Texas Academic Pentathlon 7th Grade Social Science Practice Test 2015-2016
1. Which of the following countries does NOT border India? a. Nepal b. Bhutan c. Bangladesh d. Pakistan e. Afghanistan
2. New Delhi is located along the ______River. a. Brahmaputra b. Indus c. Ganges d. Yamuna e. Tapi
3. Which term BEST defines “the rule of one group of people by another without complete permission”? a. autocracy b. mercantilism c. oligarchy d. nationalism e. colonialism
4. The ancient site of Harappa was built a. at the base of the Himalaya Mountains. b. on the coast of the Indian Sea. c. at the edge of the Thar desert. d. on the Tibetan Plateau. e. in the basins of the Indus River.
5. Which group of people established Sanskrit as a sacred language? a. the Vedas b. the Guptas c. the Aryans d. the Nagas e. the Asurs
6. A stupa is a a. Hindu priest. b. potter’s wheel. c. a tributary. d. sacred song. e. Buddhist shrine. 7. The poet, Kalidasa, is referred to as a. the Great Gupta Poet. b. the Indian Shakespeare. c. the Father of Sanskrit. d. the Everlasting One. e. the Indian Homer. 8. In what area did the Gupta Empire rule? a. Along the southern coast of the Bay of Bengal. b. The northern portion of the Indian peninsula. c. Along the Western ghats. d. On the island of Sri Lanka. e. On the Deccan Plateau.
9. All of the following statements are true about the Indus Valley civilization EXCEPT: a. They built monumental temples to Hindu gods. b. They adopted a system of standardized weights and measures. c. Their cities were planned with streets and sewage systems. d. They developed new techniques for producing items in metals. e. They traded their crafted items with other civilizations.
10. The ancient site of Mohenjo-daro is located in present-day a. Iran b. Bangladesh c. Pakistan d. Sri Lanka e. Nepal
11. The Mauryan ruler, Asoka, converted to Buddhism because a. Buddhist monks healed him after being wounded in a battle. b. most of his subjects were Buddhists and urged him to convert. c. his dying father requested that he stop his military goals and adopt a policy of non-violence. d. he saw a vision in the sky before a great battle confirming his empire over India. e. of the bloodshed he caused while conquering lands in Southern India.
12. What was the PRIMARY cause of the collapse of the Gupta Empire? a. The Delhi Sultanate conquered its lands. b. The last of the Gupta emperors died and left the empire in political chaos. c. Economic competition with Egypt weakened the wealth of the emperors. d. It became too weak to rule following a century of invasions by the Huns. e. Civil war between Muslim and Indian peoples weakened Gupta’s political strength. 13. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, Hindu kings ruled from “the city of victory” known as a. Vijayanagara. b. Delhi c. Calicut d. Lahore e. Mathura
14. Timurlane claimed to be a descendant of a. Alexander the Great. b. Genghis Khan. c. Attila the Hun. d. Marco Polo. e. Babur, “the Tiger.”
15. Akbar is considered to be the greatest Mughal ruler because he a. defeated and conquered neighboring countries. b. codified Indian law. c. united almost all of India. d. built the Taj Mahal. e. eliminated the caste system from Indian society.
16. How did Aurangzeb’s rule differ from that of his father, Shah Jahan? a. Aurangzeb embraced all other religions and gave them tax exemptions. b. Unlike his father, Aurangzeb invited renowned musicians to perform at this court. c. Aurangzeb sought to reform the religious practices that lined up with his Muslim faith. d. Using military force, Aurangzeb closed mosques throughout India. e. Aurangzeb gave members of his court gold and jewels so they would support his rule.
17. How many Sikh Gurus lived during the time of the Mughal Empire? a. Five b. Twenty c. Three d. Ten e. Fifty
18. The Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie is also known as the a. Dutch East India Company. b. Victorious Indian Campaign. c. Indian Trading Company. d. Campaign for Indian Independence. e. British East India Company. 19. The southern kingdoms in India’s Coromandel Coast were known for exporting a. gold. b. instruments. c. textiles. d. camels. e. spices.
20. The mansabdari system was created for the purpose of a. trading gold for spices. b. collecting taxes to pay for expansion. c. counting the number of India’s inhabitants. d. creating fair laws for various religious practices. e. choosing India’s military.
21. Which British monarch FIRST gave monopoly privileges to the East India Company in India? a. James I b. Victoria I c. Henry VIII d. Charles II e. Elizabeth I
22. The French trading company, the CIO, controlled trade in a. Calcutta. b. Bombay. c. Pondicherry. d. Delhi. e. Bengal.
23. In 1857, Siraj-ud-Daula, a Nawab in Bengal, was dethroned by EIC forces led by a. Robert Clive. b. John Charles. c. Fredrick Roberts. d. Lord Cornwallis. e. Sir William Jones.
24. The right of diwani is BEST described as the right to a. raise a military or army. b. hire the “untouchables” for service. c. collect taxes within an area. d. mint coins. e. vote in elections. 25. The word, zamindar, translates as a. peasant. b. king. c. deputy. d. tax. e. landowner.
26. Orientalists sought to ______Indian culture within India. a. change b. preserve c. adopt d. destroy e. replace
27. William Carey was BEST known as a(n) a. translator of Sanskrit. b. British builder and architect. c. Baptist missionary. d. highly decorated British soldier. e. wealthy Dutch trader.
