1st semester exam Study Guide, world geography 2012-2013

Houston lights @ Tony's on Richmond, a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

Exam: 50 multiple-choice, open-notes questions taken from the questions on the class blog as seen below. Scored on Scantron forms.

Plus a brief comparison essay following the rubric on the class blog.

Poverty Point Quiz

1. The mounds at Poverty Point site are arranged in circular form around a central focal point. We call that a __ arrangement. concentric
2. The architectural sites built by ancient Indigenous peoples have been neglected by historians because they were built from __ . dirt
3. Monroe, Shreveport's latitudinal neighbor, lies upon the __ river. a) Ouachita b) Atachafalaya c) Pearl d) Sabine. a
4. The principal trail used by Caddo people connected the state of __ to Louisiana. tx
5. Every day two great gifts arrive in Louisiana from distant Montana. They are the resources a) coal and electricity b) coal and timber
c) coal and water d) coal and petroleum. c
6. Future conflicts between Louisiana and Texas may arise from claims of ownership in regards a key resource, __ . water

Indigenous people

1.The word for native people: a) indigent b) indigenous c) indeginous d) indingenous. b
2. The most northerly of the states associated with the Caddo. __ ok
3. Which is the most northerly of the Mississippi tributaries? __ Missouri
5. Which state lies between Minnesota and Missouri on the western edge of the Mississippi? __
Name the significant river associated with the following -
1. Minnesota - Ms
2. Montana - Mssouri
3. Pennsylvania - Ohio
4. Illinois - Ohio
5. Texas - Red

A slow-moving internet: the Mississippi River and tributaries

1. Name the 5 states that lie adjacent to and west of the Miss. Their initials are MIMAL.
2. Name the 5 states that lie east of the Miss. Initials: WIKTM.
3. The Mississippi R. is the second longest in the US. Even longer is the Missouri. Name 2 states associated with the Missouri.
Choose from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri.
4. The state in which the Mississippi begins its course: __. Minnesota.
5. The Miss. R. is connected to the Great lakes. T / F

It is not connected by the natural course of the Mississippi. A canal called the Illinois Waterway was created to make a man-made connection.
6. The longest tributary on the east is the Ohio R. Name 2 additional states through which it passes. Choose fromPennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois.
7. Name the 5 Great Lakes of the US, giving their names as read from left to right. Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie Ontario.
8. Which tributary has its headwaters in Montana? Missouri R.
9. Which is more northerly, Memphis or St Louis? St Louis.
10. Which tributary begins in Texas? the Red River.
11. What is the significance of the Miss Valley? Recreation, waste disposal, water supply, fishing, grain export, petro-chemical exports and manufacturing exports are among the ways the Mississippi enriches the US.

12. Why is it like a slow-moving internet? Because it is a conduit for information, goods and services and profit.

The Robot quiz for non-robots
1. The high school-level social studies project is one that requires students to demonstrate competence in using the __ method. sci
2. Gathering evidence in the social studies project must be accomplished via quoting articles, books and at least one __ . interview
3. Which Arkansas mountain range is found the state's north? a) Ouachita b) Ozarks. b
4. Which Texas city is notable for digging a ship channel to make the city a port? The channel connects the inland city with a bay and thus connects to the Gulf of Mexico. Houston
__ .
5. In the NY Times story on robotics, the famous electronics giant, the Philips Corporation, is mentioned. Philips, inventor of the cassette tape (1962), is a company based in the nation of the __ . NL
6. "Video cameras guide them through feats well beyond the capability of the most dexterous human." "Dexterous" must mean a) having physical or mental agility b) high achievement in reading comprehension c) carefully trained. a
7. The NY Times story suggests that 10 robots ("about a tenth as many as the plant in the Chinese city of Zhuhai") can equal the labor of __ humans. a) 20 b) 50
c) 100 d) 1000. d
8. Name of the much-publicized Chinese manufacuring giant that makes iPhones, among many products: a) Foxconn b) Zuhai c) Flextronics. a
The Rivers are Roads quiz

