Notes
East Asia
- Physical: Tibetan Plateau, Gobi, Yangtze, Huang He; Japan is a volcanic archipelago on the Ring of Fire. Most Chinese live on the eastern plains.
- Capitals: Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Pyongyang, Ulaanbaatar, Taipei (Taiwan's status is disputed). Confucianism, Buddhism and Shinto shape culture.
Southeast Asia and Oceania
- Mainland: Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam. Maritime: Indonesia (about 17,000 islands), the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei. Strait of Malacca is a key shipping lane. Thailand was never colonized.
- Oceania: Australia (Canberra, Great Barrier Reef, outback), New Zealand (Wellington), Papua New Guinea and Pacific islands (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia). Atolls are threatened by sea-level rise.
Economy and hazards
- Japan, South Korea and China are manufacturing powers; Singapore is a trade hub; Australia exports minerals; New Zealand exports dairy.
- Typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis are major hazards.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
These two flow east across the fertile plains of China.
Maritime countries are made of islands; the Philippines is an archipelago.
Canberra is the capital, and the interior is arid.
Plate boundaries near Japan are very active.
It connects the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
Taipei is Taiwan's capital.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Compare Japan and Australia, two wealthy countries in the Pacific region.
(a) Name each country's capital and one major physical feature.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Japan: Tokyo; Mount Fuji, Honshu or the Japanese Alps. Australia: Canberra; the Great Barrier Reef, outback or the Great Dividing Range.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Explain why Japan imports energy and raw materials but exports manufactured goods.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Japan has few natural resources, such as oil and iron ore, so it imports them and uses skilled workers and technology to make cars and electronics that it exports.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Describe one natural hazard in Japan and one environmental concern for Pacific island nations.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Japan: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes or typhoons. Pacific islands: rising sea levels threaten low atolls, or coral reef damage.
Check off the points you earned: