States, nations and boundaries, and how borders changed after wars
Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
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Europe at the end of the Cold War. Cards A to C. Card A, Europe in 1985: the Soviet Union is one country made of 15 republics; Germany is divided into West Germany and East Germany; Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia are each one country. Card B, Europe in 1993: the Soviet Union ended on December 26, 1991, and its 15 republics became 15 independent countries; Germany reunified on October 3, 1990; Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993; Yugoslavia began breaking apart in 1991. Card C, Kosovo: Kosovo, part of Serbia on the 1993 map, declared independence on February 17, 2008. About half of the members of the United Nations recognize Kosovo as a country; Serbia does not, and claims Kosovo as its province. Maps show its border dashed. Key: thick lines = borders; dashed line = a border one side disputes; each color = one country.
Count the countries in the cards, leaving out Yugoslavia: four in 1985 and eighteen in 1993. Ari asks what the net change is and how it breaks down.
- A net rise of 15: the Soviet Union's 15 republics became countries and nothing took any away
- A net rise of 14: the Soviet Union adds 14, Czechoslovakia adds 1, and Germany takes away 1
- A net rise of 18, the number of countries on the 1993 map, since 1985 had no countries to compare with
- A net rise of 16: the Soviet Union adds 15, Czechoslovakia adds 1, and Germany adds nothing
Germany went from two countries to one, the Soviet Union from one to fifteen, and Czechoslovakia from one to two. Bo says every change added countries. Is that right?
- Yes: ending the Cold War split countries each time, as the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia show
- No: Germany's change was a union, two countries becoming one, so changes ran both ways
- No: Czechoslovakia's change was a union, since two peoples came together on January 1, 1993
- Yes: Germany reunified, which made a larger country and so added to the count
The cards give three changes: Germany on October 3, 1990, the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991, Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993. Esme puts them in order. What is correct?
- Germany, then the Soviet Union, then Czechoslovakia, with the three in the same year
- The Soviet Union, then Germany, then Czechoslovakia, with about a year between the first two
- Germany, then the Soviet Union, then Czechoslovakia, with about a year between the last two
- Germany, then Czechoslovakia, then the Soviet Union, with about three years between the first two
The Soviet Union ended on December 26, 1991, and Yugoslavia began breaking apart in 1991. Jun says the first caused the second. What do the cards show?
- The two were one event, since both took place in 1991 and both ended a federal country
- Yugoslavia began first, in January 1991, so it caused the end of the Soviet Union
- The Soviet Union ended in December 1991, so its end started the Yugoslav breakup that followed in the same year
- Both fall in 1991, but the cards give no cause linking them, so the order does not show a cause
Germany was West Germany and East Germany in 1985. What does the 1993 map show about the border between them, Kira?
- It still divides two countries, because the 1993 map keeps the 1985 borders
- It ended in 1993, when Czechoslovakia also split, since both changes took place that year
- It no longer divides two countries, because Germany reunified on October 3, 1990
- It was moved north, because a united Germany needed a new border
Which sentence about Kosovo does Milo choose to state both sides fairly?
- Kosovo declared independence in 2008, so its borders are agreed and shown as a solid line on maps
- Kosovo declared independence in 2008; about half of UN members recognize it, and Serbia does not
- Kosovo is an independent country, recognized as such by the United Nations and its members
- Kosovo is a province of Serbia, a claim that the other countries of the world accept
How should Noah draw the border around Kosovo on a map?
- Without any line, because a disputed border cannot be shown on a map until it is agreed
- With a solid line as part of Serbia, because the 1993 map shows it in that way and so does Serbia
- With a solid line, because about half of UN members recognize Kosovo as a country in its own right
- With a dashed line, because Serbia disputes it though about half of UN members recognize Kosovo
About half of UN members recognize Kosovo. Pia says that settles the question because half is a majority. Is that right?
- No: recognition by states has no effect on whether a country is independent
- No: about half is not a majority, and Serbia still claims Kosovo, so the dispute stands
- Yes: Serbia's claim has ended, because a province cannot disagree with the United Nations
- Yes: half of the world's countries recognizing a state is enough to settle its status
The 15 Soviet republics became 15 countries. Ren says units of a federal country always become countries when it ends. Test it with Kosovo.
- Not as a rule: Kosovo was part of Serbia, not a republic, and its status is disputed
- The rule holds, since Kosovo became a country in 2008 just as the republics did in 1991
- The rule holds, since Kosovo was one of the republics of Yugoslavia, like the Soviet republics
- The rule fails because the Soviet republics were not recognized as countries by anyone
The 1985 card shows one Soviet Union and the 1993 card shows 15 countries. Zee says the republics were independent in 1985 but not yet recognized. What fits the cards?
- The republics were independent in 1985, and the Soviet Union was a name for their group
- In 1985 the Soviet Union was one country of 15 republics; they became countries after 1991
- The republics became independent in 1993, the year of the second map, not in 1991
- The republics became independent on December 26, 1985, a year before the 1991 date