Southwest Asia and North Africa Review

Which physical feature has most limited the movement of people living in North Africa?

• The Suez Canal
• The Nile River
• The Red Sea
• The Sahara

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are separated by what physical feature? 

• Sahara Desert
• Red Sea
• Arabian Sea
• Black Sea

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway running north to south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The canal separates the African continent from Asia, and it provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is one of the world's most heavily used shipping lanes. 
The canal described above contributed most directly to —

• the development of new shipping techniques
• an increase in trade
• improved irrigation for farms
• reduced shipping traffic

Two major reasons that Saudi Arabia is important to many people around the world are —

• its economic equality and large universities
• its free markets and commercial agriculture
• its religious sites and oil resources
• its armed forces and modern cities

What is the main purpose of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)?

• It provides economic assistance to member countries in times of war.
• It manages the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil on the world market.
• It offers military support to threatened member countries.
• Petroleum is used to make byproducts such as gasoline, plastics, and other synthetic material.

This cartoon illustrates that the U.S. —

• dependence on foreign oil is dangerous
• does not use products made from oil
• must purchase more foreign oil
• utilizes solar power for energy

Which conclusion about Bahrain is supported by the table?

• Is a small, crowded country
• Has a limited government
• Less crowded than Algeria
• Most people live in the cities

Which conclusion is best supported by the table?

• Bahrain is sparsely populated.
• Egypt has the lowest standard of living.
• Algeria has a large urban population.
• Saudi Arabia is a constitutional republic.

Which conclusion is best supported by the information provided on this graph?

• The United States has adequate (enough) petroleum reserves to meet all of its future oil needs.
• Nations that do not have enough petroleum reserves are building factories and making technological advances.
• Overproduction of petroleum products has caused inflation in Southwest Asia.
• Most of the world’s largest petroleum reserves are found in countries located in Southwest Asia.

Much of Southwest Asia is desert, so there is not a lot of water to use for drinking and irrigation.  How might humans interact with the environment to solve this water shortage?

• Have OPEC continue to regulate the supply and demand of oil throughout the world.
• Allow desertification to continue so that areas will have an excess of drinkable water.
• Use the process of desalination to turn saltwater into fresh usable water.
• Extend the Suez Canal to allow more sea water to flow to dry areas of the Middle East.