Weigh who gains and who pays when a community decides

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Canal or road?

   (an example town, made up for practice), columns Option | Cost | Who gains most | Who pays or loses: canal | 9,000 coins | boat owners, and farmers who ship grain | landowners whose fields are dug up; road | 6,000 coins | cart drivers, and shops along the road | farmers whose fields are crossed. Then, below the table: Cause and effect chain "Weighing two choices": [1] the town has money for one project, not both; [2] it chooses the canal; [3] boat owners and grain farmers gain; [4] landowners on the canal's path lose fields; [5] the road is not built: the town gives up what the road would have brought. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 2 → 4, 2 → 5. Below the chain: a fair weighing lists the gains and costs for each group before choosing; it does not mean every group is happy.

2. 1.

   In Kira's table, how much more does the canal cost than the road?

   • 3,000 coins
   • 15,000 coins, adding the two costs
   • 6,000 coins, the road's cost
   • 300 coins
3. 2.

   Who gains most from the canal, Luz asks?

   • Landowners whose fields are dug up
   • Cart drivers, and shops along the new road
   • Boat owners and grain farmers
   • Each group gains equally from it
4. 3.

   Who pays or loses if the road is built, Milo asks?

   • Farmers whose fields it crosses
   • Cart drivers, who gain most
   • No one loses from a road
   • Boat owners, and farmers who ship grain
5. 4.

   Choosing the canal leads to three effects in Noah's chain. Which is the opportunity cost?

   • The 9,000 coins being returned to taxpayers
   • Landowners on the canal's path losing fields
   • Boat owners and grain farmers gaining trade
   • The road not built
6. 5.

   Why can the town not choose both projects, Pia asks?

   • Money for one, not both
   • Roads are against the law
   • A canal and a road cannot be built near each other
   • The landowners voted against both
7. 6.

   Which sentence about the canal choice is careful, Tala asks?

   • It helps some and costs others
   • The canal is the right choice for each town
   • The canal helps each group in the same way
   • The canal costs no one anything
8. 7.

   What does a fair weighing do, by the note, Zee asks?

   • Asks one group to decide for the rest
   • Makes each group happy with the choice
   • Picks the cheapest option without looking
   • Lists each group's gains and costs
9. 8.

   Ari's friend says the road is better because it costs less. Which reply fits the table?

   • Agree: the road harms no one
   • Cost is one fact among several
   • Disagree: the road costs more
   • Agree: the cheaper option is right for each town
10. 9.

    Esme's note says, "Choosing the canal gives up nothing." Which fix is right?

    • Change "canal" to "ferry"
    • Leave it: the canal comes with no cost of any kind
    • Change it: it gives up the road
    • Change "nothing" to "boats"
11. 10.

    Jun's note says, "Weighing costs and benefits makes each group happy." Which fix is right?

    • Change it: some groups still lose
    • Leave it: weighing makes each group happy
    • Change "costs" to "canals"
    • Change "group" to "river"