🔖 FIRST YEAR HIGHER SECONDARY EXAMINATION, MARCH 2026
Part III – HISTORY (Answer Key)
⏳ Cool-off: 15 min | Time: 2½ Hours
🎯 Max: 80 Scores (Map included)
1. Match
4×1=4| A | B |
|---|---|
| Lorenzo Valla | On Pleasure |
| Copernicus | De Revolutionibus |
| Galileo | The Motion |
| Kepler | Cosmographical Mystery |
2–5. MCQ
4×1=42. Meaning of 'Australopithecus'?
(d) Southern ape
3. Who introduced the coin 'Solidus'?
(a) Constantine
4. Capital of the Abbasids?
(d) Baghdad
5. Inventor of the Flying Shuttle?
(b) John Kay
6. Chronology
4×1=4- First Opium War
- Arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in Japan
- Formation of the Communist Party of China
- Great Leap Forward Movement
7. Map Marking
4×1=4📍 Candidate should mark on outline map:
(A) Mediterranean Sea – between S. Europe & N. Africa
(B) Rhine River – from Swiss Alps to North Sea
(C) Constantinople – Bosporus (modern Istanbul)
(D) Egypt – north-east Africa, Nile delta
(A) Mediterranean Sea – between S. Europe & N. Africa
(B) Rhine River – from Swiss Alps to North Sea
(C) Constantinople – Bosporus (modern Istanbul)
(D) Egypt – north-east Africa, Nile delta
8–17. Short notes (2 scores each)
any 88. Early human shelters in France?
Caves and rock shelters (Lascaux, Chauvet).
9. Two rivers – Mesopotamian civilization?
Tigris & Euphrates.
10. Two administrative reforms of Diocletian.
Division of empire (Tetrarchy); provincial reorganization (more provinces, dioceses).
11. Influences of the Crusades?
Revival of trade; spread of knowledge (Greek/Arabic); cultural exchange.
12. Note on 'Yam'.
Mongol relay post system with fresh horses for rapid communication.
13. Features of Mayan civilization.
Hieroglyphic writing; concept of zero; step pyramids; astronomy.
14. Define 'Feudalism'.
Medieval hierarchy based on land-for-service: lord grants fief to vassal in exchange for military aid; serfs work the land.
15. Michelangelo’s architectural contributions.
Dome of St. Peter’s; Laurentian Library; Piazza del Campidoglio.
16. Short note on Ignatius Loyola.
Founder of Jesuits (1540); wrote ‘Spiritual Exercises’; key figure in Counter‑Reformation.
17. Principles of Sun Yat-Sen.
Three Principles: Nationalism, Democracy, People’s Livelihood.
18–20. 3 scores each
any 218. How did early humans obtain food?
Hunting (tools, cooperation) and gathering (plants, fruits, nuts).
19. What is 'Luddism'?
Early 19th‑c. British movement of artisans destroying machines (feared unemployment). Named after Ned Ludd.
20. Crisis in the Roman Empire (3rd c.).
Political instability (rapid emperor succession); economic collapse (inflation, debased coinage); foreign invasions (Goths, Persians).
21–25. 4 scores each
any 421. Distinguish hominoids vs hominids.
Hominoids – all apes (gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, humans). Hominids – great apes & humans (within Hominidae); bipedal ancestors.
22. Military organisation of Genghis Khan.
Decimal system (arban, zuun, mingghan, tumen); strict discipline; cavalry (light & heavy); superior tactics (feigned retreat, encirclement).
23. Copernican Revolution.
Shift from geocentric (Ptolemy) to heliocentric model (Sun at centre) by Copernicus (1543). Earth rotates & revolves; challenged Church & ancient authority.
24. Mutual perceptions: natives & Europeans.
Europeans saw natives as “savages” (noble/ignoble), heathens; natives initially awed by technology/horses/guns, later hostile as exploitation grew.
25. Factors motivating geographical explorations.
Gold (spice trade, wealth); God (spread Christianity); Glory (national rivalry, Renaissance curiosity).
26–28. 4 scores each
all three26. Condition of slaves in Roman Empire.
Legally property (no rights). Varied: urban slaves (teachers, doctors) could buy freedom; rural slaves (latifundia) harsh, chained; mines – deadly; resistance (Spartacus). Manumission common for city slaves.
27. Features of Inca civilization.
Vast empire (Tawantinsuyu); advanced roads & stone masonry (Machu Picchu); terrace agriculture; no writing → quipus; sun god Inti; centralized state.
28. Factors for Industrial Revolution in Britain.
Agricultural revolution (surplus labour); population growth; coal/iron resources; tech inventions (flying shuttle, steam engine); capital from trade; stable govt & patents.
29–31. Long answers (8 scores each)
any 229. Writing system in Mesopotamia.
Development: from pictographs (3400 BCE) to cuneiform.
System: wedge‑shaped stylus on clay; logograms + syllabograms; adapted for Sumerian, Akkadian.
Literacy: restricted to scribes (edubba schools).
Legacy: preserved law, literature (Epic of Gilgamesh), math; influenced later alphabets.
30. Contributions of Islam in learning & literature.
Learning: House of Wisdom (translation of Greek texts); advances in algebra (Al‑Khwarizmi), astronomy, medicine (Ibn Sina’s Canon), optics (Ibn al‑Haytham).
Sufism: mystical poetry (Rumi, Hafiz); allegorical prose (The Conference of the Birds).
Literature: Quran as masterpiece; Shahnameh (Ferdowsi); One Thousand and One Nights.
Architecture: mosques, madrasas; calligraphy, arabesque, geometric patterns (Dome of the Rock, Alhambra).
31. Three orders of feudalism.
① Oratores (those who pray): clergy – ensure salvation, hold learning & land.
② Bellatores (those who fight): nobility/knights – protect society, rule land, bound by chivalry.
③ Laboratores (those who work): peasants/serfs – produce food & goods, support other orders.
In theory mutual dependence; in reality rigid hierarchy with privilege for first two.
➜ any two of the above 8‑point answers
⚜️ Map: Outline map of the world to be attached separately. Markings as in Q7.
⚜️ All answers are based on the official answer key framework. Answers may include additional valid points as per board.
⚜️ All answers are based on the official answer key framework. Answers may include additional valid points as per board.
📅 March 2026 – FIRST YEAR HISTORY (answer key)