IB MYP Individuals and Societies: Key concepts in MYP Individuals and Societies – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

This practice set is for IB MYP Individuals and Societies and follows the IB MYP Individuals and societies guide (for use from September 2014/January 2015; published May 2014, updated April 2021). It covers the guide’s key concepts section and how key concepts combine with related concepts and a global context into statements of inquiry and inquiry questions. It suits MYP years 4 and 5; there is no SL/HL split. MYP has no prescribed content list – schools design their own units – so your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications.

Each question is labelled with the criterion it mainly trains: A Knowing and understanding, B Investigating, C Communicating, D Thinking critically. Real MYP work is judged against criterion level descriptors (1–8, in four bands), so the [1] points are a revision aid, not IB marks. Places, people and figures are fictional unless real ones are named. A calculator helps for question 5.

Study first with the key concepts study guide and the key concepts revision notes. Course links: MYP Individuals and Societies hub and printable checklist.

Questions

1. (Criterion A) Name the four key concepts that the MYP guide says individuals and societies contributes, and two other key concepts it says can also be important in the subject. [3]

2. (Criterion A) Distinguish between a key concept and a related concept, giving an individuals and societies example of each. [4]

3. (Criterion A) Classify each question as factual, conceptual or debatable. (i) Which two oceans does the Strait of Malacca link? (ii) How do trade routes shape where cities grow? (iii) Should wealthy countries pay poorer ones to protect their rainforests? (iv) In which year did the Ottomans capture Constantinople? (v) Why does a shock to one part of an economy spread to other parts? (vi) Is economic growth always a sign of development? [3]

4. (Criterion A) A teacher writes this statement of inquiry: “Migration reshapes both the places people leave and the places where they settle, creating new opportunities and tensions.” Suggest the key concept, one related concept and one global context that best fit it, with a reason for each. [3]

5. (Criterion D) The table shows jobs in Lornmouth, a fictional coastal town, in thousands.

Year	Primary (fishing, farming)	Secondary (boatbuilding, processing)	Tertiary (shops, offices, tourism)
1980	12	18	10
2000	6	15	19
2020	3	9	36

(a) Calculate the percentage of Lornmouth’s jobs that were tertiary in each year. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage change in total jobs from 1980 to 2020. [1] (c) Describe the change in Lornmouth’s employment structure, using figures. [2] (d) Identify the key concept this data best illustrates and one related concept that would deepen the analysis. [1]

6. (Criterion A) A drought destroys much of the wheat harvest in Corvania, a fictional country. Using the key concept of systems, explain the likely effects on Corvania’s wheat market and on one linked market. [4]

7. (Criterion D) Two fictional ports lie on the same coast. Kessby has a deep natural harbour and a coalfield nearby. Ardwell has a shallow harbour, but in 1880 a canal opened linking Ardwell to the country’s largest inland city. By 1920 Ardwell was three times the size of Kessby. Explain this outcome using the key concept of time, place and space. [4]

8. (Criterion B) Your class is starting a unit on tourism in a mountain region. Write a statement of inquiry that names its key concept, related concept and global context, then write one factual, one conceptual and one debatable inquiry question that follow from it. [6]

9. (Criterion C) Plan a one-page infographic that explains the key concept of systems to MYP year 1 students, using one example from geography or economics. Describe what goes on the page and why. [5]

10. (Criterion D) Read Source A.

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge. Leaflet issued by Lornmouth Town Council (fictional) in 2019, twenty years after a new coast road opened: “The road brought shoppers, offices and hotels. Lornmouth is no longer just a fishing town – it is a town for everyone. Come and see what we have become.”

A student is investigating how a change in transport affected different groups in Lornmouth. Evaluate one value and one limitation of Source A for this investigation, with reference to its origin and purpose. [4]

11. (Criterion D) “Change is the most useful key concept for understanding the past.” To what extent do you agree? Refer to examples from at least two individuals and societies disciplines. [10]

Answers

1. Change and global interactions [1]; systems and time, place and space (one linked concept, not three) [1]. Any two of culture, development and communities [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Writing “time”, “place” and “space” as separate items shows the concept has not been understood, so the second point is lost.

2. A key concept is a broad big idea that works across disciplines and subject groups [1], for example systems [1]. A related concept is narrower and grounded in one discipline, used to explore a key concept in more depth [1], for example scarcity in economics or causality in history and geography [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “Distinguish” needs the difference stated for both terms; one definition plus “the other is smaller” earns half at most.

3. (i) factual, (ii) conceptual [1]; (iii) debatable, (iv) factual [1]; (v) conceptual, (vi) debatable [1]. [3] Examiner insight: A “why” or “how” question can still be conceptual rather than debatable; ask whether informed people could argue opposite answers.

