GED Social Studies : Human Populations and Cultures

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GED Social Studies

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Example Questions

Example Question #261 : Content Areas

What is the name given to the forced dispersal of a people or a nation from their homeland to live among other societies?

Possible Answers:

Emigration

Immigration

Hegemony

Diaspora

Assimilation

Correct answer:

Diaspora

Explanation:

The term, "diaspora," is used to describe a group of people, or a nation, who have been evicted from their homeland and forced to live among other societies. In recent history this has been used to describe the community of Jewish people who lived in various European societies throughout much of history.  

Example Question #262 : Content Areas

The Amazon rainforest, in Brazil, is found on which continent?

Possible Answers:

South America

North America

Central America

Africa

Europe

Correct answer:

South America

Explanation:

The Amazon rainforest, and the Amazon River, are both found in Brazil, which is a country in South America. Central America is not a continent..

Example Question #1 : Cultural Diversity

Which of these is not a monotheistic religion?

Possible Answers:

Zoroastrianism.

Islam.

Hinduism.

Christianity.

Judaism.

Correct answer:

Hinduism.

Explanation:

A monotheistic religion is defined by the belief in only one God. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic religions. As is Zoroastrianism, an ancient Iranian monotheistic religion and philosophy. Of these choices only Hinduism is polytheistic, having a large range and variety of Gods.

Example Question #2 : Cultural Diversity

Polytheism is best described as __________

Possible Answers:

a government ruled by one autocratic leader.

a government ruled by a small group of individuals with absolute power.

the belief that God does not exist.

the belief in one God.

the belief in more than one God.

Correct answer:

the belief in more than one God.

Explanation:

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 #3 : Cultural Diversity

The spread of the American fast food chains around the world in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is an example of __________.

Possible Answers:

cultural diffusion

yellow journalism

implied powers

jingoism

hegemony

Correct answer:

cultural diffusion

Explanation:

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 #1 : Immigration And Emigration

The Native American population most likely arrived in North America __________.

Possible Answers:

across the Strait of Gibraltar from Africa

via ships and rafts from Hawaii

from Viking Expeditions to Eastern Canada

across the Bering Strait from Asia

through the Panamanian and Belizean rainforests

Correct answer:

across the Bering Strait from Asia

Explanation:

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 #263 : Content Areas

A person who has fled some disaster—natural or political—in his or her home country and now lives abroad is called a(n) __________.

Possible Answers:

immigrant

refugee

reactionary

diaspora

departee

Correct answer:

refugee

Explanation:

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 #2 : Immigration And Emigration

The phrase “God, glory, and gold” is used to describe __________.

Possible Answers:

the reasons that inspired the Protestant Reformation

the British desire to conquer the Indian subcontinent

the westward migration of American settlers in the nineteenth century

the political beliefs and ideologies of certain elements of the contemporary Republican Party

the motivations behind European conquest and settlement of the Americas

Correct answer:

the motivations behind European conquest and settlement of the Americas

Explanation:

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 #2 : Immigration And Emigration

Xenophobia is the name given to ___________________.

Possible Answers:

racist discourse

the fear of the government

the fear of foreigners

the fear of disease

anarchist discourse

Correct answer:

the fear of foreigners

Explanation:

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?

Possible Answers:

Low birth rates during World War Two

Government subsidized education

Decreased infant mortality rates

Higher standard of living

The Civil Rights Movement

Correct answer:

The Civil Rights Movement

Explanation:

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.

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