Deck 4: Latin America

Question 1

What percentage of the world's plant and animal species are found in tropical rainforests?

A)30%
B)10%
C)50%
D)20%
E)40%

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The Orinoco Basin is largely located in which two nations?

A)Colombia and Venezuela
B)Argentina and Brazil
C)Colombia and Brazil
D)Brazil and Venezuela
E)Peru and Brazil

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following nations in Latin America is a global leader in ecotourism?

A)Costa Rica
B)Peru
C)Argentina
D)El Salvador
E)Mexico

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which climate type is largely absent from Latin America?

A)tropical rainy
B)highland
C)tundra
D)tropical wet/dry savanna
E)humid subtropical

Question 5

What is the correct order of ecosystems in altitudinal zonation, starting at lowest elevation and going to highest elevation?

A)(1)tierra templada; (2)tierra fria; (3)tierra helada; (4)tierra caliente
B)(1)tierra templada; (2)tierra helada; (3)tierra caliente; (4)tierra fria
C)(1)tierra helada; (2)tierra caliente; (3)tierra templada; (4)tierra fria
D)(1)tierra fria; (2)tierra helada; (3)tierra caliente; (4)tierra templada
E)(1)tierra caliente; (2)tierra templada; (3)tierra fria; (4)tierra helada

Question 6

Four countries in Latin America have more than 70 percent of the region's population. Which of the following is NOT one of the four?

A)Venezuela
B)Brazil
C)Colombia
D)Argentina
E)Mexico

Question 7

What phenomenon causes altitudinal zonation?

A)Treaty of Tordesillas
B)El Niño
C)environmental lapse rate
D)demographic transition
E)Iberian conquest

Question 8

Manaus and Buenos Aires are located in different climate zones. They are located in

A)Tropical rainy, Marine west coast
B)Tropical wet/dry savanna, Tropical rainy
C)Tropical rainy, Humid subtropical
D)Marine west coast, Mid-latitude steppe
E)Tropical/subtropical desert, Humid subtropical

Question 9

The root of social and economic tensions in the Latin American countryside is

A)increased population pressure
B)a lack of government incentives to initiate rural development
C)the uneven distribution of arable land
D)the mechanization of agriculture, thus forcing people of the land
E)geopolitical violence as a result of the Cold War

Question 10

What is El Niño?

A)the president of Mexico
B)a lake in Nicaragua
C)a political party in Peru
D)the highest peak in the Andes Mountains
E)a distinctive weather pattern in coastal Ecuador and Peru

Question 11

What is the source of approximately 70 percent of Mexico City's water?

A)rivers surrounding the basin
B)exotic rivers
C)lakes
D)atmospheric condensers
E)aquifers

Question 12

The rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has increased since 2000. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the acceleration in deforestation?

A)the incidence of human-ignited wildfires
B)the clearing of land for farming by local forest-dwellers
C)the expansion of industrial mining and logging
D)the growth in corporate farms
E)the development of new roads and dams

Question 13

What is grassification?

A)the Latin American term for suburbanization
B)the depletion of native grasses on the Argentine prairie
C)the conversion of tropical forest into pasture
D)the conversion of the Altiplano of Latin America into grasslands
E)a project by the Bolivian government to protect further soil erosion on mountain slopes by planting native grasses

Question 14

What is the Altiplano of Latin America?

A)the desert area of southern Argentina
B)the flat, low-elevation plain where Panama meets Colombia
C)the high-altitude plateau in Peru and Bolivia where the Andes Mountains reach their greatest width
D)the area where the Amazon Basin reaches its greatest depth
E)the central region of the Brazilian Amazon

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a problem created by pressure to modernize agriculture in Latin America?

A)health-related issues as farm workers are exposed to toxic agricultural chemicals
B)soil erosion and fertility decline of tropical oxisols and volcanic soils
C)the inability for urban areas to grow
D)the contamination of local water supplies due to pesticides and fertilizers running to the watershed
E)the loss of genetic diversity of crops

Question 16

Which of the following statements about the Amazon is TRUE?

