geography test
Ethnologue estimates the world has more than ________ spoken languages. A. 7,000 B. 10,000 C. 7,000,000 D. 10 E. 1,000
A. 7,000
The Black Plague of 1347-1350 killed about 25 million people in Europe. The Black Plague occurred when Europe was in which stage of the epidemiological transition? A. Stage 1 B. Stage 2 C. Stage 3 D. Stage 4 E. Stage 1 and Stage 3
A. Stage 1
Land suited for agriculture is called A. arable land. B. population density. C. agricultural density. D. arid land. E. physiological density.
A. arable land.
What is the only nation in the developed world where maternal mortality has increased since 1990? A. Japan B. United States C. Italy D. Sweden E. Switzerland
B. United States
Which is a form of expansion diffusion? A. distance-decay B. contagious C. hearth diffusion D. relocation E. syncretism
B. contagious
The use of a horse and buggy by the Amish in the United States is an example of a A. habit. B. folk culture. C. technological innovation. D. taboo. E. popular culture.
B. folk culture.
The U.S. center of population has moved steadily to the A. north and east. B. center. C. west and south. D. north and west. E. east and south.
C. west and south.
History and geography differ in one especially important matter. A. A geographer is limited because most places are inaccessible. B. History is a much older discipline than geography. C. History is constantly changing, but geography remains static. D. A geographer can travel to a different place, but a historian cannot travel back in time. E. Geography studies from a temporal perspective while history examines events from a spatial perspective.
D. A geographer can travel to a different place, but a historian cannot travel back in time.
Which major world nation is notably absent from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? A. France B. United States C. Russia D. China E. Canada
D. China
The European nation which is the largest source for immigrants to other nations in Europe is A. Germany. B. Switzerland. C. Ukraine. D. Russia. E. Poland.
D. Russia.
The standard sex ratio at birth between males and females is A. 100 males for every 100 females. B. 116 males for every 100 females. C. 97 males for every 100 females. D. 109 males for every 100 females. E. 105 males for every 100 females.
E. 105 males for every 100 females.
Migration to the United States declined during the 1920s primarily because of A. forced migration after World War I. B. economic depression in the United States. C. declining demand for domestic workers. D. declining demand for industrial workers. E. the imposition of the Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924.
E. the imposition of the Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924.
Human beings generally avoid all but which of these regions? A. wet lands B. cold lands C. dry lands D. high lands E. warm lands
E. warm lands
What are two methods in which Irish and Welsh have been preserved in Ireland and Wales? A. Children are taught these languages in school and government provided public services are offered in Irish and Welsh. B. English has been banned in all official government publications. C. The government will pay people to learn Irish and Welsh. D. All radio and TV broadcasts must be performed in Irish and Welsh in lieu of English. E. Residents of Ireland and Wales are required to speak Irish and Welsh in public.
A. Children are taught these languages in school and government provided public services are offered in Irish and Welsh.
Country X has a crude birth rate of 40 and a crude death rate of 15, while Country Y has a crude birth rate of 20 and a crude death rate of 9. Which country has a higher natural increase rate? A. Country X B. Country Y C. The rate depends on immigration, so it can't be computed from this information. D. The rate is the same in both countries. E. The rate depends on total population, so it can't be computed from this information.
A. Country X
The process by which a group's cultural features are altered to resemble those of another group is known as A. assimilation. B. acculturation. C. syncretism. D. spatial networking. E. distance-decay.
A. assimilation.
The frequent repetition of an act, to the extent that it becomes characteristic of a group of people is a A. custom. B. popular culture. C. character trait. D. taboo. E. habit.
A. custom.
The three main properties of distribution are A. density, concentration, pattern. B. location, diffusion, concentration. C. concentration, pattern, place. D. location, place, time. E. density, place, diffusion.
A. density, concentration, pattern.
What is the major problem cartographers face when making a map of the world? A. distortion B. size C. location D. place E. scale
A. distortion
The portion of the Earth's surface occupied by permanent human settlement is the A. ecumene. B. population region. C. population concentration. D. population cluster. E. cartogram.
