Social Studies Mid-term Exam Review
Civics:
1. What is a presidential democracy? Give examples of countries that have this form of
government. . Where the people elect their own president through an electoral process to
lead their country. United States, France
2. Which branch of the United States government makes laws?
Legislative
3. How many members are there in the U.S. Senate? 100
4. How many electoral votes are needed for a candidate to win the presidency?
270
5. Put the following documents in order from first written to last written. Constitution, Declaration
of Independence, Bill of Rights, Gettysburg Address. . Declaration of Independence,
Constitution, Bill of Rights, Gettysburg Address
6. Which historical document has seven articles and 27 amendments and is considered the
supreme law of the land? Constitution
7. Which amendment gives Americans the freedom of expression? The First Amendment
8. Who was the man responsible for writing the majority of the Constitution? He is also known as
the "Father of the Constitution." James Madison
9. How long do Supreme Court justices serve? Life
10. Which major political party in the United States is represented by a donkey? Democratic
11. Which amendment gave women the right to vote? The 19th Amendment
12. What is the name given to the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?
The Bill of Rights
13. According to the Constitution, what is the date for holding a presidential election? The first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November
14. Which two houses make up the United States Congress? Senate and the House of
Representatives
15. Which famous document begins with, “We the people…”? The Preamble (The Constitution)
16. Which world organization has the most influence on gas prices? OPEC
17. Which of the world organizations is headquartered in New York and is a forum for solving
world problems? United Nations
Geography:
18. In this type of rectangular map, the shapes of the continents are correct, but the sizes are
distorted, especially toward the two poles Mercator
19. These lines of measurement run from the North Pole to the South Pole. They measure how
far east or west you are from the Prime Meridian. Lines of longitude
20. This type of map shows country borders, states, capitals, major cities, and other man-made
features. Political map
21. What do you call one half of the globe? hemisphere
22. Which type of map shows land features like rivers and mountains? Physical map
23. What is the imaginary line upon which the earth spins? axis
24. This is the line that runs east-west around the circumference of the earth, halfway between
the North and South Poles. Equator
25 These lines of measurement run parallel to the Equator. They measure how far north or
south you are. Lines of latitude
26. An indicator that explains map distance vs. real distance, such as "1 inch=1 mile." Map scale
27. This is a map indicator which shows the cardinal directions -- north, south, east, west.
Compass rose
28. This is the main line of longitude, which passes through Greenwich, England. Prime Meridian
29. This is something's position on the globe compared to something else. Relative location
30. These lines mark the farthest seasonal tilt of the planet. They lie on the northern or
southern edge of the hottest area of the earth. Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer
31. What causes the changing of the seasons? Tilt of the earth
32. What do the grids on a map help show? location
Daily Geography:
33 Is Delaware a city or a state? state
34.Which continent is smaller than Europe? Australia
35 What landform separates Europe from Asia? The Ural Mountains
36. Which country has the largest land area in North America? Canada
37. Washington D.C. is to the United States as
Beijing is to China.
38 What is the degrees of longitude for the International Date Line? 180 degrees
39 What is the name of one of the largest bodies of fresh water that is located in east Africa?
Lake victoria
40. What does a star or dot in a circle usually mean on a map? National capital
41. Would you probably find a scale of 1 inch = 1500 miles on a map of what? The world
42. Most of Africa is north of which major line of latitude? Tropic of Capricorn
43. Which landlocked nation is north of China and has Russia on its northern border? Mongolia
Africa:
44. What is the nickname of the continent of Africa? The Plateau Continent
45. What are the names of the four MAJOR rivers of Africa? The Congo, the Niger, the Nile and
the Zambezi
46. What area of land supports tall grasses, thorny bushes, and scattered trees? savanna
47. What is the majority of Africa’s farmland used for? subsistence farming
48 In what area are most of Africa’s workers employed? farming
49. What are the four geographic regions of Africa? north, west, east, and central and
southern
50 Why is it impossible for ships to sail the rivers from the interior to the sea? Because of
waterfalls and rapids
51 What are Africa’s most important natural resources? crops, minerals, and timber
52 What is the landform that extends across most of North Africa? The Sahara Desert
53 How did the earliest humans in East Africa get their food? hunting and gathering
54. How did the people of the old stone age get their food? by hunting and gathering
55. What is the difference between history and prehistory? Writing marks the beginning of
history
56. List the characteristics of a civilization. social classes, religion, type of government,
written records, type of writing, and style of architecture
57. What are the serious environmental problems facing Africa today? Amount of fertile land,
lack of clean water, deforestation,
58. What civilization arose on the Nile river about 5,000 years ago? Egypt
59. How did the kingdoms of West Africa become powerful? (hint trade ) traded gold for salt
60. How did farming change the way early people lived? People settled in one place
61. What is a primary source document and give an example. A document which is a first
hand account or an original transcript. Ex. Birth certificate, journal entries
62. What must African countries do to meet the challenges faced by their countries? Improve
their education systems and hence their literacy rate.
