US states, Washington, DC and territories

Why the states quiz has 50 answers

The United States has 50 states. Washington, DC is the federal district, and Puerto Rico is a territory. A government directory may list them together for convenience, but they remain different categories. A map can also show a place without including it as a state answer.

Why Alaska and Hawaii appear in separate boxes

Maps often move Alaska and Hawaii into insets so their shapes fit beside the contiguous states. Both are still states. The boxes use different positions and scales, so they do not show the islands’ or Alaska’s actual distance from the mainland.

A large dot for Washington, DC does not make it a 51st state. Map symbols are sized to be readable, not to show a place’s status. Use the legend and included-place list when a symbol is unfamiliar.

Separate a state from its capital

A states quiz asks for a state’s name or location. A state-capitals quiz asks for its capital. Washington, DC is the national capital, not an extra answer in a quiz matching the 50 states to their capitals. Choose the quiz that matches what you want to practice.

Try it

• 1. Sort Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico into state, federal district or territory.
• 2. A worksheet shows Alaska in a box near the lower left corner. Does that placement say Alaska is geographically there?
• 3. A table has 50 state rows plus a DC row. Does it establish that the US has 51 states?
• 4. You want to name the capital associated with California. Which MapRounds task should you choose?

Check your answers

• 1. Alaska and Hawaii are states; Washington, DC is the federal district; Puerto Rico is a territory.
• 2. No. It is an inset. Use the map’s locator or a wider map to understand actual position.
• 3. No. It combines different categories for a table’s purpose.
• 4. US state capitals. The states quiz practices a different relation.

• Practice the 50 states
• Match states with their capitals
• Read a map’s symbols and scope