These eight original questions cover the lessons in economic activities and resources. They rise in difficulty, and every answer is explained.
Write your own answer first. The timed practice session builder can set the clock.
Questions 1 to 4: classify and explain
Question 1. Classify and give the reason: (a) cutting timber in a forest, (b) making furniture from that timber, (c) a shop selling the furniture.
Answer
(a) Primary: takes timber from nature. (b) Secondary: changes timber into a product. (c) Tertiary: provides a retail service.
Question 2. A fictional fish market sits beside a harbour. Give one location factor and explain it.
Answer
Raw material access. Fish spoil quickly, so selling them next to the harbour cuts the time between landing and sale, which keeps the fish fresh and the price higher.
Question 3. Why would a fictional electronics assembly plant choose a site near a university town?
Answer
Labour. The town supplies graduates and technicians with relevant skills, so the plant finds workers without training them from scratch. Assembly also needs a skilled, steady workforce.
Question 4. Is a mill that turns sugarcane into sugar a primary or secondary activity? Explain why the answer does not depend on where the mill is.
Answer
Secondary. It changes a raw material into a product. Even if the mill is beside the cane fields, the category depends on what the activity does, not where it sits.
Questions 5 to 8: compare and read tables
Question 5. A village can use a 50-hectare wetland for shrimp ponds (RM300 000 a year for 8 years, then the soil is too salty) or for bird-watching tourism (RM90 000 a year, continuing). Compare them over 8 years and over 20 years.
Answer
Over 8 years: shrimp = 300 000 × 8 = RM2 400 000. Tourism = 90 000 × 8 = RM720 000.
Over 20 years: shrimp stays at RM2 400 000, since income stops at year 8. Tourism = 90 000 × 20 = RM1 800 000.
Shrimp earns more over 8 years, but the gap narrows over 20 years.
Question 6. Using Question 5, which option suits a village that wants lasting income? Give evidence and one limit.
Answer
Bird-watching tourism. It gives income every year and keeps the wetland. The evidence: tourism reaches RM1 800 000 over 20 years against shrimp’s RM2 400 000, and it keeps earning after year 20. A limit: the figures assume visitor numbers stay steady.
Question 7. A fictional country’s trade (RM million): partner G exports 500, imports 350; partner H exports 120, imports 200. Find each balance and the overall balance.
Answer
G: 500 − 350 = +150. H: 120 − 200 = −80. Overall: exports 620 − imports 550 = a surplus of RM70 million (150 − 80 = 70).
Question 8. Explain why a port where five road and rail links meet is likely to handle more goods than one with two links.
Answer
More links mean the port collects goods from a wider area, so more producers can reach it. Shorter and cheaper routes also attract shipping lines. Goods from five routes pass through one node, which raises the volume handled.
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 and 4: revisit classifying economic activities.
- Questions 2 and 3: revisit explaining location factors.
- Questions 5 and 6: revisit comparing resource-use choices.
- Questions 7 and 8: revisit interpreting transport and trade networks.
Log each slip in the mistake log. For a teacher to go through your attempts, see online one-to-one Geography tuition.