Social Studies Class IX - Freedom to Lead

Flashcards covering the Class IX Social Studies syllabus including Earth science, geography, agricultural practices, economics, history of revolutions, and civic rights.

Childline 1098

A 24-hour national helpline and free service facility dedicated to saving children from dangers, abuse, and being compelled to work.

Saffron (Kesaria)

The top panel of the Indian National Flag that denotes renunciation or non-attachment.

Ashoka Chakra

A navy blue design in the center of the flag's white panel with 24 equally spaced spokes, representing the wheel of the law of dharma.

Flag Code of India

A detailed set of requirements regarding the dignity and honor of the National Flag, including rules for display, hoisting, and disposal.

Pale Blue Dot

A photo of Earth taken from space, noted by scientist Carl Sagan to show Earth as a tiny pixel that contains all of human history.

Geocentric theory

An initial theory proposed by Ptolemy stating that the Earth was firm and stationary while all other celestial objects went around it.

Heliocentric System (Sun Centered theory)

Successfully proposed by Copernicus, this theory states that the Earth moves around the Sun and stars are similar to our Sun.

Big Bang

The theory that the universe started some $13.7$ billion years ago in a massive explosion, eventually forming galaxies, stars, and planets.

Orbit

The definite path on a uniform plane that a planet, such as Earth, follows as it revolves around the Sun.

Year

The time it takes for Earth to complete one revolution around the sun, which is $365\frac{1}{4}$ days at a speed of $1,07,200\,km/h$.

Crust

The outer part of the Earth, consisting of rocks and going up to a depth of $100\,kms$, making up $1\%$ of the Earth's volume.

Mantle

The layer existing from $100\,kms$ to $2,900\,kms$ deep, consisting mainly of silicates and making up $16\%$ of the Earth's volume.

Core

The innermost layer of Earth ($2,900$ to $6,376\,kms$ deep) composed of heavy substances like iron and nickel, making up $83\%$ of its volume.

Alfred Wagener

The German meteorologist and geophysicist who introduced the theory of continental drift in the early 20th century.

Pangaea

A hypothetical massive supercontinent meaning 'whole land' that existed 220 million years ago before breaking apart.

Laurasia

The northern block formed when Pangaea broke up, comprising present-day North America, Greenland, and Eurasia north of the Indian subcontinent.

Gondwana land

The southern block formed from Pangaea, including present-day South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Arabia, Malaysia, East Indies, Australia, and Antarctica.

Grid

A network of imaginary latitudes and longitudes drawn on a globe to help locate places and determine time and climate.

Equator

The horizontal circle exactly in the middle of the globe, designated as $0^{\circ}$ latitude, dividing Earth into the northern and southern hemispheres.

Prime Meridian

The $0^{\circ}$ longitude that passes through the astronomical observatory at Greenwich, England, also called the Greenwich meridian.

Indian Standard Time (IST)

The standard time for India based on the meridian of $82^{\circ} 30'$ Eastern longitude, which is $+5\frac{1}{2}$ hours ahead of Greenwich time.

Lithosphere

The solid crust or hard top part of the Earth made of rocks and minerals and covered with soil.

Hydrosphere

The realm of water on Earth, including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, icecaps, and groundwater.

Atmosphere

The thin layer of air, approximately $1,000\,kms$ thick, composed of gases, water vapour, and dust particles surrounding the Earth.

Biosphere

The realm of life containing all living organisms, from bacteria to plants and animals, formed by the intersection of land, water, and air.

Plate tectonics

The process where massive bases of rocks called plates float on the mantle and push against one another, causing geological activity.

Sea-floor spreading

The process where new ocean floor is created by lava rising from mid-ocean ridges and spreading laterally, widening the ocean basin.

Pacific Ring of Fire

A pattern of high volcanic and earthquake activity occurring around the edges of the Pacific Ocean basin along plate boundaries.

Weathering

The gradual disintegration of rocks caused by atmospheric forces like heat, water, and chemicals.

Erosion

The active wearing away of the Earth's surface by moving agents like flowing water, wind, and glaciers.

Gorge

A very narrow valley with steep sides formed by a river cutting through hard rock, such as the Indus Gorge in Kashmir.

Ox-bow lake

A cut-off lake formed when a meander loop of a river in a flood plain is severed from the main stream.

Moraines

The accumulation of debris, including till, pebbles, and sand, deposited by a melting glacier.

Mushroom Rock

An erosional feature in deserts where wind erodes the lower section of a rock more than the upper part, creating a mushroom-like shape.

Loess

Fertile, coherent, and porous soil formed from fine dust blown beyond desert limits and deposited on neighboring lands.

Hydrological Cycle

The continuous circulation of water in liquid, solid, and gaseous phases between the oceans, atmosphere, land, and living organisms.

Salinity

The total content of dissolved salts in sea water, usually expressed as parts per thousand ($\%_{0}$) or PPT, with an average of $35\%_{0}$.

