Grade 8 · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 10
The Mexica & Tenochtitlan
A great city on a lake and the people who built it
What your child practises
How the Mexica built Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco, grew food on chinampas, traded and collected tribute, and how Nahua peoples and the Nahuatl language continue today.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: 8.3 · the Mexica (Aztec) society, the city of Tenochtitlan, farming, trade, tribute and government
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
How did the Mexica grow food on and around the lake?
- on chinampas, small artificial islands built in shallow water
- by cutting down all the forests
- on mountain glaciers
- with machine tractors
Show answer
on chinampas, small artificial islands built in shallow water
Hint: Chinampas were fertile, and farmers could grow several crops a year.
Question 2
What language did the Mexica speak?
- Nahuatl
- Latin
- Japanese
- Spanish
Show answer
Nahuatl
Hint: Nahuatl is still spoken by well over a million people in Mexico today.
Question 3
What was a calpulli?
- a kind of boat
- a Spanish ship
- a type of cloth
- a neighbourhood or community group in Mexica cities
Show answer
a neighbourhood or community group in Mexica cities
Hint: Calpultin organized land, education and work for families.
Question 4
What was tribute?
- goods or labour paid to a ruler by conquered peoples
- a type of farm
- a festival of music
- a kind of sword
Show answer
goods or labour paid to a ruler by conquered peoples
Hint: The Mexica collected tribute such as cloth, food and cacao from many peoples.
Question 5
The Triple Alliance was an agreement among which three city-states?
- Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan
- Venice, Florence and Milan
- Madrid, Seville and Granada
- Edo, Kyoto and Osaka
Show answer
Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan
Hint: Together they formed the strongest power in central Mexico.
Question 6
The Mexica calendar helped plan farming and festivals. What did it track?
- days and seasons
- only wars
- only the tides
- only trade
Show answer
days and seasons
Hint: Calendars were important in many Mesoamerican cultures.