Study Guide

Field 025: Integrated Social Studies
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Competency 0001
Understand historical concepts, terms, sources, perspectives, and research skills.

Which of the following bibliographic citations identifies a primary historical source?

  1. Alden, Michael. (1920). The Prime Minister and the Great War. London: Morebanks.
  2. Nash, Olivia, ed. (1936). Interpretations of Causality: Europe and the Onset of World War I. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press.
  3. Connaught, Sir Lawrence. (1955). Collected Correspondence from the Foreign Office, 1914–1918. London: Hamilton and Wiggins.
  4. Mayer, Arno. (1967). Politics and the Diplomacy of Peacemaking: Containment and Counterrevolution at Versailles, 1918–1919. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to distinguish between primary and secondary sources of historical information. Collected Correspondence from the Foreign Office, 1914–1918 is a primary source because it contains letters written by policymakers and diplomats during the time period being studied.
Competency 0002
Understand major developments in world history from the beginnings of human society to 1350 CE.

Which of the following best describes a major objective of Greek and Hellenistic scholars and philosophers?

  1. to understand nature and society through rational observation and deduction
  2. to develop a philosophical system consistent with traditional religious beliefs
  3. to devise a system of rewards and punishments to motivate human behavior
  4. to create a flexible ethical code adaptable to diverse individual needs and a variety of social settings
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to analyze major events, developments, characteristics, and contributions of ancient Greek civilization. Greek and Hellenistic scholars developed many of the Western world's fundamental concepts in politics, philosophy, and art by using reason to discover order and causality in the natural and human worlds.
Competency 0003
Understand major developments in world history from 1350 to 1871.

Which of the following accurately lists four significant historical developments during the period 1350 to 1871 in the order in which they occurred?

  1. 1. the abolition of feudalism in Japan
    2. the first use of steam engines in English textile mills
    3. the rise of the Ottoman Empire
    4. the Glorious Revolution in England
  2. 1. the Glorious Revolution in England
    2. the rise of the Ottoman Empire
    3. the abolition of feudalism in Japan
    4. the first use of steam engines in English textile mills
  3. 1. the rise of the Ottoman Empire
    2. the Glorious Revolution in England
    3. the first use of steam engines in English textile mills
    4. the abolition of feudalism in Japan
  4. 1. the first use of steam engines in English textile mills
    2. the abolition of feudalism in Japan
    3. the Glorious Revolution in England
    4. the rise of the Ottoman Empire
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to recognize chronological relationships between major global events and developments. The rise of the Ottoman Empire began during the fourteenth century, England's Glorious Revolution took place in 1688–1689, steam engines first appeared in English mills during the eighteenth century, and Japanese feudalism was not abolished until the Meiji Restoration of the 1860s.
Competency 0004
Understand major developments in world history from 1871 to the present.

Which of the following best describes a major cause of World War I?

  1. economic competition in Central Europe
  2. revolutionary activity in Russia
  3. repression of ethnic minorities in Germany
  4. nationalist tensions in the Balkans
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to analyze the major causes, events, and consequences of World War I. The 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist—the event that triggered World War I—was closely linked to Serbian efforts to create a "Greater Serbia" that united various Slavic peoples in Austrian-controlled lands.
Competency 0005
Understand major developments in early U.S. history from the precontact period to 1789.

In the 15 years before the outbreak of the American Revolution, the growing conflict between the British government and British colonists in North America centered primarily on:

  1. what share of colonial revenues belonged to Great Britain.
  2. who would make decisions regarding the colonists' property and political rights.
  3. who was responsible for defending the colonies from military attack.
  4. how the settlement of territory west of the Appalachian Mountains would be controlled.
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to examine major causes, events, and consequences of the Revolutionary War. Colonists viewed British initiatives such as the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, the Tea Act, and the Coercive Acts as a threat to property and their right to self-government, particularly the right of colonial assemblies to levy taxes.
Competency 0006
Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1789 to 1877.

The Nullification Crisis of the early 1830s centered on which of the following questions?

  1. What are the powers of the judiciary in a government based on separation of powers?
  2. What are the rights of individuals in a democratic system of government?
  3. What are the powers of executive officials in a government based on the rule of law?
  4. What are the rights of the states in a federal system of government?
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to examine major political and constitutional developments of the early national and Jacksonian eras. The Nullification Crisis centered on John C. Calhoun's doctrine that states had the right to overrule federal laws that conflict with their own.
Competency 0007
Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1877 to 1929.

The immigration restriction legislation of the 1920s was primarily a response to concerns about which of the following?

  1. the impact of immigration from Latin America on the U.S. economy
  2. the consequences of immigration from eastern and southern Asia on U.S. national security
  3. the effects of immigration from southern and eastern Europe on U.S. culture
  4. the results of immigration from western Europe on U.S. political life
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to examine major social, economic, political, and cultural events and developments of the 1920s. During the 1920s, immigration restrictionists concerned about the preservation of an English-language Protestant culture in the United States focused their resources and energies on halting the massive wave of immigration from southern and eastern Europe that had begun during the late nineteenth century.
Competency 0008
Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1929 to the present.

Which of the following best describes the significance of the sit-ins of the early 1960s for the civil rights movement?

