NCERT/Textbook Solutions/Class VII/Civics

NCERT books are based upon the curriculum/syllabus defined by CBSE. These syllabus are periodically reviewed and revised. The NCERT book for a particular subject is divided into various chapters and every chapter has a set of questions following the chapter. This section provides answers to the questions at the end of each chapter in the Civics book, Social and Political Life, for Class-VII.

Chapter 01 On Equality Civics
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

 Question 1. In a democracy why is universal adult franchise important?

Answer Universal Adult Franchise is important in democracy as: (i) It is based on the principle of equality.according to rights of persons with disabilities search for the person is there the full participation in society they are to provide free and in patients who also stated that all public relations

(ii) It means that all adult (those who are 18 and above) citizens have the equal right to vote.

(iii) It does not discriminate on the basis of social or economic backgrounds.

(iv) It is an important aspects of democratic societies

 Question 2. Re-read the box on Article 15 and state two ways in which this Article addresses inequality?

Answer Article 15 in democracy of the constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, gender or place of birth. Two ways in which this Article addresses inequality: (i) It suggests States not to discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth or any of them. (ii) No citizen shall be subject to any disability, liability and restriction on grounds only of religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth or any of them.

 Question 3. In what ways was Omprakash Valmiki’s experience similar to that of the Ansaris?

Answer In following ways Omprakash Valmiki’s experience was similar to that of the Ansaris:

(i) Both of them discriminated by the society on the basis of their caste or religion.

(ii) Dignity and self respect of both of them get violated.

(iii) Both suffered from unequal treatment.

 Question 4. What do you understand by the term "all persons are equal before the law"? Why do you think it is important in a democracy?

Answer The term "all persons are equal before the law" means that everyone will be given justice by treating them equal. From the President of the country to the common people. It is important in a democracy because:

(i) Democracy suggests that no one should be treated on unequal basis because of their wealth and caste.

(ii)It also ensures that no one will be given more preference for the same crime.

(iii) It provide the people equal opportunity to defend themselves in public court.

(iv) It also reflects the true nature of democracy.

Chapter 02 Role of the Government in Health (Civics)
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

Questions 1. In this chapter you have read that health is a wider concept than illness. Look at this quote from the Constitution and explain the terms ‘living standard’ and 'public health' in your own words. An important part of the Constitution says it is the “duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health.”

Answer: Living Standard:-

(i) It means the condition in which people are living.

(ii) The facilities provided by the government in order to raise the standard living of people are measured in terms of comforts, wealth, goods or services.

(iii) Higher the standard of living of people higher the economy and vice versa. Thus it also reflects the economic condition for a country.

Public Health:-

(i) It means the general level of public health.

(ii) The Government provides free basic health facilities and low cost hospitals and medicines to their people.

(iii) It ensures that every person has right to get health facilities.

Questions 2. What are the different ways through which the government can take steps to provide healthcare for all? Discuss.

Answer: Different ways through which the government can take steps to provide healthcare for all:

(i) Establishing public healthcare at zonal level.

(ii) Setting up low cost government hospitals.

(iii) Health insurance for basic treatment.

(iv) Provision of clean drinking water and steps to check pollution.

(v) Generic medicines at low prices should be provided.

(vi) Healthcare programme and creating awareness.

(vii) Mobile clinic should be encouraged more in rural areas.

Questions 3. ‘Improvement in water and sanitation can control many diseases.’ Explain with the help of examples.

Answer: It is true that 'improvement in water and sanitation can control many diseases.The examples are provided below:-

(i) Contaminated water is the main reason for many diseases like cholera, jaundice etc.

(ii) By provision of clean drinking water, protection from water related diseases can be assured.

(iii) Poor sanitation is responsible for many communicable diseases.

(iv) Lack of proper sanitation also give rise to the birth of mosquitoes, several insects which affect the health of people.

(v) Proper sanitation will leads to hygienic condition which will surely control many diseases.

