Deck 1: Introduction - The Earth: World Historys Theater

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the biosphere?

A) an artificial structure created by human beings to support a wide variety of plant and animal life in particularly inhospitable environments
B) the parts of the planet that are capable of sheltering life
C) the parts of the planet where only humans reside
D) a scientific model of the globe highlighting concentrations of plant and animal life

Answer 1

the parts of the planet that are capable of sheltering life

Question 2

Pangaea refers to which of the following?

A) the set of religious beliefs held by humanity's earliest civilizations
B) the term used by ancient European peoples to describe the Afroeurasian land mass
C) the process by which land masses move apart from one another
D) the single land mass present approximately 200 million years ago

Answer 2

the single land mass present approximately 200 million years ago

Question 3

Continental drift is the

A) process by which humans migrate across large land masses.
B) process by which early humans, using primitive vessels, traveled from one continent to another.
C) geological term used to describe the very slow movement of the world's continents both toward and away from one another.
D) idea that the world's continents will again form a single solid land mass.

Answer 3

geological term used to describe the very slow movement of the world's continents both toward and away from one another.

Question 4

The Ural Mountains separate which two continents?

A) Australia and Asia
B) Europe and Asia
C) North America and South America
D) Africa and Europe

Question 5

The continents of Europe and Asia have traditionally been viewed as separate land masses. Why have recent scholars contested this classification?

A) The separation of Europe and Asia into two distinct continents is the result of cultural traditions rather than geographic facts.
B) Recent advances in transportation have made it significantly easier to travel between the two land masses.
C) Recent archaeological evidence suggests that Europeans and Asians descended from a single people.
D) Commercial leaders hope to reduce trade barriers between Europe and Asia by redefining the continent as a single land mass.

Question 6

Mercator maps contributed to which of the following?

A) the idea that Europe and Asia constitute a single continent
B) the belief that the earth is flat
C) the geological classification of Australia as an island rather than as a continent
D) the belief that Europe was a large and distinct continent

Question 7

Which of the following best describes why historians often consider Africa, Europe, and Asia as one land mass?

A) The Red and Mediterranean Seas are relatively small, and humans have been traveling across them for thousands of years.
B) Humans in Africa, Asia, and Europe have interacted with one another since ancient times.
C) Ancient peoples considered the lands of Africa, Europe, and Asia to constitute a single entity.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 8

The Great Arid Zone is which of the following?

A) the large swath of desert landscape found in the southwesterly regions of North America
B) a part of Southeast Asia prone to long stretches of drought
C) the large region of dry and semidry land stretching from Africa to China
D) the driest portion of the Sahara Desert

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a true statement?

A) The Great Arid Zone is incapable of supporting life.
B) Parts of the Great Arid Zone receive up to twenty inches of rainfall per year.
C) Some of humanity's earliest civilizations began in the Great Arid Zone.
D) Aquifers permitted farming communities to develop in the Great Arid Zone.

Question 10

Pastoral populations depended on which of the following for their survival?

A) large farming settlements
B) the domestication of herds
C) the construction of urban centers
D) a large and expansive population that could provide for the whole community

Question 11

The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn mark the boundaries of which of the following?

A) the tropics of Afroeurasia
B) the Great Arid Zone
C) the steppes of Inner Eurasia
D) the Mediterranean basin

Question 12

Early in its history, inhabitants of the Mediterranean basin cultivated which of the following crops?

A) rice and millet
B) sweet potatoes and other tubers
C) olives and grapes
D) None of these answers is correct

Question 13

Afroeurasia's mountain ranges contributed most significantly to which of the following?

A) a unique type of agriculture specific to mountain climates and soil conditions
B) large portions of mountain terrain uninhabited by human populations until modern times
C) a complete inability of Afroeurasia's populations to communicate with one another
D) cultural differences between the inhabitants of northern and southern Europe

Question 14

As a result of tracking and recording weather patterns, ancient peoples

A) grew increasingly secular, as they were able to explain natural phenomena.
B) were able to reliably navigate seas and other waterways.
C) created elaborate rituals to encourage favorable weather.
D) left detailed accounts of ancient weather conditions.

Question 15

Which of the following is a true statement about the rivers of Afroeurasia?

A) Rivers were largely unimportant to the development of early human civilizations, as early humans could not navigate them.
B) Rivers discouraged communication between early human populations.
C) Rivers encouraged the development of early human civilizations, but also periodically harmed or destroyed human settlements.
D) The ability of humans to manipulate rivers through technological innovation has only emerged in modern times.

Question 16

The duckbilled platypus, the kangaroo, and the eucalyptus plant are all examples of what?

A) flora and fauna distinct to Australia
B) life forms that can be found on virtually every continent
C) proof that early inhabitants of Australia had continual contact with other peoples and lands
D) species that were brought to Australia only in the last two hundred years

Question 17

The Prime Meridian is

A) a naturally occurring line bisecting the globe.
B) the boundary between Europe and Asia.
C) an artificially created bisection of the globe developed in the nineteenth century.
D) the dividing point between North and South America.

Question 18

Which of the following best supports the distinctions drawn between the eastern and western hemispheres?

A) Until the fifteenth century C.E., no peoples from Afroeurasia had traveled to North or South America.
B) Until the fifteenth century C.E., no regular interactions existed between the peoples of Afroeurasia and North and South America.
C) The eastern and western hemispheres are naturally divided from one another.
D) The flora and fauna of the eastern and western hemispheres are entirely distinct from one another.

Question 19

Which of the following separates North and South America?

A) the Great Arid Zone
B) the Prime Meridian
C) the International Date Line
D) the Isthmus of Panama

Question 20

The Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean are most similar to which of the following?

A) the Mediterranean and Red Seas
B) the islands of the South Pacific
C) the Sea of Japan
D) the Bering Strait

Question 21

Which of the following best supports the idea that North America, South America, and the Caribbean form a single entity?

A) The peoples of these territories are linguistically and culturally identical.
B) Until recently, a single empire ruled the Americas.
C) Europeans made no distinctions between these land masses.
D) Archaeological evidence suggests continual contact between the peoples of this region.

Question 22

The Americas' long cordillera is an example of what?

A) a series of interconnected rivers
B) an area of great aridity stretching from North America to South America
C) a series of interconnected mountain ranges
D) a long strip of land dividing North and South America

Question 23

The Amazonian rainforest is located on which continent?

A) North America
B) South America
C) Africa
D) Australia

Question 24

Which of the following best describes the climate of North and South America?

A) The region typically has subarctic, temperate, and tropical conditions.
B) It contains a region extremely similar to Afroeurasia's Great Arid Zone.
C) The mountain ranges of this region have little effect on its climate.
D) South America is largely temperate, while North America is largely tropical and subtropical.

Question 25

Which of the following best describes the differences in the waterways of the Americas and Afroeurasia?

A) Unlike Afroeurasia, an extensive system of seas links North and South America.
B) The peoples of North and South America, unlike those of Afroeurasia, were unable to navigate rivers and as a result had very limited contact with one another.
C) Afroeurasia has no comparable counterparts to the Mississippi and Amazon watersheds.
D) Unlike North and South America, the seas of Afroeurasia proved to be a serious impediment to trade and transportation.

Question 26

The term Oceania refers to which of the following?

A) the vast number of islands dotting the Atlantic
B) the name Europeans gave to North and South America
C) the word used by ancient Greeks to describe the system of seas connecting Afroeurasia
D) the series of islands scattered throughout the Pacific

Question 27

Polynesian-speaking peoples populated which of the following regions?

A) the Americas
B) the Mediterranean
C) the Island Pacific
D) Northern China

Question 28

Which of the following made the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans difficult to traverse until relatively recently in human history?