A. ecumene.
Culture originates at a(n) A. hearth. B. habit. C. custom. D. innovation. E. process.
A. hearth.
A language without known language relatives is a(n) A. isolated language. B. pidgin language. C. isogloss. D. vulgar Latin. E. lingua franca.
A. isolated language.
Folk cultures are spread primarily by A. relocation diffusion. B. epidemic diffusion. C. contagious diffusion. D. stimulus diffusion. E. hierarchical diffusion.
A. relocation diffusion.
The main effect of modern communications has been to A. spread popular culture through hierarchical diffusion. B. prevent the diffusion of social customs. C. slow the rate of change. D. preserve folk cultures, by increasing awareness of their uniqueness. E. stimulate the diffusion of folk cultures around the world.
A. spread popular culture through hierarchical diffusion.
Tens of thousands of years ago, languages may have been joined together as A. superfamilies. B. lingua franca. C. groups. D. branches. E. families.
A. superfamilies.
Folk songs are distinguished from popular songs because they A. tell a story or convey information about life-cycle events, such as birth, death or issues pertaining to agriculture. B. are written by specialists for commercial distribution. C. are always written down and usually can be found in songbooks. D. are never changed from one generation to the next. E. can be understood only by one small group, usually living in relative isolation.
A. tell a story or convey information about life-cycle events, such as birth, death or issues pertaining to agriculture.
In cultures with strong folk clothing preferences, people A. will wear clothing suitable to the local climatic conditions and in response to their agricultural practices. B. will reject the folk clothing preferences of their society. C. will quickly adopt popular culture clothing preferences from overseas. D. are likely to create their own unique clothing fashion style. E. will paying close attention to international styles.
A. will wear clothing suitable to the local climatic conditions and in response to their agricultural practices.
This language was once considered a dialect of Spanish, is now classified as a distinct language, and is widely spoken in the city of Barcelona as well as the neighboring country of Andorra. A. Portuguese B. Catalan C. Barcelonan D. Valencian E. Galician
B. Catalan
Which statement best captures the conflicts between folk and popular culture? A. Folk and popular culture represent equal threats to one another. B. Folk culture is threatened by popular culture more than the reverse. C. Folk traditions may produce more uniform landscapes. D. Globalization promotes diverse food preferences. E. Popular culture is threatened by folk culture more than the reverse.
B. Folk culture is threatened by popular culture more than the reverse.
Which of these sports is the most global in its extent? A. American football B. football (soccer) C. golf D. cricket E. baseball
B. football (soccer)
Wilbur Zelinsky's model of migration predicted A. migrants move most frequently for economic reasons. B. migration characteristics vary with the demographic transition. C. women are more likely to migrate than men. D. long migration distances are more likely than short. E. intraregional migration is more important than interregional.
B. migration characteristics vary with the demographic transition.
To explain why different places are interrelated, geographers have three basic concepts A. place, region and space. B. scale, space and connection. C. place, region and connection. D. scale, space and region. E. place, scale and space.
B. scale, space and connection.
Dr. John Snow found that cholera cases in London were A. spread through trade routes by infected rats. B. spatially associated with certain public water pumps. C. being punished for their sins. D. randomly distributed across London. E. transmitted through the air in contagious diffusion.
B. spatially associated with certain public water pumps.
The principal obstacle to the diffusion of popular culture is A. cultural taboos. B. the lack of access to electronic media. C. overpopulation. D. the physical environment. E. folk culture.
B. the lack of access to electronic media.
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic which can be used to define a formal region? A. a common language B. the service area of an Internet provider C. the practicing of a specific religious faith D. a specific cultural taboo practiced by the vast majority within the region E. the production of a specific crop throughout the region
B. the service area of an Internet provider
A literary tradition is A. the variety of dialects in a language. B. the written form of a language. C. a form of a language spoken in a particular area. D. a collection of languages related to each other. E. a form of a language used for official government business.