Chapter 03 How the State Government Works (Civics)
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

Questions 1. Use the terms 'constituency' and 'represent' to explain who an MLA is and how is the person elected?

Answer: MLA is the members of the legislative assembly who represent people and also form the government.

(i) Each state has a legislative assembly.

(ii) Each state is divided into different areas or constituencies.

(iii) From each constituency, the people elect one representative who then becomes a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).

(iv) MLA is elected by the people who contest in election by voting.

Questions 2. How did some MLAs become Ministers? Explain.

Answer: Given below are the steps of how MLAs become Ministers:-

(i) After the elections, a political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number of constituencies in a state became the ruling party.

(ii) The MLAs belonging to the ruling party will elect their leader who will become the chief minister.

(iii) The chief minister then selects other people as ministers.

(iv) The Governor of the state then appoints the chief minister and other ministers.

Questions 3. Why should decisions taken by the Chief Minister and other ministers be debated in the Legislative Assembly?

Answer: Decisions taken by the Chief Minister and other ministers should be debated in the Legislative Assembly because:-

(i) In a democratic government, participant is important from each and every section.

(ii) Thus, whatever decisions are being taken have to be approved by the members of the legislative assembly.

(iii) These members then ask questions, debate an important issue, decide where money should be spent, etc.

(iv) After that, they have the main authority to finalize the decision.

Questions 4. What was the problem in Patalpuram? What discussion/action was taken by the following?

(a) Public meeting

(b) Legislative Assembly

(c) Press conference

(d) Chief Minister

Answer:

Main problem in Patalpuram:

(i) Lack of proper sanitation and hygiene.

(ii) Scarcity of clean drinking water.

(iii) Not proper medical facilities.

(iv) Spread of diarrohea.

Discussion/action was taken by the following:

(a) Public meeting: Demand for the improvement of the healthcare and sanitation facilities from the officials.

(b) Legislative Assembly: intend to supply drinking water to every village through tanker trucks and also explained the steps the government had taken. Collection of garbage.

(c) Press conference: Organised by the health minister. Newspapers and the media widely discuss the issue and the government has to respond by holding press conference.

(d) Chief Minister: Visited Patalpuram district. They went to visit the families who had lost their relatives and also visited people in the hospitals. Promised funds for the works and also planned to start a campaign to inform people.

Questions 5. What is the difference between the work that MLAs do in the Assembly and the work done by government departments?

Answer: Difference between the work that MLAs do in the Assembly and the work done by government departments are:-

(i) Act of making laws on certain issues is done by MLAs in the Legislative Assembly of each state while the implementation of these laws is done by various government departments.

(ii) Whatever work is done by these government departments has to be approved by the members of the legislative assembly or MLAs.

Chapter 04 Growing up as Boys and Girls Civics
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

Questions 1. Are the statements given alongside true or false. Support your answer with the use of an example –

a. All societies do not think similarly about the roles that boys and girls play.

b. Our society does not make distinctions between boys and girls when they are growing up.

c. Women who stay at home do not work.

d. The work that women do is less valued than that of men.

Answer:

(a) True. In most societies, the roles men and women play or the work they do are not valued equally. They do not have the same status. It is supposed that household works must be done by women while men do the office work.

(b) False. The distinctions between boys and girls begins from a very young age. For example, both of them given different toys to play with. Boys are usually given cars to play with and girls dolls. Additionally, they were told how girls must dress, what games boys should play, how girls need to talk softly or boys need to be tough.

(c) False. The responsibility of housework i.e. looking after children, cooking, washing clothes, cleaning, looking after etc. bear a lot of pressure and hardwork. Even after that, this is not recognized as work and presumed as natural work of women. While women work right from morning to the night in household duties.

(d) True. As men get paid for what they are doing in the offices and earns the livelihood while a woman who is working from morning to night in household duties are not paid for. The household work is considered as natural duty of a woman and thus is less valued than that of men.

