Chapter-Wise Overview: What You’ll Learn in Each Chapter

Chapter 1 – Oceans and Life (Geography)
This chapter introduces the ocean floor and its relief features. It then explains the movement of ocean water: waves, tides and ocean currents. Expect to learn what causes each movement and how they affect coastlines, climate and the life of people living near the sea. Diagrams matter a lot here, so practise drawing and labelling them.

Chapter 2 – Life on Earth (Geography)
This chapter is about biomes, the large natural regions defined by their climate, plants and animals. You’ll study how biomes are distributed across the world and what characterises each one. It also covers biosphere reserves in India. Map-based questions come from this chapter, so keep an outline map handy.

Chapter 3 – Resistance and Resilience, 1000–1700 CE (History)
This chapter covers medieval India, from the Delhi Sultanate through Mughal rule, and how different regions and communities responded to the political changes of the time. As the textbook presents it, the responses of regional powers include the Rajputs, Ahoms, Vijayanagara rulers, Marathas (including the concept of Swarajya), Sikhs and Jats. The chapter looks at resistance in both military and cultural forms, alliances and confederacies, and the place of the Bhakti tradition in India’s religious and spiritual history. It is a long chapter with many names, places and dates, so a timeline helps.

Chapter 4 – Governance and Public Policy (Political Science)
This chapter looks at how a government governs: how public policies are made, who is involved, and how they affect ordinary people. It connects what you studied about democracy and elections in Part 1 with how decisions are actually taken and implemented. In revised editions it replaces the older chapter titled “Authority”.

Chapter 5 – Managing Your Personal Finances (Economics)
A practical chapter on why handling money well matters in daily life. It deals with everyday ideas such as income, spending, saving and planning. Examiners tend to prefer application-based and case-based questions from chapters like this, so connect each concept to a real-life example.

Chapter 6 – From Ideas to Startups (Economics)
This chapter covers India’s start-up ecosystem: how an idea becomes a business. It also covers the Make in India initiative and the role of MSMEs and the unorganised sector in India’s economic growth. Keep in mind the difference between formal and informal sectors, because it is a favourite for short-answer questions.