Farming around the world, and where food comes from

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Cereal yields, 1961 and 2024

   Country	1961 (kg per hectare)	2024 (kg per hectare)
   China	1,193	6,495
   India	947	3,632
   Mexico	1,105	3,752
   United States	2,522	8,414
   Ethiopia	715	2,632

   Note: World Bank figures from FAO. Cereals include wheat, rice, maize and other grains, counted together. The Green Revolution spread high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, with more fertilizer, pesticides and controlled irrigation. Its early work was in Mexico; Norman Borlaug, a key scientist, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Studies credit it with much higher yields; others raise concerns about the effects of fertilizers and pesticides.

2. 1.

   Ari asks which country's cereal yield rose the most between 1961 and 2024. Which answer is sound?

   • Ethiopia on both, because it started lowest and so had the most room to rise
   • China on both, because its yield rose 5.4 times and a bigger multiple means a bigger gain
   • The United States on both, because its 2024 yield is the highest of the five countries in the table
   • Depends on the measure: the United States gained most kilograms, China the biggest multiple
3. 2.

   Bo compares Mexico with the United States. Did the kilogram gap between them narrow or widen from 1961 to 2024?

   • It widened because the Green Revolution began in Mexico and reached the United States later
   • It widened, from 1,417 to 4,662 kilograms, even though Mexico's multiple was slightly larger
   • It narrowed, since Mexico's yield rose by a larger multiple than the United States' yield did
   • It stayed the same, since both yields rose to about three and a half times their 1961 level
4. 3.

   Esme says India's yield is catching up with China's. Compare India with China in 1961 and 2024. Is that fair?

   • Yes, because India's yield rose almost four times, a bigger multiple than the United States' yield
   • No: India's yield was 79% of China's in 1961 and about 56% in 2024, so it fell further behind
   • No, because India's 2024 yield is below China's, and a lower yield means a larger gap in the ratio
   • Yes, because both countries' yields rose, so the two moved together between 1961 and 2024
5. 4.

   The note says studies credit the Green Revolution with higher yields, while others raise concerns about fertilizers and pesticides. How should Luz read the two?

   • The yield studies settle the matter, because the table shows yields rose in each of the five countries
   • They answer different questions, yields and side effects, so both can be true together
   • They contradict each other, so one of the two statements has to be wrong
   • The concerns outweigh the yield gains, because the note names pesticides and fertilizers
6. 5.

   Milo compares the order of the five countries by yield in 1961 and in 2024. Which conclusion is supported?

   • India overtook Mexico, because India's yield rose by a larger multiple (3.8 against 3.4)
   • The order is the same in both years: United States, China, Mexico, India, Ethiopia
   • China overtook the United States, because China's multiple was the biggest of the five
   • Ethiopia gained on the other four countries, so it moved up the order by 2024
7. 6.

   Which comparison is the fairest way for Noah to judge how much each country's yield improved?

   • Each country's 2024 yield divided by its own 1961 yield, since the starting levels differ
   • Kilograms gained, since a larger gain in kilograms means that farming has improved more
   • The 2024 yields side by side, since they show which country has the strongest farming of the five today
   • The 1961 yields, since the earliest figures show the natural quality of each soil
8. 7.

   The table gives each country's national average. Ethiopia's 2024 average is 2,632 kilograms. What can Pia say about one farm in Ethiopia?

   • Its yield was 2,632 kilograms per hectare, as the table says for the country as a whole
   • Its yield rose about 3.7 times since 1961, since the national figure rose by that multiple over the period
   • It could be well above or below 2,632, since a national average hides the spread between farms
   • Its yield was below India's 3,632, since Ethiopia's national average is below India's
9. 8.

   Ren writes about the five countries. Which sentence stays within the table and the note?

   • Yields rose in all five countries, and fertilizers and pesticides had no downsides
   • Yields rose in all five countries because the Green Revolution reached each one of them
   • Yields rose in all five countries, and studies credit the Green Revolution with higher yields
   • Yields rose most where the Green Revolution began, in Mexico, and least in the United States of the five
10. 9.

    Tala compares Mexico's 3,752 with India's 3,632 to say Mexico's wheat fields yield more than India's. What is wrong with that?

    • The years differ, so the two countries' figures cannot be compared at all
    • Nothing: a cereal yield is measured the same way everywhere, so wheat gaps follow the same pattern as cereal gaps
    • India's yield rose by a larger multiple, so Mexico's current yield cannot be higher
    • The figures count all cereals together, so a gap could come from the mix of crops as well as from wheat
11. 10.

    Zee writes: "Ethiopia's yield rose 268% against only 234% for the United States, so Ethiopia is closing the gap." Check it.

    • Neither country gained on the other, because the ratio of their yields was the same in both years
    • The percentages are right, but the gap grew from 1,807 to 5,782 kilograms; percent overstates catching up
    • The percentages are right, so the gap closed, because a bigger percent rise means a smaller gap in kilograms
    • The percentages are wrong, because Ethiopia's rise in kilograms is smaller than the United States'