Worked example
A road cuts travel time, reducing spoilage and allowing more goods to reach a market. What is described?
Answer & why
Answer: a causal mechanism is described
The account links the road to trade through travel time and spoilage.
Grade 10 · Social studies
Evaluate competing explanations of historical change
Distinguish a plausible causal mechanism, a correlation and a counterexample using stated evidence.
6 authored questions + worked example
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All questions
All 6 authored questions for this skill.
Question 1
A writer claims every new road increases trade. A documented new road is followed by no trade increase. What is this case?
- correlation alone
- a causal mechanism is described
- a counterexample to a universal claim
- additional comparative evidence
A hint
A causal explanation needs a mechanism linking a proposed cause to an outcome.
Answer & why
Answer: a counterexample to a universal claim
One valid exception limits a claim about every case.
Question 2
A historian checks similar towns with and without a new road to investigate other differences. What is being sought?
- correlation alone
- a counterexample to a universal claim
- additional comparative evidence
- a causal mechanism is described
A hint
A causal explanation needs a mechanism linking a proposed cause to an outcome.
Answer & why
Answer: additional comparative evidence
The comparison can help evaluate alternatives, though it does not automatically settle causation.
Question 3
A lower transport cost allows traders to sell goods profitably in a more distant town. What is described?
- a counterexample to a universal claim
- additional comparative evidence
- a causal mechanism is described
- correlation alone
A hint
A causal explanation needs a mechanism linking a proposed cause to an outcome.
Answer & why
Answer: a causal mechanism is described
The explanation connects a cost change with the ability to trade farther away.
Question 4
Two events happen in the same year; no other evidence is provided for a causal link. What is supplied?
- a counterexample to a universal claim
- a causal mechanism is described
- correlation alone
- additional comparative evidence
A hint
A causal explanation needs a mechanism linking a proposed cause to an outcome.
Answer & why
Answer: correlation alone
Timing alone is not enough to demonstrate a causal process.
Question 5
A road cuts travel time, reducing spoilage and allowing more goods to reach a market. What is described?
- correlation alone
- a causal mechanism is described
- additional comparative evidence
- a counterexample to a universal claim
A hint
A causal explanation needs a mechanism linking a proposed cause to an outcome.
Answer & why
Answer: a causal mechanism is described
The account links the road to trade through travel time and spoilage.
Question 6
A town’s trade and population both rise, but no process linking them is given. What is supplied?
- correlation alone
- a counterexample to a universal claim
- additional comparative evidence
- a causal mechanism is described
A hint
A causal explanation needs a mechanism linking a proposed cause to an outcome.
Answer & why
Answer: correlation alone
The changes occur together, but the relationship’s cause has not been established.