GED Social Studies Test

Immigrants arriving in the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries often faced harsh realities, including social prejudice, economic exploitation, and difficult living conditions.

• Experienced nativism and discrimination.
• Lived in overcrowded, unsanitary urban tenements.
• Worked in dangerous, low-paying industrial jobs.

The mutual reliance among countries and regions on shared environmental resources and the interconnectedness of environmental problems, where actions in one area affect others globally.

• Global environmental issues like climate change, biodiversity loss.
• Requires international cooperation for solutions.
• Highlights the shared responsibility for Earth's health.

Resources that are continuously available and are not diminished by human use, as long as their flow is managed sustainably.

• Examples include solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, and flowing water.
• Their availability depends on natural processes.
• Can be harnessed for energy or other uses.

A divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other, resulting in the upwelling of magma and the formation of new crust.

• Plates pull apart (diverge).
• Associated with rift valleys, mid-oceanic ridges, and volcanism.
• Creates new oceanic crust.

A graphical illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups in a human population, which forms the shape of a pyramid when the population is growing.

• Displays age and sex structure.
• Can indicate birth rates, death rates, and life expectancy.
• Useful for projecting future demographic trends.

Resource management is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling the use of natural resources to ensure their sustainable availability and benefit for current and future generations.

• Aims for sustainable use of resources.
• Involves policies, regulations, and conservation efforts.
• Considers ecological, economic, and social factors.

A dry area on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range, caused by the orographic lift of moist air on the windward side, leading to precipitation there and dry, descending air on the leeward side.

• Caused by mountains blocking moist air
• Windward side receives heavy precipitation
• Leeward side experiences dry conditions (rain shadow)

The study of the geographic distribution of plants and animals, and the environmental factors that affect their distribution.

• Examines patterns of biodiversity.
• Considers historical and ecological factors.
• Includes human impact on species distribution.

The paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources (like oil or minerals) tend to have less economic growth, less democracy, and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources, often due to over-reliance on the resource and associated governance issues.

• Paradox of abundance leading to poor development
• Often linked to single-commodity dependence
• Can cause price volatility, corruption, lack of diversification

A large, flat, elevated area of land, typically with one or more steep sides, that rises sharply above the surrounding area.

• Flat top surface
• Elevated relative to surroundings
• Often has steep escarpments (sides)

The Demographic Transition Model (DTM) describes changes in population growth rates over time, based on observed changes in birth and death rates due to industrialization and development.

• Has typically five stages.
• Illustrates the shift from high birth/death rates to low birth/death rates.
• Explains population growth patterns in relation to economic development.

The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.

• Degradation of dryland ecosystems.
• Caused by human activities and climate variations.
• Leads to loss of biodiversity and reduced agricultural productivity.

A vast, flat, treeless Arctic region in which the subsoil is permanently frozen (permafrost).

• Characterized by extremely cold temperatures.
• Low biodiversity, dominated by mosses, lichens, dwarf shrubs.
• Has a short growing season.

The branch of physical geography and Earth science that studies the oceans, including their physical and biological properties, and phenomena.

• Covers ocean currents, tides, waves, marine life.
• Examines ocean chemistry and geology.
• Crucial for understanding global climate and ecosystems.

A type of map that uses lines to connect points of equal value, illustrating continuous distributions like elevation, temperature, or precipitation.

• Lines connect points of equal value
• Used for continuous data (e.g., elevation, temperature, pressure)
• Examples include isotherms (temperature), isobars (pressure), isohyets (rainfall)

An inertial force that acts on objects that are in motion relative to a rotating reference frame. On Earth, this force deflects moving objects (like air and water) to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

• Caused by Earth's rotation
• Influences global wind and ocean currents
• Strength increases with speed of motion and latitude

A surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941.

• Resulted in over 2,400 American casualties.
• Crippled much of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
• Prompted the U.S. declaration of war on Japan the following day.

A slogan reflecting the colonists' primary grievance that they were being taxed by the British Parliament without having any elected representatives in that body.

• Central to colonial protests against the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts.
• Argued that taxation without consent was a violation of English rights.
• Fueled sentiment for independence from British rule.

A decade of economic growth and cultural change in the United States and Europe during the 1920s.

• Characterized by jazz music, flapper fashion, and new social freedoms.
• Saw the rise of mass consumer culture and new technologies like radio and automobiles.
• Experienced a period of economic prosperity before the Great Depression.

A series of English laws, beginning in 1651, that controlled colonial trade and shipping to favor English economic interests.

• Required most colonial goods to be shipped on English vessels.
• Mandated certain enumerated goods could only be shipped to England.
• Aimed to create a favorable balance of trade for England.

A period in U.S. history (late 19th century) marked by rapid economic growth, particularly in industry, but also by significant social inequality and political corruption.

• Rise of 'Captains of Industry' like Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt.
• Emergence of powerful monopolies and trusts.
• Massive urbanization and immigration.

A constitutional amendment ratified in 1920 that granted American women the right to vote, ending nearly a century of protest and activism.

• Prohibits voter discrimination based on sex.
• Culmination of the women's suffrage movement.
• Significantly expanded the electorate.

The study of the interrelationship between people and their physical environment, examining how humans adapt to, modify, and depend on the environment, and how the environment affects human societies.

• Focuses on reciprocal relationships.
• Includes adaptation, modification, and dependency.
• A core theme in geography.

An ethical principle requiring researchers to obtain voluntary agreement from participants (or affected communities) to be involved in a study or project, after being fully informed of its nature, risks, and benefits.

• Voluntary participation
• Full disclosure of project details
• Especially crucial for vulnerable populations (e.g., indigenous communities)