Food & Climate 

Basics

Worksheet 2: Distribution of Crops

You should have read the text about crops (1. Past and Present) carefully to answer these questions!

Exercise 1:

1. Mark the major producing areas of

   - corn (orange),
   - wheat (red),
   - soy bean (magenta) and
   - cotton (green)

in Northern America on your map according to the information provided in your atlas.

If  you don't have an atlas at hand use the online atlas of the United States:
 http://nationalatlas.gov/natlas/NatlasStart.asp

Click on the + of agriculture and select the product
(soybean, cotton, corn, wheat),
then click on "50 states" and here comes your map (1997 data).
Continue with the other products.

Use the "zoom in" function to see more detail, add the "streams and waterbodies" and decide if this is helpful or not.
Use the print function (best for color printer) and make your own selection of maps.

(Admittedly, our worksheet was made with the Diercke Weltatlas, which explains some differences.)

map of North America, drawn by Florian Schäfer

Exercise 2:

After having finished this, try to find explanations for the position of the production areas according to the information you received from the text.

The climate maps of North America from your atlas will help you.

Exercise 3:

What other causes can explain the position of these producing areas?

Exercise 4:

In the table of the text, you have read some information about the effects which high temperature and soil moisture can have on some major field crops.

But do you know how these crops look like?
Click at the button to see if you were right!

1. Which of these three pictures shows corn?

2. Which of these three pictures shows wheat?

3. Which of these three pictures shows soy bean?

4. Which of these three pictures shows cotton?

photo courtesy of all quiz pictures: Hemera - Big box of art

Author: F. Schäfer, University of Nürnberg / Germany
1. Scientific reviewer:
2. Scientific reviewer:
Educational reviewer: Prof. Schrettenbrunner, Dr. Schleicher, J. Heres
Last update: 07/01/2004