Grade 3 Social Studies Practice Test: Communities, Local Government and Maps
- Communities, Local Government and Maps
- 15 questions
- 18 minutes
This test covers Grade 3 social studies: reading maps, how a local government works, what taxes pay for, and the different kinds of communities. Tip: on a direction question, picture yourself standing on the map facing north.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
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Question 1
Which part of a map tells you what the symbols on the map mean?
Correct answer: B
The map key, also called the legend, lists each symbol and what it stands for. The compass rose only shows directions.
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Question 2
You are facing north. Which direction is on your right?
Correct answer: D
When you face north, east is on your right and west is on your left. South is behind you.
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Question 3
On a map, 1 inch stands for 10 miles. Two towns are 3 inches apart on the map.
How far apart are the real towns?
Correct answer: A
Each inch is 10 miles, so 3 inches is 3 × 10 = 30 miles. Adding 3 and 10 to get 13 is a common mistake.
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Question 4
Maya walks 2 blocks north from her house to the school. Then she walks 1 block east from the school to the library.
In which direction is the library from the school?
Correct answer: C
From the school, Maya walks east to reach the library, so the library is east of the school. North is the direction from her house to the school.
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Question 5
In many cities, who is the leader of the city government?
Correct answer: B
A mayor leads a city or town government. A governor leads a state, and the president leads the whole country.
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Question 6
What is the main job of a city council?
Correct answer: C
A city council is a group of elected people who make local laws, often called ordinances, and decide how city money is spent. Printing money is a job of the national government.
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Question 7
Which of these is usually paid for with tax money?
Correct answer: A
Taxes pay for public services that everyone can use, such as fire departments, public libraries and roads. Shops and theaters are private businesses that earn their own money.
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Question 8
A community with farms and lots of open land, far from a big city, is called
Correct answer: D
Rural means countryside, with farms and few people. An urban community is a city, and a suburban community is next to a city.
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Question 9
Many families live in houses with yards in this community. It is close to a large city, and many people drive into the city each day to work.
What kind of community is it?
Correct answer: B
A suburb is a community near a large city where many people live and travel into the city to work. An urban community is the city itself.
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Question 10
Which of these is a service, not a good?
Correct answer: C
A service is work that one person does for another. Crayons, shoes and bread are goods, which are things you can hold.
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Question 11
Leo uses his allowance to buy a book at a bookstore.
When Leo buys the book, he is a
Correct answer: A
A consumer is someone who buys and uses goods or services. The people who write, print and sell the book are producers.
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Question 12
Which action shows a third grader being a good citizen in the community?
Correct answer: D
Good citizens help take care of shared places such as parks. The other actions damage property or put people in danger.
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Question 13
Long ago, many towns were built next to rivers. What is the best reason?
Correct answer: B
People needed water for drinking and farming, and boats on rivers carried people and goods. That is why many early towns grew beside rivers.
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Question 14
Which level of government usually takes care of a town's parks, public libraries and local streets?
Correct answer: C
Local government, the government of a city, town or county, runs services close to home like parks, libraries and local streets.
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Question 15
In most U.S. cities, how do the people choose their mayor?
Correct answer: A
Citizens vote, and the person with the most votes becomes mayor. The United States has no king.
Questions you leave blank are not counted as wrong.
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