Shipping routes, canals and chokepoints

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A. Compare chart, “Ships through three passages”, columns Passage | Ships in a year | Year: Strait of Malacca | over 94,000 | 2008; Suez Canal | more than 20,600 | 2021; Panama Canal | 14,702 | 2008; Panama Canal | about 1,000 | 1914. Notes: the Suez Canal averaged 56 ships a day in 2021. A 2015 expansion was meant to raise its capacity from 49 to 97 ships a day. The ships through the Strait of Malacca in 2008 carried about 25% of the world’s traded goods. The Panama Canal opened on 15 August 1914. Each figure is for the year shown.

2. 1.

   Suez averaged 56 ships a day in 2021. How does that compare with the capacities on Card A, Ari asks?

   • It is under half of capacity, since 56 is less than 97 halved
   • Above the old 49 and about 58 percent of the 97 the expansion allowed
   • It is over capacity, since 56 is more than the 49 ships a day on the card
   • No comparison is possible, since 49 and 97 are just goals
3. 2.

   A student says Panama’s traffic grew 14.7 times from about 1,000 ships (1914) to 14,702 (2008). What limit applies, Esme asks?

   • Nothing: 14,702 ÷ 1,000 is the growth, so it is exactly 14.7 times
   • The canal opened 15 August 1914, so the 1914 count covers under five months
   • The canal was new, so the true growth was larger than 14.7 times, not smaller
   • 1914 is too old, so the figures cannot be compared, as records from then are unreliable
4. 3.

   Which passage handled more ships a day: Panama in 2008 or Suez in 2021, Jun asks?

   • Neither: a daily rate cannot be worked out when the years differ
   • Panama, at 14,702 a day, since 14,702 is bigger than 56
   • Suez, at 56 a day against about 40, though the years differ
   • They are equal, about 56 a day each, since the canals are similar
5. 4.

   A student says the 2015 expansion nearly doubled the traffic, from 49 to 97 ships a day. What does Card A support, Luz asks?

   • Yes: 49 to 97 is a rise of about 98 percent, so traffic nearly doubled
   • No: the card says nothing about the expansion or about capacity
   • No: traffic fell from 97 to 56 ships a day after the expansion
   • It shows capacity meant to rise from 49 to 97, not traffic doubling
6. 5.

   A student multiplies 56 × 365 and gets 20,440, below “more than 20,600”. Is the chart inconsistent, Milo asks?

   • No: 56 is a rounded daily average; 20,600 ÷ 365 is about 56.4
   • No: daily and yearly figures cannot be compared with each other
   • Yes: 20,440 is under 20,600, so one of the figures is wrong
   • Yes: a daily average times 365 must equal the yearly count exactly
7. 6.

   Which extra data would best test whether Panama’s traffic grew steadily from 1914 to 2008, Noah asks?

   • The canal’s length in each decade
   • The 2008 count for Suez and for Malacca
   • The opening date of the canal in each year
   • Ship counts for years between 1914 and 2008
8. 7.

   Pia’s note says: “Malacca had over 94,000 ships a day in 2008.” Which fix is right?

   • Change it: over 94,000 ships in 2021, not 2008
   • Change it: over 94,000 a year, which is about 260 a day
   • Change it: over 94,000 ships a month, or about 3,100 a day
   • Leave it: 94,000 is the count for one day in the busy season
9. 8.

   Ren’s note says: “The Suez Canal had 20,600 ships in 2008.” Which fix is right?

   • Change it: more than 20,600 ships in 2021
   • Change it: 20,600 in 1914, the year Panama opened
   • Change it: 14,702 ships in 2008, since that is the 2008 figure
   • Leave it: 2008 and 2021 are both recent, so the year matters little
10. 9.

    Tala’s note says: “Panama’s traffic grew by 13,702 ships from 1914 to 2008, so it grew steadily.” Which fix is right?

    • Change it: two counts show the change, not a steady path, and 1914 is a part year
    • Change it: no growth can be stated, since 1914 and 2008 are far apart
    • Leave it: 14,702 minus about 1,000 is 13,702, so the subtraction shows steady growth
    • Change it: the growth was 14,702 ships, since the 1914 count was zero
11. 10.

    Which statement about Malacca does Card A support, Zee asks?

    • A quarter of Malacca’s ships carry the world’s goods
    • Malacca carries a quarter of the world’s traded goods in each year
    • Ships through it in 2008 carried about a quarter of traded goods
    • A quarter of the world’s ships pass through Malacca