B. the written form of a language.
Time changes by one hour for each 15° degree change in longitude; this is because A. early navigation instruments did not allow better accuracy than 15 degrees. B. twenty-four latitude lines were chosen so that 24 hours represents a 360° revolution around the planet. C. 15° was chosen arbitrarily. D. 15° insures that major population centers have unique time zones. E. it was determined by how fast 17th century ships could travel.
B. twenty-four latitude lines were chosen so that 24 hours represents a 360° revolution around the planet.
Who was the first to conclude the Earth was spherical based upon empirical evidence? A. Pei Xiu B. Ptolemy C. Aristotle D. Strabo E. Anaximander
C. Aristotle
Where would you be located if you experienced exactly 12 hours of daylight? A. Greenwich, England B. North Pole C. Equator D. 0° longitude E. anywhere on the planet except the poles
C. Equator
Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding regional differences in popular culture in the United States? A. Urbanites tend to value more traditional forms of popular culture. B. Urbanites tend to prefer crime dramas, whereas rural viewers prefer satirical comedies which challenge social norms. C. Fewer Americans are watching live TV programs in lieu of using streaming media through computers, tablets and smartphones. D. Television is no longer the most important medium of popular culture in the United States. E. Urban and rural residents prefer the same television shows.
C. Fewer Americans are watching live TV programs in lieu of using streaming media through computers, tablets and smartphones.
Why is physiological density sometimes used by geographers instead of arithmetic density to describe how many people are in a given area? A. Physiological density is more reliable because it is based on census calculations. B. Physiological density takes into account how the people feel about where they live. C. Physiological density takes into account the number of people supported by arable land. D. Physiological density takes into account migration patterns. E. Physiological density and arithmetic density mean the same thing.
C. Physiological density takes into account the number of people supported by arable land.
More than one million refugees have entered Europe since the start of 2015. Half of them alone came from which war-torn nation? A. Somalia B. Turkey C. Syria D. Afghanistan E. Iraq
C. Syria
Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding unauthorized immigrants? A. Babies born in the United States to unauthorized immigrants are not eligible for U.S. citizenship. B. The majority of unauthorized immigrants are children. C. The number of unauthorized immigrants leaving the United States is greater than the numbering entering the United States. D. The number of unauthorized immigrants entering the United States is greater than the numbering leaving the United States. E. The vast majority of unauthorized immigrants in the United States have been in the country for less than a year.
C. The number of unauthorized immigrants leaving the United States is greater than the numbering entering the United States.
Which of the following do geographers NOT do? A. They organize material spatially. B. They ask where and why. C. They organize material chronologically. D. They explain why one human activity is found near another. E. They identify the location of important places.
C. They organize material chronologically.
A language still used by older people but is NOT in the process of being transmitted to children is known as A. an elderly language. B. a developing language. C. a dying language. D. a vigorous language. E. a threatened language.
C. a dying language.
The most common measure of density, the number of people per area of land, is known as ________ density. A. geometric B. agricultural C. arithmetic D. physiological E. mathematic
C. arithmetic
A collection of languages within a family related through a common ancestral language is a A. language group. B. literary tradition. C. language branch. D. language tree. E. language family.
C. language branch.
A country with a large amount of arable land and a small number of farmers will have a A. high physiological density. B. low physiological density. C. low agricultural density. D. low arithmetic density. E. high agricultural density.
C. low agricultural density.
Physiological density is the number of A. farm animals per area suitable for agriculture. B. acres of farmland. C. people per unit area of arable land. D. people per area of land. E. farmers per area of farmland.
C. people per unit area of arable land.
Jeans provide a good example of material culture that is adopted by a number of different societies. This refers to what type of material culture? A. western culture B. traditional culture C. popular culture D. punk culture E. folk culture
C. popular culture
People must consider all of the following factors when considering the production of their food and shelter with the exception of A. vegetation. B. terrain. C. race. D. soil. E. climate.
