Every Book Back multiple-choice question from Modern World: The Age of Reason (12th Standard History, Samacheer Kalvi) — each with the correct option highlighted and a clear, worked explanation. Free to read in English and Tamil.
Q1
Which one of the following was not an independent trading city?
- A. Nuremberg
- B. Antwerp
- C. Genoa
- D. St. PetersburgCorrect
Explanation. Among the causes of the Renaissance, the lesson lists independent trading cities such as Venice, Florence, Genoa, Lisbon, Paris, London, Antwerp, Hamburg and Nuremberg. St. Petersburg is not one of them.
Q2
Which one of the following had relegated religion to a subordinate place?
- A. RenaissanceCorrect
- B. Reformation
- C. Geographical Discovery
- D. Commercial Revolution
Explanation. The introduction says the essence of the Renaissance was the centrality given to the human and the natural, with religion relegated to a subordinate place.
Q3
Of the following Popes, who was not the patron of Italian Renaissance?
- A. Nicholas V
- B. Julius II
- C. Pius II
- D. Paul IIICorrect
Explanation. Popes Nicholas V, Pius II, Julius II and Leo X patronised the artists of the Italian Renaissance. Paul III is named in the lesson only for appointing cardinals to reform the Church (Council of Trent).
Q4
Whose success encouraged overseas enterprises enormously?
- A. Marco Polo
- B. Roger Bacon
- C. ColumbusCorrect
- D. Bartholomew Diaz
Explanation. The introduction states that the Renaissance stimulated the geographical imagination of Europe and that the success of Columbus encouraged overseas enterprise enormously.
Q5
Assertion (A): Paper originated in China in second century BC (BCE).
Reason (R): Germany invented the movable printing press.
- A. Both A and R are correct. R explains A
- B. Both A and R are correct but R does not explain ACorrect
- C. A is correct but R is wrong
- D. A is wrong but R is correct
Explanation. Paper originated in China in the second century BCE and reached Germany only by the fourteenth century; then Johannes Gutenberg in Germany invented moveable type and the printing press. Both are true, but the press does not explain the origin of paper.
Q6
Which one of the following was not an idea developed during the age of Renaissance?
- A. rationalism
- B. scepticism
- C. anarchismCorrect
- D. individualism
Explanation. The lesson says the Renaissance incorporated ideas such as humanism, scepticism, individualism and secularism, and stressed reason. Anarchism was not one of its ideas.
Q7
Who is considered the father of modern experimental science?
- A. Aristotle
- B. Plato
- C. Roger BaconCorrect
- D. Landsteiner
Explanation. Roger Bacon (1214-1294), an English philosopher who lived in Oxford, is considered the father of modern experimental science.
Q8
Who wanted humankind to be ruled not by dogma and authority but rather by reason?
- A. Dante
- B. Machiavelli
- C. Roger BaconCorrect
- D. Petrarch
Explanation. The lesson says Roger Bacon wanted humankind to be ruled not by dogma and authority but rather by reason.
Q9
Who came to Italy seeking the help of the West in the war against the Turks?
- A. Giovanni Aurispa
- B. Manuel ChrysalorasCorrect
- C. Roger Bacon
- D. Columbus
Explanation. In 1393 Manuel Chrysaloras, a scholar of Constantinople, arrived in Venice on a mission from the Byzantine emperor to seek the West's help against the Turks, and later taught Greek classics at Florence.
Q10
Assertion (A): Galileo Galilei was tried by the Church for heresy.
Reason (R): He accepted the views of Copernicus' heliocentric theory.
- A. Both A and R are correct. R explains ACorrect
- B. Both A and R are correct but R does not explain A
- C. A is correct but R is wrong
- D. A is wrong but R is correct
Explanation. Galileo accepted the heliocentric theory of Copernicus, which opposed the Church's geocentric view; any such view was heresy. So he was tried for heresy and kept under house arrest. R explains A.
Q11
Which of the following statement/s is/are correct?
Statement I: Italians managed to preserve the belief that they were descendants of the ancient Vikings.
Statement II: The hazard of sea voyages was reduced by the use of firearms and cannon.
Statement III: The eagerness to spread religion (Christianity) also acted as an impetus to the exploration of new lands.
Statement IV: Ferdinand Magellan sailed westward and discovered Brazil.
- A. I, II and III
- B. II and IIICorrect
- C. I and III
- D. All are correct
Explanation. Italians believed they descended from the ancient Romans, not Vikings, and Brazil was discovered by Pedro Cabral in 1500, not Magellan. Statements II and III are given in the book as factors behind sea exploration.
Q12
Which one of the following was not the work of Leonardo da Vinci?
- A. Virgin of the Rocks
- B. Last Supper
- C. Mona Lisa
- D. Madonna and ChildCorrect
Explanation. Leonardo da Vinci's masterpieces include Virgin of the Rocks, Last Supper and Mona Lisa. Madonna and Child is Raphael's famous work.
Q13
The Cathedral of St. Peters in Rome, built by the Popes, was fashioned by
- A. Donatello
- B. Raphael
- C. Leonardo da Vinci
- D. MichelangeloCorrect
Explanation. The lesson says the Cathedral of St. Peters in Rome, built by the Popes, was fashioned by Michelangelo, whose dome of St. Peters is an outstanding example of Renaissance art.
Q14
Which one of the following is not correctly matched?
- A. Marlowe - Dido
- B. Shakespeare - King Lear
- C. Francis Bacon - Novum Organum
- D. Roger Bacon - DecameronCorrect
Explanation. Decameron, a collection of 100 stories, was written by Giovanni Boccaccio of Florence, not Roger Bacon. The other three pairs are correct as given in the lesson.
Q15
Assertion (A): The Turkish conquests and the fall of Constantinople provided stimulus to find a sea route to the East.
Reason (R): As the demands for the products from the East increased, the European states wanted to control sea-borne trade.
- A. Both A and R are correct. R explains ACorrect
- B. Both A and R are correct. R does not explain A
- C. A is correct but R is wrong
- D. A is wrong but R is correct
Explanation. The Turks controlled the old land routes, and the rising demand for Eastern goods made European states want direct control of sea-borne trade. Both are true and, as the book's key gives, R explains A.
Q16
Which one of the following ships was returned after the death of Magellan?
- A. Santa Maria
- B. Pinta
- C. Nina
- D. VittoriaCorrect
Explanation. Magellan was killed in the Philippine Isles. A single ship, the Vittoria (Victoria), returned to Seville in 1522 with 18 sailors, the first ship to circumnavigate the world.
Q17
Who conquered Mexico for Spain?
- A. Pedro Cabral
- B. Columbus
- C. Hernan CortesCorrect
- D. James Cook
Explanation. Hernan Cortes, a Spanish conquistador, conquered the Empire of Mexico for Spain with a mere handful of men, helped by firearms and a smallpox epidemic among the Aztecs.
Q18
When was the Act of Supremacy passed by Henry VIII in England?
- A. 1519
- B. 1532
- C. 1533
- D. 1534Correct
Explanation. Henry VIII passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534, severed England's connection with Rome and established the Anglican Church.
Q19
Assertion (A): The Black Death weakened the position of the church as it could not explain the causes for the Black Death.
Reason (R): The authority of Pope came to be increasingly challenged.
- A. Both A and R are correct. R explains ACorrect
- B. Both A and R are correct. R does not explain A
- C. A is correct but R is wrong
- D. A is wrong but R is correct
Explanation. The lesson links the two: the Church could not explain the Black Death, its position weakened, and the authority of the Pope was increasingly challenged by early dissenters. The book's key gives option (a).
Q20
Who was the ruler of Germany excommunicated by Gregory VII?
- A. Henry VII
- B. Henry VIII
- C. Henry II
- D. Henry IVCorrect
Explanation. Henry IV of Germany was excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII for not respecting his ordinances, showing how the Pope could humiliate a king before his nobles and subjects.