1. River that forms the boundary between Texas and Mexico: __ __ . rio
2. The border between Texas and Oklahoma is mostly defined by one river: __ __ . red
3. Most of the border between Texas and Louisiana is defined by the __ River. sabine
4. Dallas, Shreveport, Monroe, Jackson, MS, and Los Angeles have something in common. a) longitude b) latitude c) humidity d) petroleum. b
5. The Vieux Carre means the "Old section" and, in Louisiana, refers to the __ __ . FQ
6. The city of New Orleans developed in a __ bend in the river, thus giving the city one of its nicknames, the __ City. (same answer, both blanks) crescent
7. In the Katrina story of 2005, the city's problem was mainly the a) soil b) canals c) Lake Pontchartrain d) levees. d
The last question will be scored as a mini-essay for 3 pts. 8. Might a definition of the term "Arklatex" include Dallas-Ft Worth? In a two-sentence answer, use the term "latitude" and "proximity."
A visit to Mars
1. Number of miles traveled between earth and Mars: 104 __ a) thousand b) million c) billion d) quadrillion.
2. The speed of the spacecraft before entering the landing phase: ___ miles per hour.
3. The Mars rover represents some __ years of work.
4. A Martian year is almost equivalent to two Earthly years. T / F
5. Scientists believe that Mars once fostered tiny living organisms called microbes. T / F
6. The rover landed in Gale __ . a) plain b) crater c) river d) storm.
7. The inquiry is looking for evidence of __ .
8. The direction in which the rover will be driven will be determined by scientists' examinations of the __ shots.
9. A galactic forensic lab is part of the rover's deck. T / F
10. The million-watt laser will primarily destroy the lunar roaches that have obstructed refueling in past missions. T / F
11. The chemical composition of Martian rocks will be analyzed by observing the light emanating from them. T / F
12. The rover has a power generator whose fuel is __ .

Sailing the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

1. Leaving Miami in 24 foot sloop, should the sails be set for Bermuda or the Bahamas?
2. Should the sloop head for Freeport or Nassau?
3. In what state is there a Nassau in the US?
4. Based on the map key, about how many miles are spanned by the Bahama islands?
5. About how many miles are there between the southern tip of the US and Cuba?
6. The next stop in this sail voyage might be the capital of Cuba: __ .
7. After taking on supplies, the rudder is set for the American tourist town famous for the gatherings seen each day to toast the sunset: __ __ .
8. Sailing north to Miami, the boat will be aided by the natural force of the __ __ .
9. Actually, landing the boat in a Cuban port is against US law. Because the US is struggling against the communist government in Cuba, we do not allow trade with the island nation. Such a prohibition against trade is called an __ .
10. Sailing parallel to the Florida Keys the boat is running close to the __ National Park.

Gulf Stream Quiz

Gulf Stream quiz
1. Columbus was not the first European to voyage to the New World. T / F
2. The capital of the Bahamas: __ .
3. Atlantic islands about 600 miles east of the South Carolina / Georgia border: __ .
4. Caribbean sea snail: __ .
5. Word for a sailboat race: __ .
6. Linking a tale about impoverished island kids with BB guns to the Caribbean is part of a learning or memory strategy called a __ .
7. In Jamaica people mostly speak English or a patois. In the Dominican Republic the language is Spanish. In Haiti the dominant language is __ .

Hispaniola quiz 9.12-13.12
1. Name the nation that lies between Cuba and the Dominican Republic. __
2. Which island is the largest US Territory in the Caribbean? __ __
3. Which is the only consecutively-doubled letter in the name of the great sea bounded by the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles and the coasts of Central and South America? __
4. This nation lies south of Cuba and west of Haiti: __ .
5. This island nation is adjacent to the coast of Venezuela: __ .
6. This Kenyan city lies at 1S, 36E: __ .
7. The capital of Indonesia is the center of a megalopolis of some 26 million people. It is Jakarta. Write its coordinates.
Jerk chicken review
1. Name a Caribbean island on which English is a principal language.
2. Name an island on which French is a principal language.
3. Name an island on which Spanish is a principal language.
4. Name an island on which Dutch is a principal language.
5. Hispaniola is an __ .
6. The Cayman islands were named for a creature that is more or less an __.

