Study Guide

Field 245: Social Science: Geography 
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. Read each question and its answer choices carefully and choose the ONE best answer.

During the test you should try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for choosing an incorrect response.

Objective 0001 
Understand basic sources, tools, and methods of social science inquiry and interdisciplinary connections among the social sciences.

1. A social science researcher would be most likely to use sampling techniques in conducting which of the following research projects?

  1. a study of demographic changes on one city block over time
  2. an exploration of untreated depression in people statewide
  3. a report on ritual mask use in modern and ancient Maori culture
  4. a comparison of campaign finance laws in five contiguous states
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Sampling is the process of selecting a small number of representative units from a population of interest, so that results based on studying the sample can be generalized to the population from which they were chosen. Sampling is most appropriate when the population exists in the present and is too large to allow for a full census.

Objective 0002 
Understand the use of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation in social science inquiry and basic historical concepts.

2. A high school social science teacher has assigned students a semester-long research project. One instructional goal for the research project is for students to demonstrate their ability to evaluate sources throughout the inquiry process. The teacher could best accomplish this goal by:

  1. requiring students to utilize primary sources.
  2. steering students toward an academic database to conduct their research.
  3. having students submit an annotated bibliography.
  4. including a "source analysis" component on the grading rubric for the project.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
An annotated bibliography is a list of sources on one topic that includes a brief note or annotation for each source, describing its content, relevance, and credibility. By having students submit annotated bibliographies, the teacher requires students to evaluate their sources and gains an opportunity to assess their progress toward this instructional goal.

Objective 0002 
Understand the use of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation in social science inquiry and basic historical concepts.

3. For which of the following tasks would historians rely most on chronological thinking?

  1. identifying central questions in narratives
  2. explaining historical causality
  3. proposing alternative choices for addressing a historical problem
  4. considering multiple perspectives
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Much of the work of historians involves the ambiguities of cause and effect. Because causes precede effects, sometimes by extended periods, historians can begin to consider questions of historical causality by tracing events chronologically.

Objective 0003 
Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the social science classroom.

4. Use the sentence below to answer the question that follows.

By developing new products and/or starting new businesses and being willing to take on the associated risks of such endeavors,  start underline entrepreneurs end underline  play a key role in helping an economy grow.

A teacher could best promote students' understanding of the underlined vocabulary word in the sentence by providing explicit instruction in which of the following types of context clues?

  1. contrast
  2. explanation
  3. inference
  4. restatement
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Many educational texts are carefully written to include information that can serve as context clues to support students� reading comprehension. Generally, however, students need to be taught how to recognize and access the several types of context clues. In this text, the term entrepreneur is introduced with the help of an explanation clue, in which the new vocabulary word is explained within the same sentence. Explanation clues can also appear in the sentence immediately preceding or following the sentence containing the target word.

Objective 0003 
Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the social science classroom.

5. A high school social science class includes some English language learners and struggling readers who lack the basic reading skills necessary to comprehend complex informational texts. Which of the following strategies for differentiating reading assignments for these students would be most appropriate for a content-area teacher to use to address the students' reading comprehension needs?

  1. teaching the students the basic reading skills that they lack and then reviewing key skills before assigning a new text for independent reading
  2. using a variety of techniques to promote the students' development of oral reading fluency with respect to an assigned text, such as phrase-cued reading, choral reading, and echo reading
  3. introducing key vocabulary to the students prior to assigning a new text and having them read aloud, discuss, and annotate the text with a partner
  4. allowing the students to search for an alternative text online that addresses the same topic as an assigned text but is written for a grade level that is better aligned with their own reading level
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Lack of academic language knowledge is a common contributing factor to comprehension difficulties for students who are English language learners and/or struggling readers. Providing English language learners and struggling readers with explicit instruction in a text's key academic vocabulary, coupled with repeated meaningful exposure to and practice using the new vocabulary (e.g., by having them read aloud and discuss the text with a partner) is an effective approach for enhancing the students' comprehension of new academic language in a complex informational text. Finally, annotating the text with a partner requires the students to use various means (e.g., sticky notes, highlighting, notes in the text's margins) during reading to identify the text's key ideas and details, including the author's argument, claims, and evidence. Text annotation reinforces students' reading comprehension as well as their retention of essential text content.

