Answer Key for Geography & Economics Questions — Age 15 (True/False & Map Skills)

SECTION C: TRUE or FALSE (Answers with short explanations)

1. T — Most small villages and markets in Vanuatu prefer cash payments and may not accept credit cards. Small sellers often do not have card machines or reliable internet.
2. F — ATMs do not always give the best exchange rate and can charge withdrawal or conversion fees when you use them abroad.
3. F — If inflation is high, your 1,000 VT buys fewer goods than before (inflation reduces purchasing power).
4. F — The CPI basket includes typical household goods and services (food, transport, rent), not only luxury items.
5. T — Deflation is when the general level of prices in the economy is falling.
6. F — Not all tourists travel only for pleasure; some travel for business, education, health, religion, or visiting family.
7. T — Before paper money, in Vanuatu and nearby islands people used items like pig tusks and woven mats as forms of value for trade.
8. T — A budget helps you track where your money goes and shows areas you can cut costs or save.
9. F — The value of the Vatu compared to another currency (like the AUD) changes over time; exchange rates fluctuate.
10. T — Tourism services include accommodation, transport, food and entertainment.

SECTION D: MAP SKILLS

1. Locations to mark on the world map (what to place and where)

• Great Australian Desert — mark in central/southern Australia (approx central Australia around the Simpson/Great Victoria Desert area). Use a small dot or shaded area in central Australia.
• Sahara Desert — mark across northern Africa from the Atlantic (Mauritania/Morocco region) east across Algeria, Libya to Egypt and Sudan.
• Amazon Basin / Tropical Rainforest — mark northern South America around the Amazon River in Brazil, extending into parts of Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador.
• Greenland Desert — mark the ice-covered interior of Greenland (large central ice sheet).

2. Colouring climate zones

Use these colours on the same map:

• Polar zones (Blue) — colour the Arctic (northern Canada, Greenland, northern Russia) and Antarctica. Include Greenland's interior (the ice sheet) in this zone.
• Temperate zones (Yellow) — colour the mid-latitude regions between the tropics and polar zones: most of Europe, much of North America (US/Canada temperate parts), southern South America, parts of Australia, and parts of Asia.
• Tropical zone (Green) — colour the area around the Equator: Amazon Basin, central Africa (Congo Basin), Southeast Asia, northern South America, and northern Australia (tropical north).

3. Completed country table (filled missing cells and one correction)

Below is the corrected table. Note: the original item showing "Senegal" with area 1,221,037 was inconsistent: 1,221,037 km² is the area of South Africa. I give the correct data for Senegal below.

Optional note: if the table cell with area 1,221,037 was intended instead of Senegal, that area matches South Africa (area ≈ 1,221,037 km²) and its administrative capital is Pretoria (one of the three capitals: Pretoria is executive; Cape Town is legislative; Bloemfontein is judicial).

How to show these answers on the student map

1. Place small dots or shaded patches for the four named environments in the approximate regions listed above. Label each dot clearly (e.g., "Sahara Desert").
2. Use the three colours (Blue, Yellow, Green) to shade broad horizontal bands: blue at the poles, green around the equator (tropical belt), yellow between them (temperate zones). Make sure shading is neat and labels are clear.
3. For the table, write capital names and continent names exactly as shown. If a teacher gave a different area number in the question, check which country that number matches — I noted the likely mismatch for Senegal vs South Africa above.