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?

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

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

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

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

   • Yes: the early start in Mexico explains why its multiple is bigger than any other country's
   • No: Mexico's yield rose about 3.4 times, less than China's, India's or Ethiopia's multiple
   • No: Mexico's 2024 yield is the lowest of the five, so it gained the least
   • Yes: Mexico's yield rose by a larger multiple than the United States' yield did
5. 4.

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

   • 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
   • 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
6. 5.

   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
   • The concerns outweigh the yield gains, because the note names pesticides and fertilizers
   • The yield studies settle the matter, because the table shows yields rose in each of the five countries
   • They contradict each other, so one of the two statements has to be wrong
7. 6.

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

   • Ethiopia gained on the other four countries, so it moved up the order by 2024
   • India overtook Mexico, because India's yield rose by a larger multiple (3.8 against 3.4)
   • China overtook the United States, because China's multiple was the biggest of the five
   • The order is the same in both years: United States, China, Mexico, India, Ethiopia
8. 7.

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

   • 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
   • Kilograms gained, since a larger gain in kilograms means that farming has improved more
   • 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.

    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, 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
    • Yields rose in all five countries because the Green Revolution reached each one of them
11. 10.

    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?

    • India's yield rose by a larger multiple, so Mexico's current yield cannot be higher
    • 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
    • The figures count all cereals together, so a gap could come from the mix of crops as well as from wheat