Why Trade Flows Where It Does

Geography · People & Environments · ages 11-14

Name ______________________ Date ____________

What is a 'chokepoint' in world trade?
- A country that makes the most products
- A narrow route ships must pass through, like a canal or strait
- A trade agreement between two countries
Why does most of the world's coffee grow near the equator?
- Because it's warm all year with steady rain
- Because the soil there has more gold
- Because equator countries are bigger
A cotton t-shirt can be grown, spun, sewn and sold in four different countries before you buy it.
Circle one: True False
If a large ship blocks the Suez Canal for a week, what is the most likely effect on world trade?
- Many goods get delayed and some prices rise
- Nothing changes, ships just wait quietly at no cost
- All trade permanently moves to a new ocean
Microchip factories are hugely expensive and need specialized workers and ultra-pure water. What does this explain?
- Why chips are grown like crops
- Why every country makes its own chips
- Why chips are made in only a handful of regions
A cotton t-shirt's supply chain has these stages: grown, spun, sewn, sold. Across how many separate stages does it pass before reaching you?
Answer: ______________
A student claims the Strait of Malacca doesn't matter much because 'ships can just go around it.' What is wrong with this claim?
- The Strait of Malacca is not used by any ships
- Nothing, ships can easily reroute for free
- Going around adds huge distance, time and cost, which is why so much shipping still uses the strait
A country has strong sunlight, cheap labor and a port, but no specialized engineers or high-tech factories. Which product would it most likely become known for exporting?
- Advanced microchips
- A crop like coffee or cotton
- Rocket engines

Answer key

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

Why Trade Flows Where It Does W1-mt_Vpbi5Z4ypw-s1

A narrow route ships must pass through, like a canal or strait · A chokepoint is a narrow, unavoidable passage, such as the Suez Canal, where a huge share of shipping squeezes through.
Because it's warm all year with steady rain · Coffee plants need consistent warmth and rainfall, which the tropical band near the equator provides all year.
True · Supply chains often cross continents: growing, spinning, sewing and selling can each happen in a different country.
Many goods get delayed and some prices rise · Blocking a major chokepoint delays huge volumes of goods, which can push prices up until traffic clears.
Why chips are made in only a handful of regions · Because chip factories are so costly and specialized, production concentrates in just a few regions, like Taiwan and South Korea.
4 · Count each stage on the map: growing, spinning, sewing and selling makes four separate stages.
Going around adds huge distance, time and cost, which is why so much shipping still uses the strait · Alternate routes around chokepoints are usually far longer and costlier, which is exactly why so much traffic still funnels through narrow straits like Malacca.
A crop like coffee or cotton · Without specialized tech factories, a sunny country with labor and a port is far better placed to grow and export crops than to build high-tech goods.