Social Studies Final Exam Review ( 2013 )

1. Social Studies Final Exam Review (2013)

2. 1. How are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam similar? Are they monotheistic or polytheistic? • They all started in the Middle East • They all believe in one God (Monotheistic)

3. 2. What is the holy city that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have strong ties to? • Jerusalem

4. 3. Why was the Panama Canal built? • Shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans • Ships don’t have to sail around South America

5. 4. What areas are considered Latin America? • Mexico (starts at Rio Grande in the North) • Central America - Cuba, Panama • South America - Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Argentina

6. 5. Where are the Ural Mountains located? Name 2 other landmarks in this country. • Russia • St. Basil’s Cathedral, Kremlin • Siberia (Trans-Siberian Railway) • Red Square

7. 6. What would geographers use to study the relationships between people and places? • Maps

8. 7. Define contiguous. • 48 US states that are connected • Not Alaska and Hawaii or US territories

9. 8. Who was Mother Teresa? In what country did she work? • Woman who devoted her life to her faith by helping the poor in India

10. 9. What common geographic features do Turkey, Egypt, and Panama share? • They are all near important waterways • Turkey - Mediterranean Sea • Egypt - Nile River, Suez Canal • Panama - Panama Canal

11. 10. Define the word culture. Why is culture referred to as “a blueprint for living”? • Study of all aspects of how people behave in a society • Includes language, food, clothing, holidays, religions • Learned behavior from one’s surroundings (family, friends, country, society)

12. 11. Define limited government. Define unlimited government. Give 3 examples of countries for each type of government. • Limited Government - leaders have to follow rules, power is limited by constitution and elections • United States • Canada • Great Britain • Germany • Unlimited Government – leaders have all the power and can do whatever they want with no restrictions • Cuba • Iran • Venezuela • China • North Korea

13. 12. How are rural settlements different from urban settlements? • Rural – in the country, farms, low population density • Urban – cities, buildings, high population density, lots of economic activities (businesses)

14. 13. List the 5 themes of geography and give a description for each. • Location – where things are on the globe • Absolute – exact, latitude and longitude, coordinates • Relative – in relation to something else (NW of Manvel) • Place – location plus description • Human-Environment Interactions – pollution, cutting down trees, building Galveston seawall • Movement – interstate highway system • Region – grouping places with similar characteristics • Geographic – location, near waterways, landforms • Cultural – same language, religion, holidays, etc. • Ex. Latin America, North Africa & Middle East

15. 14. Describe the Cold War. Which two countries was it between? • Dispute between Soviet Union and East Europe against United States and West Europe • Both threatened with nuclear weapons but didn’t fire them • Competitions included Space Race and Arms Race • At the end, the Soviet Union collapsed and became Russia and 15 independent countries

16. 15. What is subsistence agriculture? • Growing crops on a small farm only for your family, not to sell for profit • African and Asian rural areas

17. 16. Define absolute location. • Exact point on surface of the earth • Latitude and longitude, coordinates • Ex. 25ºN, 75ºW

18. 17. Describe Africa’s physical geography. • Sahara Desert in North, divides continent by cultural regions • Wide, flat areas allow for constantly shifting country borders • Great Rift Valley in East

19. 18. Why is the Suez Canal important? • Allows ships to sail from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea without traveling around Africa

20. 19. How does the Ring of Fire affect life in East Asia? • Volcanoes and earthquakes are common • Cause tsunamis

21. 20. Define the following types of economy and give an example of a country for each: • Free Enterprise – gov’t has few restrictions on businesses • United States, England • Communist– gov’t has total control over businesses • China, Cuba, North Korea • Socialist – gov’t and people share ownership in businesses, gov’t provides free health care • Sweden

22. 21. Define communism. • Government has complete control over country, economy, few individual rights

23. 22. Asia is to Japan as Europe is to __________. • Great Britain (both are island countries)

24. 23. Define population distribution. What landform are all major cities located near? • How many people live per square mile • Rivers or ports (important waterways)

25. 24. Define caste system. Which country has a caste system? What is the lowest caste? • India’s system of dividing people into social classes • Outcastes or untouchables

26. 25. Define peninsula. Give some examples. • Body of land surrounded by water on 3 sides • Ex. Florida, India, Arabian, Thailand

27. 26. In which country is the Great Wall located? • China

28. 27. Where are tropical rainforests common? • Near the equator

29. 28. Where is the Eiffel Tower located? • Paris, France

30. 29. Define apartheid. In which country did it occur? What is one capital city of this country? • South Africa’s policy of separating people by color (ethnicity) • Cape Town

31. 30. Where can you find most theocratic nations? • Theocracy – rule by religious leaders • Middle East (Muslim rule) • Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, maybe Egypt

32. 31. What was Pangaea? What did it look like? • Theory that says many years ago, the earth’s continents formed one giant continent

33. 32. What is a map scale? Give an example. • Way to measure distance on a map and compare to actual distance on the globe • Can be written as ratio 1:16,000,000 or 1:1,300,000

34. 33. What is terrorism? What religious group feels terrorism is justified? • violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror) for a religious or political gain • Muslims (Islam)

35. 34. What large country lies in two continents? • Russia (spans both Europe & Asia)

36. 35. Where do most people in Egypt live? • Near the Nile River

37. 36. What would you use an atlas for? • All types of maps • Physical • Political • Population density • Climate • Land Area

38. 37. What separates North Africa from the rest of Africa? • Sahara Desert

39. 38. What are the major physical features of South America? • Amazon Rainforest • Amazon River • Andes Mountains

40. 39. Describe the two ways you can divide a region: • Geographic – location, physical features (mountains, plains, deserts, etc.) • Cultural – same language, religion, holidays, traditions, etc.

41. 40. What landforms can be used as geographic borders between countries or states? • Mountains, rivers, oceans, deserts

42. 41. Who are the only people that inhabit Antarctica? • Researchers

43. 42. What printed source would you use to find the land area and population of a country? • Atlas

44. 43. What countries were separated by the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall? What war ended when the wall came down? • Iron Curtain – separated East and West Europe (Soviet Union Communism in East, Democratic West) • Berlin Wall – separated East & West Germany • Cold War ended

45. 44. How does China’s population compare to that of the United States? • China’s population is about 3 times bigger

46. 45. Match the continent with the landforms: Asia Africa Asia Africa South America South America Australia North America Africa Europe Antarctica • Ganges River North America • Nile River South America • Himalayan Mountains Africa • Lake Victoria Europe • Amazon River Asia • Andes Mountains Australia • Uluru/ Ayers Rock Antarctica • Grand Canyon • Sahara Desert • Alps • Vinson Massif

47. 46. List 3 things the regions on the map have in common. • North Africa & Middle East • Similar culture, religion, language, traditions, food, clothing

48. 47. What would be the title of this map? • Pangaea

49. 48. What information does this map show? • Important waterways (Nile River, Suez Canal) • Most people live near the Nile River • Few cities in desert

50. 49. What do the colored areas of this map show? • People live near rivers, in river valleys