Settlements, Movement and Connections · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Settlements, Movement and Connections

Geography · People & Environments · ages 11-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Why do many towns grow in a line along a valley floor?

    • Valleys are always colder than hills
    • The valley floor is flatter and easier to build on
    • Valleys have no roads

  2. Which of these connects settlements and can help them grow?

    • A new railway line
    • A local festival
    • A national holiday

  3. When a city's population grows a lot, land at its edge can change from farmland to houses.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A row of houses has been built along both sides of a busy road leading out of town. What is this pattern called?

    • Ribbon development
    • Urban sprawl
    • Nucleated settlement

  5. A small coastal village gets a new deep-water port. What is the most likely result over the next twenty years?

    • The village disappears completely
    • Nothing changes because ports don't affect settlements
    • More ships stop there, and the village grows into a busier town

  6. A farm had 10 fields. As the city grew, 6 fields were built over with new houses. How many fields are still farmland?

    Totalfields10Built over6

    Answer: ______________

  7. A desert town's houses cluster tightly around a single well, instead of spreading out like a town on a flat plain. What best explains this?

    • Sand makes it impossible to build roads far apart
    • The government requires all new houses to be close together
    • Water is scarce, so people must live close to their only water source

  8. A town that grew next to a railway a hundred years ago has just lost its train service. Which is the most likely long-term effect?

    • The town will instantly disappear
    • The town may grow more slowly or shrink without the link
    • Nothing will change because the railway didn't matter
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_Kq3quvrn63-s1

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Settlements, Movement and Connections W1-mt_Kq3quvrn63-s1

  1. The valley floor is flatter and easier to build on · Flat land next to a river makes building and travel easier, so towns often follow the valley.
  2. A new railway line · Railways, roads, ports, and cables move people and goods between places, so they can make a settlement grow.
  3. True · As cities grow, farmland at the edge is often turned into new housing and roads.
  4. Ribbon development · Building in a strip along a road, rather than in a clump, is called ribbon development.
  5. More ships stop there, and the village grows into a busier town · A port is a transport link, so it usually brings trade, jobs, and new residents.
  6. 4 · 10 fields minus the 6 that were built over leaves 4 fields of farmland.
  7. Water is scarce, so people must live close to their only water source · In a dry environment, the settlement pattern is often controlled by where water can be found.
  8. The town may grow more slowly or shrink without the link · Losing a transport link can slow a town's growth, since the town depended on that connection to move people and goods.
Worksheet · LightMySky