NYC review
1. Name the island that has 2 boroughs.
2. Name the 5 boroughs of NYC.
3. Name the most densely-populated borough, which is the central island.
4. Name the southerly island borough.
5. Name the river on the west side of NYC.
6. Name the ocean adjacent to NYC.
7. Name the 2 states that are closest to NYC.
8. Name the 3 islands that surround New York harbor.
9. Name the 2 famous small islands in NY harbor. One has a museum of US Immigration, one bears a giant statue.
10. The body of water that separates Long Is and Connecticut has an archaic name: Long Island Sound (bay).
The Golden State quiz
1. Along the Pacific coast, Oregon through California, find the mountains called Coast Range. They are __ to the Sierra Nevada range. a) parallel to b) perpendicular to c) pretty close, but not what you would call too close.
2. Because the Coast Range mountains are low in height and very, very close to the Pacific shore, we can say they represent an example of a) subduction b) faulting c) spreading d) accretion.
3. The Sierra Nevada Range would be an example of a) subduction b) faulting c) spreading d) accretion.
4. The ___ National Park is immediately east of San Francisco. a) Yellowstone b) Navajo c) Yosemite d) Grand Canyon.
5. North of Los Angeles is the __ National Park. It is named for the giant redwood trees of California.
6. The name of the Mexican peninsula that lies to the south of California: __ California.
7. The map coordinates for Los Angeles.
8. Close to San Francisco you will find Palo Alto, the home of Stanford University, one of the world's top academic institutions. There is a business-oriented regional name that can be applied to the area around San Jose and Palo Alto. It is referred to as __ __ .
9. The San Andreas Fault extends well north of San Francisco. T / F
1a2d3a4c5Sequoia6Baja734N,118W8SiliconValley9T

Canada: It's a quiz, eh!
T 1. Canada’s population is about one tenth of the US population, although it is slightly larger than the US in area. T / F
A 2. An island in Eastern Canada came under British rule with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). This resulted in a serious change in the population of a) Nova Scotia b) Quebec c) Massachusetts
d) Montreal.
B 3. Canadians often speak 2 languages, owing to their nation’s ethnicity: a) English & German b) English & French c) English & Inuit d) English & Canadianne.
B 4. Born and raised in Montreal: a) Michael Cera
b) Sieur d’Iberville c) Beausoleil d) Celine Dion.
A 5. The French who were born in Louisiana colony were called a) Creoles b) Acadiennes c) Cajuns d) Gumbo.
D 6. Between their impoverished life in Western France and their impoverished life as pioneers in Louisiana, the French colonists spent about 150 years in a) the Caribbean b) British Columbia c) Toronto d) Acadia.
B 7. Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier founded a) Canadian Waste Disposals Systems b) Cirque de Soleil c) the rock band Rush d) Quebec City.
C 8. The nation’s capital: a) Quebec b) Montreal c) Ottowa
d) Toronto.
D 9. The Great Lakes connect to the Atlantic via the
a) Illinois-Michigan Canal b) Erie Canal c) Niagra Falls
d) St Lawrence River.
T 10. Part of Canada is an archipelago. T / F
B 11. “Canada is also geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes,” says Wikipedia. This would refer to __ Canada. a) Eastern b) Western c) Northern d) Southern
D 12. The coordinates are 45N, 73W: a) Toronto b) Winnipeg c) Detroit d) Montreal.
B 13. Land area: which is larger, the a) US or b) Canada?