28. To raise capital for building a railway network in India, private investors were guaranteed a minimum of ____ percent return on their investments. a. fifty b. twenty c. eighty d. five e. ten
29. Banned in 1828, ______is the term for the ritual burning of a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre. a. sati b. bishu c. kali d. teej e. pola
30. How did the British East India Company (EIC) gain an economic advantage over the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in India under Mughal rule? a. The EIC gave tax exemptions to Mughal rulers. b. The Mughal rulers gave the EIC exclusive rights for textile production throughout India. c. The EIC shifted from textile production to spice trading. d. The Mughal rulers allowed the VOC to produce a different coin. e. A Mughal ruler eliminated taxes on individual items produced by the EIC. 31. Nawabs were a. religious priests or holy men. b. English landowners in India. c. a governor under Mughal rule. d. autocratic rulers in Southern India. e. Indian soldiers under British rule.
32. The “Black Hole of Calcutta” is MOST associated with the reference of a. injustice. b. poverty. c. cruelty. d. independence e. discrimination.
33. After his defeat at Yorktown in the American War for Independence, Lord Cornwallis arrived in India and helped promote land reforms in Bengal known as the a. Bengali Land Act. b. Indian Resettlement Law. c. Revenue Settlement. d. Land Reformation Act. e. Permanent Settlement.
34. Thomas Babington Macaulay, an Anglicist, believed Indians a. retain their heritage by studying ancient Indian literature. b. be rigorously tested to separate those who should receive a formal education. c. learn the concepts of capitalism and combine its concepts with Indian culture. d. be educated in English in order to effectively participate in governance. e. should demand that all Indians, between the ages of 6 and 16, attend school.
35. What Indian crop did the EIC use to trade for Chinese tea? a. opium. b. wheat. c. cotton. d. dates. e. sugarcane.
36. The Indians who served in the EIC armies were called a. mercenaries. b. sepoys. c. the raj. d. jati. e. ghats. 37. The term “Indianization” was FIRST used to address reforms in the Indian a. military. b. civil service. c. trade. d. education system. e. religious institutions.
38. What effect did the 1957 Indian Rebellion have on British society? a. It increased the awareness of discrimination b. British citizens were not allowed to travel to India. c. It intensified British racism against Indians. d. The British no longer accepted Indians into their armed forces. e. Newspapers refused to print stories originating in India.
39. Which British Viceroy was responsible for the Partition of Bengal in 1905? a. Lord Curzon b. Lord Cornwallis c. Lord Mountbatten d. Sir Cyril Radcliffe e. The Earl of Elgin
40. The author who wrote “Tryst with Destiny” about the Indians’ ability for self-sufficiency and culture, was a. Attlee b. Gandhi c. Jinnah d. Nehru e. Radcliffe
41. Which British law made India a colony of the British Empire? a. Queen Victoria’s Proclamation of 1858. b. Colonial Inclusion Act of 1860. c. The Proclamation of British Rule, 1849. d. Government of India Act of 1858. e. The Indian Colonial Act of 1860.
42. Following the 1857 Indian Rebellion, the Peel Commission Report recommended changes in a. land grants. b. types of products that could be traded. c. taxation percentages. d. military policy. e. prison reform. 43. The Khilafat Movement a. sought Bengali independence from India. b. promoted educational reforms in Indian society. c. wanted to draw participation of Indian Muslims into politics. d. sought to hold elections for a new Caliph of Islam. e. organized Hindu territories in northern India.
44. The Salt March was an act of civil disobedience that resulted from a. poor drinking water in India’s largest cities. b. a British tax on salt. c. British laws that denied Indians the use salt or salt products. d. British soldiers salting Indian lands. e. a shortage of salt for Indian consumers.
45. Who was the first Indian elected to British Parliament by voters in London? a. Mohandas Gandhi b. Muhamad Ali Jinnah c. Bhim Rao Ambedkar d. Sarojini Naidu e. Dadabhai Naoroji
46. Gandhi’s philosophy of Satyagraha means a. peaceful resistance. b. respectful defiance. c. truth-struggle. d. non-violence. e. silent strength.
47. The rumor that triggered the 1857 Indian Rebellion was a. the sepoys would get a reduction in pay. b. sepoys would no longer be allowed to serve abroad. c. the gun cartridges were greased with cow and pig fat. d. the British set out to change Indian society. e. the Nawabs would be replaced by officers within the EIC.
48. The “Jewel in the Crown” of the British Empire was a. India as a new British colony. b. a fifteen-carat blue diamond from India. c. Queen Victoria’s title in India. d. the meaning of “India” as translated to English. e. the Taj Mahal. 49. Dr. Bhim Roa Ambedkar promoted a program that would create a. public schools for Indian children. b. exhibits of Indian artists throughout India. c. a fair tax system for all India. d. villages and communities for the Dalit class. e. committees to help unprivileged citizens find jobs in urban areas.
50. The first Prime Minister of India was a. Mohandas Gandhi b. Muhamad Ali Jinnah c. Bhim Rao Ambedkar d. Sarojini Naidu e. Jawaharlal Nehru.