A)The Amazon Basin is located in Mexico.
B)The Amazon Basin is the largest river system in the world by volume.
C)The Amazon Basin is composed primarily of steep-sided highlands.
D)The Amazon Basin is located exclusively in Brazil.
E)The Amazon River is second only to the Nile River in amount of freshwater delivered to the ocean.

Question 17

Which of the following statements about the Andes Mountains is TRUE?

A)The Andes run largely east-west across South America
B)The Andes are among the oldest mountains on Earth
C)The Andes contain a wealth of precious minerals and metals, including gold and silver
D)The Andes are non-volcanic in origin
E)No Andean peak exceeds 20,000 feet

Question 18

What is major factor in the poor air quality in Mexico City and Santiago?

A)conversion of major boulevards to bike paths
B)suburban train systems
C)high-emission buses
D)the large number of parks
E)thermal inversion layers

Question 19

How many major shields does South America have?

A)ten
B)four
C)three
D)one
E)two

Question 20

What are the boundaries of Latin America according to the authors of your textbook?

A)the Amazon River in the north to Puntas Arenas in the south
B)the Rio Grande in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south
C)San Salvador in the north to Montevideo in the south
D)Panama in the north to Argentina in the south
E)Tijuana in the north to the La Plata River in the south

Question 21

What is a mestizo?

A)a member of the working class in Bolivia
B)an immigrant to Latin America
C)a member of the majority ethnic group in Peru
D)a person of mixed European and Indian ancestry
E)a Portuguese word for peasant

Question 22

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the population pyramids for Uruguay and Guatemala?

A)Uruguay has a higher rate of natural increase (RNI)than does Guatemala
B)Guatemala has a higher RNI and TFR than does Uruguay
C)The population of Uruguay is generally younger than that of Guatemala
D)Guatemala has a lower total fertility rate (TFR)than does Uruguay
E)Uruguay will have significant population growth in the coming decades

Question 23

In the Latin American city model, what land use is located along the "spine"?

A)the colonial core of the city
B)unpaved roads
C)a ring road or beltway surrounding the city
D)superior services, roads, and transportation
E)squatter settlements

Question 24

Which of the following statements about squatter settlements in Latin America is NOT true?

A)They provide adequate housing.
B)Many urban dwellers (especially poor people)live there.
C)They are unplanned.
D)They do not have utilities.
E)They are especially vulnerable to natural hazards.

Question 25

After a century-and-a-half of colonization, what was the size of the indigenous population of Latin America?

A)two-thirds its original size
B)one-half its original size
C)one-tenth its original size
D)twice its original size
E)one-quarter its original size

Question 26

A system wherein peasants farm small plots of land for their own subsistence is referred to as

A)latifundia.
B)minifundia.
C)ejidos.
D)plantations.
E)encomienda.

Question 27

Urban primacy occurs when

A)a country's population is greater than 80 percent urban.
B)a country has a city three to four times larger than any other city in the country.
C)the number of people residing in cities has exceeded that of those residing in rural areas.
D)a country implements a policy to reduce urban sprawl.
E)people in cities receive lower tax rates.

Question 28

Population density in Latin America

A)is most densely concentrated along the Amazon River
B)is primarily located in the far southern regions of Argentina and Chile
C)is primarily concentrated along the Atlantic coastline and volcanic regions of the Andes, Mexico and Central America
D)is heavily concentrated in the interior of the South American continent
E)is densely concentrated at the deltas of major rivers such as the Amazon and Orinoco

Question 29

Which of the following has NOT been a compelling factor pushing rural people to migrate to cities in Latin America?

