S3 History Paper: Greece, Rome, Medieval Europe, Renaissance and Discovery (100 marks)

2026-11-13

S3 History – early modern world

S3 History paper: 6 questions, 24 parts, 100 marks, 60 minutes. Covers Athenian democracy, Roman Republic, medieval manors, Black Death, printing and age of discovery.

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Paper details　S3 History practice paper with six questions on Athenian democracy, the Roman Republic, manor economy and the Black Death, Renaissance printing, voyages of discovery and Atlantic trade.

Section A: Athenian Democracy and the Polis (16 marks)

In the fifth century BCE Athens had about 250,000 people, of whom about 30,000 were adult male citizens. The assembly needed 6,000 present to be valid. Solon reformed in 594 BCE, Cleisthenes in 508 BCE, and Pericles led from 461 to 429 BCE.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
1	Work out adult male citizens as a percentage of the whole population.	Answer: 30,000 divided by 250,000 times 100 per cent, that is 12 per cent. (Marking: 2 marks for the division, 1 mark for the conversion, 1 mark for the answer.)
2	Work out the quorum as a percentage of adult male citizens.	Answer: 6,000 divided by 30,000 times 100 per cent, that is 20 per cent, so one citizen in five had to attend. (Marking: 2 marks for the calculation, 1 mark for the percentage, 1 mark for the comment.)
3	How many years separate the reforms of Solon and of Cleisthenes?	Answer: 594 minus 508, that is 86 years. Both dates are BCE, so they are simply subtracted. (Marking: 2 marks for the subtraction, 1 mark for the BCE point, 1 mark for the answer.)
4	For how many years did Pericles lead, and what two limits did this system of participation have?	Answer: 461 minus 429, that is 32 years. Two limits are that women, foreigners and slaves had no political rights, and only adult male citizens could attend the assembly. (Marking: 2 marks for the years, 1 mark for each limit.)

Section B: From Republic to Empire (16 marks)

The Roman Republic began in 509 BCE and the Twelve Tables were published in 450 BCE. In 395 CE the empire split into east and west, and in 476 CE the western empire fell. Roman roads ran about 80,000 km, and a legion marched about 30 km a day.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
5	How many years did the Republic and its empire last, from 509 BCE to 476 CE?	Answer: 509 plus 476, that is 985 years. There is no year zero between BCE and CE, so the two numbers are added. (Marking: 3 marks for the addition, 1 mark for the year zero point, 1 mark for the answer.)
6	How old was the Republic when the Twelve Tables were published?	Answer: 509 minus 450, that is 59 years. (Marking: 3 marks for the subtraction, 1 mark for the answer with unit.)
7	How many years passed between the split of the empire and the fall of the west?	Answer: 476 minus 395, that is 81 years. (Marking: 3 marks for the subtraction, 1 mark for the answer with unit.)
8	At 30 km a day, how many days are needed to march all 80,000 km of road, and roughly how many years is that?	Answer: 80,000 divided by 30 is about 2,667 days, and 2,667 divided by 365 is about 7.3 years. (Marking: 2 marks for the days, 1 mark for the years.)

Section C: Manor Economy and the Black Death (16 marks)

A medieval manor had 500 people, of whom 375 were serfs. The Black Death spread across Europe from 1347 to 1351, and the Hundred Years War ran from 1337 to 1453. Each acre sown with one bushel of wheat yielded four bushels.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
9	Work out serfs as a percentage of the manor population.	Answer: 375 divided by 500 times 100 per cent, that is 75 per cent. (Marking: 2 marks for the division, 1 mark for the percentage, 1 mark for the answer.)
10	For how many years did the Black Death spread in Europe?	Answer: 1351 minus 1347, that is 4 years. (Marking: 3 marks for the subtraction, 1 mark for the answer.)
11	How long did the Hundred Years War actually last, and why does the name not match?	Answer: 1453 minus 1337, that is 116 years. The name is only a rough label, since there were many truces and the fighting was not continuous. (Marking: 2 marks for the years, 2 marks for the explanation.)
12	If the manor population rose by 20 per cent and food per head stayed the same, what yield per acre would be needed?	Answer: 4 times 1.20, that is 4.8 bushels. (Marking: 2 marks for the percentage increase, 2 marks for the value with unit.)

Section D: The Renaissance and Printing (16 marks)

Gutenberg used movable type about 1450, and Constantinople fell in 1453. In 1500 Venice had 200 printing shops, each printing about 300 books a year, and each book averaged 300 pages.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
13	How many years lie between the use of movable type and the fall of Constantinople?	Answer: 1453 minus 1450, that is 3 years. (Marking: 3 marks for the subtraction, 1 mark for the answer.)
14	Work out the total number of books printed in Venice each year in 1500.	Answer: 200 times 300, that is 60,000 books. (Marking: 2 marks for the multiplication, 2 marks for the value with unit.)
15	At 300 pages a book, how many pages did Venice print in a year? Give the answer in millions.	Answer: 60,000 times 300, that is 18,000,000 pages, or 18 million pages. (Marking: 2 marks for the multiplication, 1 mark for the conversion, 1 mark for the answer.)
16	State two effects of printing on the spread of the Renaissance.	Answer: books became cheaper, knowledge circulated faster, literacy rose, and new ideas and the Reformation spread quickly. Any two. (Marking: 2 marks each, with cause and effect.)

Section E: Voyages of Discovery (16 marks)

Columbus sailed from Palos on 3 August 1492 and reached the Bahamas on 12 October, a voyage of about 6,000 km with 3 ships and about 90 men. Magellan left in 1519 with 5 ships and about 270 men; in 1522 only 1 ship and 18 men returned to Spain.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
17	How many days did Columbus take, and what was the average distance per day to one decimal place?	Answer: 28 days left in August, plus 30 in September and 12 in October, gives 70 days; 6,000 divided by 70 is about 85.7 km. (Marking: 2 marks for the days, 2 marks for the average, 1 mark for the unit.)
18	Work out the survivors of the Magellan fleet as a percentage of those who left, to one decimal place.	Answer: 18 divided by 270 times 100 per cent, that is about 6.7 per cent. (Marking: 2 marks for the division, 1 mark for the percentage, 1 mark for the answer.)
19	Work out the ships that returned as a percentage of those that left.	Answer: 1 divided by 5 times 100 per cent, that is 20 per cent. (Marking: 2 marks for the division, 2 marks for the answer.)
20	State two main difficulties of long voyages at that time.	Answer: poor navigation methods, shortage of food and fresh water, scurvy, and storms or unknown coasts. Any two. (Marking: 1.5 marks each, with specific detail.)

Section F: Growth of Cities and Trade (20 marks)

London had about 50,000 people in 1500 and about 200,000 in 1600. Lisbon had about 65,000 in 1500 and about 100,000 in 1600. Venice had about 100,000 in 1500 and about 150,000 in 1600.

#	Question	Answer and marking notes
21	Work out the population growth of London from 1500 to 1600 as a percentage.	Answer: 200,000 minus 50,000 is 150,000, divided by 50,000 times 100 per cent, that is 300 per cent. (Marking: 2 marks for the difference, 2 marks for the division, 1 mark for the answer.)
22	Work out the growth of Lisbon over the same period to one decimal place.	Answer: 100,000 minus 65,000 is 35,000, divided by 65,000 times 100 per cent, that is about 53.8 per cent. (Marking: 2 marks for the difference, 2 marks for the division, 1 mark for the answer.)
23	Work out the growth of Venice over the same period as a percentage.	Answer: 150,000 minus 100,000 is 50,000, divided by 100,000 times 100 per cent, that is 50 per cent. (Marking: 2 marks for the difference, 2 marks for the division, 1 mark for the answer.)
24	Which of the three cities grew fastest, and how is that linked to the rise of Atlantic trade?	Answer: London grew by 300 per cent, the largest rise. After the new sea routes opened, trade shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, and Britains position on the Atlantic route brought people into its port. Venice grew slowest because Mediterranean trade became less important. (Marking: 1 mark for the city, 2 marks for the data, 2 marks for the explanation.)

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