From Barter to Money — Mastery

Q1. The barter system was the earliest form of

• A. Banking
• B. Taxation
• C. Exchange
• D. Government revenue collection

Q2. A Class 7 SST teacher is about to beg 'From Barter to Money'. Which of the following FIRST classroom activities is the BEST pedagogical choice to introduce the chapter, given the textbook's approach?

• A. Dictate the four limitations of barter and ask students to memorise them.
• B. Begin with a written test on the years 1861, 1980 and 2016 from Fig. 11.10.
• C. Show a long lecture-style slide on RBI history before any discussion.
• D. Ask students to swap an extra eraser for a classmate's extra pencil, then discuss what they did and what could go wrong if they wanted three different things.

Q3. Match each barter problem in List I with the BEST one-line description from List II, based List I — List II (P) Double coincidence of wants — (1) Ox cannot be cut into a small piece for a sweater. (Q) Common standard measure of value — (2) Wheat may rot or be eaten by rats. (R) Divisibility — (3) Hard to find someone who has what you want AND wants what you have. (S) Durability — (4) No agreed-upon worth to compare two different goods.

• A. P–3, Q–4, R–1, S–2
• B. P–4, Q–3, R–2, S–1
• C. P–1, Q–2, R–3, S–4
• D. P–3, Q–1, R–4, S–2

Q4. 'Although money has replaced traditional barter systems all around the world, there are some that still exist today.' Which of the following BEST captures the chapter's view?

• A. Barter has fully ended; only money is used anywhere in the world today.
• B. Money has been completely rejected in India in favour of barter.
• C. Money is the dominant form of exchange worldwide, but pockets of barter survive in certain socio-cultural settings.
• D. Money and barter are equally used by every country today.

Q5. In ancient times, the minting and issue of coins was controlled entirely by the rulers. Over time, the coins of powerful rulers were accepted across various kingdoms and not just their own. Why was this development important?

• A. It meant that no kingdom needed a ruler anymore.
• B. It forced India to adopt paper money immediately.
• C. It made the rupa symbol obsolete.
• D. It facilitated trade across geographies because traders could carry one widely accepted coinage.

Q6. Aarti's neighbourhood vendor collects used clothes from households and gives them new steel utensils. According to, the vendor benefits from this exchange because the clothes can be

• A. Burnt for fuel only
• B. Used as legal currency in shops
• C. Resold, repurposed, or recycled
• D. Stored in the Reserve Bank of India's vault

Q7. Read the four mini-scenarios and identify which function of money each one illustrates : (i) Priya uses ₹50 to buy a notebook at the school shop. (ii) Ravi saves ₹500 from his Diwali money to buy a cricket bat next month. (iii) Aarti compares prices: 'A pen for ₹20 and a chocolate for ₹10 — pen is twice the value.' (iv) A shopkeeper sells a book worth ₹100 today and lets the customer pay ₹50 next week.

• A. (i) medium of exchange, (ii) store of value, (iii) common denomination, (iv) standard of deferred payment
• B. (i) common denomination, (ii) medium of exchange, (iii) deferred payment, (iv) store of value
• C. (i) store of value, (ii) deferred payment, (iii) medium of exchange, (iv) common denomination
• D. (i) deferred payment, (ii) common denomination, (iii) store of value, (iv) medium of exchange

Q8. 'alloy' is defined as 'a metal made by combining two or more metallic elements'. The chapter notes that ancient kārṣhāpaṇas used such alloys mainly because

• A. Alloys are cheaper than barter goods.
• B. Alloys are required by the Reserve Bank of India.
• C. Alloys remove the need for a ruler.
• D. Alloying makes the coin strong enough to be used as currency.

Q9. 'currency' is defined as

• A. Any old coin found in family collections.
• B. Only the paper notes issued by private banks.
• C. The system of money used in a particular country.
• D. A type of barter found in rural India.

Q10. 'commodities' is defined as 'Products or goods that can be traded, bought and sold.' Based on this definition, which of the following is NOT a commodity in the chapter's sense?

• A. Cowrie shells used in barter
• B. Salt used in trade
• C. A friend's smile
• D. Tobacco exchanged among traders

Q11. A Class 7 SST teacher wants students to use the Junbeel Mela (pp.234–235) to discuss BOTH barter and India's tribal heritage. Which pair of learning outcomes BEST fits this dual aim?

