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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does de Blij feel that American students need to study geography?
(a) To better understand history.
(b) To receive a well-rounded education.
(c) To better understand plate tectonics.
(d) To protect national security.

2. How wide is each coastal country's territorial sea?
(a) Each territorial sea is 12 miles wide.
(b) Each territorial sea is 188 miles wide.
(c) Each territorial sea is 50 miles wide.
(d) Each territorial sea is five miles wide.

3. Why did life expectancy in Botswana fall from 60 to 39 between 1994 and 2004?
(a) Because of drought and famine.
(b) Because of severe flooding and cholera.
(c) Because of the AIDS epidemic.
(d) Because of poor sanitation and hygiene.

4. What tool does de Blij say that no household should ever be without?
(a) A ruler.
(b) An atlas.
(c) A globe.
(d) A computer.

5. What population problem is facing European countries?
(a) A high infant mortality rate.
(b) A high rate of immigration from other countries.
(c) A high rate of population growth.
(d) A high ratio of retired to employed people.

6. What profession does de Blij say should include training in cartography?
(a) Art.
(b) Law.
(c) Teaching.
(d) Politics.

7. What did Georgetown University decide to do in response to the geographic illiteracy of incoming students?
(a) It required all students to take four years of geography.
(b) It required all students to pass a geography test in order to graduate from Georgetown.
(c) It required all students to pass a geography test as part of the admissions process.
(d) It required all students to take a class called Map of the Modern World.

8. What war does de Blij say could have been better handled if U.S. leaders had had a better grasp of geography?
(a) The Vietnam War.
(b) World War II.
(c) The Korean War.
(d) World War I.

9. Why does de Blij feel that Americans have an obligation to be well informed?
(a) Because it is important to be a good citizen.
(b) Because part of being well educated is understanding geography.
(c) Because Americans have economic ties to many other countries.
(d) Because the decisions made by Americans affect the entire planet.

10. How did colonial powers in Europe divide up the territory in Africa?
(a) They used economic embargoes to force Africans to agree.
(b) They negotiated peacefully.
(c) They bought the land from indigenous groups.
(d) They fought wars.

11. When did China first begin to feel the impact of the Little Ice Age?
(a) During the fall of the Roman Empire.
(b) During the Han Empire.
(c) During the Mongol Dynasty.
(d) During the Ming Dynasty.

12. Why does de Blij feel that Americans are unprepared to evaluate global warming?
(a) Because they do not take classes in geography.
(b) Because they do not pay attention to current events.
(c) Because they do not understand geologic history.
(d) Because they do not know enough about science.

13. What does the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea do?
(a) It gives biologists the right to study the ocean floor.
(b) It establishes a procedure for tsunami notification.
(c) It establishes recognized ocean borders.
(d) It establishes fishing seasons and limits.

14. Why is geography different from other disciplines, according to de Blij?
(a) It makes unexpected links between topics.
(b) It covers science and technology.
(c) It is always in the news.
(d) It is constantly changing.

15. What does de Blij mean when he refers to a mental map?
(a) He means the brain's ability to visualize maps mentally when no map is available.
(b) He means that the brain changes structurally as a result of studying cartography.
(c) He means the map of the brain that is being developed by neuroscientists.
(d) He means the map of each person's individual universe: one's neighborhood, school, and community.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is the population growing so fast in sub-Saharan Africa?

2. Which of the following maps has the smallest scale?

3. What did scientists think was happening to the climate in the 1950s, when de Blij was in graduate school?

4. If Earth's population keeps growing at the present rate, how high will it be by the year 2035?

5. How many countries are there in the world?

(see the answer keys)

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