Objective 0004 
Understand political concepts, systems, features, and processes in the United States and other world areas.

6. The U.S. Congress is best able to influence foreign policy by exercising its constitutional power to:

  1. regulate international commerce.
  2. establish independent regulatory commissions.
  3. appropriate federal funds.
  4. approve or reject presidential appointments.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The power to tax and spend is the first of the enumerated powers given to Congress in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. One illustrative example of Congress influencing foreign policy through the "power of the purse" is the Boland Amendments to the Defense Appropriations Act during the 1980s. This series of amendments banned U.S. assistance to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels.

Objective 0005 
Understand economic concepts and systems, the operation of the U.S. and world economies, and personal finance.

7. A consumer who is choosing between a credit card with a high interest rate and no annual fee and one with a low interest rate and a substantial annual fee should consider spending habits primarily for which of the following reasons?

  1. If the consumer's large purchases are seasonal, an annual fee may seem burdensome.
  2. If the consumer's purchases are mostly made with cash, a high interest rate is more affordable.
  3. If the consumer spends the same amount each month, a high annual fee may be critical.
  4. If the consumer limits purchases and pays the bill in full each month, the interest rate is irrelevant.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The scenario illustrates the common economic phenomenon of a trade-off where an advantage comes with the opportunity cost of an offsetting disadvantage. The disadvantage of the first credit card, a high interest rate on balances carried forward, can be avoided if the consumer does not carry a balance and instead pays the credit card bill in full each month.

Objective 0006 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in world history.

8. Which of the following developments reflects an important consequence of the Neolithic agricultural revolution?

  1. the emergence of pietistic religions
  2. a more equitable distribution of wealth
  3. a decrease in average family size
  4. the creation of permanent settlements
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
In the Paleolithic Era, early humans lived in small groups sustained by hunting and gathering. As they gained knowledge of the migration habits of the animals they hunted and the growth patterns of the wild grains they gathered, humans began domesticating animals and cultivating crops to feed gradually rising populations. As early as 10,000 B C E, these new ways of acquiring food led humans to establish permanent agricultural villages.

Objective 0007 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in U.S. history.

9. The increased use of steam power by U.S. manufacturers during the first half of the nineteenth century most directly influenced the:

  1. location and productivity of factories.
  2. division of labor in factories.
  3. variety of goods produced in factories.
  4. quality of goods produced in factories.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The development of steam power marked a signal advance in the ability to do work, which had previously been limited to the muscle power of humans and draft animals supplemented by energy generated by wind and running water. Steam requires the burning of wood or, more commonly, coal to boil water, so the factories that used steam power tended to be located near sources of those raw materials. Furthermore, steam-powered factories required substantial human labor and produced large amounts of consumer goods, encouraging a concentration of population into fast-growing urban centers.

Objective 0007 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in U.S. history.

10. Which of the following provisions of the U.S. Constitution most clearly reflects the framers' goal of creating a strong national government after the failure of the Articles of Confederation?

  1. "The Congress shall have power to... make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States."
  2. "[The president] shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for."
  3. "The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed."
  4. "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence."
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The Constitution enumerates seventeen specific delegated powers to Congress, several of which are substantially more expansive than the powers of its predecessor under the Articles of Confederation. In addition, the Constitution gives Congress "implied powers" to legislate on other matters that "shall be necessary and proper." This clause gives Congress and the national government generally much more power than the central government that had been established by the Articles of Confederation.

Objective 0008 
Understand tools, concepts, and processes of human and physical geography.

