Mexico at a glance: land, people, language and trade
Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
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People in cities and forests (World Bank, 2024)
Country People (millions) Area (km²) Live in cities Forest cover (share of land) Mexico 130.9 1,957,194 79.8% 34.2% Brazil 212.0 8,510,420 87.9% 58.5% China 1,409.0 9,562,910 65.9% 24.0% Japan 124.0 377,975 92.2% 68.3% Treat each area as the land area. Shares are percents of a country's whole people or land.
Japan has a higher city share than Brazil on card B. Bo asks which country has more people living in cities. Which is right?
- Brazil, with about 186 million city dwellers against about 114 million
- Japan, because 92.2% is greater than 87.9%, so Japan has more city people
- They are about equal, because both countries have more than 85% in cities
- Japan, with 92.2 million city dwellers against 87.9 million for Brazil
Japan has a bigger forest share than Mexico on card B. Esme asks which country has more forest, in square kilometers. Which is right?
- Both have about the same, because the two shares add up to about 100%
- Japan, because 68.3% is a bigger share than 34.2%, so it has more forest
- Mexico, with about 669,000 km² of forest against about 258,000 for Japan
- Japan, with about 669,000 km² of forest against about 258,000 for Mexico
Brazil's forest share is 58.5% of its land (card B). Jun wonders how big that forest is. Which is closest?
- About 58.5 million km², which is bigger than the whole country
- About 500,000 km², which is about a quarter of Mexico's whole area
- About 3.5 million km², the part of the land that is not forest
- About 5.0 million km², over twice the size of all of Mexico
China's city share is lower than Mexico's on card B, but Kira thinks China may still have more city people. Is that right?
- No, because Mexico's share is higher, so Mexico has more city people
- Yes, about 929 million in China against about 104 million in Mexico
- No, because 65.9 million people is fewer than 79.8 million people
- Yes, because China covers a much larger area of land than Mexico
Mexico's city share (card B) rose from 79.8% to 85% while its population stayed at 130.9 million. About how many more people live in cities, Luz asks?
- About 68 million more
- About 6.8 million more
- About 5.2 million more
- About 111 million more
World Bank figures on the other cards are for 2024. Noah plans a trip to Mexico. Using card L, in which area would farming without watering crops be hardest?
- The tropical south, because tropical means there is no rain
- The high plateau, because cooler air cannot grow plants
- The Yucatán Peninsula, because peninsulas have no rivers
- The dry north, because little rain falls there
Three countries: how they are governed
Country Type of government Who leads Lawmaking body Mexico federal presidential republic a president elected for one six-year term a two-house Congress Brazil federal presidential republic a president elected for a four-year term a two-house National Congress Japan constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system a prime minister chosen by the Diet; the emperor is a symbol of the state the two-house Diet In a federal republic, power is shared between the national government and the states.
Pia compares how Japan and Mexico choose their leaders on card G. Which difference does the card show?
- Japan elects a president for one six-year term, while Mexico's Congress picks the leader
- Mexico has no lawmaking body, while Japan has the two-house Diet
- Mexico elects a president for a six-year term; Japan's Diet chooses the prime minister
- Japan has no leader, since the emperor is merely a symbol
Ren reads card G for a school report. Which statement does the card support?
- Brazil's president may serve a single term, just as Mexico's president does
- Brazil has a parliamentary system of government, just like the one in Japan
- Japan's emperor chooses the prime minister and the members of the Diet
- Mexico and Brazil each have an elected president and share power with states
People in cities and forests (World Bank, 2024)
Country People (millions) Area (km²) Live in cities Forest cover (share of land) Mexico 130.9 1,957,194 79.8% 34.2% Brazil 212.0 8,510,420 87.9% 58.5% China 1,409.0 9,562,910 65.9% 24.0% Japan 124.0 377,975 92.2% 68.3% Treat each area as the land area. Shares are percents of a country's whole people or land.
Card B shows Japan with 92.2% of people in cities, and Tala works out a density of about 328 people per km² from the chart. Which conclusion does the card support?
- Japan's people live in cities because mountains leave little flat land for homes
- More of Japan's people than Mexico's live in cities, and Japan is far more crowded
- Japan's people are more crowded because its share living in cities is higher
- Japan's cities are about five times larger in size than Mexico's cities are
In 2030, Zee wants to use card B to say how many people live in Mexico's cities "now." What should a careful student say?
- The figures cannot be used, because they were written before 2030
- The figures show 2030 too, because 79.8% stays the same each year
- The figures are from the World Bank, so they stay true in later years too
- The figures are for 2024; a newer source is needed to describe 2030