Coriolis effect

The impact of Earth's rotation that causes winds to move slightly to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.

Chinook

A hot local wind, also known as the 'snow eater,' that moves down the Rocky Mountains in North America.

Relative humidity

The ratio between the actual amount of water vapour the air holds and the maximum it could hold at a given temperature and pressure.

Orographic rainfall

Rainfall that occurs when moist wind is forced to rise over a mountain range, resulting in heavy precipitation on the windward side.

Symbiotic

A relationship between different life forms where they live by exchanging essential substances with each other.

Kyoto Protocol

A 1997 international agreement in Japan to protect the Earth from global warming by reducing greenhouse gas releases to less than $5.2\%$.

Simple Subsistence Farming

Agriculture practiced on small patches of land using primitive tools like a hoe or digging stick, often using 'slash and burn' methods.

Rabi crops

Crops sown in winter (October to December) and harvested in summer (April to June), such as wheat, barley, and gram.

Kharif crops

Crops grown at the onset of monsoon and harvested in September-October, including paddy, maize, and cotton.

Zaid season

A short cropping season during summer months between Rabi and Kharif, producing crops like watermelon and cucumber.

Sericulture

The rearing of silkworms for the production of silk fiber.

Basic industries

Industries producing essential goods like machines, electricity, and minerals that serve as a base to support other factories.

Agglomeration economies

The advantages offered by urban centers when many industries come together to make use of shared services like banking and transport.

Organised manufacturing units

Large factories that are generally governed by laws to provide safety, medical benefits, and better salaries to workers.

Outsourcing

A form of organization where companies get specific activities, like security or accounting, done by outside agencies rather than in-house.

Demand deposits

Bank deposits that can be withdrawn by the account holder at any time, functioning as a medium of exchange like cash.

Collateral

An asset owned by the borrower (land, building, gold) that serves as a guarantee to a lender until the loan is repaid.

Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

Small groups (usually 15-20 women) who pool savings and provide small loans to members to promote self-employment.

Inflation

A general and continuous increase in the price of goods and services over a long period, reducing the purchasing power of money.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

A measure that tracks changes in the retail prices of a specific set of consumer goods consumed by different types of families.

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

A comprehensive indirect tax system launched in India in 2017 that replaced variety of earlier taxes on production and sale.

Black money

Income that is kept hidden from tax authorities on which required taxes have not been paid.

Glorious Revolution

The 1688 bloodless transformation in England where William of Orange took the throne and parliamentary democracy began.

Constitutional Monarchy

A system of government where the power of the monarch is limited by a Parliament and laws.

Tithes

A tax levied by the Church in 18th century France, comprising one-tenth of the agricultural produce.

Taille

A direct tax in 18th century France paid by the Third Estate to the state.

Jacobins

The most successful political club during the French Revolution, consisting of small shopkeepers, artisans, and workers.

Guillotine

A device used for beheading persons, famously used during the Reign of Terror in France.

Bismarck

The Chancellor of Prussia who achieved the Unification of Germany by 1871 through a policy of 'blood and iron'.

Luddism

A protest movement (1811-17) lead by General Ned Ludd featuring assaults on machines that workers felt threatened their livelihoods.

Socialism

An ideology calling for public ownership rather than private control of property and natural resources for the benefit of all society.

Apartheid Policy

The system of racial discrimination and segregation against Black Africans and Indians in South Africa established by the British.

Haciendas

Vast estates in Latin America owned by Spanish landlords that used unfree Indian or African slave labor.

Munroe Doctrine

A 1823 policy stating that European powers could no longer colonize American continents and the US would not interfere in European affairs.

Opium Wars

Conflicts between China and England (1839-42) after China attempted to stop the illegal smuggling of opium by European traders.

Jhum Cultivation

A technique of shifting cultivation used by Adivasis in India where patches of forest were cleared and burnt for crops.

Begar

Free labor forced upon Adivasis and villagers by colonial officials or contractors.

Alluri Seetha Rama Raju

A revolutionary leader who led a protest movement against the Madras Forest Act of 1882 in the border areas of Andhra Pradesh.

Komaram Bheem

The tribal leader from the Gond community who fought against the Nizam's rule with the slogan 'Jal, Jangal, Jameen'.

Arab Spring

The revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests for democracy that swept across the Arab world beginning in 2010.

Aung San Suu Kyi

The central figure in the struggle for democracy in Myanmar and leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Writ

An authority given to the High Court or Supreme Court to issue directions to the government to protect Fundamental Rights.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

A legal system allowing any person or organization to file a case on behalf of a group of people whose rights are being denied.

POCSO Act (2012)

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, intended to protect children from sexual assault, harassment, and iconography.

Lok Adalat

Known as the 'peoples’ court,' it provides free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of society.

Terrorism

Anti-social mental actions intended to create fear and forcibly inculcate ideology by threatening others.