Geology quiz

1. The Appalachian range is an example of a) subduction b) faulting c) accretion d) spreading.
2. Geologists report in National Geographic magazine that the distance between North America and Europe is increasing each year by about 2.2 inches. That is an example of a) subduction b) faulting c) accretion d) spreading.
3. The Coast Range runs along the Pacific coast in California. They are small but craggy mountains. They are so close to the ocean shore that they seem to rise magically from the surf. They would be an example of a) subduction b) faulting c) accretion d) spreading.
4. The San Andreas Fault is a crack in the earth's plates that threatens the California rim with a devastating earthquake. It is an example of (be careful!): a) subduction b) faulting c) accretion d) spreading.
5. Write the coordinates for San Francisco. __ N, __ W.
6. Name the exciting Canadian city on the Pacific coast. Known for its fabulous aqaurium, vibrant Asian population and high-tech achievements, it is a city similar in size to Denver.
It is __ .
7. One of Facebook's chief officers is a woman known for encouraging females to enter the world of Silicon Valley-type businesses. She is Sheryl __ .
Tampico and Popocatepetl: Mexico
1. The US states that border Mexico: California, Arizona, __ __ and Texas.
2. The Yucatan Peninsula is closest to a) Texas b) Cuba c) Florida d) Jamaica.
3. Mexico has a Pacific coast and a Gulf of Mexico coast. Regrettably, it lacks a Caribbean coast. T / F
4. West and slightly north of the capital is the second largest Mexican city: ___ .
5. Mexico is part of Central America, a region called __ ("middle America") by archaeologists and historians.
6. The takeover of Mexico by Spanish conquistadors was made easier by the decimation of the population via ___ .
7. People from Europe discovered new food plants in Central America. One was the tomato. T / F
8. One of the plants discovered by Europeans was a powerful spice that also had medicinal effects. It was the __ __ .
9. This starchy plant was developed in the Andes Mountains of Peru and Ecuador. It was the a) potato b) avocado c) cacao bean d) peanut.
10. Trumpets, fiddles, guitars and harmonized vocals are typical of the Mexican folk music called __ .
From Tijuana to Sao Paulo
1. Ethnocentric terms include Old World and Middle East. T / F
2. Peanuts, pecans and potatoes were indigenous to Mesoamerica. T / F
3. The bean known as __ traveled from the Arabian peninsula to Europe to Mesoamerica.
4. Sugarcane was a crop indigenous to __ . a) Mesoamerica b) Asia c) Africa d) Europe.
5. Indigenous peoples in the Americas were decimated by disease following incursion by the a) slavers b) Africans c) aliens d) Europeans.
6. The Aztecs built cities and giant pyramids at Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza in central Mexico. T / F
7. The Aztec and Maya religious duty of __ __ was abhorrent to the Spanish.
8. The victorious leader of the Spanish conquistadores in the war with the Aztec was __ . a) Montezuma b) Cortez c) Avocado d) Zocalo.
9. It is a historic object of 24 tons that demonstrates high achievement in geometry and physics; it is the __ developed by Aztec astronomers.
10. Population growth by __ Americans represented the highest rate of ethnic increase.
11. US population: 72% __ . a) White b) African-American c) Latino d) Asian.
12. US population: 13% __ . a) White b) African-American c) Latino d) Asian.
13. US population total is approximately __ million.
14. The largest Brazilian cities are a) Sao Paulo and b) Rio de Janeiro. The metropolitan population of __ is about 11 million as opposed to the 6 million of the other city.
15. The national language of Brasil is not Spanish or English; it is __ . Must be spelled correctly.
16. Brasil's culture is famous for a nation-wide focus on futbol and __ . a) capoeira b) samba c) drumming, or percussion d) manufacturing.
17. Above is an instrument composed of string and stick, rock, gourd, shaker and stickette.
It is used to accompany the African martial arts-based dance called a) capoeira b) samba c) quilombo d) berimbau.