A)individual choices made by the young and the better educated to seek opportunities
B)inability of the peasantry to gain ownership of arable farmland from the entrenched latifundia system
C)to take advantage of government funded programs encouraging people to migrate to large urban areas
D)mechanization of agriculture decreased the labor needs in the countryside
E)conditions (educational access, drinking water, health care)are better in urban areas

Question 30

Why did Japanese people migrate to Latin America in the mid 19th Century?

A)to work in the coffee and sugar plantations and mines
B)to establish a rice industry in Peru
C)to establish a colony in the region
D)to flee a famine after a major failure of the rice crop in Japan
E)to convert Latin Americans to the Shinto faith

Question 31

Which of the following products made its way to Europe as part of the Columbian Exchange?

A)potatoes
B)wheat
C)grapes
D)horses

Question 32

Where would you most likely find a squatter settlement in a typical Latin American city?

A)in the areas immediately adjacent to the CBD
B)in the CBD
C)along the commercial spine
D)in the old, gentrified colonial center
E)on the peripheries of the city

Question 33

Which of the following products made its way to the New World as part of the Columbian Exchange?

A)tomatoes
B)corn
C)wheat
D)potatoes

Question 34

What factor has been most crucial to the survival of the relatively few remaining indigenous people of Latin America?

A)education
B)land
C)water
D)energy
E)jobs

Question 35

Which country in Latin America sends the largest number of legal immigrants to the United States?

A)El Salvador
B)Colombia
C)Mexico
D)Chile
E)Brazil

Question 36

The average number of children born to women in Latin America has been decreasing over the last two decades for all of the following reasons, EXCEPT

A)increased participation of women in the workforce.
B)government-imposed financial penalties for large families.
C)greater availability of birth control.
D)rural-to-urban migration.
E)promotion of family planning programs.

Question 37

Which of the following jobs would be classified as part of the informal sector?

A)teacher
B)street vendor
C)lawyer
D)banker
E)doctor

Question 38

Which set of Latin American nations were most successful in attracting European immigrants between 1870 and 1930?

A)Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
B)Argentina, Chile and Uruguay
C)Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua
D)Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador
E)Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia

Question 39

Which of the following was NOT a contributor to the collapse of Amerindian populations in Latin America

A)epidemics (ex. influenza and smallpox)
B)dramatic climate change during the period immediately following the arrival of Europeans
C)warfare
D)forced labor
E)starvation due to a collapse of food production systems

Question 40

Which of the following nations has the lowest percentage of urban dwellers?

A)Mexico
B)Chile
C)Argentina
D)Guatemala
E)Uruguay

Question 41

The dominant language spoken in the highlands of Peru and Ecuador is

A)Guarani
B)Quechua
C)Mayan
D)Mixtec
E)Aymara

Question 42

What is the predominant language in Latin America, based on the number of people who speak it as a first language?

A)Portuguese
B)Miskito
C)Aymara
D)Spanish
E)Mayan

Question 43

What goal did the Treaty of Tordesillas accomplish?

A)ended the Spanish-American War
B)ended the Mexican revolution of 1910
C)divided South America between Spain and Portugal
D)established the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
E)gave possession of Puerto Rico to the United States

Question 44

The mixing of the races is known as

A)syncretism
B)miscegenation
C)Columbian Exchange
D)ethnic classification
E)mestizo

Question 45

What factor allowed syncretic religions to endure in Latin America?

A)The people of Latin America fought for their religious freedom.
B)The Catholic Church tolerated local variations in worship as long as conversion was underway.
C)Government laws guaranteed freedom of religion.
D)Historically, the expanse of Latin America made enforcing any orthodox religion difficult.
E)The Catholic Church sent very few missionaries, so the religious instruction was minimal.

Question 46

What evidence demonstrates the resilience of the Indian cultures in Latin America?

A)a thriving Amerindian movie industry
B)Amerindian majorities in all countries of Latin America
C)the presence of Indian-run gambling casinos throughout the region
D)architectural ruins
E)the survival of Amerindian languages in the region

Question 47

The current pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, was born in which Latin American nation?

