Latin America
Study Guide
1. Which is found near the ”1” on the map?
a. Panama Canal
b. Atacama Desert
c. Andes Mountains
d. Sierra Madre
Mountains
2. Which number on the map marks the country
of Cuba?
Map at the right:
a. 2
b. 3
c. 5
d. 6
3. What are the main sources of air pollution in
Mexico City?
a. intense sunlight
b. the high altitude
c. factories and cars
d. cars that produce little or no air pollution
4. Which is a problem associated with deforestation?
Deforestation means to clear forests or tress.
a. More oxygen is available on the planet.
b. Poor people earn money from selling trees.
c. Native people have too much forest for their
needs.
d. There is less forest to produce goods that
humans need.
5. What trend is there in deforestation after 2004?
a. The amount of
deforestation is going
up.
b. The amount of
deforestation is going
down.
c. Deforestation levels
have stayed about the
same.
d. Deforestation levels
are lower than they
were in the 1980s.
6. What problem has been caused by oil production
in Venezuela?
a. About 15 percent of U.S. oil comes from
Venezuela.
b. The coast along the Caribbean Sea has
been polluted with oil.
c. Lake Maracaibo has become the largest
lake in South America.
d. Venezuela is less polluted than other South
American countries.
7. Which region of Mexico has the most people?
a. Central Plateau which contains more urban
areas
b. northern deserts because it does not rain
too much
c. tropical beaches that are popular tourist
destinations
d. Sierra Madre Mountains where farming is
more difficult
8. Which is a negative result of Venezuela’s oil
business?
a. Health care services have improved.
b. Pollution has damaged the air and land.
c. Education for poor children has improved.
d. Road and telephone networks have been
expanded.
9. Where do most Brazilians live in their country?
a.
b.
c.
d.
in the interior
along the Amazon River
in the Amazon rain forest
along the eastern coastal area
10. What has been the major export for Cuba for the
past two hundred years?
a.
b.
c.
d.
fish
fruits
sugar
coffee
11. Which country supported Cuba until 1991?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Canada
Venezuela
Soviet Union
United States
12. What are the three main sources of the cultural
groups of Latin America and the Caribbean?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Africans, Mulattoes, Catholics
Africans, Europeans, Native Americans
Mestizos, Native Americans, Europeans
Native Americans, Mulattoes, Europeans
13. What are the two primary language of Latin
America?
a. English and French
b. French and Spanish
c. Portuguese and English
d. Spanish and Portuguese
14. On what common language are the languages of
Spain and Portugal based?
a. Spanish
b. Portuguese
c. ancient Latin
d. ancient German
15. Why does the term Latin America fit as a description for
the regions of Central and South America and the Caribbean?
a. The people in these countries speak Latin.
b. The countries share similar histories and
culture.
c. The people in these countries speak
languages that come from Latin.
d. The countries share similar histories and
culture, and they mostly speak languages
based on Latin.
16. Why do some countries have higher literacy rates
for boys than for girls?
a. Boys enjoy learning to read and write more than
girls do.
b. Girls enjoy learning to read and write more than
boys do.
c. Some cultures believe that it is not as important
for girls to learn to read and write as it is for boys.
d. Some cultures believe that it is not as important
for boys to learn to read and write as it is for girls.
Use timeline above to answer question 24:
17. Which statement describes the economy of Brazil?
a. Brazil has a pure market economy.
b. Brazil has a pure command economy.
c. Brazil is mostly a market economy, but the government
does control some businesses.
d. Brazil is mostly a command economy, but the
government allows some farmers to sell some of their
goods on their own.
18. What did Atahualpa hope to keep when he gave
away 24 tons of gold and silver to Pizarro?
a.
b.
c.
d.
his life
his family
his palace
his empire
19. What was the Columbian Exchange?
a. sending food and people from the Old World to
the New World
b. sending animals and plants from the Old World
to the New World
c. the moving of animals, plants, people, and
diseases from Central and South America to
North America
d. the moving of animals, plants, people, and
diseases from the Old World to the New World
and from the New World to the Old
20. Which foods came to Europe from Central and
South America?
a.
b.
c.
d.
peaches, coffee, corn, wheat
coffee, peaches, sugar, wheat
coffee, sugar, cocoa, peaches
corn, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes
21. Where did Europeans in the sixteenth century
find a cheap labor source for work in the New World?
a. slaves from Africa
b. settlers that came from Europe
c. peasants from Spain and Portugal
d. indigenous people of Central and South
America
22. Which is one reason Europeans chose slaves from
Africa as a labor source in the New World?
a. The New World had diseases that did not
affect African workers.
b. European workers did not know how to do
farm and mining work.
c. Indigenous people were in short supply due
to warfare and disease and Africans were
skilled farmers and metalworkers.
d. Settlers from Europe did not know how to
operate large plantations.
23. Which two European countries contributed most
to the languages of Latin America?
a.
b.
c.
d.
England and Spain
Spain and Portugal
France and Portugal
England and Portugal
24. What is the most common religion of Latin
America?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Creole
Aymara
Quechua
Roman Catholic
25. What was the main job of the priests, friars, and
monks sent by Spain to the New World?
a.
b.
c.
d.
find food and shelter for the poor
convert the Indians to Christianity
build missions to serve the settlers
minister to the armies of the Spanish king
26. Which important goal did Toussaint L’Ouverture
want to achieve?
a. freedom for the slaves in Saint
Dominique
b. improved production on sugar
cane plantations
c. control of the French, Spanish,
and British armies in the Caribbean
d. a meeting with the French
government in France to get better
working conditions
27. Simon Bolivar was known as the liberator for
which people?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Mexicans
Spanish soldiers
South Americans
Indigenous people
28. Which country got its independence because of
Simon Bolivar’s efforts?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Canada
Mexico
Venezuela
United States
29. Miguel Hidalgo was known as the father of
independence for which country?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Peru
Bolivia
Mexico
Venezuela
30. Who took over as dictator of Cuba in 1959?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Fidel Castro
Raul Castro
John F. Kennedy
Fulgencio Batista
31. What was one reaction the United States had to
Cuba taking over property owned by Americans?
a. The United States threatened a nuclear
attach.
b. The United States put an embargo of Cuban
goods
c. the United States wanted Cuba to trade with
other countries.
d. An agreement was reached to limit the
number of Cubans entering the United States.
32. Which country helped Castro build Cuba into a
communist country?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Mexico
Venezuela
Soviet Union
United States
33. The Zapatistas did not like NAFTA because they
believed it would…
a. mean U.S. factories would move to Mexico.
b. force Mexicans to move to the United States.
c. hurt businesses in Canada and the United
States.
d. cause poor Mexican farmers to go out of
business.
34. Which group do the Zapatistas support?
a. Canadian farmers
b. U.S. factory workers
c. indigenous people of Mexico
d. poor farmers in North America
35. What did Zapatistas do to show they were
against NAFTA?
a. attacked government troops in Mexico City
b. took over several towns in southern Mexico
c. formed friendships with groups in other
countries with similar goals
d. worked with the government on agreements
to improve the rights of poor Mexicans