Why people migrate: push and pull factors and their effects

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card C. Two moves in United States history. Gold rush (1848–1855): gold is found in California in January 1848, and news of it brings about 300,000 people from the rest of the United States and abroad; about half arrive by sea and half overland. Dust Bowl (1930–1940): drought comes in three waves (1934, 1936 and 1939–1940), dust storms blow away topsoil, and about 3.5 million people move out of the Plains states; many head west to California, looking for work. Note: an economic factor is about jobs and earning a living; an environmental factor is about land, water and weather.

2. 1.

   Jun sorts the two moves on Card C by their main factor. Which sorting is right?

   • Both were mainly environmental pushes, because people in both moves left a place that could no longer support them
   • The gold rush was mainly an environmental push and the Dust Bowl an economic pull, because the land drew people
   • Both were mainly economic pulls, because people in both moves went to California to earn a living
   • The gold rush was mainly an economic pull; the Dust Bowl was mainly an environmental push, with work as a pull
3. 2.

   Pia compares the sizes of the two moves on Card C. Which statement is fair?

   • About 120 times as many, because 3.5 million has six zeros and 300,000 has five, so the ratio is 10 times 12
   • About 3 times as many, because 3.5 million over 10 years and 300,000 over 8 years gives a ratio near 3
   • About 12 times as many people moved in the Dust Bowl, over a similar span of 8 and 10 years
   • The gold rush was the larger move in effect, because it drew people from abroad and the Dust Bowl just from the Plains
4. 3.

   Bo says drought alone explains the Dust Bowl move. What does the timing on Card C suggest?

   • The move began in 1930, before the first drought wave in 1934, so the drought alone cannot explain all of it
   • The drought explains the whole move, because the three waves of drought cover the decade 1930 to 1940
   • Jobs in California explain the early moves, because California was the one place offering work in 1930
   • The dust storms explain the early moves, because dust storms blew away topsoil from the start in 1930

5. Use this

   Card D (made up for practice). A survey of 100 people who moved into the town of Oban in the past year. 62 came from places under 50 km away, 25 from 50 to 200 km away, and 13 from over 200 km away. Of those 13, 10 had first lived for a time in a city 50 to 200 km from Oban, and 3 had come straight from home. Note: in 1885 the geographer E. G. Ravenstein proposed that most migrants move a short distance, and that many move in stages (step migration).

6. 4.

   Zee tests Ravenstein's idea (most migrants move a short distance) on Card D. What does the survey show?

   • It fits for under 50 km alone, because a majority needs more than 62 and the rest moved far
   • It fails, because just 13 of the 100 came from over 200 km and so few moved far
   • It confirms the idea for migrants everywhere, since the largest group came from under 50 km
   • It fits: 62 of the 100 came from under 50 km and 87 of 100 from under 200 km
7. 5.

   Kira looks at the 13 long-distance movers on Card D. What does the survey say about step migration?

   • Step migration is rare, because just 10 of the 100 movers lived in a nearer city first
   • Step migration fits 3 of the 13, the ones who came straight from home, because they moved furthest
   • Most long-distance movers (10 of 13) lived for a time in a nearer city first, as step migration predicts
   • Step migration is the usual way for the movers, because 10 of 13 is most of the movers in Oban
8. 6.

   Ren finds the share of Card D's long-distance movers who came straight from home. What is it?

   • 77% (10 of 13), because the movers who came straight from home are most of the long-distance group
   • 13% (13 of 100), because the 13 long-distance movers are the ones who came straight from home
   • About 23% (3 of the 13 who moved over 200 km)
   • 3% (3 of the 100 movers), because the survey counted 100 people and 3 came straight from home
9. 7.

   Esme points out Card D's survey asked only people who arrived in Oban. What limit does that set?

   • A survey of arrivals cannot show the distance people moved, because a distance needs both ends to be known
   • It counts only people who arrived in Oban, so it says nothing about people who left or went elsewhere
   • A survey of 100 people is too small to say anything, so no pattern in it can be used
   • The survey shows nothing about distance for another town, because each town has a different mix of movers

10. Use this

    Card C. Two moves in United States history. Gold rush (1848–1855): gold is found in California in January 1848, and news of it brings about 300,000 people from the rest of the United States and abroad; about half arrive by sea and half overland. Dust Bowl (1930–1940): drought comes in three waves (1934, 1936 and 1939–1940), dust storms blow away topsoil, and about 3.5 million people move out of the Plains states; many head west to California, looking for work. Note: an economic factor is about jobs and earning a living; an environmental factor is about land, water and weather. Card D (made up for practice). A survey of 100 people who moved into the town of Oban in the past year. 62 came from places under 50 km away, 25 from 50 to 200 km away, and 13 from over 200 km away. Of those 13, 10 had first lived for a time in a city 50 to 200 km from Oban, and 3 had come straight from home. Note: in 1885 the geographer E. G. Ravenstein proposed that most migrants move a short distance, and that many move in stages (step migration).

11. 8.

    Noah says: "The gold rush and the Dust Bowl were long moves, so Ravenstein was wrong." What is the best reply using Cards C and D?

    • Two long moves are enough to disprove it, because a rule that most migrants move short distances needs no exceptions
    • His idea is about most migrants, and two famous large moves do not count all migrants
    • Card D settles it, since 62 of 100 Oban arrivals came from under 50 km and the two long moves fit that count
    • He said no one moves far, so a long move disproves him, and Card D's 13 long movers also disprove him

12. Use this

    Card C. Two moves in United States history. Gold rush (1848–1855): gold is found in California in January 1848, and news of it brings about 300,000 people from the rest of the United States and abroad; about half arrive by sea and half overland. Dust Bowl (1930–1940): drought comes in three waves (1934, 1936 and 1939–1940), dust storms blow away topsoil, and about 3.5 million people move out of the Plains states; many head west to California, looking for work. Note: an economic factor is about jobs and earning a living; an environmental factor is about land, water and weather.

13. 9.

    Ari lists the environmental factors in the Dust Bowl on Card C. Which are they?

    • People looking for work in California, since that is the pull the land of California offered
    • The three waves of drought alone, because the dust storms are a result of the drought and so not a factor
    • The drought and the gold news from California, because both changed where people wanted to live
    • The drought and the dust storms that blew away topsoil

14. Use this

    Card C. Two moves in United States history. Gold rush (1848–1855): gold is found in California in January 1848, and news of it brings about 300,000 people from the rest of the United States and abroad; about half arrive by sea and half overland. Dust Bowl (1930–1940): drought comes in three waves (1934, 1936 and 1939–1940), dust storms blow away topsoil, and about 3.5 million people move out of the Plains states; many head west to California, looking for work. Note: an economic factor is about jobs and earning a living; an environmental factor is about land, water and weather. Card D (made up for practice). A survey of 100 people who moved into the town of Oban in the past year. 62 came from places under 50 km away, 25 from 50 to 200 km away, and 13 from over 200 km away. Of those 13, 10 had first lived for a time in a city 50 to 200 km from Oban, and 3 had come straight from home. Note: in 1885 the geographer E. G. Ravenstein proposed that most migrants move a short distance, and that many move in stages (step migration).

15. 10.

    Luz asks why the 13 long-distance movers came to Oban. Do Cards C and D say?

    • Yes: they were driven out by drought, because the 10 who stopped in a city must have fled the land
    • Card D gives distances and stops but no reasons, and Card C's reasons belong to other moves
    • Yes: they came for work, as the gold rush and Dust Bowl movers did, because long moves are made for jobs
    • Yes: they came for schools or family, because those are the pulls named in the notes on both cards