11. Which of the following examples best illustrates how experience and culture influence human perceptions of regions?

  1. A person from Canada is more likely than a person from Guatemala to view Latin America as a culture region.
  2. A person from Italy is more likely than a person from Spain to view Western Europe as a culture region.
  3. A person from South Africa is more likely than a person from Egypt to view sub-Saharan Africa as a culture region.
  4. A person from Malaysia is more likely than a person from Thailand to view Southeast Asia as a culture region.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
In geography, a region is an area of land that shares one or more characteristic features. Because many regions are defined by their human features, such as the predominant languages, ethnicities, and economic activities across an area, cultural background and personal experiences can influence how people perceive regions. For example, an individual living in Guatemala may be attuned to cultural differences across Central and South America, while an individual living in Canada may be more likely to perceive Latin America as a cohesive region.

Objective 0009 
Understand concepts, terms, and theories related to human behavior and development, the study of cultures, the structure and organization of human societies, and the processes of social interaction.

12. A major sociological difference between preindustrial and postindustrial societies is that in a preindustrial society:

  1. gender roles are likely to be less rigidly defined.
  2. social status is more likely to be determined by nonmonetary standards.
  3. people are less likely to integrate religious and secular concerns.
  4. an individual's sense of self is more likely to be shaped by occupational role.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Because preindustrial societies operate close to subsistence level, mass participation in producing food is required. In many such societies, the most monetized classes—such as people engaged in mercantile trade—have lower social status than warriors, priests, and landowners. In industrial and postindustrial societies, social classes become even more stratified, with monetary accumulation typically measuring social status.

Objective 0010 
Understand basic geographic terms, concepts, tools, and processes.

13. The regionalization process is valuable in the study of geographic issues primarily for which of the following reasons?

  1. It helps geographers address the uneven distribution of human populations and natural resources.
  2. It provides an intermediate step between local places and the entire globe within which to examine issues and events.
  3. It helps geographers understand the full complexity of relationships between humans and the environment.
  4. It provides a context for examining issues and events that focuses attention on the interdependence of peoples and places.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
In the regionalization process, geographers break the world into smaller units, referred to as regions, using whatever criteria will be most useful for investigating the issues to be addressed in a given study. In this way, geographers are able to focus on a relevant spatial unit that is larger than a local place but far smaller than the entire planet, making the study of geographic issues more manageable and efficient and thus facilitating the ability to interpret Earth's complexity.

Objective 0011 
Understand Earth's physical systems, features, patterns, and processes.

14. Earth's position relative to the sun most directly influences which of the following characteristics of the Great Plains region?

  1. The eastern section gets more rainfall than the western section.
  2. The central section is subject to severe weather patterns such as tornadoes.
  3. The southern section is dry and well-suited to ranching activities.
  4. The northern section has a shorter growing season than the southern section.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Earth's position in its orbit around the sun determines the tilt of Earth's vertical axis relative to the sun, which in turn determines the seasons by changing the angle at which the sun's rays hit the surface. For example, the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere occurs when the North Pole is tilted away from the sun to its greatest extent. Seasonal changes associated with the varying angles of the sun's rays explain differences in the length of the growing season in different sections of the country.

Objective 0012 
Understand global and regional patterns of population distribution and migration, patterns and processes of human settlement, and contemporary issues related to demographic change.

15. Which of the following statements best explains how the development of suburban residential areas can contribute to regional flooding of streams and rivers?

  1. Water flows are concentrated in fewer regional streams and rivers.
  2. Large areas of land are no longer available to absorb runoff during storms.
  3. Widespread removal of plants and trees reduces the rate of water evaporation after storms.
  4. Increased quantities of water enter the regional hydrosphere because of microclimatic changes.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
The development of suburban residential areas typically involves replacing large areas of meadows, trees, swamps, and other natural environments with structures or pavement. Vegetation prevents runoff during heavy rains by holding water in the ground and letting it gradually percolate downward through the soil. In contrast, buildings and asphalt or concrete streets, driveways, and parking lots are impermeable, pushing water to run off and potentially flood nearby streams and rivers.

Objective 0013 
Understand the human characteristics of places, global and regional patterns of culture, and the complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.

16. A geography teacher is planning a unit on the relationship between the physical, environmental, and cultural characteristics of places for a ninth-grade class. Which of the following research prompts would be most appropriate for an end-of-unit research project?

