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Class 6 History & Civics — Measuring historical time

Read and write dates as BCE and CE, count the years across the gap where no year zero sits, and say which century or millennium a year falls in.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

One line, running from the distant past on the left to the future on the right.

123
  1. 1. BCE
  2. 2. No year zero
  3. 3. CE

The thick mark in the middle is the calendar's starting point. To its left the years are counted backward and written BCE, so they run 3, 2, 1 as you move towards the middle; to its right they are counted forward and written CE. There is no year zero at the mark: 1 CE follows straight after 1 BCE.

  1. 1.Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi was born in 1828 CE. Which century CE does that year belong to?

    • a) The 18th century CE
    • b) The 20th century CE
    • c) The 17th century CE
    • d) The 19th century CE

  2. 2.Add the two numbers and subtract 1. How many years passed between 3 BCE and 5 CE? Answer with a number.

  3. 3.The 21st century CE runs from 2001 to 2100. Which point on this line is the last year of the century before it?

    Mark the line with an X.

    19001920194019601980200020202040206020802100

  4. 4.The years counted backward from that starting point used to be marked BC. Write out in full what the three letters BCE stand for.

  5. 5.Arrange these four dates in order, earliest first.

    • 1 CE
    • 560 BCE
    • 1947 CE
    • 300,000 BCE

  6. 6.The chapter names one calendar as the one commonly used worldwide today, and several others used side by side with it for the dates of festivals and other auspicious events. Sort them.

    Groups: Commonly used worldwide today · Used alongside it for festival dates

    • The Muslim calendar
    • The Jewish calendar
    • The Chinese calendar
    • The Gregorian calendar
    • The Hindu calendar

  7. 7.A timeline runs from the beginning of humanity to the present, with a few important landmarks marked along it. What does putting events on one let you see straight away?

    • a) Why each of the events happened
    • b) Which of the events historians trust most
    • c) The order in which the events took place
    • d) How long each event took to finish

  8. 8.How many years lie between 1 BCE and 1 CE?

    • a) One, the year zero
    • b) Ten, one for each year of a decade
    • c) None — 1 CE follows immediately after 1 BCE
    • d) A hundred, because a century separates them

Answer key — Class 6 History & Civics — Measuring historical time

  1. 1. d) The 19th century CE
  2. 2. 7
  3. 3. 2000
  4. 4. Before Common Era
  5. 5. 1. 300,000 BCE 2. 560 BCE 3. 1 CE 4. 1947 CE
  6. 6. The Gregorian calendar → Commonly used worldwide today; The Hindu calendar → Used alongside it for festival dates; The Muslim calendar → Used alongside it for festival dates; The Jewish calendar → Used alongside it for festival dates; The Chinese calendar → Used alongside it for festival dates
  7. 7. c) The order in which the events took place
  8. 8. c) None — 1 CE follows immediately after 1 BCE