Questions 2. Housework is invisible and unpaid work. Housework is physically demanding. Housework is time consuming. Write in your own words what is meant by the terms ‘invisible’, ‘physically demanding’, and ‘time consuming’? Give one example of each based on the household tasks undertaken by women in your home

Answer: Invisible: The things which can't be seen. The household work is invisible which can be seen only when it is not done.

Physically demanding: Demands hardwork and efforts. Cleaning of floors and washing of clothes are physically demanding works.

Time consuming: Work which takes a lot of time to be completed. Cooking is time consuming work.

Questions 3. Make a list of toys and games that boys typically play and another for girls. If there is a difference between the two lists, can you think of some reasons why this is so? Does this have any relationship to the roles children have to play as adults?

Answer:

Toys and games that boys typically play: Cars, Toy guns, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Kabaddi etc. Toys and games that girls typically play: Kitchen set, Doll, Teddy, Badminton, Skipping etc.

Reasons for the difference in the list of games:

(i) Mentality of the society.

(ii) Physical appearence of the body.

(iii) The thought that girls need to talk softly and boys need to be tough. Yes, it does have relationship to the roles children have to play as adult as men are supposed to work outside in office and earn money while women are supposed to do household works.

Questions 4. If you have someone working as a domestic help in your house or locality talk to her and find out a little bit more about her life – Who are her family members? Where is her home? How many hours does she work? How much does she get paid? Write a small story based on these details.

Answer:

Chapter 05 Women Change the World Civics
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

Questions 1. How do you think stereotypes, about what women can or cannot do, affect women’s right to equality?

Answer: Stereotypes about what women can or cannot do affect women’s right to equality:

(i) They do not get the same support that boys get.

(ii) They are considered inferior to men.

(iii) They are not sent to educational institutions.

(iv) They are promoted to see marriage as their future instead of higher studies.

(v) They are not paid equally to men for the same work.

(vi) They are assigned household works as their priority job.

Questions 2. List one reason why learning the alphabet was so important to women like Rashsundari Devi, Ramabai and Rokeya.

Answer: Rashsundari Devi, Ramabai and Rokeya are able to achieve their goal only by education. they were able to put an impact on the society by writing their ideas or stories or setting up schools through which can never be achieved without learning. Thus, learning the alphabet was so important because it will not only help them in their day to day social life but also help them in pursuing their education and dream.

Questions 3. “Poor girls drop out of school because they are not interested in getting an education.” Re-read the last paragraph on page 62 and explain why this statement is not true.

Answer: The statement “Poor girls drop out of school because they are not interested in getting an education.” is not true because:

(i) In many parts of the country, especially in rural and poor areas, there may not even be proper schools nor teachers who teach on a regular basis.

(ii) Parents are not willing to send their girl child to distant schools due to lack of transportation.

(iii) Unable to bear the cost of education.

(iv) Boys get preference over girls for seeking education.

(v) Sometimes, their teacher and classmates discriminate against them.

Questions 4. Can you describe two methods of struggle that the women’s movement used to raise issues? If you had to organise a struggle against stereotypes, about what women can or cannot do, what method would you employ from the ones that you have read about? Why would you choose this particular method?

Answer: Two methods of struggle that the women’s movement used to raise issues:

Campaigning: It is an important part of the women’s movement which is used to fight discrimination and violence against women. Women work in a organized and collective manner to achieve their certain and specific goal.

Protesting: Women use public rallies and demonstrations as a very powerful weapon for drawing attention to injustices by the method of protesting. The women’s movement raises its voice when violations against women take place.

I would choose campaigning as a method to struggle against stereotypes. In this method, we use to get clear idea about the thought of people about what they want to seek justice for the discrimination against women. We got to familiar with their opinion about stereotypes and their method of eradication right from the society level. It is also a peaceful and organised method.

Chapter 06 Understanding Media Civics
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

 Question 1. In what ways does the media play an important role in a democracy?

Answer

Role of media played in democracy:

(i) It is the backbone or the fourth pillar of a democracy which makes us aware of social, political and economical activities.

(ii) Provides news and discussing events taking place in the country and the world.

(iii) It gives people information about how government works.