A)Brazil
B)Argentina
C)Mexico
D)Colombia
E)Peru

Question 48

Spanish is an official languages in all of the following nations EXCEPT

A)Colombia
B)Brazil
C)Mexico
D)Chile
E)Ecuador

Question 49

A governing body encompassing several states is known as

A)a subnational organization
B)an insurgency
C)a supranational organization
D)a trade bloc
E)a cartel

Question 50

The dominant sport played in much of Latin America is

A)basketball
B)salsa
C)zumba
D)soccer (futbol)
E)volleyball

Question 51

Which of the following modern countries of South America was NOT part of Gran Colombia?

A)Ecuador
B)Bolivia
C)Venezuela
D)Panama
E)Guiana

Question 52

Which region of Latin America is one most likely to hear indigenous languages spoken by a majority of the people?

A)in the highland regions of the Andes, or in the volcanic highlands of Mexico and Central America
B)in northern Mexico, along with frontier with the United States
C)in Argentina and Uruguay
D)an urban area, such as Lima or Rio de Janeiro
E)in coastal Brazil, along the Atlantic coast

Question 53

What are the major political trends in Latin America today?

A)democratically elected governments; open markets; and broader public participation in the political process
B)appointed governments; protected markets; and extremely limited public participation in the political process
C)democratically elected governments; protected markets; and limited public participation in the political process
D)military coups; protected markets; and no public participation in the political process
E)a mix of democratically elected governments and appointed leadership; opening markets; and extensive grassroots public participation in the political process

Question 54

Which of the following statements about the geopolitical relationship between the United States and Latin America is correct?

A)the United States has maintained a position of absolute neutrality with respect to internal Latin American affairs since 1889
B)the United States has actively pursued territorial expansion in Latin America through the establishment of colonies in South America
C)South America has grown closer to the United States since the end of the Cold War, as evidenced by the election of right-wing governments across the continent
D)the geopolitical influence of the United States is declining in South America as trade with the European Union, China and Japan takes precedence
E)the United States has maintained policies toward trade, economic assistance and political development that have widely been seen as strengthening the internal sovereignty of Latin American states

Question 55

Which nation of South America was crushed in the War of the Triple Alliance, losing an estimated 90% of its adult male population in the conflict?

A)Argentina
B)Colombia
C)Brazil
D)Paraguay
E)Bolivia

Question 56

Which nation is most associated with telenovelas?

A)Argentina
B)Colombia
C)Uruguay
D)Panama
E)Mexico

Question 57

A common language spoken throughout Paraguay and lowland Bolivia is

A)Garifuna
B)Mixtec
C)Quechua
D)Aymara
E)Guarani

Question 58

Historically, what has been the policy of most countries regarding Indian languages in Latin America?

A)Most countries had no policy regarding Indian languages.
B)Most countries actively supported Indian languages.
C)Countries in the north discouraged Indian languages, while those in the south had no policy.
D)Until recently, many countries actively discouraged Indian languages.
E)Every country discouraged Indian languages, except Brazil, which encouraged them.

Question 59

Which nation in South America lost a war with Great Britain in the 1980s over a territorial dispute surrounding the Falkland Islands?

A)Argentina
B)Colombia
C)Bolivia
D)Brazil
E)Paraguay

Question 60

The historical figure known for liberating much of Spanish-speaking South America is

A)King Juan Carlos of Spain
B)Pope Francis
C)Simon Bolìvar
D)Napoleon Bonaparte
E)Christopher Columbus

Question 61

In recent years, what kind of economic activity has Costa Rica been attracting?

A)banana plantations
B)logging
C)banking
D)automobile manufacturing
E)high-tech firms, such as semiconductor manufacturing

Question 62

Which of the following nations in Latin America has had a female president?

A)Costa Rica
B)Mexico
C)Bolivia
D)Peru
E)Colombia

Question 63

Which two nations have an extremely high dependency on remittances?

