View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why has the United States been so slow to convert maps to the metric system?
(a) Geographers prefer not to use the metric system in maps until it is used for other things too.
(b) The Ordinance of 1785 required land to be laid out in township squares measured in feet.
(c) U.S. geographers are not accustomed to the metric system and prefer not to use it.
(d) The metric system is not as efficient for mapmaking as the English system of measurement.

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

3. Which ocean does de Blij say is becoming the dominant world ocean?
(a) The Arctic Ocean.
(b) The Indian Ocean.
(c) The Pacific Ocean.
(d) The Atlantic Ocean.

4. How many mass extinctions have occurred during Earth's history?
(a) Three.
(b) None.
(c) One.
(d) Hundreds.

5. What life forms are threatened during Earth's Ice Ages?
(a) Only plant life.
(b) All life forms.
(c) Only marine life.
(d) Only land animals.

6. Which of the following activities requires the skills of a geographer?
(a) Comparing the structures of government in two different cultures.
(b) Tracking outbreaks of disease and predicting where diseases will spread in the future.
(c) Traveling to a distant place and blogging about the trip in an online journal.
(d) Studying the history and current events of a particular country.

7. What historical event may have given rise to the stories in many cultures of a Great Flood?
(a) Seismic waves after the eruption of Thira.
(b) The flooding of the Black Sea area.
(c) The Medieval Optimum.
(d) The Postglacial Optimum.

8. As the world's population increases, where does de Blij say the increase in population will go to live?
(a) To undeveloped countries.
(b) To urban areas.
(c) To developed countries.
(d) To more temperate regions.

9. Why does de Blij call global warming a misnomer?
(a) Because warming will probably be regional, not global.
(b) Because the globe will probably cool down, not warm up.
(c) Because global warming occurs throughout Earth's history.
(d) Because Earth has been steadily cooling off since the Hadean period.

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

11. What issue has caused conflicts along the border between Germany and the Netherlands?
(a) Mining rights.
(b) Civil rights.
(c) Human rights.
(d) Water rights.

12. How do geographers look at the world, according to de Blij?
(a) Structurally.
(b) Temporally.
(c) Chronologically.
(d) Spatially.

13. What kind of a map did Vladimir Koppen devise?
(a) A map that showed climate regions.
(b) A map that showed lines of latitude and longitude.
(c) A map that showed the movements of glaciers.
(d) A map that showed political boundaries.

14. How did Earth's Moon form?
(a) A passing comet began orbiting Earth.
(b) An asteroid orbiting the Sun came too close to Earth.
(c) A planet-sized object collided with the newly formed Earth.
(d) A large section of Earth split off to become the Moon.

15. What is the biggest problem facing relief agencies trying to provide food for famine victims?
(a) Lack of money to pay for food.
(b) Problems with food distribution.
(c) Continuing drought.
(d) Lack of fertilizer and insecticide for crops.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is a compass rose more useful in the United States than in Europe?

2. How long has it been since Harvard University offered a geography class to its students?

3. How will Earth's population in the year 2015 compare with Earth's population in "the year without a summer"?

4. What was Earth like during its first 800 million years?

5. How many countries are there in the world?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 749 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample