Skip to content
LessonPrint

Reading a Population Table is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on reading change over time from census figures, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D3.1.3-5. It prints 6 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 3 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next set

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Reading a Population Table

D3.1.3-5

NameDate

Read the table and answer the questions. Show your work. Then choose the best answers.

1.Read the table, then answer the questions.

Population of California, 1850 to 1870

Figures from the United States Census of 1850, 1860 and 1870, set out as a table for this worksheet. YEAR ...... PEOPLE COUNTED IN CALIFORNIA 1850 ...... 92,597 1860 ...... 379,994 1870 ...... 560,247 Notes: Gold was found in California in January 1848. The census counts the people of every state once every ten years. The 1850 count missed some places whose records were lost, and most Native Californians were not counted.

  1. 1. How many people were counted in California in 1860?
  2. 2. Why might the real number of people in 1850 have been higher than 92,597?
  3. 3. Why might so many people have come to California between 1850 and 1860?
  4. 4. How many more people were counted in 1860 than in 1850?
2.Why is it useful to put census numbers in a table?
  • A.So no one can read them
  • B.So the numbers for different years can be compared quickly
  • C.So the numbers can be hidden
3.A table has a column for years and a column for population. What does each row show?
  • A.Who counted the people
  • B.How many states there were
  • C.How many people were counted in one year
4.A town had 2,500 people in 1880 and 4,000 in 1890. How many more people lived there in 1890?
  • A.4,000 more people
  • B.4,000 + 2,500 = 6,500 more people
  • C.4,000 − 2,500 = 1,500 more people
5.Which kind of graph best shows how a population changed over many years?
  • A.A line graph
  • B.A compass rose
  • C.A map key
6.In what year was the first US census taken?
  • A.1950
  • B.1790
  • C.1492

LessonPrint · D3.1.3-5 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Reading a Population Table

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 379,994 people. 2. The 1850 count missed some places whose records were lost. 3. Many came because gold was found in California in 1848. 4. 379,994 − 92,597 = 287,397 more people.
  2. 2.So the numbers for different years can be compared quickly
  3. 3.How many people were counted in one year
  4. 4.4,000 − 2,500 = 1,500 more people
  5. 5.A line graph
  6. 6.1790

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D3.1.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.