Geography Practice Questions

1. In which direction has the mainland U.S. expanded since the American Revolution?

a. northward
b. southward
c. eastward
d. westward

2. Which of the following will humans not normally avoid?

a. cold weather
b. warm weather
c. deserts
d. high altitudes

3. Immigrants to the U.S. have always

a. been welcomed with open arms by the native-born population
b. been enslaved
c. been discriminated against before finding equality
d. come from Latin America

4. Diffusion which moves a trend from one leader to another throughout a geographic area is known as

a. expansion diffusion
b. stimulus diffusion
c. relocation diffusion
d. hierarchical diffusion

5. What country has the U.S. military occupied from 2001 until 2011?

a. Afghanistan
b. Iraq
c. Israel
d. Lebanon

6. The science of map making is

a. archaeology
b. cartography
c. geography
d. GPS

7. What is environmental determinism?

a. countries establishing rules to determine land usage
b. human devastation of the environment
c. environments have pre-determined uses which can only be altered by man
d. climate and land forms are responsible for differences in human culture

8. Limited resources generally lead to

a. a dense population
b. exploitation by industrial businesses
c. a trade route
d. a scattered population

9. Which region of the U.S. has the fastest growing population?

a. the northeast
b. the southeast
c. the northwest
d. the Midwest

10. A farmer that produces enough food for his or her own family and nothing more is known as a

a. Subsistence farmer
b. Entrepreneur
c. Businessman
d. Migrant farm worker

1. D
The U.S. expanded westward all the way to the Pacific Ocean since the American Revolution.  Choice A is incorrect; Canada was and is to the north.  Choice B is incorrect; the Caribbean and Mexico were and are to the south.  Choice C is incorrect; the Atlantic Ocean was and is to the east.

2.  B
Humans do not normally avoid avoid warm weather.  Choice A is incorrect; humans try to avoid cold weather.  Choice C is clearly incorrect; deserts cannot support very much life.  Choice D is incorrect; high altitudes cannot support much life.

3. C
Immigrants to the U.S. have always always been discriminated against before finding equality.   Choice A is incorrect; the native-born populationtends not to welcome immigrants.  Choice B is clearly incorrect; slavery has been illegal since 1863.  Choice

D is incorrect; immigrants have come from all over the world.

4. D
Diffusion which moves a trend from one leader to another throughout a geographic area is known as hierarchical diffusion.  Choice A is incorrect; expansion diffusion is the diffusion of people.  Choice B is incorrect but plausible; stimulus diffusion pertains to ideas, but not necessarily to leaders.  Choice C is incorrect; relocation diffusion skips over certain areas.

5. A
The U.S. military occupied Afghanistan since 2001 until June 2011.  Choice B is incorrect; Iraq was invaded in 2003 and U.S. forces have officially left.  Choice C is incorrect; the U.S. has never occupied Israel. Choice D is incorrect; the US. sent troops to Lebanon in the 1980s but did not keep them there.

6. B
The science of map making is called cartography.  Choice A is incorrect by definition.  Choice A is incorrect; Archaeology is the study of human activity in the past Choice C is incorrect; Geography is a field of science dedicated to the study of the lands, the features, the inhabitants, and the phenomena of the Earth.  Choice D is incorrect; GPS stands for Global Positioning System.

7. D
Environmental determinism is the theory that climate and land forms are responsible for differences in human culture.  Choice A is incorrect, but plausible due to the word “determine.”  Choice B is incorrect; human devastation of the environment is an environmental influence on humans.  Choice C. is incorrect; this may be true but it is irrelevant to the question.

8. D
Limited resources generally lead to a scattered population, since the area cannot support many people.  Choice A is incorrect; a dense populationneeds more resources. Choice B is incorrect; industrial businesses look for an abundance of resources.  Choice C is incorrect; a trade route may appear but this is irrelevant to the question.

9. B
The southeast region of the U.S. has the fastest growing population.

10. A
A farmer that produces enough food for his or her own family and nothing more is known as a subsistence farmer.  Choice B is incorrect; entrepreneurs start businesses.  Choice C is incorrect; business people sell things.  Choice D is incorrect; migrant farmworkers are employees of other farmers.