Squawk! Caw! Coates Bluff Trail review -
1. Tree whose bark has small growths that resemble tiny volcanic peaks: __ .
a) Cottonwood b) Hackberry c) Sycamore d) Dogwood.
2. This tree has a mottled bark and gargantuan leaves: __ . a) Cottonwood b) Hackberry c) Sycamore d) Dogwood.
3. Type of oak that is most prevalent in North Louisiana river bottoms: __ oak.
a) Live b) Water c) Pine d) River.
4. This tree produces "knees," a sort of knobby growth that pokes up through the ground in the vicinity of the tree. __ . a) Cottonwood b) Hackberry c) Sycamore
d) Cypress.
5. Tree that produces puce-colored blossoms (purplish-reddish-brown) in the late winter: __ __ . a) Cottonwood b) Redbud c) Sycamore d) Dogwood.
6. If this woods vine isn't the 5-leafed Virginia Creeper it must be __ . a) Cottonwood b) Redbud c) Sycamore d) Poison Ivy.
7. The principal forest grapes of North Louisiana: __ . a) Cottonwood b) Redbud c) Muscadine d) Virginia Creeper.
8. When clay, sand and silt occur in a mixed soil, it is called __ . a) riparian
b) loam c) topsoil d) alluvial.
9. Louisiana is widely-known as a state with unusually rich bird life. T / F
10. The zone along a bayou is __ land. a) riparian b) conservation c) aquifer
d) up.
11. A woody, thick vine: a) pine b) rattan
c) oak d) cypress.
12. Tree used in bioengineering, medicine and for objects made of the soft wood: a) cypress b) willow c) cottonwood d) pecan.
13. Canopy trees - the tallest - of the Coates Bluff area include cottonwood and __ .

Bayou Pierre Fauna
1. Riverine tree that is one of the tallest and largest American hardwoods: __ . a) Cottonwood b) Hackberry c) Sycamore d) Dogwood.
2. Tall tree with wide, indented leaves and whose bark peels: __ .
a) Cottonwood b) Hackberry c) Sycamore d) Dogwood.
3. Fast-growing, tall bottomland oak that is very important to wildlife in North Louisiana: __ oak .
a) Live b) Water c) Pine d) River.
4. This tree has a long history, a medicinal bark and roots are so widespread it is important in bioengineering.
a) Cottonwood b) Hackberry c) Sycamore d) Willow.
5. This tree produces woody projections that rise above the water or the ground in the vicinity of the tree. __ . a) Cottonwood b) Hackberry c) Sycamore d) Cypress.
6. Wine, jelly and a tart pie filling can be made from the __ grape of North Louisiana. a) Rattan b) Redbud c) Muscadine d) Virginia Creeper.
7. If this hairy vine isn't the three-leafed Poison Ivy it must be the __ . a) Rattan b) Redbud c) Virginia Creeper d) Sycamore.
8. Louisiana is known as a state with a rich bird life because the state lies in the flyway between Canada and the sea known as the __ _ __ .
9. The type of dirt called loam occurs when ____ , sand and silt occur in a mixed soil.
10. Riparian land is the zone along a ___ . a) waterway b) aquifer c) conservation region d) region of ripening fruits.
11. Acetylsalicylic acid: a) Cypress b) Willow c) Sycamore d) Pecan.
12. The highest-reaching trees of the Coates Bluff area include Sycamore and Cottonwood. They are called
__ trees. a) medicinal b) loam c) riverine d) canopy.
13. Which one of these does not typically grow in the riparian zone? a) Water oak b) Willow c) Hickory d) Hackberry.
14. This widespread tree is helpful for many but considered a noxious invader by those who want to avoid a monoculture and insure biodiversity. It is the Chinese __ .
a) Candle b) Fruit c) Tallow d) Redbud.

Use this list of cities and nations in answering questions on what was once the British Empire.
1. London
2. Dublin
3. Gibraltar
4. Lagos, Nigeria
5. Cape Town, South Africa
6. Nairobi, Kenya
7. Mocha, Yemen
8. Jerusalem, Palestine (today, Israel)
9. Baghdad, Iraq
10. Mumbai (Bombay), India
11. Delhi, India
12. Kolkata (Calcutta), India
13. Singapore, formerly Malaysia
14. Hong Kong, China
15. Sydney, Australia
16. Port of Spain, Trinidad
17. Kingston, Jamaica
18. NYC
19. Toronto, Canada
20. St George's, Bermuda