• A. (i) Memorise dates from Fig. 11.10; (ii) recite the rupee symbol designer's name.
• B. (i) Calculate Krishnappa's daily QR-code income; (ii) draw the Bank of Bombay note.
• C. (i) Explain that the mela survives barter without money; (ii) identify the Tiwa, Karbi, Khasi and Jaintia communities of Assam and Meghalaya whose chiefs began this 15th-century gathering.
• D. (i) Debate whether RBI should be abolished; (ii) write an essay on UPI.

Q12. 'In each of these cases, a discussion would take place to arrive at the fair amount of wheat that you could exchange for shoes or for the sweater.' This recurring need to bargain afresh each time BEST shows the absence of which feature of money?

• A. Portability
• B. Durability
• C. A common standard measure of value
• D. Digital transferability

Q13. Of Pudukottai's Roman gold coins: 'Based on this finding, scholars conclude that the trade was in favour of India.' The 'Let's Explore' also asks what we can conclude from such a finding. The BEST inference is that

• A. Romans defeated Indian kingdoms in war.
• B. Southern India had active maritime trade with the Roman world, and the inflow of gold suggests India was a net exporter.
• C. All Indian coinage was issued by Roman kings.
• D. Coins were not used in southern India at that time.

Q14. Ravi tells his teacher, 'A ₹100 note is just paper. Why does the shopkeeper accept it for real goods?' Using and 243, the BEST explanation is that money is

• A. Valuable because every ₹100 note is made of gold.
• B. The common tool that everybody accepts and uses to make or receive payments, with the Reserve Bank of India backing the rupee as legal currency.
• C. Useful only when traded for cowrie shells.
• D. Always replaced by digital money in shops.

Q15. A Class 7 student writes in her notebook: 'Barter system means buying things with very small amounts of money.' Based the teacher's BEST diagnostic correction is

• A. Mark it correct; barter is just small-value money exchange.
• B. Name the misconception: barter is exchanging goods/services WITHOUT using money; even ₹1 transactions are money exchange, not barter .
• C. Tell her barter only happens in foreign countries.
• D. Tell her the RBI prints barter notes.

Q16. The farmer 'would then have to transport all that wheat to several places' to buy shoes, sweater and medicines from different sellers. This burden of moving heavy goods from place to place BEST illustrates the absence of which feature of money?

• A. Durability
• B. Divisibility
• C. Portability
• D. Common standard measure of value

Q17. ('Before we move on') summarises that the barter system existed before money came into existence. Which of the following statements BEST captures this historical position of barter in the chapter?

• A. Barter and money both arose at the same time, around 1861.
• B. Barter is older than money; money emerged later because of the limitations of barter.
• C. Money is older than barter; barter is a modern invention.
• D. Barter is only a teaching tool with no historical reality.

Q18. The name 'Junbeel Mela' itself. In the Assamese language, 'jun' means ____ and 'beel' means ____.

• A. moon ; wetland
• B. river ; mountain
• C. fire ; forest
• D. fish ; market

Q19. On, the Junbeel Mela is described NOT just as a barter market but also as a 'socio-cultural' event. Based on the page, which of the following BEST captures why this dual character matters?

• A. It shows that barter today exists only as a tourist attraction.
• B. It shows that barter at Junbeel is woven into community gatherings, rituals like Agni Puja, and friendly relations among tribes — not just trade.
• C. It shows that barter is illegal under the RBI Act.
• D. It shows that the mela earns more in rupees than in barter.

Q20. Money is defined as 'the common tool that everybody accepts and uses in order to make or receive payments in exchange for goods and services.' From this definition, which feature of money is MOST essential?

• A. It must be made of gold or silver.
• B. It must be issued by a private bank.
• C. It must be commonly accepted by everybody as a payment tool.
• D. It must be heavy and difficult to carry.

Q21. Has a 'Let's Explore' that asks groups of five students to collect old coins from family members, neighbours and shopkeepers and document features like material, year, obverse and reverse designs. For a Class 7 teacher, what is the BEST pedagogical justification for choosing this project?

• A. It saves the teacher from having to teach the chapter at all.
• B. It links textbook concepts (minting, alloy, obverse/reverse, rupa, dynasty symbols) to real, tangible objects in the learner's family — encouraging inquiry and primary observation.
• C. It tests rote memorisation of the dates 1861 and 2016.
• D. It replaces the entire 'Functions of Money' section with handicraft.

Q22. A Class 7 SST teacher in a small town wants students to grasp the chapter's idea that 'although money has replaced barter, some forms still exist today'. Which classroom strategy BEST honours the chapter's approach?