A)El Salvador and Honduras
B)Peru and Bolivia
C)Brazil and Uruguay
D)Costa Rica and Colombia
E)Chile and Argentina

Question 64

Approximately how many maquiladoras were along the U.S border with Mexico by 2000?

A)5 million
B)3,000
C)1 million
D)200
E)5,000

Question 65

What is dollarization?

A)making the denominations of local currency identical to those in U.S. currency
B)the process by which a country in whole or in part adopts the U.S. dollar as its official currency
C)a price reduction strategy where everything within a country is sold at a rounded dollar amount
D)the complete elimination of U.S. currency from a nation's economy
E)the practice of a country's using the U.S. banking system for its transactions

Question 66

The highest murder rates within Latin America tend to be found in

A)Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
B)Belize, Paraguay and Venezuela
C)Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
D)Argentina, Chile and Uruguay
E)Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras

Question 67

What are Colombia's FARC and ELN?

A)acronyms for newly established territories in the western Amazon
B)insurgency groups that are financed mainly by the Latin American drug trade
C)Latin American television stations that are viewed by millions in the region
D)acts that were established to facilitate free trade throughout Latin America
E)an international finance and environmental organization, respectively, in Latin America

Question 68

Which country of Latin American recently put in place a conditional cash program known as Bolsa Familia?

A)Uruguay
B)Brazil
C)Nicaragua
D)Argentina
E)Mexico

Question 69

Which nation in Central America has the highest percentage of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)of its GNP?

A)Costa Rica
B)El Salvador
C)Panama
D)Guatemala
E)Honduras

Question 70

Social class in Latin America is closely tied to

A)income.
B)education.
C)race.
D)geographic location.
E)gender.

Question 71

The extremely violent drug cartel known as the Zetas operate largely in which part of Mexico?

A)exclusively in the capital of Mexico City
B)the southern highland states of Oaxaca and Chiapas
C)the Baja Peninsula
D)the Gulf of Mexico states, such as Veracruz, and in Nuevo Leon
E)in the state of Sinaloa

Question 72

UNASUR was largely initiated by which South American nation?

A)Colombia
B)Argentina
C)Peru
D)Brazil
E)Chile

Question 73

The primary economic model in Latin America from colonial times until the mid-20th century was

A)primary commodities export
B)industrial goods
C)import substitution
D)neoliberalism
E)isolationism

Question 74

Which of the following countries is NOT a member of Mercosur?

A)Brazil
B)Chile
C)Guatemala
D)Colombia
E)Argentina

Question 75

A sizeable percentage of the workers in maquiladoras are

A)immigrants from other Central American nations where unemployment is higher
B)able-bodied young men to engage in the physical labor needed to work in a maquiladora
C)young, unmarried women
D)children under the age of 16
E)older and better-educated Mexicans, usually above 35 years of age

Question 76

Which region of Brazil has socioeconomically lagged behind the rest of the nation?

A)the central interior
B)the Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo axis
C)the northeast
D)the southern region
E)the Amazonian interior

Question 77

Which nation in Latin America remains the top producer of cocaine?

A)Chile
B)Peru
C)Argentina
D)Colombia
E)Brazil

Question 78

Which form of energy has seen the greatest increase in reliance in Latin America since 1970?

A)oil
B)natural gas
C)hydroelectric
D)wood
E)coal

Question 79

Which two Latin American countries are among the top ten oil producers in the world?

A)Colombia and Argentina
B)Ecuador and Uruguay
C)Brazil and Paraguay
D)Bolivia and Panama
E)Mexico and Brazil

Question 80

Neoliberalism focused on all of the following EXCEPT

A)tough fiscal policies designed to reduce government spending
B)an emphasis on foreign investment
C)privatization of industries
D)protectionism, where high tariffs were placed on local goods to protect them from cheaper foreign imports
E)free trade