World Geography
Final Exam Review
MCDL
Unit One-Geography Skills
1. What are the five themes of geography,
and what questions do they answer?
Location-Where is it?
Place-What is it like there?
Region-What does this place have in
common?
Human Environment Interaction- How
do humans interact with their
environment?
Movement- How are people and places
connected?
Unit One continued….
2. What does longitude measure? Distance east and
west of the Prime Meridian
3. What does latitude measure? Distance north and
south of the equator
4. What is a drainage basin? All the land drained by
a particular river
5. What is sediment deposited at the mouth of a
river? Alluvial soil builds up a triangular region
called the mouth or delta
6. What is an enormous piece of the earth’s
lithosphere that moves? Tectonic plates
Unit one continued….
7. Where can you find the low, middle, and high
latitudes? Low-between the tropics; Middle- from
the tropics to the circles; High- from the circles to
the poles
8. What affects climate? Latitude, Elevation, wind, &
Ocean Currents
9. What is a language family? A language that is the
root of other languages
10. How is climate different from weather? Climate is
weather over a period of time.
11. Why do some places on earth receive different
amounts of sunlight? The tilt of the earth
Unit one continued
12. What is the difference between population and
population density? Density measures population
within a specified distance.
13. What geographical aspects cause dense
populations? Nearness to resources, water, fertile
soil, mild climate
14. What are examples of non renewable resources?
oil, coal, water, dirt
15. What is relative and absolute location? Absolute is
the specific place (lat/long); relative is in relation to
another place.
Unit Two- North America
16. What countries was NAFTA created for, and what
is it’s purpose? US, Canada, and Mexico- to
promote trade in the region
17. What is the second most widely spoken language
in America? Spanish
18. What is sectionalism and how did it contribute to
the Civil War? Placing loyalty to a region over the
country
19. What are characteristics of the Rocky Mountains
and Appalachian Mountains? Rockies-tallest in NA
and serves as the continental divide; Appalachian
Mountains are the oldest
20. What is a megalopolis and give an example?
Supercity made of combined cities. BOSWASH
Unit Two continued……
21. What is free enterprise? Based on capitalism, an
economic system where people own the means of
production.
22. Know the functions of the Executive, Legislative,
and Judicial branches. E- Enforces laws; L-makes
laws; J-interprets laws
23. What is a continental divide? What serves as the
CD for North America? Highest point on a
continent that divides the direction a river flows.
Rocky Mountains
24. What is the historical significance of the Bering
Strait? Early ppl walked across to populate NA
25. What allowed people to move to the suburbs?
The Automobile
Unit Three- Latin America
26. What are the vertical climate zones and what can
be grown here? Tierra Fria-cold country; Tierra
templada-temperate country; Tierra Caliente- hot
country
27. What vegetation grows around the Amazon
River? Rain Forest
28. Why does Latin America have such a wide range
of climates? Because it spans so far on either side
of the equator
29. What is terraced farming and why is it used?
Cutting steps in the side of a hill to reduce erosion
and increase water absorption
30. What are push factors for rural dwellers in Latin
America? Jobs, education, better life
Latin America continued…
31. What is a mestizo? European and Indian mix
32. What man made feature makes Panama a
crossroads of world trade? Panama Canal
33. What is an informal economy? An economy that
takes place outside official channels
34. What is the treaty of Tordesillas? Treaty which
divided the land of the new world between Spain
and Portugal
35. What are some reasons to keep the rain forest
intact? Resources, drugs, global warming, oxygen
balance, animal and plant endagerment
Unit four-Europe
36. Europe is sometimes geographically referred to
as a ………………….? Peninsula of peninsulas
37. How was Europe able to become so modernized
and industrialized? Iron and Coal
38. What are the functions of seaworks and terpens?
Seaworks are to minimize the effect of the sea on
people; terpens are areas to retreat to for safety
39. How has industry affected Germany’s Black
Forest? Acid Rain
40. Where was the first democracy? Athens
41. What was the official religion of Rome in the
300’s? Christianity
Europe Continued…..
42. What is feudalism? Where powerful lords
exchange land for loyalty
43. What is balkanization? When an area breaks up
into small hostile units
44. What is ethnic cleansing? The elimination of an
ethnic group through murder and violence
45. What are the original two founding goals of the
EU? Rebuild war torn economies and prevent
future conflict
Unit 5- Russia and Eurasia
46. What do the Ural Mountains separate? They
separate Asia from Europe; it also separates
where most people live in Russia
47. What is the longest river on the European
continent? Volga
48. What is continentality?b A regions distance from
the moderating influence of the sea.