• A. Ask each student to list ten denominations of RBI notes from memory.
• B. Ask students to observe and report ONE local example — a clothes-for-utensils vendor, a book swap among friends, or a village mela — and discuss whether and how money is involved.
• C. Show only foreign barter examples like Yap Island Rai stones in a long lecture.
• D. Lecture for 40 minutes on the Bank of Bengal uniface notes.

Q23. Reminds students: 'In the theme "Tapestry of the Past", you read about the crops that people grew, such as food grains or goods they made like carnelian beads. How do you think they exchanged these goods for things that they needed?' Why is this opening question a STRONG pedagogical move for Class 7?

• A. It tests whether students remember the rupee symbol.
• B. It activates prior knowledge from earlier chapters and bridges history with economics — making barter feel like a real answer to a past question.
• C. It introduces digital money before barter is taught.
• D. It replaces the chapter's barter examples with carnelian-bead trade only.

Q24. The local products that begin to be bartered early in the morning at the Junbeel Mela. Which of the following best matches the list?

• A. Roots, vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices
• B. Salt, cowrie shells, tea and tobacco
• C. Rai stones, Tevau and Tajadero
• D. Roman gold coins and Chola silver coins

Q25. The 'Think About It' asks: 'What are the different ways in which money would make the situation easier for the farmer?' Based which pair below CORRECTLY shows a barter problem and the matching money function that solves it?

• A. Durability of wheat — solved by money acting as a 'store of value' that the farmer can keep for later.
• B. Divisibility of ox — solved by money acting as a 'standard of deferred payment'.
• C. Common standard measure of value — solved by money acting as 'portability'.
• D. Double coincidence of wants — solved by money acting as a 'medium of obverse'.

Q26. Based on the coin descriptions match the symbol/feature in List I with the correct group in List II: List I — List II (P) Varaha image and three-tiered parasol — (1) Chola silver coin (Q) Tiger emblem — (2) Roman gold coins at Pudukottai (R) Heads of Roman kings — (3) Chalukyas of Kalyana (S) Punched 'rupa' symbol — (4) Ancient Indian karshapana / pana

• A. P–3, Q–1, R–2, S–4
• B. P–1, Q–2, R–3, S–4
• C. P–4, Q–3, R–1, S–2
• D. P–3, Q–2, R–1, S–4

Q27. Read the four stages from the chapter and arrange them in the order in which they EMERGED in the journey of money (, 238, 241, 243): (i) Digital money like UPI and debit cards (ii) Barter using commodities like cowrie shells (iii) Metal coinage (karshapanas, panas) (iv) Paper money introduced in India

• A. (ii) → (iii) → (iv) → (i)
• B. (i) → (ii) → (iii) → (iv)
• C. (iii) → (ii) → (iv) → (i)
• D. (ii) → (iv) → (iii) → (i)

Q28. Opens 'Basic Functions of Money' with the saying, 'Necessity is the mother of invention.' In the chapter's argument, what was the NECESSITY and what was the INVENTION?

• A. Necessity — abolish all coins; Invention — barter.
• B. Necessity — growing types of goods and longer trade distances making barter hard; Invention — money as a common medium of exchange.
• C. Necessity — printing presses for the RBI; Invention — Pudukottai gold coins.
• D. Necessity — to ban Junbeel Mela; Invention — paper money in 1861.

Q29. Two Class 7 teachers plan how to teach 'Basic Functions of Money' (pp.236–237). Teacher A asks students to dictate-and-memorise the four function names. Teacher B asks each pair of students to bring four mini-scenarios from their own day — buying, saving, comparing prices, paying later — and label which function each shows. Which choice BEST fits the chapter's approach, and why?

• A. Teacher A — memorising four names is enough for CTET-style questions.
• B. Teacher B — the chapter itself uses lived examples (parents-shopkeeper-worker, ₹50/₹100 book) and asks students to apply functions to their experience, so this matches its application-led design.
• C. Both are equally good; the chapter has no preference between recall and application.
• D. Neither — the functions of money are not in the syllabus.

Q30. A student claims: 'Because money is now backed by the RBI and digital payments like UPI exist, barter has been completely wiped out in India.' Evaluating this claim against and 243, which response is BEST?

• A. Agree fully — RBI plus UPI means no Indian uses barter anymore.
• B. Reject partly — money is the dominant medium and RBI is the only legal currency issuer , but the chapter shows surviving Indian barter at Junbeel Mela, book exchange and old-clothes-for-utensils (pp.234–236).
• C. Agree — are out of date and should be ignored.
• D. Reject fully — barter is more common than money in India today.