6th grade Landforms, rivers and resources of Russia and northern Eurasia worksheet

Landforms, rivers and resources of Russia and northern Eurasia

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card I (three sources on the Aral Sea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan). Source 1: two rivers, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, flowed into the Aral Sea. From the 1960s, large canals took river water to cotton fields in the desert. Source 2: by 2007 the sea had shrunk to a small part of its 1960 size and had split into pieces. Source 3, a former fisher (invented): "My town was a harbor. Now the nearest water is a long walk across dry, salty ground."

2. 1.

   Which chain best explains why the Aral Sea shrank, Tala asks?

   • Canals took the river water to cotton fields, less water reached the sea, and it shrank
   • The sea shrank, so farmers dug canals to bring river water to cotton fields that were far from the shore
   • Dust storms carried the sea away, so the rivers could no longer reach it and the fields dried out
   • Fishers took too many fish, so the sea shrank and the town lost its harbor and its jobs
3. 2.

   Which claim do Sources 1 and 3 together support, Jun asks?

   • The canals brought water to the fields, so the Aral Sea region now has more water in total, not less
   • Cotton farming explains each change to the lands around the Aral Sea, with nothing else involved
   • The sea left the harbor town, so farmers had water to spare for their canals, which they used on cotton
   • Water taken for fields left less for the sea, and a harbor town now lies far from the water
4. 3.

   A cotton grower and the former fisher view the canals differently. What best explains that, Bo asks?

   • Both agree the canals were a mistake, since the sea is gone and the harbor is dry
   • The grower's fields lie far from the sea, so the grower does not need river water to grow cotton
   • The grower wants the canals closed so the sea can refill; the fisher wants the canals to carry more water
   • The grower's fields depend on canal water; the fisher's harbor lost the sea when water was diverted

5. Use this

   Card J (two sources, Arctic sea route). Source 1, satellite records: since 1979 the area of Arctic sea ice at its late-summer low has shrunk. Source 2, a shipping summary: the Northern Sea Route runs along Russia's Arctic coast and links Europe with East Asia. Ships can use it in late summer and autumn, and many still need icebreaker help.

6. 4.

   A student claims: "The Northern Sea Route is now as easy as any sea lane." How does Card J bear on that, Luz asks?

   • It supports the claim, because the route links Europe with East Asia
   • It supports the claim, because the area of ice in late summer has shrunk since 1979
   • It weakens the claim: ships use it only in late summer and autumn, often with icebreakers
   • It weakens the claim, because ships need thick ice around them to sail safely in the Arctic

7. Use this

   Card K (fact card, Norilsk). Norilsk lies beyond the Arctic Circle in northern Siberia, near large deposits of nickel and copper. The city was built around the mines and metal works. Winters are long and dark, and the ground is permafrost. The Yenisei flows north to the Arctic Ocean and is frozen in winter. Supplies arrive by air, by rail to a port, and by ship on the Yenisei in summer.

8. 5.

   Why would people build a city in such a cold place, Ari asks?

   • Supplies arrive by air, by rail to a port, and by ship in summer
   • A city was built there first, and its people then found nickel and copper nearby
   • The long dark winters make the ground easy to dig, so builders picked it for the mines
   • Nickel and copper deposits created mining jobs, so the city was built around the mines
9. 6.

   Why must shipments by river reach Norilsk in summer, Zee asks?

   • The Yenisei flows south, so ships sail upriver toward Norilsk in summer
   • Shipments come in summer because the city does not need supplies in winter
   • Trains cannot reach a port, so ships carry the whole load in summer
   • The Yenisei is frozen in winter, so ships can use it only in the warm season
10. 7.

    Novosibirsk grew where a railway crossed a river; Norilsk grew near mines. What does the comparison show, Milo asks?

    • Cities can grow from a transport route or from resources, and these two cities did each
    • Novosibirsk is bigger than Norilsk, because rivers matter more than mines, so rivers explain more cities
    • Siberian cities grew from railways, because the railway built each one from Moscow to the Pacific
    • Norilsk is the older city, because mines came before the railway, so it was built first

11. Use this

    Card L (clock times, UTC offsets, no daylight saving time). Moscow is UTC+3. Yekaterinburg is UTC+5. Novosibirsk is UTC+7. Vladivostok is UTC+10. A time that passes midnight moves to the next day.

12. 8.

    A flight leaves Moscow at 9 a.m. Moscow time and flies 8 hours. What time is it in Vladivostok when it lands, Pia asks?

    • 10 a.m. on the same day
    • 3 a.m. the next day
    • Midnight
    • 5 p.m. on the same day
13. 9.

    A train leaves Yekaterinburg at 10 a.m. local time and takes 6 hours to reach Novosibirsk. What is the local arrival time, Noah asks?

    • 11 p.m.
    • 2 p.m.
    • 6 p.m.
    • 4 p.m.
14. 10.

    A team in Moscow wants a call at 8 p.m. Moscow time. What does Card L say about Vladivostok, Kira asks?

    • 6 a.m. there, which is a good time for a call
    • 1 p.m. there, which is a good time for a call
    • 3 a.m. the next day, which is a poor time for a call
    • 8 p.m. there too, since Russia keeps one clock for the country