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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What social networking site did Mark Zuckerberg develop?

2. Michelle Bachmann claimed that the Obama administration was spending how much a day on a trip to India in Chapter 13: "Devaluation"?

3. In what year did the government end the international monetary system established in 1944 which had tied the dollar to the price of gold?

4. In March 2010, the majority of the finalists of the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search were the children of immigrants from where?

5. When was John F. Kennedy born?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the impact of the Iranian Revolution?

2. How do the authors describe the beginning of the twenty-first century?

3. What is the role of lobbyists in American Politics? How are they described in Chapter 12?

4. How do the authors describe partisan politics in Chapter 12: "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It"?

5. How did the Three Mile Island incident impact America's use of nuclear energy?

6. What led to the housing bubble in America, according to the authors in Chapter 11: "The Terrible Twos"?

7. When was the gold standard scrapped? What do the authors say regarding this in Chapter 9?

8. How do the authors describe Americans' growing sense of entitlement?

9. What do the authors maintain to be reasons for hope for America in Chapter 14: "They Just Didn't Get the Word"?

10. Who are examples used by the authors to demonstrate great success in Chapter 14?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the history of liberal arts education and the three "C's" discussed in Chapter 7. Why do many schools today abandon liberal arts? Why do the authors find a broad range of knowledge more advantageous to specialized fields? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the six crucial elements to improving education in America as discussed in Chapter 6. Do you agree that these are essential elements to quality education? Who would disagree? How are each of these elements defined, and how do we, as a nation, go about changing them?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the four causes of America's decline as discussed in Chapter 1. In what ways is America's education system in decline? Do you agree with the authors' perspectives? Why or why not? Why might critics disagree?

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