A) their great size compared to other waterways
B) a lack of interest on the part of earlier human civilizations to make the journey
C) the inability of early human civilizations to track and record weather patterns
D) the lack of ships capable of traversing the Atlantic and Pacific until the eighteenth century C.E.

Question 29

Which of the following enabled fifteenth-century

A) European rulers amassed enough wealth to finance the risky and expensive voyage.
B) European mariners figured out the wind patterns that govern the Atlantic and Pacific.
C) Ship builders in the Americas designed and constructed ships capable of making the difficult journey.
D) Climatic changes made it safer to travel the Atlantic and Pacific in the fifteenth century C.E.

Question 30

The atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere are

A) different models used by scientists to represent the globe.
B) the parts of the globe incapable of supporting life.
C) parts of the globe where humans have caused ecological change.
D) the three components of the biosphere.

Question 31

The movement of tectonic plates is responsible for which of the following?

A) climate change
B) monsoon winds
C) continental drift
D) an unchanging lithosphere

Question 32

As a result of continental drift, we can discern which of the following?

A) The current structure of the earth's land masses is not permanent.
B) The earth's current land masses fit together as though part of a puzzle.
C) The earth used to consist of a single land mass.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 33

Ancient Greeks divided the world into which three regions?

A) Europe, Africa, and Asia
B) Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean basin
C) Europe, North America, and South America
D) Australia, Africa, and Asia

Question 34

The Orbis Terrarum is which of the following?

A) the ancient Greek term for the lithosphere
B) the ancient Roman term for the globe
C) the ancient Roman term for the land masses of Africa, Europe, and Asia
D) the prevailing map of the world used until modern times

Question 35

The terms Old World and New World were used by Europeans beginning in the sixteenth century to distinguish between which of the following?

A) ancient times and modern times
B) the eras before and after the rise of Christianity
C) the Eastern Hemisphere and the Americas
D) the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere

Question 36

In which area does the majority of the world's population reside?

A) Afroeurasia
B) Austronesia
C) North and South America
D) Eurasia

Question 37

Though rich in rainfall, early inhabitants of Africa's and Asia's tropical zones encountered which of the following challenges?

A) a limited diversity of plant and animal life
B) an unpredictable climate
C) difficulties in communication between settlements due to impassible stretches of land
D) nutrient-poor soil and tropical diseases

Question 38

The climate of northern Eurasia can best be described as

A) tropical.
B) temperate.
C) arid.
D) subarctic.

Question 39

Which of the following best characterizes the highland valleys of Afroeurasia?

A) The Afroeurasian highlands are inhospitable and incapable of sustaining life.
B) The Afroeurasian highlands have only become inhabited in modern times due to improvements in technology.
C) The Afroeurasian highlands have been inhabited for thousands of years and have provided a continual path of communication and conquest.
D) The Afroeurasian highlands gave rise to some of the earliest human civilizations due to their rich soil and easily traversable terrain.

Question 40

The regularity of the Indian Ocean monsoons enabled which of the following?

A) continual trade throughout the eleven seas of Afroeurasia
B) regular communication among the peoples of Afroeurasia
C) the ability of mariners to travel safely across the many seas of Afroeurasia
D) . All these answers are correct

Question 41

The major characteristics of the Australian landscape include

A) a series of exceptionally large mountain ranges that have posed many challenges to travel and communication across the continent.
B) a relatively uniform terrain with few internal waterways and large regions of aridity.
C) a complex network of rivers and streams that dot the continent and enable rapid communication.
D) a large tract of tropical land composing much of the island.

Question 42

Which of the following is an example of the differences between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas?

A) The Atlantic coast can be accessed by an extensive system of rivers and streams, while the Pacific coast has far fewer inland access points.
B) The Pacific coast is served by a complex network of inland waterways, while the Atlantic is reachable only through a handful of navigable rivers and streams.
C) The Atlantic coast is largely arid and semiarid, while the Pacific coast is largely tropical and subtropical.
D) The Pacific coast was sparsely populated until recently, while the Atlantic coast has been densely populated for thousands of years.

