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WorksheetsUnit 4 Practice (Political Geography)
Total questions: 61
Worksheet time: 38mins
What is the use of economic, political, or other pressures to control or influence a less powerful country called?
Ethnocentrism
Globalization
Irredentism
Neocolonialism
Territoriality
Which of the following is an example of a consequent boundary?
The boundary between France and Germany
The boundary between the United States and Canada
The boundary between East and West Germany
The boundary between North and South Vietnam
The boundary between India and Pakistan
The U.S. House of Representatives always has 435 members, or seats. Each seat in Congress represents one congressional district. The number of U.S. congressional districts for each state is reexamined every 10 years. Which of the following terms refers to this process of reviewing and possibly reassigning the number of seats in Congress for each state?
Redirection
Reallocation
Renegotiation
Redistribution
Reapportionment
Which factor contributed most to devolution in Yugoslavia?
An influx of refugees
A fragmented geography
Ethnic and cultural differences
Economic growth and prosperity
Aggression from neighboring states
Which term accurately describes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?
Supranational
Separatist
Annexed
Devolutionary
Centripetal
Which of the following is an example of a state that might be considered a nation-state?
Spain
Palestine
Sweden
Japan
Ukraine
Which region has a high percentage of geometric boundaries to separate states?
Southeast Asia
South America
Europe
Central Asia
North Africa
In recent electoral history, racial or ethnic minorities in the United States have tended to vote for candidates of one political party. Which statement accurately explains the purpose for creating majority-minority voting districts in response to this tendency?
Minority voters are concentrated into one district, ensuring that their political power will be maintained in that district.
Minority voters are distributed equally among voters for the majority party, thereby creating politically balanced voting districts.
Minority voters are concentrated into one district so that courts can ensure that those voters are not denied political representation.
Minority voters are dispersed among voters for the majority party, making it less likely that minority voters’ candidates can be elected.
Minority voters are concentrated into one district, ensuring that the majority party can maintain power in the surrounding districts.
Fragmented physical geography serves as what type of force within a state?
Centrifugal
Centripetal
Expansionist
Irredentist
Nationalist
Which of the following is an example of a global oil choke point used as a geographical expression of political power?
Egyptian troops reinforced the guards who protect the Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline that runs alongside it.
The Cape of Good Hope functions as the secondary route for oil if the primary choke points of the Suez Canal or the Bab el-Mandeb are closed.
With less than 1 million barrels of oil passing through it each day, the Panama Canal transits the smallest amount of oil of the eight global oil choke points.
The International Energy Agency reports that the Strait of Malacca’s narrow 1.7-mile corridor creates a bottleneck that can lead to ships colliding.
The United States advised buyers of Iranian oil to stop purchases or face sanctions in 2019; consequently, Iran renewed its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
Which of the following statements accurately explains why subsequent boundaries are the most common type of boundary?
The process of establishing them happens before people settle in an area.
The process of establishing them takes cultural differences into account.
The process of establishing them is lengthy and related to territoriality.
The process of establishing them connects to previously set boundaries.
The process of establishing them correlates to the devolution of territories
Russia’s takeover of Crimea in 2014 is an example of which of the following?
Assimilation
Colonialism
Ethnic separatism
Federalism
Irredentism
Changes in the U.S. population, measured once every decade, have a direct impact on the election of the U.S. president. Which statement accurately explains how population changes affect the presidential election?
Population changes affect the number of congressional seats allocated to each state, which in turn affects the number of Senate seats for each state.
Population changes determine the number of voting precincts in each state, which in turn determines the number of congressional seats for each state.
Population changes affect the number of Senate seats allocated to each state, which determines the number of electoral college voters for each state.
Population changes determine the number of voting precincts in each state, which determines the number of electoral college voters for each state.
Population changes affect the number of congressional seats allocated to each state, which determines the number of electoral college voters for each state.
An estimated 25 to 30 million Kurds live throughout Southwest Asia in an area covering about 74,000 square miles. Which term accurately describes the status of the Kurds as depicted on the map?
Autonomous region
Stateless nation
Sovereign nation
Independent state
Nation-state
Which of the following statements accurately describes an advantage of a unitary state?
It can disconnect from local areas so that it isn’t burdened by their individual issues.
It minimizes oversight of local governments so that they are free to act independently of national policies.
It promotes more regional independence, so different areas of the state can enact policies suited to their needs.
It can efficiently coordinate policies with regional and local governments to ensure that all citizens have access to services such as health care.
It delegates the development of infrastructure (e.g., roads) to local governments so that they can build according to their own budgets.
In the U.S. system of federalism, which of the following activities falls under the primary authority of the state government?
Safeguarding aviation
Amending the Constitution
Managing the National Guard
Ensuring the safety of food and medicine
Providing utilities (e.g., water, electricity)
Which agency is responsible for taking a count of the U.S. population every 10 years for the purposes of representation in government?