(iv) It also give information about the election related news and results.

(v) It raises the issues or problems related to the common people in front of politicians.

(vi) It also acts as a reminder for the politicians or ministers about their promises.

 Question 2. Can you give this diagram a title? What do you understand about the link between media and big business from this diagram?

Answer

The title given to this diagram is "Media and Business house money cycle". From this diagram, we understood that there is a cyclic flow of money between media and big business.

(i) Media shows news of interest to the people on radio, TV and newspaper.

(ii) Big business houses advertise their products through media to attract people.

(iii) Media show these advertisements by taking some charges and makes profit.

(iv) People buy these products of the big business and thus the cost and advertisements along with some profit returns to them.

 Question 3. You have read about the ways in which the media ‘sets the agenda’. What kind of effect does this have in a democracy? Provide two examples to support your point of view.

Answer

Effect of this agenda in a democracy:

(i) It influences the thoughts, feelings and actions of the people.

(ii) It brings attention of the people to the various issues of the people.

(iii) Somehow, it has influence in our lives and in shaping our thoughts and thus sets the agenda.

Two examples in support:

(i) The media drew our attention to alarming levels of pesticides in cola drinks. They published reports that indicated the high level of pesticides and thus made us aware of the need to regularly monitor these colas according to international quality and safety standards.

(ii) It published the news of the mass numbers of suicide committed by the farmers which leads to large scale movement and people support and thus forced the government to look further on this issues.

Chapter 07 Understanding Advertising Civics
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

 Question 1. What do you understand by the word brand? List two reasons why building brands is central to advertising?

Answer

Brand:- It means stamping a product with a particular name or sign in order to differentiate it from other products in the market. Two reasons why building brand is central advertising:

(i) It creates a positive image of the product in the eyes of the consumer and compel them to buy it.

(ii) It differentiates the product from the local or other competitive products in the market.

 Question 2. Choose two of your favourite print advertisements. Now, look at each of these and answer the following questions:

a. What visuals and text is being used in these advertisements to attract my attention?

b. What values are being promoted in these advertisements?

c. Who is this advertisement speaking to and who is it leaving out?

d. If you could not afford the brand that is being advertised how would you feel?

Answer

Advertisement 1: Filter your Life

a. It shows the tagline of "Filter your life" by using the plant grown in the filter of the cigarette.

b. It promotes the values of "Smoking is injurious to health".

c. This advertisement speak to all those who do smoking and leave out them who don't do.

d. I feel nothing if i could not afford the product but appreciate it as it spread social values.

Advertisement 2: Show your child you care

a. It shows the tagline of "Show your child you care" by using the soap, child and mother.

b. It promotes the values of "Mothers love for their child".

c. This advertisement speak to all those women having small child and leaving out them who don't have.

d. I feel nothing if could not afford the product as there are lot of other care soap for baby available in the market.

 Question 3. Can you explain two ways in which you think advertising affects issues of equality in a democracy?

Answer Two ways in which advertising affects issues of equality in a democracy:

(i) It only focus on the lives of the rich and famous and forget about the issues of poverty, discrimination and dignity.

(ii) Advertising tends to promote a certain lack of respect for the poor as in a democracy, all people are equal and should be able to lead a life of dignity.

 Question 4. Making an advertisement requires a lot of creativity. Let us imagine a situation in which a manufacturer has just made a new watch. She says that she wants to sell this watch to school children. She comes to your class and asks you all to create a brand name as well as an advertisement for the watch. Divide the class into small groups and each group create an advertisement for this watch. Share it with the class.

Chapter 08 Markets Around Us Civics
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

 Question 3.Explain how a chain of markets is formed. What purpose does it serve?

Answer It is a series of markets that are connected like links in a chain because products pass from one market to another.

(i) Vegetables are produced on farms.

(ii) The vegetable wholesale trader buys goods in large quantities.

(iii) These will then be sold to other traders.

(iv) Retailers took these vegetables to the market where consumer buy these.

