Southwest Asia aka the Middle East

True or False?  Literacy rates in areas with fewer cities and towns have higher literacy rates than one would find in Europe or the United States.

• True
• False

True or False?  Boys have less opportunity than girls to go to work because they are expected to work on farms.

• True
• False

True or False?  A country with a higher literacy rate will usually have a higher GDP than those without.

• True
• False

Why aren't desalination and drip irrigation used more in Southwest Asia?

• Most countries don't know about these technologies.
• These technologies are not very effective in this hot, dry region.
• Few countries in Southwest Asia have access to seawater.
• These technologies are very expensive for the countries to use.

How has chemical fertilizers affected water supplies in Southwest Asia and other parts of the world?

• Requires crops to be watered more frequently
• Enormous amounts of water is required to produce the fertilizers.
• Chemical fertilizers have very little effect on local water supplies in Southwest Asia.
• Water spplies have been contaminated by chemicals from the runoff from the fields.

What river is shared by Syria, Jordan, and Israel?

• Euphrates
• Jordan
• Nile
• Tigris

How has the building of dams created problems for countries sharing rivers?

• The great expense required to build them raises taxes too high.
• Dams limit water available to countries further downstream.
• Few countries have the technology to build dams.
• Countries in Southwest Asia are not allowed to build dams along shared rivers.

Why is the Suez Canal important to international shipping.

• It's the only waterway leading into the Persian Gulf.
• The Suez Canal is the only way for ships to get out of the Persian Gulf.
• It makes it possible to get to the Mediterranean Sea from the Arabian Sea without going around Africa.
• It connects the Jordan River to the Persian Gulf making it less expensive to ship goods.

How has the discovery of oil in Southwest Asia affected the economic development of these countries?

• Those with oil need less water.
• Having oil has made very little difference in the economy of this region.
• No other industries have develped because of oil
• Countries with oil reserves are usually richer than those countries that do not have oil.

Many of the largest cities in Southwest Asia are located on or near

• deserts.
• major rivers.
• large grasslands.
• mountain ranges.