Question 43

Which of the following is a true statement regarding the development of human civilization?

A) Until modern times, natural barriers and a lack of well-developed technology have prevented humans from communicating with one another across long distances.
B) There is not a time in human history when individuals and communities did not communicate with one another and migrate from region to region.
C) The diversity of human cultures is due to the fact that little to no communication took place between different civilizations and communities until relatively recently.
D) Humans have generally been resistant to migration, and as a result, ideas and goods were rarely exchanged between different human settlements until modern advances in technology.

Question 44

Continents can best be defined as

A) only land masses capable of supporting human life.
B) distinct land masses characterized by a highly diverse geographical makeup, such as significant mountain ranges and extensive networks of waterways.
C) large land masses connected to other large land masses.
D) distinct land masses surrounded by water and unconnected to other land masses.

Question 45

In addition to the Ural Mountains, Europeans have traditionally considered the _______ to be a boundary between Europe and Asia.

A) Bosporus and Dardanelles
B) Isthmus of Panama
C) Red and Black Seas
D) Strait of Gibraltar

Question 46

Africa qualifies as a continent by the conventional definition because it is separated from Europe and Asia by the

A) Sea of Japan.
B) Bering Strait.
C) Mediterranean and Red Seas.
D) Black and Yellow Seas.

Question 47

Why do some scholars find the terms Old World and New World problematic?

A) The terms are ambiguous and inaccurate.
B) The terms were developed by Native American populations to describe their lives before and after Europeans settled on their lands and are connected to the oppression of colonial rule.
C) The terms inaccurately describe the Americas as the birthplace of human civilization, while portraying Europe as a relative late comer to human technological and cultural development.
D) The terms were used by Europeans in describing the Americas and did not take into account native populations living there for thousands of years.

Question 48

The steppes of Afroeurasia are most similar to which of the following?

A) the Amazon rainforest
B) the Mediterranean basin
C) the American prairie
D) the Australian Outback

Question 49

Which of the following does NOT lie within the Great Arid Zone?

A) the Sahara Desert
B) the Mojave Desert
C) the Arabian Desert
D) the Gobi Desert

Question 50

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between humans and the natural world?

A) Though humans have attempted to alter their environments for thousands of years, the natural world has played a significant role in the development of human civilization.
B) Until modern times, humans lived in relative harmony with the natural world around them.
C) Humans have only attempted to alter their environments in the last two hundred years with the rise of the Industrial Revolution.
D) Humans have always been at odds with the natural world around them.

Question 51

Discuss the meaning of the term world history. How is world history different than other types of history? What are the goals of world history? What are some of the problems of studying world history?

Question 52

Explore the ways in which humans have continually interacted with their natural environments. Provide examples of how the natural world has influenced human development, and how humans have attempted to shape the natural world in which they live.

Question 53

Describe how culture has influenced geography. How have cultural norms affected the ways in which humans perceive the natural world around them?

Question 54

Discuss how the natural world has both helped and hindered human communication. Provide examples of how geography and geology have enabled humans to exchange ideas and goods with one another, as well as examples of how the natural world has set up barriers to communication.

Question 55

Describe the earth's three great land masses-i.e. Afroeurasia, the Americas, and Australasia. What are some of the major climatological and geographical features of each region. What characteristics do these regions share in common, and how do they differ from one another?

Question 56

Discuss why scholars group together continents for historical purposes. Why do Africa, Europe, and Asia form a single historical entity, and similarly, why do North and South America form another? What are some of the advantages to grouping these large land masses together, and what are some of the problems associated with these classifications?

Question 57

Humans have devised many systems to understand and classify the world in which we live. Describe some of the strategies humans have created for dividing the globe. How have these systems changed over time? In what ways are such systems useful, and in what ways are they problematic?