Read a population-density map and explain where people live

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use the table

   Province	People (2021)	Land area (km²)
   New Brunswick	775,610	71,389
   British Columbia	5,000,879	920,687

   Data: Statistics Canada, 2021.

2. 1.

   Ari works out both densities, people ÷ area. Which province is more crowded, and by about how much?

   • New Brunswick: about 11 per km² against 5
   • They are about equal: 5 each
   • British Columbia: about 0.18 against 0.09
   • British Columbia: it has about 5 million people
3. 2.

   Bo works out both densities, people ÷ area. Which province is more crowded, and by about how much?

   • Prince Edward Island: about 27 per km² against 16
   • Ontario: about 0.06 against 0.04
   • Ontario: it has about 14 million people
   • They are about equal: 16 each
4. 3.

   Data: World Bank, 2023; Ulaanbaatar from Wikipedia. Mongolia averages about 2 people per km². Esme's friend says that means Mongolians are spread evenly across the land. Which response is right?

   • Agree: the land is too cold for cities
   • Disagree: most live in the Gobi Desert
   • Disagree: about half live in one city
   • Agree: an average means an even spread
5. 4.

   Note: about two-thirds of Icelanders live in the Capital Region (Wikipedia). Average from World Bank, 2023. Iceland averages about 4 people per km². Jun's friend says Icelanders must live far apart everywhere. Which response is right?

   • Disagree: about two-thirds live around Reykjavík
   • Agree: the whole island is ice
   • Disagree: most live on the glaciers
   • Agree: an average means people are spread out
6. 5.

   Luz compares a physical map and a dot map of China. Dots crowd the east; the west is mostly mountains and desert. What best explains the pattern?

   • The west is too crowded to hold more people
   • Flat, well-watered eastern plains support farms and cities
   • The western mountains are near the ocean
   • People are spread evenly, but the map hides it
7. 6.

   Milo compares a physical map and a dot map of India. Dots crowd the wide plain along the Ganges River. What best explains the pattern?

   • The flat river plain is good for farming
   • The Himalayas are where most people farm
   • The plain has the most land, so it has the most people
   • People are spread evenly, but the map hides it
8. 7.

   Noah compares a physical map and a dot map of Algeria. Dots crowd the north coast; the south is the Sahara. What best explains the pattern?

   • The south is colder than the north
   • The Sahara is too crowded to hold more people
   • The north gets rain; the southern desert is very dry
   • People are spread evenly, but the map hides it
9. 8.

   Data: Statistics Canada, 2021. Pia's note says, "Ontario is more crowded than Prince Edward Island because more people live there." Which fix makes the note right?

   • Swap them: PEI has more people per km²
   • Leave it: more people means more crowded
   • Change "people" to "area"
   • Change "Ontario" to "Quebec"

10. Use this

    Data: Statistics Canada, 2021.

11. 9.

    Ren counted 40 dots on a dot map of Yukon and wrote, "40 people live in Yukon." Which fix makes the note right?

    • Change it to about 4,000 people
    • Leave it: each dot is one person
    • Change it to about 40,000 people
    • Change it to about 400,000 people
12. 10.

    Tala counted 37 dots on a dot map of Nunavut and wrote, "37 people live in Nunavut." Which fix makes the note right?

    • Leave it: each dot is one person
    • Change it to about 37,000 people
    • Change it to about 370,000 people
    • Change it to about 3,700 people