Purpose it serves:

(i) Consumer can easily buy goods of far off places in the local markets.

(ii) Factories and producers need not to find their consumer directly.

(iii) It encourages production and new opportunities are created for people to earn.

(iv) Provides employment to the large numbers of people.

 Question 4. 'All persons have equal rights to visit any shop in a marketplace.’ Do you think this is true of shops with expensive products? Explain with examples.

Answer All persons have equal rights to visit any shop in a marketplace but this is however not true for shops with expensive products. For example:

(i) Big commercial shops don't allow the poor people to enter their shops sometimes. They considered them as inferior and thought as not able to buy their products.

(ii) People from lower income group cannot afford to buy branded products and hesitate to enter the shop.

 Question 5. 'Buying and selling can take place without going to a marketplace.' Explain this statement with the help of examples.

Answer (i) Buying and selling can take place without going to a marketplace as there are many e-commerce companies providing home delivery for free.

(ii) People can order products from these companies and get it delivered to their home without visiting the market.

(iii) Some local shops also provide order on phone facility and people can order their good just by a call.

(iv) Plastic money and internet banking made it easier to provide alternate source of payment for buying from the virtual market.

Chapter 09 A Shirt in the Market Civics
The Questions with Answers of this chapter are provided below:-

 Question 1. What made Swapna sell the cotton to the trader instead of selling at the Kurnool cotton market?

Answer Swapna sold the cotton to the trader instead of selling at the Kurnool cotton market because:

(i) At the beginning of the cropping season, Swapna had borrowed Rs 2,500 from the trader at a very high interest rate to buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides for cultivation.

(ii) So, she promised to sell all her cotton to him.

 Question 2. Describe the conditions of employment as well as the wages of workers in the garment exporting factory. Do you think the workers get a fair deal?

Answer Conditions of employment in the garment exporting factory:

(i) Workers are employed on a temporary basis means they can be asked to leave anytime when not needed.

(ii) They have pressure to produce quality products in limited time.

(iii) They have to do hardwork for long hours. But, the workers don't get a fair deal as they are not even paid the minimal wages for their work. They are being exploited by their employer and their work is also temporary. They also don't have respect for the work they do.

 Question 3. Think of something common that we use. It could be sugar, tea, milk, pen, paper, pencil, etc. Discuss through what chain of markets this reaches you. Can you think of the people that help in the production or trade?

Answer Chain of markets to produce Milk is first produced in

(i) Dairy cooperatives first purchase milk at different locations.

(ii) After that, milk is transported to the milk factories by the dairy cooperatives.

(iii) Milk is pasteurised in the factories and are packed.

(iv) Packets are milk are then given to the traders which transport them to cities where wholesaler purchase these.

(v) Retailers purchase from the wholesalers then sell these packets of milk to the consumers in the open market in booths.

Note:- You can also use the example given in the question number 4.

 Question 4. Arrange the statements given alongside in the correct order and then fill in the numbers in the cotton bolls accordingly. The first two have already been done for you.

1. Swapna sells the cotton to the trader.

2. Customers buy these shirts in a supermarket.

3. Trader sells cotton to the Ginning Mill.

4. Garment exporters buy the cloth from merchants for making shirts.

5. Yarn dealers or merchants give the yarn to the weavers.

6. The exporter sells shirts to the businessperson from the USA.

7.Spinning mill buys the cotton and sells yarn to the yarn dealers.

8.Weavers return with the cloth.

9. Ginning mill cleans the cotton and makes it into bales.

Answer 1. Swapna sells the cotton to the trader.

3. Trader sells cotton to the Ginning Mill.

9. Ginning mill cleans the cotton and makes it into bales.

7.Spinning mill buys the cotton and sells yarn to the yarn dealers.

5. Yarn dealers or merchants give the yarn to the weavers.

8.Weavers return with the cloth.

4. Garment exporters buy the cloth from merchants for making shirts.

6. The exporter sells shirts to the businessperson from the USA.

2. Customers buy these shirts in a supermarket.