What is Social Science?
You drink milk with breakfast. Before it reaches your flat it is collected from farms, processed, carried in vans and sold by a shop. One glass depends on many people working together.
Social Science is the systematic study of human society: how people live together, how their surroundings shape life, how governments work, how economies run, and how the past and the present connect.
Key idea 1: It asks why and how — Natural sciences such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology study nature. Social Science studies society, institutions, cultures and human interactions, and explains why things happen, not only what happened.
- Easy: Counting how many buses run in a town is information; asking why the number grew is Social Science.
- Medium: Two villages have different main occupations. Social Science looks at land, water, history and markets to explain this.
- Exam-type: Society is not run by chance; history, geography, institutions, resources and human choices shape it.
In the figure: Each part of a normal day depends on a system built by many people (builders, farmers, planners, teachers, engineers).
Key idea 2: Look for change and connection — Choose a change in your locality (a new road, a shop that closed, a new app). Ask: what was it earlier, what changed, what caused it, and how did it affect people? Seeing these links makes society one connected story.
- Easy: A tea stall now takes online payment. That is a change.
- Medium: Cause: more people own phones. Effect: fewer people carry cash.
- Exam-type: Report a local change using four questions: earlier, change, cause, effect.
Social Science explains what happens, why it happens and how things are linked.
Thinking it is only memorising dates and definitions. The chapter says it is about understanding people, places, society, culture and power.
Ask three questions of any event. Memory clue: WWH = What happened? Why? How is it linked?
Spot the difference
| Natural science | Social Science |
|---|---|
| Studies the natural world | Studies society and people |
| Example: why ice melts | Example: why people move to cities |
Practice questions
- 1What does Social Science study?
- 2Name two natural sciences.
- 3Which question is a Social Science question: 'Why does iron rust?' or 'Why do people migrate to cities?'
- 4Why does a glass of milk show cooperation among many people?
- 5Give one example of a system that society builds and runs.
- 6What four questions help you study a local change?
- 7Your lane got a new streetlight. Write one cause and one effect.
- 8A friend says Social Science is only dates to learn. Reply in two lines.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Human society, institutions, cultures and interactions.
- 2Physics and Chemistry (Biology also).
- 3Why do people migrate to cities?
- 4Farmers, processors, drivers and shopkeepers all work to bring it to you.
- 5Roads, schools, markets or electricity networks.
- 6What was it earlier, what changed, what caused it, how did it affect people?
- 7Cause: safety complaints by residents. Effect: people feel safer walking at night.
- 8It is about understanding people, places, society and power through evidence and reasoning; dates are only a help.
Time, Traditions and Evidence
Your grandmother can tell how your town looked fifty years ago. When you compare her story with an old photograph and a record, you are doing what social scientists do.
Continuity and change means seeing what stays the same and what changes over time. Social Science explains both, using observation, reasoning and evidence from many sources.
Key idea 1: Societies change slowly — Early communities depended directly on nature. Over time people learnt to grow crops, keep animals, settle in villages, make tools, trade goods and organise governance. Villages grew into towns and towns into cities.
- Easy: Farming allowed people to stay in one place.
- Medium: A big market town forms where trade routes meet.
- Exam-type: Order the growth: nature → crops and animals → villages → towns → cities.
In the figure: Settlements grew step by step as people learnt to farm, trade and govern.
Key idea 2: A long tradition of inquiry — Early Indian thinkers valued discussion, questioning and logical reasoning. The Pañchamahābhūtas (earth, water, fire, air, space) saw nature as one connected system. 'Vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam' means the world is one family. The Arthaśhāstra, attributed to Kauṭilya about 2,300 years ago, discussed administration, taxation and the duties of rulers.
- Easy: Pañchamahābhūtas are five great elements.
- Medium: The Arthaśhāstra shows that thinking about governance is very old.
- Exam-type: Social scientists use interviews, surveys, documents and comparisons, and prefer many sources.
Explanations must be supported by evidence gathered from more than one source.
Thinking the past has no link with today. The chapter says the past shapes the present and today's actions shape the future.
