Continents and Oceans — Answer Key
Part A: Sort the Words
Sort each word or number into the correct category box.
1. Read each name. Sort it into the correct group: continent or ocean.
Continent
EuropeAfricaSouth America Ocean
IndianSouthernPacific Europe, Africa, and South America are huge pieces of dry land where people and animals live, so they are continents. Indian, Southern, and Pacific are giant bodies of salty water, so they are oceans.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. A compass shows directions like north, south, east, and west.
A compass has a magnetic needle that always points north, so you can figure out the other directions from there. Hikers and sailors use one to find their way.
2. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on Earth.
The Pacific Ocean stretches from Asia all the way to the Americas and covers more space than any other ocean. It is bigger than all of Earth's land put together.
3. Africa is home to the Sahara, the largest desert in the world.
A desert is a hot, dry place with lots of sand and very little rain. The Sahara in northern Africa is the biggest hot desert anywhere on Earth.
4. North America, South America, and Europe are three of the seven continents.
Europe is one of the seven continents and sits next to Asia on a world map. Together with the two Americas, that makes three of the seven.
5. Maps use colors to show land and water.
Mapmakers color water areas blue and land areas green or brown so they are easy to tell apart. A quick glance shows where land ends and water begins.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. Australia is both a continent and a country.
True False
Australia is the only place on Earth where one continent is also one whole country. It has no neighbor countries sharing the land.
2. The Indian Ocean is the largest ocean.
True False
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean, and the Indian Ocean is only the third largest. The Indian Ocean sits between Africa and Australia.
3. Continents are large areas of land on Earth.
True False
A continent is exactly that, a huge area of land surrounded mostly by water. Earth has seven of them in different sizes.
4. Antarctica is a warm continent near the equator.
True False
Antarctica is actually the coldest continent and sits at the bottom of the globe at the South Pole. The equator runs near Africa and South America, not Antarctica.