Wonderopolis: What Do Barges Carry?

What is a barge?

• A long, flat boat

• A type of airplane

• A kind of car

• A type of train

What do barges usually carry?

• Passengers

• Furniture

• Heavy or bulky items

• Animals

What is a tugboat used for?

• Flying

• Pushing or pulling barges

• Digging

• Cooking

How much cargo can a typical barge carry?

• 100 tons

• 2,000 tons

• 500 tons

• 1,500 tons

Why is using a barge good for the environment?

• They are smaller

• They are more colorful

• They make less pollution

• They are faster

Match the following

• transportation

• move or carry something with effort

• goods

• machine that changes energy into mechanical motion

• hauling

• something that is carried from one place to another by boat, plane, truck

• cargo

• act of moving people/things from one place to another

• engines

• products that are made or grown in order to be sold

What is a synonym for the word "hauling?"

• transporting

• balls of ice falling from the sky

• a shout from a person to get your attention

• the sound a wolf makes at the moon

How do we know that barges are still a useful mode of transportation for many goods?

• "Some items you may find on barges include coal, grain, oil, chemicals, and trash."

• "They carry more than $123 billion worth of goods every year, and experts think this number will grow."

• "A typical barge can carry up to 1,5000 tons of cargo."

• "When you see a tugboat moving a barge, it will usually push a group of connected barges."

What historical development reduced the popularity of barges?

• invention of the airplane

• construction of highways

• development of railroads

• introduction of motorboats

How do modern barges typically move?

• They are rowed manually

• They use sails

• They are propelled by engines or pushed by tugboats

• They drift with the current