63. Why is Islam so important in North Africa? It forms a common bond of culture between
the people
64. Why does West Africa have a wide variety of cultures? There are many ethnic groups
living there.
65. What are the important changes that are affecting family life in West Africa? People are
moving from the village to the city.
66. In Central Africa, how do living conditions in the interior areas compare to those of the
coast? They get poorer the further inland you go.
67. What unifies the different peoples of North Africa? Islam and the Arabic language
68. What is the outcome due to the fact that West Africa has so many ethnic groups? It also has
many different cultures.
69. What are the methods of preserving traditions in West Africa? Storytelling by Griots
70. Where does much of East Africa’s cultural diversity come from? trade
71. To what culture do some Africans who have African and Arab ancestry belong? Swahili
72. How has the economic needs of South Africa affected the whole region of Southern Africa?
They require a lot of labor for their manufacturing
Ancient Civilizations.
73. What is the title used by the kings of Ancient Egypt? Pharaoh
74. Which art did the ancient Egyptians perfect to prepare a body for the afterlife?
Mummification
75. What is the Ancient artifact found in Egypt that helped researchers translate and understand
hieroglyphics? The Rosetta Stone
76. What name is given to Egyptian pictures and other written symbols that stand for ideas,
things, or sounds? hieroglyphics
77. This was an early form of paper that was made from reeds found in the marshy areas of the
Nile Delta? papyrus
78. These are huge buildings with four sloping triangle shaped sides that housed dead pharaohs
for the afterlife? pyramid
79. Explain the different methods for measuring time. BC = before Christ and AD = the year he
was born or one can use BCE and CE which is before common era and common era.
This takes religion out of the picture.
80. When were the last stone age people found living on earth? In the last 20th century
81. What do the initials A.D. and B.C. Anno Domini, in the year of the lord and before Christ
82. Where did modern human life begin? In Africa
83. For how many years have modern humans existed? 100,000 years
84. How do you tell what century a date belongs to? It begins with 1901, 2001 etc and ends
with 1900 and 2000.
East Asia
85. To compensate for a shortage of farmland, which of the following practices is used in China to
grow more crops? Terrace farming, double-cropping, planting on the sides of roads and
railways.
86. What strongly affects the climates of East Asia? The monsoons
87. What is the name given to a tropical storm that develops near East Asia? A Typhoon
88. Japan is a group of islands known as an archipelago?
89. What kind of landform is Korea? A peninsula
90. Where is the Three Gorges Dam built, and what is its main purpose? Built in China to
provide water for farms and hydropower for the area.
91 The Gobi is the northernmost what? Desert on Earth
92. What kind of tree sheds its leaves seasonally?. A deciduous tree
93. What is population density? Average number of people living on a square mile of land.
94. What country has the most people of any nation in the world? China
95. What landform forms a natural barrier between South Asia and the rest of the continent? The
Himalaya mountains
96. Which is the largest lake in the world? The Caspian Sea
97. What is an oasis? An underground spring or well in the desert
98. What are steppes? Vast treeless plain covered with grassland vegetation
99. Which East Asian nation has the highest percentage of arable land? South Korea
100. In ancient civilizations, where were cities most likely to develop? Near large rivers