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Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.

Q1. [1] medium thorough-understanding
Even as factories and steam engines multiplied in nineteenth-century Britain, many traditional industries continued to expand without mechanisation. Give two reasons why non-mechanised sectors remained significant and competitive during this period.
  1. A The government had banned the use of steam engines in these industries to protect traditional crafts.
  2. B Small innovations within these sectors drove their growth independently of the mechanised cotton or metal industries.
  3. C These industries relied entirely on colonial raw materials that were unavailable to factory owners.
  4. D Workers in these sectors refused to use any new technology and maintained entirely stagnant methods.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 14:58 · grounding rag
Model Answer

The correct answer is B.

Non-mechanised sectors remained significant because small innovations (e.g., in food processing, pottery, furniture making) drove their independent growth, and new technology was expensive, slow to adopt, and less effective than claimed, leaving traditional industries competitive.

Source: The Pace of Industrial Change, Chapter 4

Explanation

The passage explicitly states: "small innovations were the basis of growth in many non-mechanised sectors such as food processing, building, pottery, glass work." It also notes new technology was expensive and slow to be accepted. Option A is false (no such ban existed); C is unsupported; D is contradicted by the text, which says these industries "did not remain entirely stagnant." Examiners expect you to identify the option directly supported by the source.

Previous-year CBSE Grade 10 board exam questions, organised by subject and chapter, each with a model answer — free to read and print.