Three old ideas to recall. Memory clue: P-V-A = Pañchamahābhūtas, Vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam, Arthaśhāstra.
Spot the difference
| Idea | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pañchamahābhūtas | Five great elements; nature as one system |
| Vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam | The world is one family |
| Arthaśhāstra | Early text on administration and economy |
Practice questions
- 1Which settlement comes right after villages in the chapter's order?
- 2Write the five Pañchamahābhūtas.
- 3What does 'vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam' mean?
- 4Why do social scientists use many sources?
- 5What is 'continuity and change'?
- 6Name two things the Arthaśhāstra discussed.
- 7Your town's pottery craft is 200 years old but its sales are now online. What continues and what changes?
- 8Why is the Pañchamahābhūtas idea called an early attempt to see nature as a system?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Towns.
- 2Earth, water, fire, air, space.
- 3The world is one family.
- 4So that explanations are supported by evidence.
- 5What stays the same and what changes over time.
- 6Administration and taxation (also duties of rulers, economic management).
- 7The craft continues; the way of selling changes.
- 8It links natural processes, the human body and the environment.
The Four Core Disciplines and Geography
A drought hits a district. Crops dry up (environment), farmers earn less (economy), the government sends relief (politics), families move to cities (society), and old methods of saving water are remembered (culture).
Social Science is a group of related disciplines. In Grades 9–10 it mainly draws from Geography, History, Political Science and Economics; Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology and Psychology belong to the wider family.
Key idea 1: Each discipline has its own question — Geography asks where things are and why; History asks how societies changed; Political Science asks how power and decisions work; Economics asks how resources are produced, shared and used.
- Easy: Map of rivers – Geography.
- Medium: Why a law was passed – Political Science.
- Exam-type: A heatwave raises vegetable prices and leads to a relief scheme – Geography, Economics and Political Science together.
In the figure: Four disciplines look at the same society from four sides.
Key idea 2: Geography — It studies location and distribution of places, objects, materials and people, and how people and their surroundings affect each other. It joins spatial and time views. It uses maps, globes, atlases, GIS and infographics. India's long coastline helped contact with Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia.
- Easy: A globe shows the Earth's shape.
- Medium: GIS helps map a village.
- Exam-type: Geography explains why agriculture flourishes in some regions but not in others.
No single discipline can explain society fully; they work best together.
Thinking Geography is only capitals and maps. It also explains why things are located where they are.
Remember the four. Memory clue: GHPE = Get Help, Please, Everyone (Geography, History, Political Science, Economics).
Spot the difference
| Discipline | Main question |
|---|---|
| Geography | Where and why there? |
| History | How did it change? |
| Political Science | Who decides and how? |
| Economics | How are resources used? |
Practice questions
- 1Name the four core disciplines of Grades 9–10.
- 2Which discipline studies the Earth and its people?
- 3Which discipline studies how power is shared?
- 4Name two tools of Geography.
- 5Which discipline asks how societies change over time?
- 6In a drought, which discipline studies relief measures?
- 7A flood in a town: write one Geography and one Economics question.
- 8Why is Social Science a group and not a single subject?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Geography, History, Political Science, Economics.
- 2Geography.
- 3Political Science.
- 4Maps and GIS (also globes, atlases, infographics).
- 5History.
- 6Political Science.
- 7Geography: why does this area flood? Economics: how did the flood change farmers' income?
- 8Society is complex; each discipline shows one side.
History and Its Sources
A museum shows an old coin, a stone inscription and a palm-leaf book. Each tells a different part of the same story, like different pieces of a puzzle.
History is the study of the human past. Sources are the evidence historians use: literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic.
Key idea 1: Ways of knowing the past — The itihāsa-purāṇa tradition keeps cultural memory through stories. Modern history relies on empirical evidence and tools such as archaeology, human genetics and carbon-14 dating. Genealogical records trace family lineage; folklore and revenue documents also help.
- Easy: A story passed on by elders is an oral tradition.
- Medium: Carbon-14 dating helps fix timelines.
- Exam-type: Empirical evidence is information collected by observation or experiment.
