Geographical Features And Terms

Question 1

The Indian Subcontinent

Answer 1

A landmass that is part of the larger subcontinent of Asia and most of the countries in this region are located on it

Question 2

The Hindu Kush, the Karakoram, and the Himalaya Mountains

Answer 2

The mountains that form South Asia’s northern edge and separate the Indian Subcontinent from the rest of Asia

Question 3

The Himalaya Mountain Range

Answer 3

One of the mountain ranges that separates the India Subcontinent from the rest of Asia and is the highest mountain system in the world and includes the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, which is in Nepal, and with their rough terrain and harsh climate, the Himalayas protected Nepal and Bhutan from outside influences until the 1900s

Question 4

Hindu Kush

Answer 4

One of the mountain ranges that separates the India Subcontinent from the rest of Asia and people from the north entered other parts of South Asia through narrow mountain passes in the Hindu Kush and the most famous pass is the Khyber Pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan and was a passageway to India for caravans and armies

Question 5

Khyber Pass

Answer 5

The most famous pass in the Hindu Kush, it goes between Afghanistan and Pakistan and was a passageway to India for caravans and armies

Question 6

The Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra

Answer 6

The region’s three great rivers that water wide, fertile plains south of South Asia’s mountains, and people of this region have long depended on these rivers for farming, transportation, and trade

Question 7

The Indus River

Answer 7

One of the region’s three great rivers begins in Tibet and China and flows southwest through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea

Question 8

The Ganges River

Answer 8

One of the region’s three great rivers that flows from the Himalayas through India’s Ganges Plain, a vast lowland with some of the country’s richest soil and is home to about 40% of India’s population and it runs through Bangladesh, where it combines with the Brahmaputra River to form the world’s largest delta, or soil deposit at the mouth of a river

Question 9

India’s Ganges Plain

Answer 9

A vast lowland with some of India’s richest soil and it is home to about 40% of India’s population and the Ganges River flows through India’s Ganges Plain from the Himalayas

Question 10

Delta

Answer 10

A soil deposit at the end of a river, the Ganges River flows through Bangladesh, where it combines with the Brahmaputra River to form the world’s largest delta

Question 11

The Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats

Answer 11

Two chains of eroded coastal mountains at the base of the subcontinent that have a highland area called the Deccan Plateau between them

Question 12

Deccan Plateau

Answer 12

A highland area that is between the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats and the Western Ghats blocks seasonal rains from reaching this plateau, leaving it very dry

Question 13

The Western Ghats

Answer 13

A chain of eroded coastal mountains at the base of the region that blocks the seasonal rains from getting to the Deccan Plateau, which leaves it very dry

Question 14

Karnataka Plateau

Answer 14

A plateau south of the Deccan Plateau that receives the rains that are blocked by the Western Ghats from getting to the Deccan Plateau, which leaves the Deccan Plateau dry, but the Karnataka Plateau lush and green

Question 15

Atolls

Answer 15

Circular shaped islands made of coral, a rock-like material made from skeletons of tiny sea creatures and the coral deposits build up, many of them get covered in soil and sand to make islands and atolls have shallow bodies of water in the center, called a lagoon, which is protected from the sea by the outer ring of the island

Question 16

Coral

Answer 16

A rock-like material made from skeletons of tiny sea creatures, and as deposits of coral build up, many of them eventually become covered in sand and soil to make islands

Question 17

Lagoon

Answer 17

A shallow body of water in the middle of atolls that are protected from the sea by the outer ring of the island

Question 18

Harappa and Mohenjo Daro

Answer 18

South Asia’s first cities that appeared in the Indus River Valley by 2500 BCE and had structures made of brick, carefully laid out streets, plumbing, sewers and the Indus Valley civilization declined between 1700 BCE to 1500 BCE, possibly because of earthquakes, floods, or the Indus River changing its course, and now, the Indus River is in Pakistan

Question 19

Aryans

Answer 19

Nomadic herders who settled in South Asia in 1500 BCE

Question 20

Sanskrit

Answer 20

A spoken language made by Aryans through which they passed on hymns and religious teachings and when it became a written language, these traditions were recorded in sacred writings called the Vedas

Question 21

Vedas

Answer 21

Sacred writings in which Aryans recorded traditions in the Sanskrit language

Question 22

Varnas

Answer 22

Four broad social groups made by the Aryans, and in these groups, priests had the highest status, followed by warriors, farmers, and servants and eventually, people were separated by caste, or social group that someone is born into and cannot change, and castes still exist, but people mostly have changed their ways to be more modern

Question 23

Hinduism

Answer 23

One of the world’s oldest religions

Question 24

Brahman

Answer 24

Hindus believe that every living being has a soul that wants to be reunited with Brahman

Question 25

Caste

Answer 25

A social group that someone is born into and can’t change and these still exist, but many people have changed their ways to be more modern and this system was very rigid, you couldn’t marry someone out of your caste, personal contact with someone from another caste was restricted, and occupation choices were restricted, but members of a caste relied on each other for support so the system was fine, and there was an acceptance of a fixed place in society

Question 26

Reincarnation

Answer 26

The process of being born into a new body after dying in order to achieve reunion with Brahman in Hinduism

Question 27

Dharma

Answer 27

The duty that Hindus must perform to earn good karma, or the consequences of how a person lives, to grow closer to Brahman in the next life

Question 28

Karma

Answer 28

The consequences of how a person lives, a person must perform their duty, or dharma, to get good karma so that they will move closer to Brahman in the next life

Question 29

Buddhism

Answer 29

A religion founded by a young prince named Siddarhartha Guatama who gave up wealth and family in search of truth to eventually become known as Buddha, or “Enlightened One” in 500 BCE

Question 30

Siddarhartha Guatama

Answer 30

The young prince who founded Buddhism in 500 BCE who gave up wealth and family in search of truth and eventually became known as Buddha, or “Enlightened One”

Question 31

Buddha

Answer 31

Siddarhartha Guatama, who founded Buddhism in 500 BCE, gave up wealth and family in search of truth and eventually became known as this, which also means, “Enlightened One”

Question 32

The Eightfold Path

Answer 32

The path that Buddha told people to follow to reach a state of endless peace and joy called Nirvana, Buddha taught that people suffer because they are too attached to material things, so they should follow this path

Question 33

Nirvana

Answer 33

A state of endless peace and joy that Buddha taught could be reached by following his Eightfold Path and he said taught that people suffer because they are too attached to material things

Question 34

Chandragupta Maurya

Answer 34

A prince who conquered a large area in the Ganges River called the Mauryan Empire in 300 BCE and had a grandson named Aśoka, who gained power in 274 BCE and expanded the empire to include almost the entire Indian Subcontinent

Question 35

Aśoka

Answer 35

The grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, who conquered a large area of land in the Ganges River called the Mauryan Empire in 300 BCE, Aśoka gained power in 274 BCE and expanded the empire to include almost the entire Indian Subcontinent

Question 36

Moguls

Answer 36

Muslim warriors who created an empire in South Asia in the early 1500s, and one of their emperors was named Emperor Akbar

Question 37

Emperor Akbar

Answer 37

A mogul emperor who added new lands to the empire, reduced taxes, improved the lives of ordinary people, and brought peace and order to his empire by treating all people fairly and the majority of Hindus were allowed to worship freely and work in the government, but later, mogul rulers weakened the empire, and by the 1700s the empire had collapsed into many different kingdoms

Question 38

Jawaharlal Nehru

Answer 38

The first prime minister, he was elected in 1947 and he had executive power and his daughter, Indira Gandhi, was also prime minister for many years until she was assassinated in 1984