Polynesia Quiz

New Zealand, Hawaii and Tahiti form part of which region?

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Approximately how much of the Earth’s surface does Polynesia cover?

• 1/8

• 1/5

• 1/4

• 1/2

What geological feature do Samoa and Tonga have in common?

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The environment, flora and fauna of all Polynesian islands are basically the same.

• True

• False

In which century did European explorers arrive in Polynesia?

• 14th century

• 15th century

• 16th century

• 17th century

What do you think is the most likely reason Europeans wanted to explore the islands?

• Sailing was a popular leisure activity in that era.

• They were searching for a mythical treasure chest.

• They wanted to find resources to use and ways to make international trade more efficient.

• They wanted to double-check that the Earth wasn’t flat.

Name the French explorer who first divided the Pacific Islands into the regions of Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia.

• Louis Antoine de Bougainville

• Jules Dumont d'Urville

• Jacques Cartier

• Samuel de Champlain

What do you see as being problematic with how he divided and named the islands?

• He used arbitrary criteria for division.

• The names were culturally insensitive.

• The division ignored geographical features.

• All of the above.

The term Polynesia comes from the Greek words, meaning: poly: __________________________ nesos: __________________________

• many islands

• large islands

• small islands

• few islands

What was the main difference between Captain Cook and Thor Heyerdahl’s theories about the origin of Polynesian settlement in the Pacific?

• Cook believed they came from the north, Heyerdahl from the south.

• Cook believed they came from the south, Heyerdahl from the north.

• Cook believed they came from the east, Heyerdahl from the west.

• Cook believed they came from the west, Heyerdahl from the east.