In the figure: Four kinds of source: books, remains, inscriptions and coins.
Key idea 2: The four kinds of sources — Literary: travelogues, memoirs, letters, manuscripts. Archaeological: monuments, excavated sites, artefacts, sculptures. Epigraphic: texts or decrees carved on stone or metal. Numismatic: coins, currency and medals that show rulers, trade and culture.
- Easy: A temple inscription is epigraphic.
- Medium: A king's coin is numismatic.
- Exam-type: Historians combine many sources to understand social realities.
Use more than one kind of source; each shows a different side of the past.
Thinking only written books are sources. Monuments, coins and inscriptions are sources too.
Four sources. Memory clue: LAEN = Let's Always Examine Neatly (Literary, Archaeological, Epigraphic, Numismatic).
Spot the difference
| Source | Example |
|---|---|
| Literary | Travelogue, manuscript |
| Archaeological | Excavated figurine |
| Epigraphic | Stone inscription |
| Numismatic | King's coin |
Practice questions
- 1Define history in one line.
- 2Give one example of an epigraphic source.
- 3What do coins help historians study?
- 4What is a genealogical record?
- 5Name two scientific methods historians use.
- 6A terracotta figurine from a dig: which source type?
- 7A historian wants to know about trade in a kingdom. Which two sources help together?
- 8Why is one source often not enough?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1The study of the human past.
- 2A Brahmi inscription on a pillar.
- 3Rulers, trade, economy and culture.
- 4A record that traces family lineage and ancestry.
- 5Carbon-14 dating and archaeology (also human genetics).
- 6Archaeological.
- 7Coins and written or inscribed records.
- 8Each source shows only one side of the past.
Political Science, Economics and Why We Study
Your village council discusses where to dig a new well and listens to residents. Meanwhile a shop owner decides how much to stock. One is about power and decisions, the other about choosing with limited resources.
Political Science studies governance: how power is shared, decisions are made and policies are applied. Economics studies how societies use limited resources to meet needs through production, exchange and distribution.
Key idea 1: Political Science — It studies constitutions, governments and State institutions, social movements, nation building and foreign policy. In India the Panchayati Raj system is grassroots democracy. Early Indian thought linked dharma, artha and rājadharma, and saw power as a responsibility.
- Easy: A panchayat gives villagers a voice in local planning.
- Medium: Rājadharma means the duties of the ruler.
- Exam-type: The Arthaśhāstra is a foundational text on administration.
In the figure: Social Science prepares informed citizens for public life.
Key idea 2: Economics and the purpose — Consumers decide what to buy, producers what to make, governments frame policies. India was long a leading economy; colonial rule disrupted it, causing poverty, famines and decline of traditional industries; after independence the rebuilding began. Social Science helps citizens understand diversity, rights and duties, and shared challenges like climate change.
- Easy: A buyer comparing prices makes an economic decision.
- Medium: Sustainable growth meets present needs without harming future generations.
- Exam-type: Studying the past, present and future together helps make wiser choices.
Power is a responsibility, and resources must be used wisely and fairly.
Thinking Political Science is only about elections. It also covers constitutions, movements and foreign policy.
Two questions. Memory clue: PE = Power → Responsibility; Economics → Choices from limited resources.
Spot the difference
| Political Science | Economics |
|---|---|
| Power and decisions | Resources and needs |
| Panchayati Raj, constitution | Markets, GDP, Budget |
Practice questions
- 1What does Political Science study?
- 2What does Economics study?
- 3What is Panchayati Raj an example of?
- 4Who decides what to buy in the economy?
- 5Name one effect of colonial rule on India's economy.
- 6Meaning of sustainable growth?
- 7Why is it useful to ask questions about public issues?
- 8How does Social Science connect past, present and future?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Governance, power, decisions and State institutions.
- 2How societies use limited resources to meet needs.
- 3Grassroots democracy and local self-governance.
- 4Consumers.
- 5Poverty, famines or decline of traditional industries.
- 6Meeting present needs without harming future generations.
- 7It helps understand causes, effects and solutions.
- 8Past decisions shape the present, and today's actions will shape the future.