WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
WH.H.2.1 Compare how different geographic issues of the ancient period influenced settlement, trading networks and
the sustainability of various ancient civilizations (e.g., flooding, Fertile Crescent, confluence, limited fertile lands, etc.).
1. Using the map, what geographic feature most influenced the settlement and sustainability of ancient
civilizations?
a. mountain ranges which acted as barriers for protection
b. natural harbours which allowed settlers to have access to the seas
c. the fertile soil of river valleys which allowed settlers to grow crops
d. deserts which provided clay and bricks for building permanent structures
2. How did the geographic features influence the diffusion and settlement of both the Phoenician and Greek
traders?
a. both had access to the Mediterranean Sea
b. the monsoon winds made ocean travel easier
c. the arid climate encouraged migration
d. Russia’s rivers provided ease of travel
3. What was one cause of the development of many small independent city-states in ancient Greece?
a. Greece and Rome were often at war
b. The mountainous terrain and series of islands in Greece resulted in widely scattered settlements
c. Military leaders found small Greek settlements easy to control
d. The Greek people had many different languages and religions
1
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
4. What geographic features most likely influenced the settlement, trade interactions and sustainability of Egypt?
a. flooding and natural barriers such as desert and rivers
b. the flow of the Nile River from south to north
c. the relative isolation of Egypt from the rest of the ancient world
d. as a peninsula, ready access to water
WH.H.2.2 Analyze the governments of ancient civilizations in terms of their development, structure and function within
various societies (e.g., theocracy, democracy, oligarchy, tyranny, aristocracy, etc.).
5. Which form of government is being described in this speech?
a. theocracy
b. democracy
c. tyranny
d. monarchy
6. The chart titled “Roman Government” demonstrates that
a. early Rome was an oligarchy
b. the United States adopted a similar system of government at it’s founding
c. the Romans were unable to effectively manage conflicts in government
2
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
d. Magistrates were the most powerful branch of government
7. Use the excerpt below to answer the question.
Such then are the powers of each of the parts of government both to oppose one another and to work in conjunction.
In unison they are a match for any and all emergencies…
-
Polybius 6.18.1
Which principle of government best demonstrates the influence of the Roman Republic?
a.
b.
c.
d.
the election of a president
the system of checks and balances
the separation of church and state
the protection of equal rights
8. Use the table below to answer the question:
Assyria
Empire with a centralized
government
China
Strong central government
led by dynasties
Persia
Sumer
Empire with a decentralized City states organized by
government
temple leaders
Based on this table, which early civilization was a theocracy?
a. Assyria
b. China
c. Persia
d. Sumer
WH.H.2.3 Explain how codifying laws met the needs of ancient societies (e.g., Hammurabi, Draco, Justinian,
Theodosius, etc.).
3
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
9. Use the passage below to answer the question:
Based on the excerpts on the previous page, which shared idea about the function of government does the Code of
Hammurabi and Legalism within the Qin dynasty support?
a.
b.
c.
d.
worship of leaders will maintain the power of an empire
an informed citizenry will help maintain peace and prosperity
equality of the people is the most important goal of government
harsh punishments for crimes will lead to a more orderly society
10. Use the information in the chart below to answer the question.
Civilization
Achievement
Babylonia
Hammurabi’s Code
Ancient Greece
Draco’s Code
Byzantine Empire
Justinian’s Code
How did codifying laws benefit all three societies?
a. by promoting equality and prohibiting discrimination
b. by creating an early form of representative government
c. by establishing a clear system of rules and consequences
d. by ensuring power was distributed between branches of government
4
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
11. How did the Jewish Ten Commandments affect the development of a legal code?
a. the Commandments emphasized the importance of ethical behavior
b. the Commandments established a structure of government
c. the Commandments helped enforce the authority of secular leaders
d. the Commandments confirmed the need for social equality
12. Use the list below to answer the question.
Selected Laws from the Twelve Tables of Ancient Rome
1.1 If he (plaintiff) summon him (defendant) into court, he shall go.
11.3 Whoever is in need of evidence he shall go on every third day to call out loud before the doorway of the witness.
VIII.21 If a patron shall defraud his client, he must be solemnly forfeited (killed).
IX.6 Putting to death...of any man who has not been convicted, whosoever he might be, is forbidden.
Which protection is supported by these laws?
a. innocent until proven guilty
b. property rights for women
c. direct election of leadership
d. equal distribution of income
WH.H.2.5 Analyze the development and growth of major Eastern and Western religions (e.g., Including but not limited
to Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, etc.)
13. How does reincarnation reinforce the caste system?
a. Buddhists believe they can earn their social caste from past life
b. Buddhists believe that all people are equal
c. Hindus believe that all people are equal
d. Hindus believe they earn their social caste from past life
14. Use the passage below to answer the question.
According to the teaching of Confucius, which of the following is the most important in the successful organization of
society?
5
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
a. the ruler should be chosen democratically
b. the evil in humans must be eliminated
c. ancestor worship should be discontinued
d. individuals should know and do what is expected of them
15. Use the chart below to answer the question.
What role does the Eightfold Path have in Buddhism?
a. it showed the ways to rid oneself of desire in order to reach nirvana
b. it taught how to focus on material things in order to ignore suffering
c. it gave eight ways to combat the teaching of Hinduism
d. it was an alternate way of reaching enlightenment from the Four Noble Truths
16. Which of the following demonstrates a fundamental similarity of the Five Pillars of Islam and the Ten
Commandments?
a. support in the belief of reincarnation
b. emphasize learning as a means to salvation
c. encourage the use of statues to symbolize God
d. a guide to proper ethical and moral behavior
WH.H.2.8 Compare the conditions, racial composition, and status of social classes, castes, and slaves in ancient
societies and analyze changes in those elements.
