alliance formed by Prussia against Austria

An elected assembly of German representatives that met at Frankfurt

A treaty that recognised Greece as an independent nation

National Waterway 1, the longest inland waterway of India, runs along the Ganga between:

Sadiya and Dhubri on the Brahmaputra

Kottapuram and Kollam on the west coast canal

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CBSE Class 10 Social Science Board Paper Set 2 — MCQs with Answers

Original paper · CBSE patternWritten by our subject team, not a reprint of an official sample paper.

Questions: 20
Time: 25 min
Marking: +1, no negative marking
Mix: 8 Easy · 8 Medium · 4 Hard

Board Paper Set 2 — CBSE Class 10 Social Science is a full 20-question objective paper for Class 10 Social Science, written in the CBSE board pattern and marked the way the board marks: +1 for a correct answer and 0 for a wrong one — no negative marking, exactly like the real board paper. It follows Section A of a real CBSE paper: Q1–Q16 are single-correct MCQs, Q17–Q18 are case-based questions built on a short source, and Q19–Q20 are assertion–reason items using the board's own four option strings.

Difficulty is 8 Easy · 8 Medium · 4 Hard, weighted the way the board weights Section A. You get 25 minutes — about 75 seconds a question, the pace the real paper demands. 8 of the questions are solved in full below, with the correct option and a worked explanation for each; the remaining 12 are timed and scored when you sign in free.

From 2026-27 CBSE Class 10 has two board exams a year: the first around 15 February – 10 March 2027 is compulsory, and an optional improvement exam in May 2027 lets you re-attempt up to three subjects with the better score counting. That gives you two genuine attempts — and makes timed practice between February and May worth far more than it used to be.

8 solved questions from this paper

Answer and worked explanation shown for each. The remaining 12 are timed and scored when you sign in free.

