Grade 7 · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 10
Water & Climate
Oceans, rivers and climate regions
What your child practises
Major water bodies and drainage basins, how people and natural events change them, the world's climate regions and the factors behind them, and how to read climate-graph data.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: Geography A3.4–A3.8 · water bodies and systems; climate regions and climate graphs
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What is one purpose of building a dam?
- To make a river flow faster everywhere
- To increase floods downstream
- To store water and produce electricity
- To dry out a valley
Show answer
To store water and produce electricity
Hint: A dam makes a reservoir. Water released through turbines makes hydroelectric power.
Question 2
Which of these months has the most rain in the table?
A climate graph's numbers for six months at one place Month Temp (°C) Rain (mm) January −30 8 March −28 8 May −10 10 July 2 25 September −9 15 November −24 10 - July
- March
- September
- May
Show answer
July
Hint: Look down the rain column for the biggest number.
Question 3
Which two human activities can add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere?
- burning fossil fuels and clearing forests
- building dams and reading
- swimming and farming flowers
- planting trees and cycling
Show answer
burning fossil fuels and clearing forests
Hint: Both release carbon dioxide.
Question 4
Rainfall decreases over decades in one region while temperatures rise. A climate graph would likely show…
- a wetter climate
- a trend toward more snow
- a trend toward a hotter, drier climate
- no change at all
Show answer
a trend toward a hotter, drier climate
Hint: Comparing graphs from different decades reveals trends.
Question 5
Melting glaciers raise sea level because…
- glaciers are made of salt
- glaciers float on land
- water that was stored as ice on land flows into the ocean
- melting ice makes oceans cooler
Show answer
water that was stored as ice on land flows into the ocean
Hint: Land ice adds new water to the sea. (Floating sea ice does not raise it much.)
Question 6
What is the temperature range (warmest month minus coldest month) in the table?
A climate graph's numbers for six months at one place Month Temp (°C) Rain (mm) January −14 30 March −5 35 May 10 60 July 21 80 September 13 70 November −3 45 answer box°C
Show answer
35 °C
Hint: Subtract the lowest temperature from the highest. With a negative number, add: for example 21 − (−14) = 35.