How hazards and resources shaped where people live

Grade 9 Science Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Table, U.S. coastal counties (NOAA), with columns Measure, NOAA figure: People in coastal counties, 129 million, almost 40% of the nation; Share of land (excluding Alaska), less than 10%; Coastal people per square mile, about 468; Nation's people per square mile, about 113.

2. 1.

   Using the NOAA table, about how many times the nation's density is the coastal density, by Bo's math?

   • About 4 times
   • About 355 times
   • About 40 times
   • About 0.24 times
3. 2.

   NOAA: from 1970 to 2020, coastal counties gained about 40.5 million people, about 46%. Roughly how many lived there in 1970, by Esme's math?

   • About 88 million
   • About 59 million
   • About 19 million
   • About 129 million
4. 3.

   Using the NOAA table, why might coasts hold so many people on so little land, by Jun's reading?

   • Coasts hold most of the nation's land
   • Coastal counties support many jobs, ports and trade
   • People judge coasts on their beaches alone
   • Coasts have no storms or flooding for people to weigh
5. 4.

   A home sits in a 100-year floodplain (USGS: 1% chance a year). What is the chance of no flood in a given year, by Kira's math?

   • 90%
   • 99%
   • 0%
   • 50%

6. Use this

   A world map marking the Ring of Fire and the Nile and Mississippi floodplains.

7. 5.

   USGS: most metal ores mined in the world, such as copper and gold, are tied to what, by Noah's reading?

   • Sand dunes in deserts
   • Sediment left on river floodplains
   • Magmas deep in the roots of extinct volcanoes
   • Coral reefs growing along coasts
8. 6.

   USGS: what energy resource comes from the heat of young volcanic systems, by Pia's reading?

   • Geothermal energy
   • Wind energy
   • Tidal energy
   • Coal
9. 7.

   How can the same volcano be both a hazard and a resource, by Ren's reading (USGS)?

   • Its eruptions are a hazard, while its soils, heat and ores are resources
   • A volcano that holds ores stops being a hazard
   • Its eruptions are its main resource for farms
   • Its soils turn fertile during each eruption, then fade

10. Model site scores, 1 (weak) to 3 (strong) (model data)

    Site	Soil	Water	Transport	Safety from hazard
    A	3	3	3	1
    B	3	2	1	1
    C	1	2	3	2
    D	1	1	1	3

11. 8.

    Using the model scores, what is site A's total, by Tala's math?

    • 13 points
    • 7 points
    • 1 point
    • 10 points
12. 9.

    Using the model scores, which site is safest from hazards but lowest in total, by Zee's reading?

    • Site C
    • Site B
    • Site D
    • Site A
13. 10.

    Using the model scores, why might people still pick site A despite its low safety score, by Ari's reading?

    • Floods cannot reach a farm built on a floodplain
    • Its soil, water and transport scores outweigh one low score
    • People pick a site by one criterion alone
    • Its safety score is the highest of the four sites