Q1Easy
The Rowlatt Act of 1919 was opposed by Indians chiefly because it:
A.imposed a heavy new tax on salt
B.allowed political prisoners to be detained without trial for two years✓ Correct
C.partitioned Bengal along religious lines
D.reserved all senior government posts for the British
Answer: B. allowed political prisoners to be detained without trial for two years
Explanation: The Act armed the government with sweeping powers to crush political activity and permitted detention of political prisoners without trial for two years, which is why Gandhiji called for a nationwide hartal against it. The salt tax was the target of a later campaign in 1930, and the partition of Bengal belongs to 1905.
Q2Easy
The black buck, the crocodile, the Indian wild ass and the Indian rhino are classified as:
A.Extinct species
B.Rare species
C.Endangered species✓ Correct
D.Normal species
Answer: C. Endangered species
Explanation: Endangered species are those whose numbers have fallen so low that they are likely to disappear altogether if the factors harming them continue to operate. Rare species have small populations that may move into the endangered category if conditions worsen, and extinct species are no longer found at all, so the three categories describe successive stages of risk.
Q3Easy
On the basis of ownership, village grazing grounds, village ponds and public parks are classified as:
A.Individual resources
B.National resources
C.Community owned resources✓ Correct
D.International resources
Answer: C. Community owned resources
Explanation: Community owned resources are those accessible to every member of a community, and village commons such as grazing grounds, burial grounds and ponds, along with urban parks and playgrounds, fall in this class. National resources are those the government may take over within the country's political boundaries, and international resources are regulated by international institutions.
Q4Medium
The Corn Laws of nineteenth-century Britain were laws that:
A.taxed British farmers who left their fields uncultivated
B.fixed the wages of agricultural labourers in Britain
C.required Britain to buy all its wheat from its colonies
D.restricted the import of grain into Britain✓ Correct
Answer: D. restricted the import of grain into Britain
Explanation: Under pressure from landed groups the British government restricted grain imports, and these laws kept food prices high at home. Industrialists and urban dwellers forced their abolition, after which cheaper food poured in and British agriculture contracted, driving many people to emigrate. In British usage the word corn meant grain in general, not maize alone.
Q5Medium
Why did the export of Indian cotton textiles decline sharply in the early nineteenth century?
A.Indian weavers abandoned weaving and turned entirely to agriculture
B.The East India Company banned the cultivation of cotton in India
C.Britain placed import duties on Indian cloth while machine-made British cloth entered India with little or no duty✓ Correct
D.India stopped exporting raw cotton, so cloth could no longer be woven
Answer: C. Britain placed import duties on Indian cloth while machine-made British cloth entered India with little or no duty
Explanation: As cotton mills grew in England, industrial groups pressed their government to tax Indian cloth entering Britain, while Manchester goods flowed into Indian markets almost untaxed. Indian weavers were squeezed out at both ends and exports collapsed. Cotton cultivation was never banned; raw cotton exports from India in fact rose in this period.
Q6Medium
Mica is used extensively in the electrical and electronics industries because it:
A.splits into very thin transparent sheets and is an excellent insulator✓ Correct
B.conducts electricity better than copper does
C.melts at a low temperature and can be moulded easily
D.is magnetic and can therefore store an electric charge
Answer: A. splits into very thin transparent sheets and is an excellent insulator
Explanation: Mica splits readily into thin transparent sheets and combines high dielectric strength with low power loss and resistance to heat, so it is used as an insulating material in electrical equipment. It is prized precisely because it does not carry current, which is why any comparison with a conductor such as copper is wrong.
Q7Hard
Which of the following correctly describes the Zollverein formed in 1834?
A.A customs union that abolished tariff barriers among most German states✓ Correct
B.A military alliance formed by Prussia against Austria
C.An elected assembly of German representatives that met at Frankfurt
D.A treaty that recognised Greece as an independent nation
Answer: A. A customs union that abolished tariff barriers among most German states
Explanation: Begun on Prussia's initiative in 1834 and joined by most German states, the Zollverein created a single customs area, ended tariff barriers between members and cut the number of currencies from over thirty to two. It bound the German states together economically well before political unification. The elected assembly at Frankfurt belongs to 1848, and Greek independence was recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople in 1832.
Q8Hard
National Waterway 1, the longest inland waterway of India, runs along the Ganga between:
A.Sadiya and Dhubri on the Brahmaputra
B.Kottapuram and Kollam on the west coast canal
C.Kakinada and Puducherry
D.Allahabad and Haldia✓ Correct
Answer: D. Allahabad and Haldia
Explanation: National Waterway 1 uses the Ganga over roughly 1,620 kilometres between Allahabad and Haldia, which makes it the country's longest inland waterway. The Sadiya to Dhubri stretch on the Brahmaputra is National Waterway 2, and the west coast canal between Kottapuram and Kollam in Kerala is National Waterway 3.

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Questions students ask about this paper

Is this an official CBSE sample paper?

No — and that is deliberate. This is an original paper written in the CBSE board pattern by our subject team, not a copy of CBSE's official Sample Question Paper. It means you get fresh questions you have not already seen on a dozen other sites, with instant scoring and worked solutions rather than a PDF.

How is this Class 10 Social Science paper marked?

+1 for a correct answer and 0 for a wrong one — no negative marking, exactly like the real board paper. So attempt every question — there is no penalty for a wrong answer on a board paper, and leaving a question blank can only cost you.

How long should this paper take?

25 minutes for 20 questions, roughly 75 seconds each. The timer runs whether or not you are watching it, which is the point: board marks are lost to pacing at least as often as to gaps in knowledge.

Do I need to pay to attempt it?

No. Sign in free with Google and the full paper opens with a live timer, automatic scoring and a worked solution for every question — including the ones not shown on this page.

Does the May 2027 improvement exam change how I should practise?

It raises the value of timed practice. Because the better of your two scores counts, a February attempt that goes badly is no longer final — but only if you know precisely which topics cost you the marks. A scored full-length paper tells you that; re-reading the chapter does not.

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