All GED Social Studies Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #351 : Ged Social Studies
Polytheism is best described as __________
the belief that God does not exist.
the belief in one God.
a government ruled by a small group of individuals with absolute power.
a government ruled by one autocratic leader.
the belief in more than one God.
the belief in more than one God.
Polytheism is a religion defined by the belief in more than one God. In the ancient world almost all religions were polytheistic—such as the Greek and Roman religions, Egyptian, Norse and so on; however, since the rise of Judaism, then Christianity and Islam, monotheistic religions (the belief in one God) now largely dominate.
Example Question #2 : Cultural Diversity
The spread of the American fast food chains around the world in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is an example of __________.
jingoism
yellow journalism
hegemony
cultural diffusion
implied powers
cultural diffusion
Cultural diffusion is a term used to describe the spread of one culture’s language, ideas, or principles to other cultures, where it is then adopted and embraced. In the last century or two the English language has spread rapidly around the world and is now the second language of a large proportion of the global population.
Example Question #5 : Human Populations And Cultures
The Native American population most likely arrived in North America __________.
via ships and rafts from Hawaii
through the Panamanian and Belizean rainforests
across the Strait of Gibraltar from Africa
from Viking Expeditions to Eastern Canada
across the Bering Strait from Asia
across the Bering Strait from Asia
The original Native American population is believed to have crossed into North America via a land bridge in the modern-day Bering Strait. So they would have crossed from what is now Northern Russia into Alaska and then rapidly worked there way (over many generations) down throughout modern North and South America.
Example Question #352 : Ged Social Studies
A person who has fled some disaster—natural or political—in his or her home country and now lives abroad is called a(n) __________.
refugee
reactionary
diaspora
departee
immigrant
refugee
A refugee is someone who has either been forced to leave or else has fled some disaster—famine, poverty, genocide, religious warfare, etc. A refugee leaves his or her own country and heads for a willing country believed to be safer. Different countries around the world have widely varied practices when it comes to accepting refugees. The diaspora is the name given to a community of displaced people, e.g. the Jewish Diaspora.
Example Question #7 : Human Populations And Cultures
The phrase “God, glory, and gold” is used to describe __________.
the British desire to conquer the Indian subcontinent
the reasons that inspired the Protestant Reformation
the political beliefs and ideologies of certain elements of the contemporary Republican Party
the westward migration of American settlers in the nineteenth century
the motivations behind European conquest and settlement of the Americas
the motivations behind European conquest and settlement of the Americas
The phrase “God, glory, and gold” is often used to describe the motivations behind European conquest and settlement of the Americas. It is most frequently used to describe the first wave of European colonialism under the Spanish. It is a shorthand term to illustrate how the Spanish were motivated to colonize the Americas in order to spread Christianity ("God"), gain personal fame and notoriety ("glory"), and become immensely wealthy by exporting gold and silver back to Europe ("gold").
Example Question #8 : Human Populations And Cultures
Xenophobia is the name given to ___________________.
the fear of foreigners
the fear of the government
the fear of disease
anarchist discourse
racist discourse
the fear of foreigners
Xenophobia is an important term and important trend in human and American history. Xenophobia is the fear of foreigners, and it is a motivating factor in many of the worst instances of violence and atrocities in human history. It can also be a primary motivating factor in less dramatic, but no less important, circumstances, like limits on immigration, racism, tariffs, civil unrest and so on.
Example Question #9 : Human Populations And Cultures
Which of these was not a contributing factor towards the Baby Boom, from 1946 to 1965?
Low birth rates during World War Two
Higher standard of living
The Civil Rights Movement
Decreased infant mortality rates
Government subsidized education
The Civil Rights Movement
The Baby Boom period lasted for about twenty years after the end of World War Two. It was marked by a massive increase in the size of families and the population of the country as a whole. It was caused by several factors, including a much higher standard of living, the relatively low level of birth rates during World War Two, and decreased infant mortality rates. Another contributing factor was the GI Bill. The GI Bill provided loans and grants to returning veterans from World War Two to help them buy houses and have access to higher education. The only answer choice that did not directly contribute to the Baby Boom generation was the Civil Rights Movement. Firstly, this did not really begin in earnest until the mid-1950s, second of all it was a movement to improve social rights and not an economic or health based movement so cannot be expected to have much effect on the birth rate.
Example Question #11 : Human Populations And Cultures
Population has grown most dramatically in which of these centuries?
The sixteenth century
The nineteenth century
The eighteenth century
The seventeenth century
The twentieth century
The twentieth century
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the population of the world was less than one billion. It would pass one billion early in the nineteenth century, but would not reach two billion until early in the twentieth century. Since the massive improvements in public health, medicine, technology, and farming practices of the twentieth century, the world population has risen to over seven billion. So the correct answer is easily the twentieth century.
Example Question #12 : Human Populations And Cultures
In which of these continents is the population the highest?
South America
Africa
North America
Europe
Asia
Asia
More than half the people on the planet live in the continent of Asia: the majority of these living in China and India. Of the more than seven billion people on Earth, at least four billion live in Asia.
Example Question #13 : Human Populations And Cultures
Which of these is the correct order of continents by population (from highest to lowest)?
Africa; Asia; North America; Europe; South America
Asia; North America; Europe; Africa; South America
North America; South America; Africa; Asia; Europe
Africa; Europe; Asia; North America; South America
Asia; Africa; Europe; North America; South America
Asia; Africa; Europe; North America; South America
More than half the people in the world live in Asia. After Asia, the next highest is Africa, which is the only other continent to have more than a billion people living there. After Africa comes Europe, then North America, then South America. The population of Europe is projected to remain approximately the same for several decades, so by the end of the twenty-first century it will have likely been overtaken by all the other continents, except Oceania and Antarctica.