2013 Units 2-3 Test Study Guide
1. In reference to climate zones, where do cold climates prevent trees from growing? Above the timberline
2. What part did glaciers play in forming the Great Lakes? Glaciers carved basins out of bedrock
3. What does the land of the high Piedmont drops to along the lower Atlantic Coastal Plain? To the fall line
4. In which type of North American landform are rich coal and mineral deposits generally found? Mountain ranges
5. The population of North America has continued to grow because of what? Immigrants find freedom and economic
opportunity in the United States and Canada
6. Where are population clusters in Canada and the United States located? Along the coasts and inland waterways
7. What is a dominion and how is it related to Canada? Unites provinces and territories
8. From where were a large number of the early colonists of Canada? Loyalists who left the American colonies
9. What is the most accurate statement about the socioeconomic status of North Americans? It is among the world’s highest
10. Which French-speaking province of Canada is interested in gaining independence? Quebec
11. In the 1800s what major transportation project opened up the western United States to immigration and business? The
Transcontinental Railroad
12. Are the majority of Americans and Canadians Native Americans or immigrants? Immigrants
13. What did America’s inland and coastal waterways provide during the 1700s and 1800s? shipping and trade routes,
resources for the fishing industry and transportation for growing cities
14. What happened to enslaved African Americans when they escaped to Canada? They were protected
15. After 1776 how did the American colonies rule themselves? As a republic
16. What is similar about the governments of both the United States and Canada? Have a constitution, Supreme Court and
cabinet
17. Which nation sold to the United States the largest tract of land west of the Mississippi? France
18. What did great mineral resources, technological inventions, and immigrants in need of work contribute greatly to?
Industrialization of American cities
19. What do most people in the United States enjoy that is different from the majority of the world? Enjoy one of the highest
standards of living in the world
20. What are North American economies increasingly based on? High-tech industries
21. Why are today’s farmers not as tightly bound by geography and climate as they were in the past? Because of advances in
farming technology
22. What name is given to a system of trade in which individuals can operate and profit from business? Free market economy
23. Who are Canada and the United States largest trading partners? Each other
24. What does clear-cutting cause? Causes flooding and erosion
25. What is the result from acid rain? Corrosion of buildings, destruction of forests and increase of fish populations
26. Since the 1970s what has the United States and Canada have reduced around Lake Erie? Overgrowth of destructive algae
27. What is the United States is a leading exporter of? Beef and grain
28. What have farms in North America seen in the past 50 years? Increased in size but decreased in numbers of workers
29. What sophisticated systems do Canadians and Americans? Transportation, communication and education
30. Which countries are included in NAFTA? Canada, the United States and Mexico
31. What has North American manufacturing been transformed by? Robots and computer automation
32. What is the largest export business of Canada and the United States? Transportation equipment and machinery
33. What has happened to many cities whose heavy industries have closed? Retooled their factories for use in a new industry
34. What does the United States give poorer countries in exchange for raw materials? Technology and economic help
35. What are prices in a market economy based on? What companies want to charge and what people will pay
36. What are parallel mountain ranges called? cordilleras
37. What are the three highlands climate zones determined by? elevation
38. Is the Atacama Desert is one of the wettest, coldest, driest or most-populated places in the world? driest
39. What are pampas? grasslands
40. What is an estuary? A place where a tide meets a river current
41. Where is the Mato Grosso Plateau located? Highlands of South America
42. What does the area surrounding Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela contain? oil
43. What does the tropical climate of the Amazon Basin result from? Prevailing wind patterns
44. What river is the Western Hemisphere’s longest? The Amazon River
45. Describe a steppe climate. Hot summers, cool winters and light rainfall
46. Where is Lake Titacaca located and what is its most distinct feature? Located in the Andes Mountains, it is the world’s
highest navigable lake
47. What does the Amazon Basin contain? Rain forest
48. What is the Rio de la Plata? Is a large estuary where three rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean
49. What is the largest lake in Central America? Lake Nicaragua
50. What has the rain shadow effect in Chile produced? Atacama Desert
51. What unique sport is very popular in Latin America? Jai alai
52. What are mosaics? Designs made by setting small colored stones or tiles into mortar
53. What were the Europeans called who claimed parts of the Americas for Spain? conquistadors
54. What is a mural? Is artwork that is painted directly onto a wall
55. When did most Latin American countries gain their independence? The 1800s
56. What is patois? The blending of beliefs and practices from different religions
57. What was the official religion of the Spanish colonists? Catholicism
58. What is quipu? A set of knotted cords that the Inca used for keeping accounts
59. What were the three indigenous Latin American empires? Maya, Aztec and Inca
60. Who was Simón Bolívar? A Venezuelan revolutionary leader
61. Who was the first Latin American country to gain its independence? Haiti
62. Who was Diego Rivera? A famous Mexican painter
63. According to the Aztec, what was the “food of the gods”? chocolate
64. Why did Africans first come to Latin America? Enslaved workers brought by Europeans
65. Where was the Aztec city of Tenochititlán located? On what today is Mexico City
66. What is a Minifundia? Farms whose small plots of land feed rural families
67. What does the term reforestation refer to? Where forest lands have been striped and cleared
68. How do maquiladoras benefit foreign corporations? Hire low-cost labor
69. Where are many rural migrants in Latin America forced to live in when they reach the city? shantytowns
70. What in Brazil’s interior has led to the clearing of the rain forests? Building roads, building settlements, mining for iron,
copper, and tin
71. What are maquiladoras? Foreign-owned factories
72. NAFTA reduced trade restrictions among which countries? Canada, the United States and Mexico
73. What has increased in Latin America during the recent decades? Service industries, such as banking, communications, or
retail sales
74. What are latifundia? Large, mechanized farms
75. How can Mexico City’s pollution affect the population? Children are not allowed outsideM