Growing cities and public health

History · Britain Through Time · ages 11-13

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which account correctly links a disease in the lesson to contaminated drinking water?
- Tuberculosis, through water.
- Both illnesses, through the same water.
- Cholera, through water people drank.
Why did many people move into industrial towns despite crowded housing?
- The chance of paid factory work drew people into towns.
- Lower town rents drew people away from farm work.
- Safer town water drew families away from their rural homes.
Keeping sewage out of drinking water helped cities prevent cholera.
Circle one: True False
Cases were already falling before the pump handle was removed. Which conclusion does that timing support?
- The handle's removal had no further effect on illness.
- The handle's removal cannot explain the start of the fall.
- The handle's removal explains the fall from its beginning.
An investigator finds deaths clustered near a pump. Which inquiry would check whether affected households actually used its water?
- Ask each affected household how many people were ill.
- Ask each affected household how far it lived from the nearest pump.
- Ask each affected household where it obtained drinking water.
How could death counts and surveys help reformers argue for shared spending on water and sewers?
- They showed why water and sewer problems needed district-wide action.
- They showed which homes could pay for their own pipes.
- They showed that passing a health law was enough to complete the repairs.
A museum label says public health legislation began with Snow's Broad Street investigation. Which finding most directly challenges that claim?
- The Great Stink later increased pressure for London's sewer works.
- A public health law was already in place before his investigation.
- Building the larger sewer networks took several years to finish.
A display says, 'Housing and drains kept pace with Victorian town growth, so outbreaks must have had another cause.' Which correction fits the lesson?
- Water supplies kept pace, but crowded rooms caused cholera.
- Drains kept pace, but factory injuries caused the outbreaks.
- Town growth outpaced housing, drainage and safe water supplies.

Answer key

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

Growing cities and public health W1-mt__vBvBBi8cO-s1

Cholera, through water people drank. · The lesson describes two different transmission routes: cholera through contaminated drinking water and tuberculosis through the air.
The chance of paid factory work drew people into towns. · People with little rural work hoped to find paid factory jobs. The lesson describes inadequate housing, not cheaper rents or safer water as the reason they moved.
True · Cholera could spread through water contaminated by human waste. Separating sewage from drinking water reduced that route of infection.
The handle's removal cannot explain the start of the fall. · The fall began before removal, so removal cannot explain its beginning. The timing alone does not establish whether removal prevented later cases.
Ask each affected household where it obtained drinking water. · The household's drinking-water source establishes whether it used the pump. Illness counts and distance can help an investigation, but do not establish actual water use.
They showed why water and sewer problems needed district-wide action. · Records showed health problems affecting whole districts. Water and sewer networks served many households, supporting an argument for shared action and funding.
A public health law was already in place before his investigation. · An earlier public health law directly challenges the claimed starting point. Later pressure and construction time concern other parts of the reform story.
Town growth outpaced housing, drainage and safe water supplies. · Town growth often outpaced housing and services. The alternatives preserve the display's unsupported claim and confuse cholera transmission with crowding or injuries.