The Silk Roads · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

The roads that linked Rome and China

History · World History · ages 11-13
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. In the examples taught in the lesson, which pair of goods travelled east towards China?

    • Horses and glass
    • Silk cloth and paper
    • Silk cloth and glass

  2. For the silk trade described in the lesson, which pair correctly matches manufacture with sale?

    • Made in Rome; sold to buyers in China.
    • Made in China; sold to Roman buyers.
    • Made in Central Asia; sold to Roman buyers.

  3. Many merchants covered only part of a route and sold goods to other merchants.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A ruler posts guards along a route where merchants risk attacks. Which trading problem does this action address most directly?

    • The danger of losing goods during the journey.
    • The cost of buying goods from their original makers.
    • The difficulty of finding buyers who want the cargo.

  5. A merchant reaches a port with winds that helped the outward voyage. How should the merchant plan a return along the same route?

    • Leave while the same seasonal winds still favour the outward direction.
    • Choose the return season from cargo size instead of the wind direction.
    • Check when seasonal winds will favour the return direction.

  6. A craft worker teaches people in another region to make paper. How is this different from selling them a bundle of paper?

    • The recipients gain writing materials rather than production skills.
    • The recipients gain knowledge of how to produce paper.
    • The recipients gain a translation of a text written on the paper.

  7. A pupil knows that towns affected by an epidemic traded with one another. Which evidence would best help investigate where the outbreak began?

    • Evidence about which town supplied the more valuable goods.
    • Evidence about where and when the earliest cases occurred.
    • Evidence about which town had the largest trading market.

  8. A merchant pays for silk, transport and fees, then sells the silk. A pupil subtracts the buying price from the selling price and calls the result profit. Which step is still needed?

    • Add the buying price back to get the merchant's profit.
    • Subtract the buying price again to cover the cost of the silk.
    • Subtract the transport costs and fees to find the profit.
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Answer key

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

The roads that linked Rome and China W1-mt_Ud5GTBfVTz-s1

  1. Horses and glass · Central Asian horses and Mediterranean glass were eastward examples. Silk and paper from China were westward examples at different times. Both goods in the selected pair must match the direction.
  2. Made in China; sold to Roman buyers. · The lesson describes silk made in China reaching Roman buyers. Passing through another trading region does not make that region the place of manufacture.
  3. True · Merchants could trade in a region they knew and pass goods to others. The goods could travel farther than one merchant did.
  4. The danger of losing goods during the journey. · Guards address the stated danger of attacks during transport. Purchase costs and finding interested buyers are different trading problems.
  5. Check when seasonal winds will favour the return direction. · The return goes in the opposite direction. Sailors considered seasonal wind changes when planning it, rather than assuming outward winds would help the return.
  6. The recipients gain knowledge of how to produce paper. · Teaching shares knowledge of how to make paper. Receiving sheets of paper or a translated text is different from learning how to make paper.
  7. Evidence about where and when the earliest cases occurred. · Dates and locations of early cases concern the outbreak itself. Goods' value and market size do not locate its origin. Incomplete records may leave the answer uncertain.
  8. Subtract the transport costs and fees to find the profit. · The pupil has allowed for buying the silk but not for transport and fees. Those expenses must also be deducted before the remaining money is called profit.
Worksheet · LightMySky