How natural resources shape what a place makes and trades

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Marlo Island, an invented country used to practice real ideas (cards A to D). Card A, from the Marlo Statistics Office, a table of last year's export income (total $500 million): coffee beans 72 percent, fish 18 percent, fruit 10 percent. Card B, from the same office: last year a bag of coffee sold for $200; this year it sells for $140, and Marlo's farms sold the same number of bags both years. Card C, from the Marlo Coffee Growers' Association press release: "Coffee is the heart of Marlo. Prices always come back, so no change is needed." Card D, from the Statistics Office: Marlo makes almost no fuel or machines and buys them from other countries with its export income. Fish and fruit exports stayed at last year's amounts.

2. 1.

   From card A, how much of Marlo's export income came from coffee beans last year, Ari asks?

   • $360 million, found by taking 72 percent of $500 million
   • $72 million, since the table shows the number 72
   • $180 million, found by taking half of the $360 million total
   • $140 million, the price of a bag of coffee this year
3. 2.

   Last year's $360 million of coffee was sold at $200 a bag. The same bags sold this year at $140. How much less coffee income did Marlo earn, Bo asks?

   • $180 million less, since the price fell by about half
   • $60 million less, since the price fell $60 a bag
   • $108 million less, since 1.8 million bags each sold for $60 less
   • $252 million less, since that is this year's coffee income
4. 3.

   Fish and fruit exports stayed the same. By about what percent did Marlo's total export income fall, Esme asks?

   • About 28 percent, found by dividing $108 million by this year's $392 million
   • About 72 percent, the share of income that came from coffee
   • About 30 percent, the same as the fall in the coffee price
   • About 22 percent, since $108 million is about 22 percent of $500 million
5. 4.

   A student says, "Card A shows Marlo's export income depends on one product." How strong is that claim, Kira asks?

   • Strong: coffee is 72 percent of export income, far more than fish or fruit
   • Weak: fish and fruit together are worth more than coffee
   • Weak: three exports means Marlo is protected when one price changes
   • Strong: card A shows coffee is also most of what Marlo earns inside the island
6. 5.

   Who wrote card C, and why might it say "no change is needed," Luz asks?

   • The Statistics Office, which just counts numbers and takes no side
   • A neutral team of experts, so its claim is settled fact
   • The Coffee Growers' Association, speaking for coffee farmers
   • Marlo's fishers, who earn more when the coffee price rises
7. 6.

   Card B shows the coffee price falling while fish and fruit exports stay the same. How might a coffee farmer and a fisher on Marlo see it, Milo asks?

   • Both lose the same share, since both sell their goods on Marlo
   • The farmer is hurt by the lower price; the fisher may not be
   • The fisher loses more, since fish is a larger share of the island's catch
   • Neither is affected, since the same number of bags were sold
8. 7.

   Suppose Marlo doubles its fruit exports and the other exports stay the same. Coffee is $360 million and the new total is $550 million. About what share is coffee now, Noah asks?

   • About 65 percent, still the largest share but lower than before
   • About 72 percent, since coffee income did not change
   • About 50 percent, since doubling one export splits income in half
   • About 79 percent, since adding fruit makes coffee more important
9. 8.

   A student says, "Coffee plants regrow, so Marlo's coffee income is safe." Which reply is best, Ren asks?

   • Not safe: coffee is renewable, but its price can still fall
   • Right: resources that run out can lose value, but crops cannot
   • Wrong: coffee is not renewable, because farmers must replant it
   • Right: renewable crops keep a steady price
10. 9.

    Which source would best check card B's coffee price, Tala asks?

    • Another statement from the growers' association, since it speaks for farmers
    • A newspaper article retelling the price from the press release
    • A record of coffee sale prices at the island's export port
    • A tourist guide that describes coffee farms on the island
11. 10.

    At this year's $140 price, about how many bags would Marlo need to sell to earn last year's $360 million, and how does that compare with the 1.8 million sold, Zee asks?

    • About 1.3 million bags, since a lower price means fewer bags
    • 1.8 million bags, the same as last year
    • About 2.6 million bags, about 0.8 million more than last year
    • 2.6 million more bags than last year