How natural resources shape what a place makes and trades

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Two economies and one mine (cards A to E). Card A, a business chamber's guide to Chile and a mining news report (2024 and 2025): Chile is the world's largest copper producer, with about 24 percent of world output in 2024, down from about 30 percent a decade earlier. Card B, the same guide: mining made up 58.9 percent of Chile's goods exports in 2023, and copper ores and concentrates were 76.2 percent of mining exports. Card C, Verdia, an invented country: its largest export is machinery at 22 percent of export income; then food 20 percent, chemicals 18 percent, cars 15 percent and other goods 25 percent. Card D, an imagined case: a company asks to open a new copper mine in a dry region. The company says it would create 2,000 jobs. The farm council of the nearest town says the mine would use water that its farms need. Card E, an imagined price change: the world price of copper falls by 20 percent, and so does the world price of machinery. Other prices and the amounts sold stay the same.

2. 1.

   Card B: mining was 58.9 percent of Chile's goods exports, and copper ores and concentrates were 76.2 percent of mining exports. About what share of all goods exports were copper ores and concentrates, Ari asks?

   • About 76.2 percent, the share inside mining
   • About 45 percent: 76.2 percent of 58.9 percent
   • About 135 percent, found by adding the two shares
   • About 58.9 percent, the share for the whole mining industry
3. 2.

   Under card E, machinery on card C falls 20 percent. About what percent do Verdia's total exports fall, Esme asks?

   • About 44 percent, from multiplying 20 by 22
   • About 22 percent, the share that machinery makes
   • About 20 percent, the size of the price fall
   • About 4 percent: 20 percent of 22 percent
4. 3.

   Card E cuts the price of copper and of machinery by 20 percent. Which conclusion is best supported, Jun asks?

   • Verdia is hit harder, since it has more export goods to lose
   • The two fall equally, since both lose 20 percent on each good
   • Chile is hit harder: copper is a larger share than machinery
   • Neither is hurt, since export prices matter to producers, not to the country
5. 4.

   A student says, "Chile's world share of copper fell from 30 to 24 percent, so Chile makes less copper." Which reply is best, Kira asks?

   • Not shown: the share can fall while Chile's own output grows
   • Supported: card A says Chile's own copper output dropped by 6 percent
   • Supported: a smaller share of the world means a smaller amount for the country
   • Not shown: shares in two different years cannot be compared with each other
6. 5.

   Suppose world output was 20 million tonnes when Chile's share was 30 percent, and 25 million when it was 24 percent (invented totals). How did Chile's output change, Luz asks?

   • About 6 million tonnes both times, so the output stayed level
   • It fell, since 24 percent is a smaller share than 30 percent
   • It fell by 6 million tonnes, matching the 6-point fall in share
   • It rose by 5 million tonnes, the growth in the world's total output
7. 6.

   Card D has the company's view and the farm council's view of a new mine. Which question would help weigh both views, Noah asks?

   • Which statement uses the longer words, since longer words sound more expert
   • Which group has more people in its office, since larger groups know more
   • How much water the mine would use compared with what the farms need
   • Which statement was written first, since the earlier one is more likely right
8. 7.

   A student says, "Card C shows Verdia is safe from price shocks." Which reply is best, Pia asks?

   • Not shown: Verdia is less exposed to one price, not to a broad fall
   • Shown: card C says the amounts sold will rise
   • Not shown: Verdia is just as exposed as a country with one export
   • Shown: with no export above 25 percent, no price change can hurt Verdia
9. 8.

   A student says, "Copper cannot be regrown, so the mine's jobs will end someday." Which reply is best, Ren asks?

   • Proven: any copper mine closes within ten years of opening, so the jobs end
   • Reasonable: the jobs end as soon as the water for the mine runs out
   • Unreasonable: mines usually find more ore when the first ore is used up
   • Reasonable: ore runs out, though when depends on how much ore there is
10. 9.

    In card D, why would the company stress 2,000 jobs and the farm council stress water, Tala asks?

    • Each group is lying, since both want to win the decision about the mine
    • The council has the one real interest, so its view is the one that counts
    • Each group stresses what serves its own interests
    • The two statements cannot both be true, since jobs and water do not go together in one place
11. 10.

    Suppose a study finds the mine would use little of the town's water. What does that change about card D, Zee asks?

    • It changes nothing, since a study cannot change what people think of a mine
    • It answers the water concern but leaves other costs and gains open
    • It settles the case, since water was the one issue that mattered to anyone
    • It shows the company's job claim is correct, since water and jobs are linked