Landforms, rivers and resources of Central and South America and the Caribbean
Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
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Height and temperature near the equator
Place What the card says Guayaquil, Ecuador close to the equator and close to sea level; hot and humid Quito, Ecuador also close to the equator, but about 2,800 m above sea level; cool all year La Paz, Bolivia in the tropics, about 3,600 m above sea level; people wear warm coats Peaks near the equator some tall peaks in the Andes near the equator are snow-covered all year Model rule: air is about 6.5°C cooler for every 1,000 m of height.
Quito and Guayaquil both lie close to the equator, yet Quito is cool and Guayaquil is hot (card C). What best explains the difference, Ari asks?
- Quito lies much farther from the equator than Guayaquil does, so it is cooler
- Guayaquil is higher up the mountains, where the sun is closer to it
- Quito is about 2,800 m high, and air is cooler at greater height
- Quito has more rain than Guayaquil, which lowers the temperature through the year
La Paz is in the tropics, yet people there wear warm coats (card C). What is the reason, Esme asks?
- La Paz lies far from the equator, near the poles, so it is cold
- Towns in the tropics are cold, and La Paz is just like the rest
- La Paz is on the coast, where cold sea winds blow across the town
- La Paz sits about 3,600 m high, where the air is much cooler
A coastal town has air of 28°C (made up). A village on the same mountain, 2,000 m higher, is about how warm using card C's rule, Kira asks?
- About 21.5°C
- About 41°C
- About 1.5°C
- About 15°C
Some tall peaks near the equator stay snow-covered all year (card C). Which chain explains it, Luz asks?
- Heat from the equator melts snow in winter, which then falls back as snow in summer
- The equator is cold, so peaks there are cold at each height
- Snow is carried there from the poles by the wind
- Height cools the air about 6.5°C per 1,000 m, so high peaks stay cold
The Panama Canal
Topic What the card says What it is an 82 km waterway built by people across the narrow land of Panama What it joins the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean side) and the Pacific Ocean Locks steps of water that lift ships about 26 m up to Gatun Lake and lower them again Before the canal ships sailed around the southern tip of South America to pass between the oceans A lock is a chamber with gates; water is let in or out to raise or lower a ship.
Card D says people built a canal across the narrow land of Panama. Why was it worth building, Milo asks?
- It lets ships avoid the equator, where the sailing is hot
- It makes the Atlantic and the Pacific into one single ocean
- Ships pass between the oceans without sailing around the tip
- It lets ships sail from the Pacific Ocean up into the Amazon River
The canal's locks lift ships about 26 m up to Gatun Lake (card D). What does that tell Noah about the lake?
- Gatun Lake sits about 26 m lower than the oceans
- Gatun Lake is at the same height as the oceans
- Gatun Lake is about 26 m higher than the oceans
- The locks are 26 km long
Suppose a trip around South America's southern tip is 20,000 km (made up) and the canal route is 12,000 km. How much shorter is the canal route, Pia asks?
- 8,000 km shorter
- 800 km shorter
- 12,000 km shorter
- 32,000 km shorter
Ren writes three sentences about the canal. Which one does card D support?
- The canal joins the Pacific to the Caribbean Sea and nothing else
- Rivers formed the canal on their own over many thousands of years
- People built the 82 km canal to join the Atlantic and Pacific
- The canal is 82 m long, with locks that lift ships 26 km
Put the chain in order for how the canal helped ships, using card D. Which is right, Tala asks?
- Ships sail around South America, so the canal gets longer, and trips are shorter
- Trips became shorter, so people built the canal, and then ships stopped sailing around
- The locks made the two oceans join, so trips became shorter for ships
- People built the canal, so ships skip the southern tip and trips are shorter
Zee's note says, "The Panama Canal joins the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea." Which fix uses card D?
- It joins the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean side) and the Pacific Ocean
- It joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean through the isthmus
- It joins the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean across Panama
- It joins the Amazon River and the Pacific Ocean across the Andes