49. Why is the Aral Sea shrinking? Diversion of water
for cotton and rice production
50. What were reasons for building he Trans-Siberian
railroad? Improve travel through the region,
populate Siberia, easy removal of resources
Unit 5 continued……
51. What happened in Chernobyl, and what have
been the results of it? Nuclear reactor explosion;
no one is able to live there anymore; radiation
sicknesses
52. What Czar Peter’s goal for Russia? Mpdernize it
53. What does fear and tension cause between the
US and USSR? The Cold War
54. What are examples of things the command
government controls? Everything
55. What is distance decay? Increasing distances
between places reduces interaction between them
Unit 6- Africa
56. Why is Africa referred to as the “plateau
continent?” Highest in elevation
57. Describe the temperatures in the Sahara? Hot in
the day and cold at night
58. Describe the geography of the Sahara. Rock,
sand, gravel, rock formations, and mountains
59. What were the four goals of the Aswan High
Dam? 1-control flooding; 2-hydroelectricity; 3irrigation; 4-create the world’s largest artificial lake
for fishing
60. What were problems that arose because of the
building of the dam? Loss of alluvial soil, parasites
behind the dam, salt on the soil
Unit 6 continued….
61. Why was Europe so interested in Africa
during the Industrial Revolution? Resources
62. What was the purpose of the Berlin
Conference?
To decide how to partition Africa
63.What is a stateless society? Using family
lineages to govern themselves
64.Why was it a bad idea to impose artificial
borders on the ethnic groups in Africa?
Creates tension and causes civil wars
Africa continued…..
65. What is apartheid? Strict separation of the races
in South Africa
66. What problems has Africa encountered from the
exploitation of its resources? People were sold
into slavery and suffered from harsh working
conditions
67. How does HIV/AIDS affect the economy of Africa?
Some countries have lost many workers which
has caused a decrease in the economy
Unit 7 Southwest Asia…..
68. Why is the Suez Canal so important? Cuts off
thousands of miles for ships
69. What happens to the rivers in this region for part
of the time? Dry up
70. Where is the most intensive farming done in this
region? Mesopotamia
71. What is the significance of the city of Mecca?
72. What is the significance of OPEC, and what does
it stand for? Organization of Petroleum exporting
countries; control the price and production of oil
Southwest Asia continued…….
73. List the 3 monotheistic religions in order. Judaism,
Christianity, Islam
74. Why was Israel established and when? 1948 for
the Jews
75. What is Mesopotamia? Land between the Tigris
and Euphrates River
76. What two groups of people consider themselves
stateless nations? Palestinians and Kurds
77. What is a goal of a successful economy? Diverisfy
Unit 8 & 9 Southeast Asia and Oceania
78. What geographic region is this area on the edge
of? Pacific ring of fire
79. What is the world’s largest artificial waterway?
Grand Canal
80. Why did China remain isolated for so long?
Geography
81. What was the Boxer rebellion? When Chinese
militants killed Europeans and Christian Chinese.
82. What leader rose to power as the first communist
leader of China? Mao Zedong
83. How do most Chinese make their living? farming
Unit 8 & 9 continued…..
84. What is an economic tiger? Country with rapid
economic growth due to cheap labor, high
technology and aggressive exports
85. Which Korea is communist? North
86. How does Japan get most of its resources?
Import
87. What is a subcontinent? A landmass like a
continent, but separate and distinct from it
88. What is the difference between a summer and
winter monsoon? Summer is wet; winter is dry
Unit 8 & 9 continued
89. What was the period called the Raj? Period of
colonialism in India by the British
90. What leader helped India gain independence?
Ghandi
91. What was his type of revolt called? Civil
disobedience
92. Who is the founder of Buddhism? Siddartha
Gautuma
Unit 10 Southeast Asia and Oceania
93. How are islands formed? Coral, volcanic, &
continental
94. What does Micronesia mean? Tiny islands
Polynesia? Many Islands; Melanesia? Black
Islands
95. What is the outback? Desert region of Australia
96. What was the result of the US pulling out of the
Vietnam war? Vietnam and surrounding countries
fell to communism
97. What did the British use Australia for originally?
Penal colony
Unit 10 continued….
98. Who are the original inhabitants of Australia?
New Zealand? A-Aborigines NZ-Maori
99. What keeps countries from drilling for oil in
Antarctica? Treaty
100. What is the ASEAN? Association of SE Asian
Nations-created to promote regional growth
101. What religion is followed on Indonesia? Islam
Philippines? Christianity
102. What did the US do to the Bikini Atoll? Tested
Nuclear weapons making uninhabitable to it
residents
Unit 10 Continued
103. What is the Great Barrier Reef? The largest
coral reef in the world, located off the NE coast of
Australia
104. Why do they call Antarctica the “White Desert”
receives less than 10 inches of precipitation in a
year
105. How did the original inhabitants get to Oceania?
Ice bridges, rafts and canoes
106. What is a voyaging canoe? A canoe with two
hulls to create stability
107. What happened to the population of Cambodia
in the late 70s? 38% of the population was lost due
to murder, execution, and torture
Don’t forget to study
your maps for
continents,
countries, and
oceans!!!!!!