  1. They marked the beginnings of widespread student participation in the movement.
  2. They reflected the growing influence within the movement of the philosophy of Black Power.
  3. They signaled a shift in movement aims from political goals to economic objectives.
  4. They represented the end of efforts by the movement to achieve racial equality through peaceful means.
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to examine the goals, strategies, and achievements of the struggle for African American equality during the post–World War II period in the United States. Initiated by four African American students in Greensboro, North Carolina, the sit-in movement of the early 1960s inspired students throughout the country to become more active in the civil rights struggle.
Competency 0009
Understand geographic terms, concepts, sources, and research skills.

A third-century statue of the Indian prince Siddhartha reveals a mixture of artistic styles. The curly hair, stocky physique, and deeply carved drapery of his robe are elements of Greek artistic tradition. The nimbus of light around the figure's head is an element that originated in Iranian statues of sun gods. The facial expression is typical of Indian mysticism. Carved in Pakistan, the crossroads of Eurasian travel routes, the statue combines artistic ideas from several of the cultures that met there to trade.

The blending of artistic styles in this statue is an example of the process of cultural:

  1. innovation.
  2. convergence.
  3. assimilation.
  4. diffusion.
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to apply basic geographic terms and concepts. Cultural diffusion is the process by which cultural traits, practices, or products spread from an area of origin over space or through time.
Competency 0010
Understand physical features, physical systems, and the interaction between the environment and human societies.

Which of the following best explains why northwestern Europe experiences a significantly warmer climate than regions of western Russia at the same latitude?

  1. Prevailing wind patterns from the Arctic are more common in western Russia.
  2. The North Sea moderates temperatures in northwestern Europe.
  3. The Ural Mountains create a significant barrier trapping cold air in western Russia.
  4. Annual precipitation levels are higher on average in northwestern Europe.
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to recognize major global and regional climatic patterns. The North Atlantic Drift, a warm ocean current that is an extension of the Gulf Stream, keeps northern European coastal areas ice-free in winter and moderates the climates of regional land areas.
Competency 0011
Understand human systems.

Compared with countries in southern Asia, European countries are more likely to have populations that are:

  1. evenly distributed across urban and rural regions.
  2. concentrated in urban areas.
  3. densely settled in river valleys and low-lying plains.
  4. concentrated in coastal regions.
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to examine historical and contemporary patterns of human settlement. Whereas about three of every four Europeans lived in urban areas during the early twenty-first century, levels of urbanization in southern Asia varied from 23 percent in Bangladesh to 34 percent in Pakistan to 67 percent in India.
Competency 0012
Understand political science concepts, terms, perspectives, and research skills.

In which of the following situations is the president of the United States most likely to invoke the right of executive privilege?

  1. nominating justices to the Supreme Court
  2. pardoning a member of the executive branch
  3. withholding information from Congress
  4. authorizing the use of force against another country
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of basic political science terms and concepts. Executive privilege is a power that presidents invoke to resist subpoenas and other demands by the legislative and judicial branches of government, such as congressional requests for highly sensitive information considered vital to national security.
Competency 0013
Understand the foundations of U.S. government, the U.S. political process, and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.

In their efforts to end occupational segregation and achieve comparable pay for comparable work, leaders of the modern women's movement expanded the meaning of which of the following provisions of the U.S. Constitution?

  1. the privileges and immunities clause of Article IV
  2. the freedom of assembly clause of the First Amendment
  3. the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment
  4. the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to analyze developments and events in U.S. history that have increased individual rights or popular participation in the political process. The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment upholds the principle that all citizens of the United States are equal before the law. Just as civil rights activists broadened the meaning of the provision to include African Americans, proponents of women's rights expanded the scope of the clause to include women.
Competency 0014
Understand the structure, organization, and operation of different levels of government in the United States.

Which of the following best illustrates how the principle of separation of powers operates in the U.S. government?

  1. The Senate refuses to approve a treaty negotiated by the president.
  2. The House of Representatives proposes an amendment to a bill that originated in the Senate.
  3. The president dismisses a member of the cabinet.
  4. The Supreme Court refuses to hear a case on appeal from a state supreme court.
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to analyze ways in which the principle of separation of powers influences the operation of the federal government. Separation of powers is the principle that power should be divided among the three branches of government. Treaties between the United States and other countries can only be negotiated by the executive branch of government, but cannot go into effect unless ratified by the Senate. Thus, Senate refusal to ratify a treaty is an illustration of the principle of separation of powers.
Competency 0015
Understand basic economic concepts, microeconomics, and consumer economics and personal finance.

The cost curve above best illustrates which of the following economic concepts?

  1. economies of scale
  2. elasticity of supply
  3. return to capital
  4. law of diminishing returns
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to analyze basic economic terms and concepts. Economies of scale are productive activities in which the cost per unit declines as output increases, as illustrated in the diagram.
Competency 0016
Understand macroeconomics and international economics.

During which phase of the business cycle is an economy most likely to experience the developments described in the list above?

  1. expansion
  2. peak
  3. contraction
  4. trough
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to analyze factors influencing the business cycle. As the economy nears full production during the peak phase of a business cycle, consumer demand becomes greater than companies are able to supply, most workers are already employed, and the demand for bank loans to fuel greater production drives up interest rates. Together, these factors begin to drive prices higher, initiating an inflationary spiral.