Short-answer question (SAQ)
Railways in Europe, 1906
- Unit 6
- 3 points
- About 13 minutes
You read one source and answer three short parts (A, B and C) about it, each in a few sentences. Each part asks you to describe or explain something about the source or the history around it. On the exam: 3 required questions in 40 minutes (Section I, Part B), 20% of the score. Starting May 2027 every SAQ has a source: question 1 a secondary text, question 2 a primary text, question 3 a non-text source such as an image, map or chart.
The question and its sources
Use the table below to answer all parts of the question that follows.
Length of railways in operation at the end of 1906, selected European countries
| Country | Total length of railways (miles) | Miles of railway per 1,000 square miles of area | Miles of railway per 10,000 inhabitants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 4,600 | 400 | 6.1 |
| United Kingdom | 23,100 | 190 | 5.2 |
| Germany | 34,500 | 165 | 5.6 |
| France | 29,300 | 140 | 7.5 |
| Austria-Hungary | 25,600 | 100 | 5.1 |
| Italy | 10,200 | 90 | 3.0 |
| Spain | 9,200 | 47 | 4.7 |
| Serbia | 450 | 21 | 1.5 |
| Russia (including Finland) | 35,100 | 17 | 3.0 |
| All of Europe | 195,300 | 50 | 5.0 |
Source: Augustus D. Webb, British statistician, The New Dictionary of Statistics: A Complement to the Fourth Edition of Mulhall's "Dictionary of Statistics" (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1911), p. 510. Selected rows; the figures are approximate, as in the source. Belgium's figure includes local lines; Austria-Hungary's includes Bosnia and Herzegovina. The source spells Serbia 'Servia.'
Suggested time: 13 minutes
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Part (a)
1 pointDescribe ONE pattern shown in the table.
0 / 2,500 characters
Part (b)
1 pointExplain ONE reason for the differences in railway development shown in the table.
0 / 2,500 characters
Part (c)
1 pointExplain ONE way railways affected European economies or societies in the period 1840–1914.
0 / 2,500 characters
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