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NCERT Solutions Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 9 Family — LET’S EXPLORE

Book page 138 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
What types of families do you see in your neighbourhood? List the type with the number of households for each type.
Answer

This is a small survey. Do it by observing and by asking politely — never by prying into anyone’s home life. Ask only what type of household it is; do not ask why.

Method. Fix your area first (for example, one lane, or one block of flats — about 20 to 30 households). Draw a three-column table, walk through the area with a classmate, and mark one tally for each household. Use the book’s two types, and add a third column for households that fit neither exactly.

Type of familyWhat it means (page 137–138)Households counted — Sample answer
Joint familySeveral generations living together — grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, brothers, sisters and cousins7
Nuclear familyA couple and their children13
Nuclear family with one parentOne parent and children — the chapter counts this as nuclear too3
Other householdsFor example, grandparents living with grandchildren, a couple with no children, a person living alone, or two generations plus one relative5
Total—28 households
Do it politely: write no names in your table, only numbers. Some classmates live with a single parent, with grandparents, with a guardian or in a hostel — every one of these is a family. The survey counts types of households, never who is better off.
Q2.
What types are more frequent? Why do you think this is so?
Answer

In the sample count above, nuclear families are the most frequent (13 + 3 = 16 of 28 households). In most towns and cities today you will find the same; in many villages, joint families are still common.

Where nuclear families are more frequent — whyWhere joint families are more frequent — why
Work is elsewhere. Jobs take one couple to another town or city, away from the older generationThe work is shared and in one place. A family farm, a shop or a craft needs many hands, and everyone works on the same land
Houses in cities are small and rents are high, so a small household is easier to manageThe ancestral house is large and belongs to the whole family
Studies and transfers move people frequentlyLand, cattle and property are held together, so the family stays together
Fewer members are needed for daily tasks, since shops, schools and services are close byChild care, cooking and care of the elderly are easier when several adults live together
Why this is not a judgement: the chapter never says one type is better. Each has strengths — a joint family has many hands and many people to turn to; a nuclear family is smaller and can move and decide quickly. Both can be full of love, and both can face difficulties. What your survey shows is how people’s work and housing have changed, not how good the families are.
Q3.
As a class activity, compare with your classmates’ findings and discuss.
Answer

Method for the class activity.

  1. Each pair reports only their numbers, and the part of the town or village they surveyed.
  2. The teacher adds up all the pairs’ figures on the board into one class table.
  3. Work out the share of each type: share = number of that type ÷ total households × 100.
  4. Compare areas — an old village lane, a new colony, a block of flats — and look for a pattern.

Sample class total (28 pairs of eyes, 210 households):

TypeHouseholdsShare of the total
Nuclear (couple and children)104about 50%
Joint58about 28%
One parent and children21about 10%
Other households27about 13%

Three good questions for the discussion:

  • Did the older part of the settlement have more joint families than the newer part? Why might that be?
  • What does a joint family make easier — and what does a nuclear family make easier?
  • Do the two types really stay separate? Many families are nuclear all year but joint at a wedding or a festival, and many keep grandparents for part of the year. Where would you put those in the table?
Ground rule for the discussion: talk about types of families, not about particular families in your class. No one should have to explain who they live with.
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