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
   • The United States on both, because its 2024 yield is the highest of the five countries in the table
   • China on both, because its yield rose 5.4 times and a bigger multiple means a bigger gain
   • 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
   • Yes, because both countries' yields rose, so the two moved together between 1961 and 2024
   • 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
5. 4.

   The Green Revolution's early work was in Mexico. Jun predicts Mexico gained the most of the five. Does the table support that?

   • Yes: Mexico's yield rose by a larger multiple than the United States' yield did
   • No: Mexico's yield rose about 3.4 times, less than China's, India's or Ethiopia's multiple
   • Yes: the early start in Mexico explains why its multiple is bigger than any other country's
   • No: Mexico's 2024 yield is the lowest of the five, so it gained the least
6. 5.

   A critic says the Green Revolution explains China's yield rise. What can Kira say using only the table and note?

   • The concerns in the note mean the rise cannot be credited to the Green Revolution in any way
   • The table shows it: the biggest rise, China's, came in a country where the note says the varieties spread
   • China's yield rose 5.4 times, the biggest multiple, but the table shows the rise, not its cause
   • The note rules it out, because the Green Revolution's early work was in Mexico, not China
7. 6.

   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?

   • 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 yield studies settle the matter, because the table shows yields rose in each of the five countries
   • The concerns outweigh the yield gains, because the note names pesticides and fertilizers
8. 7.

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

   • Kilograms gained, since a larger gain in kilograms means that farming has improved more
   • The 1961 yields, since the earliest figures show the natural quality of each soil
   • The 2024 yields side by side, since they show which country has the strongest farming of the five today
   • Each country's 2024 yield divided by its own 1961 yield, since the starting levels differ
9. 8.

   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 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
   • Its yield was 2,632 kilograms per hectare, as the table says for the country as a whole
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 figures count all cereals together, so a gap could come from the mix of crops as well as from wheat
    • Nothing: a cereal yield is measured the same way everywhere, so wheat gaps follow the same pattern as cereal gaps
    • The years differ, so the two countries' figures cannot be compared at all
    • India's yield rose by a larger multiple, so Mexico's current yield cannot be higher
11. 10.

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

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