NCERT Solutions for Class 7th Social Science Chapter 11 From Barter to Money
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
Before money existed, people exchanged goods and services directly for other goods and services. This is the barter system , and cowrie shells, salt, tea, tobacco, cloth, cattle and seeds were among the commodities used. Barter runs into five problems: the double coincidence of wants , the lack of a common standard measure of value , divisibility , portability and durability . Money solves all five. It works as a medium of exchange, a common denomination that measures value, a store of value, and a standard of deferred payment. Ancient Indian coins of gold, silver and copper (or their alloys) were called kārṣhāpaṇas or paṇas and carried punched symbols called rūpas . Rulers alone controlled minting. Paper money was first used in China and came to India in the late 18th century. Today only
- Chapter opener · Theme E: Economic Life Around Us
- Chapter opening text
- Why Do we Need Money?
- Basic Functions of Money
- The Journey of Money · Fig. 11.10
- Coinage
- Coinage · Fig. 11.12
- Coinage today · group project
- Paper Money
- Paper Money · Fig. 11.16 and Fig. 11.17
Quick revision
| Term | What it means | Where it appears in the chapter | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barter system | Exchanging goods and services without using money | Page 230, the very first system of exchange | Your extra eraser for a classmate's extra pencil |
| Commodities | Products or goods that can be traded, bought and sold | Page 230, list of things used before money | Cowrie shells, salt, tea, tobacco, cloth, cattle, seeds |
| Double coincidence of wants | Two people each have exactly what the other wants and can exchange directly | Page 233, the farmer's difficulty | The ox-owner must find a shoemaker who wants an ox |
| Common standard measure of value | An agreed-upon worth that lets values be compared | Page 233, why barter deals break down | How many bags of wheat equal one sweater? |
| Divisibility | The capacity of an object to be split into pieces or portions | Page 233, the ox problem | You cannot exchange one leg of an ox for a sweater |
| Portability | The ability of an object to be carried from place to place | Page 233, taking the ox everywhere | Carrying sacks of wheat to three different sellers |
| Durability | The ability to withstand damage and be stored for a long time | Page 234, wheat rots or is eaten by rats | Grain spoils; a coin does not |
| Minting | The process of producing coins; a mint is the facility that makes them | Page 238, Coinage | Rulers alone controlled minting in ancient India |
| Alloy | A metal made by combining two or more metallic elements | Page 238, what coins are made of | Today's coins are largely iron with chromium, silicon and carbon |
| kārṣhāpaṇa / paṇa | Ancient Indian coins of gold, silver, copper or their alloys | Page 238, Coinage | Survives as paṇaṁ in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and haṇa in Kannada |
| rūpa | The symbol punched on an ancient coin | Page 238 | The likely ancestor of the word rupee |
| Obverse / Reverse | The head side and the tail side of a coin | Page 239 | Chalukya coins: Varaha on one side, three-tiered parasol on the other |
| Currency | The system of money used in a particular country | Page 242 | Indian rupee coins and notes |
| Denominations | Units in which coins and notes are classified | Page 242 | 50 paisa, ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10, ₹20 coins; ₹10 to ₹1000 notes |
| QR Code | A 'quick-response' code of black and white squares holding bank-account information | Page 243, Krishnappa's fruit cart | Scan and pay straight into the seller's bank account |
Exercises
- Chapter opener · Theme E: Economic Life Around Us — The Big Questions Page 229
- Chapter opening text — In-text Questions Page 229
- Why Do we Need Money? — LET’S EXPLORE Page 231
- Why Do we Need Money? — THINK ABOUT IT Page 232
- Why Do we Need Money? — In-text Questions Page 232
- Why Do we Need Money? — THINK ABOUT IT Page 233
- Why Do we Need Money? — THINK ABOUT IT Page 234
- Barter today · after the Junbeel Mela, book exchange and utensils-for-clothes boxes — LET’S EXPLORE Page 236
- Basic Functions of Money — THINK ABOUT IT Page 237
- The Journey of Money · Fig. 11.10 — LET’S EXPLORE Page 238
- Coinage — In-text Questions Page 239
- Coinage · Fig. 11.12 — LET’S EXPLORE Page 239
- Coinage today · group project — LET’S EXPLORE Page 241
- Paper Money — LET’S EXPLORE Page 241
- Paper Money · Fig. 11.16 and Fig. 11.17 — LET’S EXPLORE Page 242
- New Forms of Money — In-text Questions Page 243
- End-of-chapter exercise — Questions and activities Page 244