Read layered maps the way GIS does: overlay and find the pattern

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A (made up for practice). A valley drawn as three see-through layers on one base map. Scale: 1 cm on the map = 2 km on the ground. Layer 1 (water): a river flows south from a lake in the north to the sea. Layer 2 (towns): Ash, Birch, Cedar and Dale stand beside the river, in that order from north to south; Hilltop stands on a ridge 5 km east of the river. Layer 3 (roads): a road follows the river and links the four river towns; a narrow track climbs from Cedar to Hilltop. Measured on the map: Ash to Birch 2.5 cm; Birch to Cedar 3.5 cm; Cedar to Dale 2 cm; Cedar to Hilltop along the track 3 cm. Key: blue line = river; dot = town; thick line = road; dashed line = track.

2. 1.

   Ari says a truck can use roads but not tracks. Which towns on Card A can it reach from Ash, and which overlay shows it?

   • Birch, Cedar and Dale, found by overlaying the towns layer on the roads layer
   • Cedar alone, because it is the one town where the road layer and the track meet in the towns layer
   • Birch and Cedar, the two towns that stand between Ash and the track, since the road ends at the track
   • Birch, Cedar, Dale and Hilltop, because the roads layer includes the narrow track that climbs to Hilltop

3. Use this

   Card A (made up for practice). A valley drawn as three see-through layers on one base map. Scale: 1 cm on the map = 2 km on the ground. Layer 1 (water): a river flows south from a lake in the north to the sea. Layer 2 (towns): Ash, Birch, Cedar and Dale stand beside the river, in that order from north to south; Hilltop stands on a ridge 5 km east of the river. Layer 3 (roads): a road follows the river and links the four river towns; a narrow track climbs from Cedar to Hilltop. Measured on the map: Ash to Birch 2.5 cm; Birch to Cedar 3.5 cm; Cedar to Dale 2 cm; Cedar to Hilltop along the track 3 cm. Key: blue line = river; dot = town; thick line = road; dashed line = track. Card B (made up for practice). Two more layers for the valley on Card A. Layer 4 (farms): farms cover the flat land within 3 km of the river, on both banks. Layer 5 (height): the river valley lies below 100 m; the ridge lies between 300 m and 400 m; Hilltop stands at 350 m. Key: green = farms; a contour line every 100 m. Note: a GIS (geographic information system) stacks layers like these so that a pattern shows where layers line up.

4. 2.

   Tala looks for a layer that offers a reason why Hilltop has a narrow track and not a road. Which overlay fits?

   • Water: Hilltop is the one town away from the river, so being away from the river caused the track
   • Height: Hilltop stands at 350 m on the ridge, over 250 m above the river towns that lie below 100 m
   • Roads: the road follows the river because rivers are the easiest places to bridge, so no other route was built
   • Farms: Hilltop has no farmland within 3 km of the river, so there was no need for a proper road there
5. 3.

   Jun overlays the farms layer on the towns layer on Cards A and B. Which towns have farms within 3 km of the river?

   • The four river towns, which lie beside the river, but not Hilltop, 5 km from it
   • Ash and Dale alone, the towns at the two ends, where the river meets the lake and the sea
   • Hilltop alone, because forests and farms both cover the high ground and its flat patches
   • Five towns, because the farm layer covers the whole valley and the ridge as well

6. Use this

   Card A (made up for practice). A valley drawn as three see-through layers on one base map. Scale: 1 cm on the map = 2 km on the ground. Layer 1 (water): a river flows south from a lake in the north to the sea. Layer 2 (towns): Ash, Birch, Cedar and Dale stand beside the river, in that order from north to south; Hilltop stands on a ridge 5 km east of the river. Layer 3 (roads): a road follows the river and links the four river towns; a narrow track climbs from Cedar to Hilltop. Measured on the map: Ash to Birch 2.5 cm; Birch to Cedar 3.5 cm; Cedar to Dale 2 cm; Cedar to Hilltop along the track 3 cm. Key: blue line = river; dot = town; thick line = road; dashed line = track.

7. 4.

   Bo walks the road from Ash to Dale on Card A. Using the scale, how far is it?

   • 8 km, because the three stretches add to 8 cm and the scale is just a label for the map
   • 9 km, because the road from Birch to Cedar is the same river that Ash to Birch already covers
   • 16 km, because the three stretches add to 8 cm and each centimeter is 2 km
   • 10 km, because Cedar to Hilltop by the track (6 km) and Cedar to Dale (4 km) make the trip
8. 5.

   Milo asks what Card A's key lets a reader tell apart. Which pair of symbols could be mixed up if the key were missing?

   • The blue river line and the thick road line, which both run north to south through the whole valley
   • The thick road line and the dashed track line, which would hide that Hilltop has only a narrow track
   • The dot for a town and the dot for a hill, because both show a place where people live
   • The lake and the sea, because both are at the ends of the river and both show as blue

9. Use this

   Card B (made up for practice). Two more layers for the valley on Card A. Layer 4 (farms): farms cover the flat land within 3 km of the river, on both banks. Layer 5 (height): the river valley lies below 100 m; the ridge lies between 300 m and 400 m; Hilltop stands at 350 m. Key: green = farms; a contour line every 100 m. Note: a GIS (geographic information system) stacks layers like these so that a pattern shows where layers line up.

10. 6.

    Zee reads Card B's contour lines (every 100 m). Where does the land first rise above 200 m, and what does that say?

    • At the lake in the north, because lakes sit at the top of a valley and so mark the highest ground
    • Between the valley (below 100 m) and the ridge (300 m up), so a steep slope lies between them
    • At Hilltop alone, because the track's climb shows exactly where the land rises, and nowhere else
    • Along the whole river, because a river flowing to the sea must drop 200 m along the way

11. Use this

    Card A (made up for practice). A valley drawn as three see-through layers on one base map. Scale: 1 cm on the map = 2 km on the ground. Layer 1 (water): a river flows south from a lake in the north to the sea. Layer 2 (towns): Ash, Birch, Cedar and Dale stand beside the river, in that order from north to south; Hilltop stands on a ridge 5 km east of the river. Layer 3 (roads): a road follows the river and links the four river towns; a narrow track climbs from Cedar to Hilltop. Measured on the map: Ash to Birch 2.5 cm; Birch to Cedar 3.5 cm; Cedar to Dale 2 cm; Cedar to Hilltop along the track 3 cm. Key: blue line = river; dot = town; thick line = road; dashed line = track. Card B (made up for practice). Two more layers for the valley on Card A. Layer 4 (farms): farms cover the flat land within 3 km of the river, on both banks. Layer 5 (height): the river valley lies below 100 m; the ridge lies between 300 m and 400 m; Hilltop stands at 350 m. Key: green = farms; a contour line every 100 m. Note: a GIS (geographic information system) stacks layers like these so that a pattern shows where layers line up.

12. 7.

    Kira wants a market town reachable by road with farms nearby. Which overlay picks Cedar over Hilltop?

    • Roads or farms: Hilltop meets one of the two conditions through its track, so it ties with Cedar
    • Roads and farms: Cedar is on the road and in the farm band, while Hilltop has only a track and no farms
    • Height alone: Cedar is lower than Hilltop, and lower land is the better place for a market
    • Water alone: Cedar is on the river and Hilltop is not, so rivers make the market

13. Use this

    Card B (made up for practice). Two more layers for the valley on Card A. Layer 4 (farms): farms cover the flat land within 3 km of the river, on both banks. Layer 5 (height): the river valley lies below 100 m; the ridge lies between 300 m and 400 m; Hilltop stands at 350 m. Key: green = farms; a contour line every 100 m. Note: a GIS (geographic information system) stacks layers like these so that a pattern shows where layers line up.

14. 8.

    Ren says: "Hilltop must have no farms, because it is high." What do the Card B layers allow?

    • No farms on that layer for Hilltop, because it is outside the 3 km band; height is not the layer's stated reason
    • No farms at Hilltop, because high ground cannot be farmed, which is why the farm layer stops at the valley
    • Farms at Hilltop, since high ridges have good soil for farms and the farm layer does not need a river
    • Farms at Hilltop, because the track layer shows a line from Cedar up to the ridge for carrying crops

15. Use this

    Card A (made up for practice). A valley drawn as three see-through layers on one base map. Scale: 1 cm on the map = 2 km on the ground. Layer 1 (water): a river flows south from a lake in the north to the sea. Layer 2 (towns): Ash, Birch, Cedar and Dale stand beside the river, in that order from north to south; Hilltop stands on a ridge 5 km east of the river. Layer 3 (roads): a road follows the river and links the four river towns; a narrow track climbs from Cedar to Hilltop. Measured on the map: Ash to Birch 2.5 cm; Birch to Cedar 3.5 cm; Cedar to Dale 2 cm; Cedar to Hilltop along the track 3 cm. Key: blue line = river; dot = town; thick line = road; dashed line = track. Card B (made up for practice). Two more layers for the valley on Card A. Layer 4 (farms): farms cover the flat land within 3 km of the river, on both banks. Layer 5 (height): the river valley lies below 100 m; the ridge lies between 300 m and 400 m; Hilltop stands at 350 m. Key: green = farms; a contour line every 100 m. Note: a GIS (geographic information system) stacks layers like these so that a pattern shows where layers line up.

16. 9.

    Esme wants town sites that are on the road, inside the farm band and below 100 m. Which towns on Cards A and B meet all three?

    • The four river towns, which meet all three conditions; Hilltop meets none of them
    • Cedar alone, because it is the one town where the road, the farm band and the lowland all meet
    • Dale alone, because it is nearest the sea and so must be the lowest town in the valley
    • Five towns, because each town meets at least one of the three conditions, and a query keeps those

17. Use this

    Card B (made up for practice). Two more layers for the valley on Card A. Layer 4 (farms): farms cover the flat land within 3 km of the river, on both banks. Layer 5 (height): the river valley lies below 100 m; the ridge lies between 300 m and 400 m; Hilltop stands at 350 m. Key: green = farms; a contour line every 100 m. Note: a GIS (geographic information system) stacks layers like these so that a pattern shows where layers line up.

18. 10.

    Noah climbs from Cedar, in the valley below 100 m, to Hilltop at 350 m on Card B. How many contour lines (every 100 m) does the climb cross?

    • Three and a half, because 350 m divided by 100 m is the number of lines a climb crosses
    • Four: the 100 m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m lines, because the ridge reaches 400 m in places
    • Two: the 200 m and 300 m lines, because the ridge begins at 300 m and the valley ends at 200 m
    • Three: the 100 m, 200 m and 300 m lines, because Hilltop at 350 m stays under the 400 m line