17. Use the chart below to answer the question.
Hammurabi’s Code
Hammurabi’s Code listed 282 laws dealing with a variety of subjects. A few examples of these laws are listed
below.
196. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.
197. If he breaks another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken.
198. If he put out the eye of a freed man, or break the bone of a freed man, he shall pay one [silver] mina.
199. If he put out the eye of a man’s slave, or break the bones of a man’s slave, he shall pay one-half of its value.
6
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
200. If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.
201. If he knock out the teeth of a freed man, he shall pay one-third of a [silver] mina.
202. If any one strike the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in
public.
Based on this passage from Hammurabi’s Code, in Babylonian society
a. punishment was based on social status
b. no one owned slaves
c. all people were treated equally
d. women had the same rights as men
18. Which of the following would be the best example of social hierarchy in ancient civilizations?
a. Greek city-states
b. filial piety
c. caste system
d. Mandate of Heaven
19. Use the illustration below to answer the questions.
Based on the information in this illustration, which statement about the society of ancient Egypt is most accurate?
a. the women had equal status to men
b. the social structure was hierarchical
c. social mobility was unrestricted
d. soldier outnumbered farmer
20. The wealthy person who passed the difficult civil service exam in ancient China were given the honor of
a. receiving the Mandate of Heaven
b. working in the bureaucracy as an official
c. joining the Terracotta Army
d. becoming a member of the royal court
7
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
WH.H.3.1 Explain how religion influenced political power and cultural unity in various regions of Europe, Asia and
Africa (e.g., Carolingian Dynasty, Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire, Safavid Empire)
21. Use the table to answer the question.
CAUSE
EFFECT
Constantine legalizes Christianity
?
What best completes the table?
a. Catholic Church starts the Counter-Reformation
b. Rome is violently divided over Christian doctrine
c. Christianity spread quickly with government support
d. believers in the old Roman gods are forced to leave Rome
22. What effect did the expansion of Christianity have on western Europe during the Middle Ages?
a. the region was provided with a common language
b. a confederation of nations with one government was formed
c. regional economies expanded trade treaties
d. a common culture helped unified groups separated by geography
23. The Catholic Church granted the title of Holy Roman Emperor to kings as evidence of
a. weakness of European governments under feudalism
b. collapse of the Roman empire after barbarian conquest
c. political and religious unity of Western Europe under Christianity
d. division of Europe between Catholics and Protestants
24. During the Middle Ages, what characteristic did Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire have in common?
a. control by a single ruler
b. education in local languages
c. development of a middle class
d. practice of a common religion
WH.H.3.2 Explain how religious and secular struggles for authority impacted the structure of government and society
in Europe, Asia, and Africa (e.g., Cluniac Reforms, common law, Magna Carta, conflicts between popes and emperors,
Crusades, religious schisms, Hundred Years’ War, etc.).
25. Use the passage below to answer the question.
For your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help, and you must hasten to give them the aid
which has often been promised them. For . . . the Turks and Arabs have attacked them. . . . If you permit them to
continue thus . . . the faithful of God will be much more widely attacked by them.
—Pope Urban II, 1095
What was the reason for this speech?
8
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
a. fear of the expansion of Islam
b. support for missionary activities
c. feelings of anti-semitism
d. concern about trade routes
26. How did the Crusades change the social structure of Europe?
a. they freed the serfs from monarchical control
b. they decreased the influence of the clergy
c. they weakened the power of the noble class
d. they encouraged religious diversity throughout Europe
27. Use the excerpt below to answer the question.
Beset moreover and routed in attacks by night and day, they surrendered unwillingly on the thirteenth day before the
Kalends Of July. Then the Christians entering the walls with their crosses and imperial standards, reconciled the city to
God, and both within the city [of Antioch] and outside the gates cried out in Greek and Latin, “Glory to Thee, O God.”
—Letter from Antioch to Archbishop of Reims during the First Crusade, 1098
Based on the excerpt, what was the main objective of the Crusades?
a. preserving local cultural traditions
b. defending merchants from unfair trade practices
c. restoring Jewish control over the city
d. overthrowing Muslim rule in the city
28. How did the Great Schism of the Western Church affect medieval society?
a. it led to the decline of feudalism
b. it weakened the influence of the Church
c. it advanced the Church’s claim to secular power
d. it decreased the power of royal monarchies
SHORT RESPONSE QUESTIONS (4 points each)
Directions: Read the following short answer questions. Answer the questions in three to five complete
sentences; be sure to use specific information learned in class.
9
WORLD HISTORY COMMON ASSESSMENT # 1
Please do not write on this test. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided.
29. Ancient and classical civilizations declined as a result of internal weaknesses and external invasions, but they left
lasting legacies for future generations. Provide two legacies of the Classical Greek Civilization and explain their
importance to future civilizations.
30. Pick two of the five major world religions we examined. Compare at least three features of those religions.
(example: 1 similarity, 2 differences, or 2 similarities and 1 difference)
BONUS QUESTION (2 points)
How was your week? Did anything interesting, exciting, challenging happen to you? (Keep it clean and anything you
share will be kept confidential unless is it life-threatening in nature.)
10