Skills - Reading Maps, Graphs, Statistics and Historical Sources
What this domain tests
Practical data literacy: choosing the right map projection, reading contour lines and symbols, interpreting climate graphs, population pyramids, trade tables and historical illustrations, and expressing your conclusion in writing.
Maps
Scale expresses the ratio of map to ground; a 1:25,000 sheet shows more detail than 1:200,000. Contour lines join points of equal height, so closely spaced lines mean a steep slope and V-shapes pointing uphill mark valleys. Check the orientation symbol and the legend before answering anything.
Projections
Mercator keeps direction but exaggerates high latitudes, so Greenland looks huge. Equal-area projections such as Mollweide preserve area, and azimuthal equidistant maps preserve direction and distance from the centre. Choose by purpose, not habit.
Graphs and statistics
A population pyramid shaped like Mount Fuji means high birth and death rates; a bell shape means stable growth; a top-heavy shape means ageing. On trade tables, read the units and the year first, then compare shares rather than raw totals. When two variables move together, do not claim cause without a mechanism.
Historical sources
Date a picture or cartoon by clothing, tools and flags, and identify who made it and for whom. A propaganda poster tells you about the sender's intent as much as about events; corroborate with a written record.
Worked example
A table lists a prefecture's January temperature, annual rainfall and share of workers in services. Reasoning: identify the climate zone from the temperature and rainfall, then test whether the employment share matches that zone's industries - for example low rainfall with a high service share fits a Seto Inland Sea city rather than a snowy San'in one. Answer with both steps shown.
Traps
Reading a graph without checking units; assuming correlation is causation; and describing a source without stating its creator's standpoint or date.