  1. Identify a culture that has existed for a long period of time and explore why it endured.
  2. Identify a world region and describe how cultural differences developed in that region.
  3. Identify two geographically similar regions and describe their cultural characteristics.
  4. Identify an ancient civilization and analyze how local geography influenced its culture.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The physical and environmental characteristics of a place influence its human geography, as cultures adapt to the landforms, climate conditions, natural resources, and other features of the regions in which they develop. Having students analyze how local geography influenced the culture of an ancient civilization requires them to engage critically with the relationship between physical, environmental, and cultural characteristics�an appropriate conclusion for a unit on this topic.

Objective 0014 
Understand the characteristics and spatial distribution of Earth's ecosystems, the effects of human interactions with the environment, and contemporary issues related to human-environment interactions.

17. A geographer is attempting to assess the danger of tidal surges and flooding from hurricanes in an area along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Which of the following types of information about the region would be most useful to the geographer?

  1. absolute and relative humidity
  2. annual precipitation and groundwater levels
  3. soil permeability and natural vegetation
  4. ocean temperatures and landform characteristics
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Tidal surges and flooding from hurricanes along the Gulf Coast are strongly influenced by the presence or absence of coastal areas that can buffer the higher-than-normal waves. Landforms such as barrier islands, dunes, coastal marshes, mangrove swamps, estuaries, and river deltas can break apart waves and help protect the land behind them from the effects of a storm surge. In addition, the temperature of the ocean water is critical to the development of hurricanes; since a storm draws its energy from the surface waters over which it passes, higher surface temperatures tend to make hurricanes more severe.

Objective 0015 
Understand global and regional patterns of resource distribution and land use and contemporary issues in energy and resource use.

18. Which of the following forms of land use and development typically places the greatest demands on a region's water resources?

  1. irrigated agriculture
  2. durable goods manufacturing
  3. commercial forestry
  4. mineral mining and quarrying
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Irrigation agriculture, as it is currently practiced, uses far more water than any other type of water use. Many irrigation agriculture practices waste large amounts of water; for example, the use of overhead circular sprinklers in hot, arid climates results in high evaporation rates before water even reaches the crops. In fact, techniques such as drip irrigation greatly reduce the use of water in irrigation agriculture, but they have not been widely applied in the United States.

Objective 0016 
Understand patterns and networks of economic interdependence and contemporary issues in economic development and interdependence.

19. Which of the following situations best illustrates how geographic factors influence the distribution of economic activity?

  1. a concentration of agriculture in a mountainous region with sections of arable land and an unpredictable climate
  2. the presence of heavy manufacturing in a region with access to natural resources and transportation routes
  3. a concentration of service industries in an isolated region with low population density
  4. the presence of intensive natural resource extraction in a region with high population density
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Geographic factors such as climate conditions and access to resources influence the economic decisions of individuals and businesses that, in turn, determine the spatial distribution of economic activities. For example, manufacturing firms are more likely to build factories in regions where they will have access to both the natural resources needed as raw materials and fuel and the transportation routes needed to ship finished goods to markets.

Objective 0017 
Understand the political ordering of space and contemporary cultural, ethnic, and geopolitical issues.

20. Which of the following historical examples could best be used to illustrate cooperation between competing political entities over a shared resource?

  1. United States support for Panamanian separatists prior to construction of the Panama Canal during the early twentieth century
  2. North Korean and South Korean agreement to a demilitarized zone between their countries beginning in 1953
  3. India and Bangladesh's implementation of a treaty on the use of the Ganges River system during the 1990s
  4. United Nations peacekeepers' monitoring of military activity in the Darfur region of Sudan during the early twenty-first century
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Although the relationship between India and Bangladesh has been mostly positive, the neighboring countries in South Asia have had areas of disagreement, including a long-lasting conflict over the water resources of the Ganges River, which flows from India into Bangladesh. A 30-year treaty resolving the countries' competing claims and defining how cooperation would occur was signed in 1996.