Lesson Y9-U07-L01

What Was the Cold War Quiz: KS3 History, Unit 20

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson Y9-U07-L01, What Was the Cold War: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 History (National Curriculum), Unit 20: Year 9: The Cold War, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which two countries became global superpowers after 1945?

    • Germany and Japan
    • Britain and France
    • The USA and USSR
    • China and Italy

  2. Roughly when did the Cold War last?

    • From about 1914 to 1918
    • From about 1956 to 1960
    • From about 1945 to 1991
    • From about 1939 to 1945

  3. Why was the Cold War conflict called 'cold'?

    • Used nuclear ice
    • No direct war
    • Fought in winter
    • Peaceful diplomacy

  4. What prevented the USA and USSR from fighting a direct hot war?

    • Nuclear weapons
    • Shared borders
    • League of Nations
    • United Nations treaties

  5. What is the key economic feature of capitalism?

    • State control
    • Private ownership
    • Shared wealth
    • Equal distribution

  6. What is the key economic feature of communism?

    • Free market
    • Private business
    • State ownership
    • Individual profit

  7. Which country was the main capitalist superpower in the Cold War?

    • Britain
    • China
    • The USSR
    • The USA

  8. In the USSR during the Cold War, which party was the only one allowed?

    • The Democratic Party
    • The Liberal Party
    • The Communist Party
    • The Labour Party

  9. Under capitalism in the USA, how is wealth distributed?

    • Fixed by government
    • Unequally
    • Randomly by lottery
    • Equally by state

  10. What did the Soviet state tightly control during the Cold War?

    • Western elections
    • Speech and press
    • Global markets
    • Private enterprise

  11. What was the main American fear regarding communism?

    • Economic collapse
    • Democratic voting
    • Religious freedom
    • Its global spread

  12. What was the main Soviet fear regarding the West?

    • Capitalist encirclement
    • Worker revolts
    • State ownership
    • Communist expansion

  13. What caused wartime allies USA and USSR to fall out after 1945?

    • Joint monarchies
    • Trade agreements
    • Shared borders
    • Clashing ideologies

  14. Why did the USA keep its atomic bomb a secret from the USSR in 1945?

    • Economic sanctions
    • Peace treaty terms
    • Technical failure
    • To intimidate Stalin

  15. When did American hostility towards communism truly begin?

    • Second World War
    • Cuban Missile Crisis
    • Russian Revolution
    • Vietnam War

  16. Why did the USSR remember the West with deep suspicion?

    • 1918 invasion
    • Marshall Plan aid
    • Treaty of Versailles
    • Wartime alliance

  17. What action did Stalin take in Eastern Europe after the Second World War?

    • Withdrew troops
    • Granted independence
    • Joined NATO
    • Took control

  18. What was Stalin's main goal for Eastern Europe after the war?

    • Economic growth
    • Democratic freedom
    • Capitalist trade
    • A buffer zone

  19. What name was given to the ideological divide across post-war Europe?

    • Berlin Wall
    • Iron Curtain
    • Soviet Barrier
    • Western Fence

  20. Why was the Cold War primarily described as an ideological conflict?

    • Clashing political systems
    • Religious disputes
    • Direct military battles
    • Colonial expansion

All KS3 History quizzes