C. race.
Arguments made by those who support a path to legal citizenship for unauthorized immigrants within the United States include all of the following EXCEPT A. unauthorized immigrants are highly productive people and less likely commit crimes than the average U.S. citizen. B. the removal of large numbers of unauthorized immigrants would cripple certain sectors of the U.S. economy which rely upon the labor provided by unauthorized immigrants. C. rewarding people for illegal behavior will encourage and enable others to immigrate illegally to the United States. D. the impossibility of forcibly evicting the 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the United States. E. security at the border is already tight; further tightening it will require a major investment the United States can ill-afford.
C. rewarding people for illegal behavior will encourage and enable others to immigrate illegally to the United States.
The unique combination of soil, climate, and other physical features determines A. taboo. B. food preferences. C. terroir. D. folk culture. E. popular culture.
C. terroir.
Brain drain is A. the process by which people are given reference for migration. B. a cultural feature that hinders migration. C. the large-scale emigration of talented people. D. people forced to migrate for political reasons. E. a net decline in literacy.
C. the large-scale emigration of talented people.
Map scale is A. the extent of spread of a phenomenon over a given area. B. the system used by geographers to transfer locations from a globe to a map. C. the relationship between the length of a feature's size on a map to its actual size on Earth. D. the ratio of the largest to smallest areas on a map. E. the difference in elevation between two points in an area.
C. the relationship between the length of a feature's size on a map to its actual size on Earth.
Which map has the largest scale? A. 1/10,000,000 B. 1/1,000,000 C. 1/240,000 D. 1/24,000 E. 1/100,000
D. 1/24,000
What percentage of the global population lives in the East Asia cluster? A. 15% B. 10% C. 75% D. 25% E. 50%
D. 25%
Hebrew is an example of A. an extinct language. B. an Altaic language. C. a language family. D. a revived language. E. an isolated language.
D. a revived language.
Which of the following statements about immigration is FALSE? A. female immigrants outnumber male immigrants in developed countries. B. immigrants are less likely to be children in developing countries. C. male immigrants outnumber female ones in developing countries. D. a small percentage of immigrants coming to the United States are young adults (between 20 and 39 years of age). E. Immigrants coming to the United States are more likely to be elderly than immigrants coming to developing countries.
D. a small percentage of immigrants coming to the United States are young adults (between 20 and 39 years of age).
The Ford Motor Company has assembly plants in many countries, conducts product research on multiple continents and sells its vehicle around the world. Ford is an example of A. relocation diffusion. B. spatial association. C. a corporate fad. D. a transnational company. E. geographic diversity.
D. a transnational company.
British and American English differ in all but which of the following? A. prevalent dialects B. vocabulary C. spelling D. alphabet E. pronunciation
D. alphabet
The frequency with which something occurs in space is known as A. distribution. B. dispersion. C. concentration. D. density. E. pattern.
D. density.
The number of people who are too young or too old to work in a society compared to the number of working age people is the A. sex ratio. B. demographic ratio. C. life expectancy. D. dependency ratio. E. population pyramid.
D. dependency ratio.
From most distant to closest relatives, languages can be classified into A. branches, groups, and families. B. groups, branches, and families. C. branches, families, and groups. D. families, branches, and groups. E. families, groups, and branches.
D. families, branches, and groups.
A repetitive act performed by an individual is a A. popular culture. B. taboo. C. custom. D. habit. E. character trait.
D. habit.
Languages which have recently gone extinct in North America A. are German, Irish and Japanese, once spoken by many immigrants to the United States. B. tend to be Austronesian languages. C. include pidgin languages such as Creole French and Spanglish. D. include nearly 300 languages spoken by Native Americans. E. are largely those located along the Atlantic Seaboard.
D. include nearly 300 languages spoken by Native Americans.
Basque is a good example of a(n) A. language group. B. creolized language. C. language family. D. isolated language. E. lingua franca.
