Global Studies Packet
Ch. 12: The Sahel
& Central Africa
Name: __________________________________
Due Date: _______________________________
Vocabulary
Define the vocabulary words from page 161. For each term, draw a picture that represents it.
Term
CLASS WORK
Definition
Picture
PAGE 1
Central Africa Map
Label the following countries of Central Africa:
Chad
Central African Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Equatorial Guinea
CLASS WORK
Gabon
Republic of the Congo
Sao Tome and Principe
PAGE 2
Geography of Africa: Fill-in-the Blanks
1. Africa is the ________________________ largest continent after Asia.
2. The continent of Africa is more than ________________________________ the size
of the United States.
3. The population of Africa _________________________________________.
4. Africa is dominated by __________________________ in the south and east.
5. _______________________ are cliffs that separate areas of differing elevation.
6. _______________________ are waterfalls or rapids through which rivers flow.
7. _______________________are tropical grasslands that are the
_____________________________________ environment in Africa.
8. Much of Africa has _______________ seasons: the ___________ season and
____________ season.
9. The Serengeti Plain is a _________________________________ in Tanzania.
10. The ______________________ is the largest desert in the world. It is approximately
____________________________________ as the United States.
11. The Sahara is not just made up of sand. It also includes __________________ and
_____________________________.
12. The Kalahari Desert is located in the __________________________ part of Africa.
Along the west coast of Africa, the Kalahari is known as the _________________.
13. The term Sahel comes from the Arabic word for __________________. It is
grassland on the edge of the __________________________.
CLASS WORK
PAGE 3
14. The Sahel suffers from _________________________ because of droughts, overfarming and over-grazing.
15. The Congo River Basin is home to 20% of the world’s ________________________.
16. The Great Rift Valley, located in ______________________Africa is 3000 miles
long.
17. The tallest mountain in Africa is _______________________. Even though it is
located close to the equator, its peak is covered with snow
_____________________________.
18. At 4150 miles in length, the __________________ is the world’s longest river. It has
two tributaries: the ______________________________, which originates in Lake
Victoria and the _______________________________, which originates in the Ethiopian
Highlands.
19. Africa’s largest lake is Lake ______________________, which is the world’s
________________________largest lake.
20. ________________________ Falls, which is one mile wide, is on the
__________________________ River.
CLASS WORK
PAGE 4
Physical Features of Africa
Bodies of Salt Water
A. Atlantic Ocean
B. Gulf of Guinea
C. Strait of Gibraltar
D. Mediterranean Sea
E. Suez Canal
F. Red Sea
G. Gulf of Aden
H. Indian Ocean
I. Mozambique Channel
CLASS WORK
Landforms
1. Sahara Desert
2. Sahel
3. Great Rift Valley
4. Ethiopian Highlands
5. Horn of Africa
6. Congo River Basin
7. Mount Kilimanjaro
8. Kalahari Desert
9. Namib Desert
10. Cape of Good Hope
Rivers
R1. Niger River
R2. Congo River
R3. Nile River
R4. Blue Nile
R5. White Nile
R6. Zambezi River
Lakes
L1. Lake Victoria
PAGE 5
Africa Atlas Activity
Use pages 72-73 of the atlas to complete this activity.
Text Overview
1. How big is Africa in comparison to other continents?
2. What is the Sahara?
3. What is the Sahel?
4. What do scientists now think is the relationship between the Sahara and the Sahel?
5. What are the vast plains of Africa called?
6. List five problems faced by Africans.
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7. List three positive things that offer Africans hope.
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A Historical Look of Africa Timeline
8. Which happened first: civilization in the Nile Valley or diamonds and gold discovered in
Southern Africa?
CLASS WORK
PAGE 6
9. Which happened most recently: Liberia founded as a refuge for African Americans or
Ethiopia suffers one of Africa’s worst droughts?
10. When did the Sahara spread as the climate became drier?
11. When did permanent fishing communities develop in Africa?
12. Who assumed power in South Africa in 1994?
African Independence Maps
13. Which two European countries controlled most of Africa in 1950?
14. Which four African countries were independent in 1950? (Look at p. 75 for help.)
15. Which country was not independent in 1994? (Look at p. 75 for help.)
The People of Africa
16. How many languages are spoken in Africa?
17. Of the pictures of African people, which do you think is most interesting and why?
CLASS WORK
PAGE 7
Chapter 12 Review
Complete the chapter review activities on pages 172 to 173. Write out all answers fully!
Vocabulary Review (Include the term and the definition!)
1. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Quiz (Answer in complete sentences. Include the question in your answer.)
1. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
HOMEWORK
PAGE 8
2. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
HOMEWORK
PAGE 9
Textbook Questions
The Growing Desert (pp 162-164)
1. Where is the Sahel?
2. What does the word Sahel mean?
3. How did the Sahel get its name?
4. List five reasons why the Sahel is experiencing desertification.
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5. List statistics about desertification:
A. WorldwideB. In Niger6. List two things that could be done to reduce the desertification of the Sahel.
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7. How does dependence on herding and farming divide families in the Sahel?
HOMEWORK
PAGE 10
The Tropics of Central Africa (pp 165-166)
For each of the following pairs of statements, identify which is the cause and which is the effect.
8a. _____________Central Africa is very warm.
8b. _____________Central Africa is located near the equator.
9a. _____________This region receives up to 400 inches of rain each year.
9b. _____________Much of this region is covered with tropical rain forest.
10a. ____________The Congo River helps with transportation and provides fish for food.
10b. ____________The Congo River is the most important geographic feature of this region.
11a. ____________People cannot travel the whole length of the river.
11b. ____________In some places, water rushes and crashes down rocky slopes.
12a. ____________The Congo River has rapids, or stretches of fast moving water.
12b. ____________A hydroelectric power plant has been built on the Congo River.
13a. ____________Central Africa is a poor place to grow crops.
13b. ____________Heavy rains wash nutrients out of the soil.
14a. ____________Rubber and hardwood trees come from the rain forest.
14b. ____________The rain forest is important to the region’s economy.
HOMEWORK
PAGE 11
HOMEWORK
PAGE 12
Ch. 12 Study Guide
Each Friday, we will have a quiz on the week’s packet. The most important things to
know are on this study guide.
1. Vocabulary
a. define the terms
b. use them in sentences
c. give examples
2. Central Africa Map
a. match countries with their locations (a practice powerpoint is on Mr.
Nolen’s website)
b. quiz will also so include the nations of West Africa (last week’s map)
3. Geography of Africa: Fill in the Blanks
a. recall the information from items number 1 and numbers 7 to 20.
4. Physical Features of Africa
a. match physical features with their locations
STUDY GUIDE
PAGE 13