Mexico at a glance: land, people, language and trade

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   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.

2. 1.

   Ari wants to know how many people live in Mexico's cities. Use card B: about how many millions is 79.8% of 130.9 million?

   • About 10 million
   • About 79.8 million
   • About 26 million
   • About 104 million
3. 2.

   Japan has a higher city share than Brazil on card B. Bo asks which country has more people living in cities. Which is right?

   • Japan, because 92.2% is greater than 87.9%, so Japan has more city people
   • Japan, with 92.2 million city dwellers against 87.9 million for Brazil
   • They are about equal, because both countries have more than 85% in cities
   • Brazil, with about 186 million city dwellers against about 114 million
4. 3.

   Japan has a bigger forest share than Mexico on card B. Esme asks which country has more forest, in square kilometers. Which is right?

   • 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
   • Both have about the same, because the two shares add up to about 100%
   • Japan, with about 669,000 km² of forest against about 258,000 for Mexico
5. 4.

   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?

   • Yes, about 929 million in China against about 104 million in Mexico
   • Yes, because China covers a much larger area of land than Mexico
   • No, because Mexico's share is higher, so Mexico has more city people
   • No, because 65.9 million people is fewer than 79.8 million people
6. 5.

   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 6.8 million more
   • About 68 million more
   • About 5.2 million more
   • About 111 million more

7. Mexico: land and climate

   Topic	What it shows
   Land	a high central plateau between two mountain ranges, the Sierra Madre Occidental in the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental in the east; the Yucatán Peninsula; the Baja California peninsula
   Climate	dry in the north, tropical in the south, cooler on the high plateau

   World Bank figures on the other cards are for 2024.

8. 6.

   Card L says Mexico's central plateau is cooler than its tropical south. Milo asks what best explains that.

   • The plateau is by the ocean, so ocean water cools it
   • The plateau is farther north than the south, so it gets no sun
   • Both mountain ranges are cold, so the plateau between them is too
   • The plateau is high, and air gets cooler as height increases
9. 7.

   Noah plans a trip to Mexico. Using card L, in which area would farming without watering crops be hardest?

   • The high plateau, because cooler air cannot grow plants
   • The tropical south, because tropical means there is no rain
   • The dry north, because little rain falls there
   • The Yucatán Peninsula, because peninsulas have no rivers
10. 8.

    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?

    • Mexico has no lawmaking body, while Japan has the two-house Diet
    • Japan elects a president for one six-year term, while Mexico's Congress picks the leader
    • Japan has no leader, since the emperor is merely a symbol
    • Mexico elects a president for a six-year term; Japan's Diet chooses the prime minister

11. 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.

12. 9.

    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?

    • More of Japan's people than Mexico's live in cities, and Japan is far more crowded
    • Japan's cities are about five times larger in size than Mexico's cities are
    • Japan's people live in cities because mountains leave little flat land for homes
    • Japan's people are more crowded because its share living in cities is higher
13. 10.

    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 show 2030 too, because 79.8% stays the same each year
    • The figures cannot be used, because they were written before 2030
    • The figures are for 2024; a newer source is needed to describe 2030
    • The figures are from the World Bank, so they stay true in later years too