Global supply chains and comparing economies
Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
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Trade as a share of GDP and GDP, seven countries, 2023
Country Trade (percent of GDP) GDP (trillions of U.S. dollars) United States 24.9 27.81 China 36.7 18.27 Germany 82.0 4.56 Japan 43.6 4.38 India 46.3 3.50 Mexico 73.7 1.79 Viet Nam 165.0 0.43 Note: World Bank, World Development Indicators (NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS and NY.GDP.MKTP.CD), 2023, retrieved Nov 14, 2026. Trade is exports plus imports of goods and services, as a percent of GDP. GDP is in current U.S. dollars, in trillions. Card B (in our words): Each export and import is counted at its full value, including the value of imported parts. GDP counts only the value a country adds. Card C: Trade as a share of GDP shows how large trade is next to a country's own output.
Pia compares Germany and the United States using the chart. Which statement is best supported?
- Germany's economy is more open than the United States', so it gains more from its trade with others
- Germany trades more than the United States, since its share of GDP is over three times larger
- Germany's trade share is over three times the U.S. share, but U.S. trade is larger in dollars
- The United States trades more than Germany in dollars, so it also has the higher share of GDP
Viet Nam's trade is 165.0 percent of GDP. Esme asks how a share can pass 100 percent. Which reason fits card B?
- Exports and imports are counted at full value, imported parts included; GDP counts value added
- Viet Nam trades more than it produces, so it must be running down its own stocks of goods
- A share cannot pass 100 percent of GDP, so the figure is a data error in the World Bank table
- Imports exceed exports by 65 percent, which is what the 165 means when read next to 100 percent
A student says the United States is least connected to the world economy because its trade share is lowest. Jun tests it. What is the best reply?
- Not shown: the chart has no data on connections, so no conclusion can be drawn from its numbers
- Not shown: a low share partly reflects a large home economy, and U.S. trade is the largest in dollars
- Shown: a low share means the United States buys and sells little abroad compared with the others
- Shown in reverse: the United States is the most connected, since it has the largest GDP of the seven
A writer says Germany depends more on trade than Mexico. Kira checks the chart. Which statement is best supported?
- True as a share of GDP (82.0 against 73.7); in dollars Germany's trade is about 2.8 times Mexico's
- False: Mexico depends more on trade, since its trade is 73.7 percent of a much smaller economy
- True, so a trade disruption would hurt Germany's workers more than it would hurt Mexico's workers
- True, and Germany's trade is a little larger than Mexico's in dollars as well as in its share
A student says Viet Nam depends on imports for 165 percent of its GDP. Luz tests it with the note. What is the best reply?
- Shown: imports and exports are equal, so imports are half of 165, or 82.5 percent of GDP
- Shown: imports are 165 percent of GDP, since trade is a measure of what a country buys from abroad
- Not shown, and the figure is impossible: no country can import more than its whole GDP in a year
- Not shown: trade adds exports and imports, so the chart cannot give imports alone
Output per worker-day in three made-up countries
Good Alva Brek Cune Gadgets 8 6 2 Grain (sacks) 4 6 5 Note: Alva, Brek and Cune are made up. Card A: Each country has workers who can make either good. The chart shows output per worker-day. Card B: Opportunity cost is what must be given up. A country has a comparative advantage in a good when its opportunity cost of making it is lower than the other countries'. Card C: Alva and Cune trade at 1 gadget for 1 grain. Card D: The chart has no shipping costs, wages or limits on how many workers each country has.
Brek makes more grain per worker-day than Cune (6 against 5). Milo asks who has the comparative advantage in grain. Which answer fits card B?
- Cune: a sack costs it 0.4 gadget, against 1 for Brek and 2 for Alva
- Brek, since its cost of 1 gadget per sack sits in the middle of the three countries' costs
- Alva, because it gives up the most gadgets for each sack of grain it makes, 2 in total
- Brek, because it makes more grain per worker-day than Cune does, 6 sacks against Cune's 5
Card C: Alva and Cune trade at 1 gadget for 1 grain. Noah asks whether both gain. Which statement is best supported?
- Neither gains, since each country gives up one good to receive one good of the other kind
- Cune gains but Alva loses, since Alva gives up gadgets that it could keep for its own people
- Alva gains but Cune loses, since Alva is better at gadgets and Cune is the worse producer of both
- Both gain: Alva's gadget costs it 0.5 grain but sells for 1; Cune's would cost it 2.5 grain
Brek makes more of both goods per worker-day than Cune. A writer says Cune has nothing to offer Brek. Ren tests it. What is the best reply?
- Not supported: Cune's gadgets cost 2.5 grain, so Cune would sell gadgets to Brek instead of grain
- Not supported: Cune's grain costs 0.4 gadget against Brek's 1, so Brek gains by buying grain
- Supported: Brek has an absolute advantage in both goods, so it needs no trade partner
- Supported: Cune makes just 2 gadgets, so it has no good that Brek would want to buy from it
Alva buys grain from Cune at 1 gadget per grain. Cune's supply stops, so Alva makes grain at home. Tala asks what happens to Alva's cost of a sack. Which is right?
- It halves, from 2 gadgets to 1, since making grain at home saves the cost of shipping the grain
- It doubles, from 1 gadget (trade price) to 2 (cost of making grain at home)
- It rises to 4 gadgets, since Alva can make 4 sacks of grain per worker-day at home
- It stays at 1 gadget, since Alva was already making the gadgets that paid for the grain
Ari asks what card D means for using the chart to plan who should make what. Which statement is best supported?
- The chart is useless for planning, since it ignores shipping and wages and the limits on workers
- The chart shows where costs are lowest in principle, but not shipping, wages or limits on workers
- The chart settles who should make what, since opportunity costs are the whole story for a country
- The chart shows the lowest market prices for trade, since it gives output per worker-day for each