4. Key concept: change – “reshapes” points to transformation in both origin and destination (time, place and space is also acceptable if justified through movement across space) [1]. Related concept: causality, diversity or identity, with a matching reason, such as diversity because new communities settle [1]. Global context: orientation in space and time, because migration is movement across places; or identities and relationships, because of the tensions between groups [1]. [3] Examiner insight: More than one answer can be right; the point is earned by the reason that ties the concept to words in the statement.

5. (a) Tertiary ÷ total × 100: 1980: 10 ÷ 40 = 25%; 2000: 19 ÷ 40 = 47.5%; 2020: 36 ÷ 48 = 75% [1] [1]. (b) (48 − 40) ÷ 40 × 100 = 20% increase [1]. (c) Lornmouth shifted from a mainly secondary and primary economy to a tertiary one: tertiary rose from 25% to 75% of jobs, a rise of 50 percentage points [1]; primary jobs fell from 12 000 to 3 000, a 75% fall, while total jobs still grew by 20% [1]. (d) Change; with a related concept such as patterns and trends, processes, or causality [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Use percentage points for a change between two percentages; “rose by 50%” is wrong here.

6. The drought is an external shock that cuts the supply of wheat [1]. At the old price buyers want more wheat than is available, so the price rises until a new, higher equilibrium is reached with less wheat sold [1]. Bakers face higher costs, so the price of bread (a linked market) rises and less is bought [1]. Some buyers switch to substitutes such as rice, raising demand there too [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Systems answers earn the points by tracing the effect from one part to the next; stopping at “the price rises” misses the knock-on links.

7. Kessby’s advantages lie in the place itself (its site) – harbour depth and coal [1]. Ardwell’s advantage is relative location: the canal put it on the route to the largest inland city, so trade flows passed through it [1]. Cheaper transport to a large market drew firms and workers, outweighing Kessby’s resources [1]. Time matters too: before 1880 Ardwell’s location was a constraint; the canal changed the value of the same place [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Separate what a place has (its site) from how it links to other places (relative location); Criteria A and D both reward accurate terminology in context.

8. Model answer. Key concept: global interactions [1]. Related concepts: sustainability and disparity and equity (geography) [1]. Global context: globalization and sustainability [1]. Statement: “When visitors from many places use a fragile environment, the benefits and costs are rarely shared fairly.” Factual: “How many visitors does the region receive each year, and from which countries?” [1] Conceptual: “How does tourism change the balance between income and environmental damage in a place?” [1] Debatable: “Should mountain communities limit visitor numbers even if it costs local jobs?” [1] [6] Examiner insight: A statement of inquiry that names one valley or resort cannot transfer; keep places out of it and put them in the factual question.

9. A clear title and plain language suited to 11-year-olds [1]. A labelled diagram of one system, for example a drainage basin with inputs, stores, flows and outputs [1]. Arrows showing how the parts depend on each other [1]. A “what happens if…” panel showing one shock, such as deforestation leading to faster runoff [1]. Sources listed at the foot using a recognised convention such as MLA or APA [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Criterion C judges style for the audience, format and documentation of sources; an accurate plan with no citations cannot reach the top band.

10. Value: its origin is the town council, which knows the local changes, writing twenty years on with hindsight [1]; it shows the official view of the change, which is itself evidence [1]. Limitation: its purpose is to promote the town, so it stresses gains and leaves out groups who lost, such as fishing families [1]; it gives no figures, so it needs checking against employment data or interviews [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Each value and limitation must be tied to origin or purpose and to the student’s question; “it may be biased” alone earns nothing.

11. Model plan. Define change as movement from one state to another, studied through causes, processes and consequences [1]. For: change is central to history – Russia’s 1861 emancipation freed serfs but left many in debt and short of land [1]; in economics, the 1973 oil embargo changed prices across the world [1]. Against: systems explains why a shock spreads or is absorbed, such as how the Concert of Europe survived the strain of the Crimean War [1]. Time, place and space explains why Constantinople mattered in 1453: its position on the Bosphorus [1]. Global interactions explains the Panama Canal better than change alone [1]. The concepts overlap: change is often explained through systems and location [1]. The most useful concept depends on the question asked [1]. Weighs the arguments and reaches a judgement [1]. A justified conclusion answering “to what extent” [1]. [10] Examiner insight: Criterion D rewards a judgement that follows from evidence; listing all four concepts without weighing them limits the level.

Where marks are usually lost

• Writing “time, place and space” as three separate key concepts.
• Calling a related concept (causality, scarcity, power) a key concept.
• Confusing global interactions (key concept) with the global context globalization and sustainability.
• Using “rose by 50%” when the change between two percentages is 50 percentage points.
• “Debatable” questions that have a single factual answer.

Next steps

• Review the key concepts revision notes.
• Reread the key concepts study guide.
• See the criteria in practice.
• Course hub: MYP Individuals and Societies.
• Printable checklist.
• Try all free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

This practice set is aligned to the IB MYP Individuals and societies guide (for use from September 2014/January 2015; published May 2014, updated April 2021), section “Key concepts” and the sections on related concepts, global contexts, statements of inquiry and inquiry questions.