D. isolated language.
A group of languages that share a common ancestor before recorded history is a A. language root. B. language group. C. dialect. D. language family. E. language branch.
D. language family.
Which of the following events would NOT be considered a migration pull factor? A. a new industry that requires workers B. religious freedom C. opportunity to get an education D. living on a floodplain with frequent catastrophic floods E. opportunity to join family members already living in another country
D. living on a floodplain with frequent catastrophic floods
Baseball A. is popular primarily in former British colonies. B. is exclusively a sport played in Europe. C. is a sport which originates from lacrosse played by Native Americans. D. originated in America and was introduced to Japan after WWII. E. originated in Japan eventually made its way to America.
D. originated in America and was introduced to Japan after WWII.
Migration is a A. form of contagious diffusion. B. temporary move, but for longer than one day. C. form of expansion diffusion. D. permanent move to a new location. E. form of hierarchical diffusion
D. permanent move to a new location.
Ravenstein found that most migrants generally travel A. long distances to other countries and concentrate in rural areas B. short distances and remain within the same country. C. to rural areas for farming. D. short distances and remain within the same country or long distances where they head to major centers of economic activity. E. short distances to other countries.
D. short distances and remain within the same country or long distances where they head to major centers of economic activity.
Worldwide, rural to urban migration is A. the major trend today in the U.S. and Canada. B. driven by a desire for a simpler lifestyle. C. driven by population growth. D. the major trend in developing countries. E. a thing of the past.
D. the major trend in developing countries.
What percentage of Internet users live in countries where criticism of the government, military or ruling family is subject to censorship? A. three-fourths (75%) B. one-fourth (25%) C. one-third (33%) D. two-thirds (66%) E. one-half (50%)
D. two-thirds (66%)
The Midwest of the United States is an example of a A. functional region. B. uniform region. C. cultural landscape. D. vernacular (or perceptual) region. E. formal region
D. vernacular (or perceptual) region.
The Pew Hispanic Center estimated in 2015 that there were about ________ undocumented immigrants living in the United States. A. 6 million B. 22 million C. 15 million D. 8 million E. 11 million
E. 11 million
There are currently how many Facebook users as of 2017? A. 5 billion B. 500 million C. 1 billion D. 1.5 billion E. 2 billion
E. 2 billion
All but which are TRUE about the English language? A. It is an Indo-European language. B. It is a lingua franca. C. Recent growth in use is due to expansion diffusion. D. It is the leading language of the Internet. E. It is in the Romance branch of the Indo-European language family.
E. It is in the Romance branch of the Indo-European language family.
A language used in education, work, mass media and government with a literary tradition is known as A. a developing language. B. an official language. C. a dying language. D. a vigorous language. E. an institutional language.
E. an institutional language.
An environmental or political feature that hinders migration is known as A. a push factor. B. a pull factor. C. both a pull and push factor. D. a visa. E. an intervening obstacle.
E. an intervening obstacle.
What source region(s) dominated migration to the United States in the second part of the twentieth century? A. Latin America B. Europe C. Asia D. Africa E. both Asia and Latin America
E. both Asia and Latin America
English is the leading language on the Internet A. and is growing in its share of users. B. because the United Nations agreed in 1998 that all websites would be in English C. because English characters are the only language on computer keyboards. D. because the Internet is written exclusively in English. E. but a decreasing share of Internet users speak English.
E. but a decreasing share of Internet users speak English.
A cultural innovation originates at a node known as a(n) A. distance-decay. B. assimilation. C. network. D. diffusion. E. hearth.
E. hearth.
A group of languages that share a common origin but have since evolved into individual languages is a A. language branch. B. language family. C. dialect. D. language root. E. language group.
E. language group.
Counterurbanization is A. due to expanding suburbs. B. the move from urban core to suburban areas. C. decline of the inner-city infrastructure. D. the trend of the elderly retiring to rural locations. E. migration to rural areas and small towns.
E. migration to rural areas and small towns.