The electoral college
The U.S. Census Bureau
The Legislative Services Agency
The U.S. House of Representatives
The Congressional District Commission
What type of state has all political authority focused on the central government?
(a)
What type of state has political power divided between a central government, and smaller more local levels of authority such as states/provinces?
(a)
What do we call forces that divide people or states?
(a)
What do we call forces that unite people or states?
(a)
Differences in language or religion would be which kind of force in a society?
centrifugal
centripetal
Sharing language or religion would be which kind of force in a society?
centrifugal
centripetal
A shared history would be which kind of force in a society?
centrifugal
centripetal
What term describes the movement of power from the central level to a regional level in a state?
(a)
Which of the following political entity would likely have a large amount of devolutionary pressure within?
nation state
multinational state
stateless nation
multistate nation
Which of the following is NOT part of the definition of a state?
A common language
An organized economy and circulation system
Political sovereignty
A permanent resident population
Defined boundaries
The provisions of the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea give coastal countries navigational and economic sovereignty over which of the following zones?
Twelve-nautical-mile territorial sea zone
Export processing zone (EPZ)
200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone
Twenty-four-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone
Empowerment zone
The European Union, the Arctic Council, and the United Nations are all examples of
Pressure groups
Nation-states
Centrifugal organizations
Supranational organizations
Federations
relic
the Berlin Wall
antecedent
the Andes mountains separating Chile & Argentina
geometric
the 49th parallel acting as the border between the USA & Canada
consequent
the borders in Eastern Europe that settled along ethnic boundaries after Yugoslavia fell
superimposed
borders in Africa that came from colonialism
A type of boundary that was drawn after major human settlement in an area:
(a)
A type of boundary that was there before major human settlements:
(a)
A type of boundary that is drawn over existing cultures, usually by an outside force:
(a)
A type of boundary that takes existing cultures into account, and attempts to align to them as a result:
(a)
Boundaries drawn in straight lines, based on longitude and latitude:
(a)
A border that no longer exists, but leaves an imprint on the landscape:
(a)
The southern and western borders of Iraq were drawn in a straight line by European countries after WW2. What 2 types of borders could these be classified as?
subsequent
geometric
superimposed
relic
antecedent
The Berlin Conference in the 1885 divided up Africa among the major European colonial powers with no regard for the exiting cultures throughout the continent.
subsequent
superimposed
consequent
relic
geometric
Which of the following terms refers to an area of instability located between regions with opposing political and cultural values?
Rimland
Heartland
Shatter belt
Enclave
Chokepoint
Which of the following best explains why the region of Catalonia in Spain could be a viable country?
Catalonia is linguistically distinct compared to other regions in Spain.
Catalonia is well developed economically compared to other regions in Spain.
Catalonia's population is ethnically distinct compared to other regions in Spain.
Catalonia has a large population compared to other regions in Spain.
Catalonia has a major city, Barcelona, which has a notoriety comparable to that of the Spanish capital, Madrid.
Strange shaped voting districts drawn in order to influence specific results during elections are called:
gerrymandering
shatter belts
autonomous regions
devolutionary regions
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 and the partition of India in 1947 changed borders in Africa and South Asia and are reflected in the current world map. Which of the following best describes the type of political border resulting from these events?
Relict boundaries
Antecedent boundaries
Consequent boundaries
Superimposed boundaries
Subsequent boundaries
Cultural differences within a country’s population, such as different religions, languages, and ethnicities, have political impacts and can best be described as
centripetal forces within a state
centrifugal forces within a state
the effects of diffusion on the state
the effects of imperialism on the state
globalizing forces within a state
Which of the following describes typical characteristics of federal states?
A centralized government and strong centripetal forces
A fragmented land area and a single ethnic group
A small land area and high population density
A compact shape and a primate city
A large land area and multiple ethnic groups
Which of the following describes a unitary form of governance?
Stronger states and transnational corporations indirectly control weaker states.
A state has a strong central government with no power given to regions
A collection of independent communities shares government services
A state’s more powerful central government shares power with its regions
A sense of unity, often derived from ethnic or cultural traits, binds a country together
A branch of human geography concerned with the spatial analysis of political systems
cultural geography
environmental geography
political geography
ecology geography
The ideal political geographical unit; one in which the nation's geographic boundaries match the state's territorial boundaries
state
nation
stateless nation
nation-state
A nation's ability to determine its own statehood and form its own allegiances and government
sovereignty
self-determination
multinational state
multistate nation
The movement of power from the central government to region governments within the state
devolution
sovereignty
self-determination
buffer state
A narrow passage that restricts traffic to another region
buffer state
shatterbelt
neocolonialism
chokepoint
a country containing multiple national, ethnic, and religious groups within its boundaries
multistate nation
nation-state
multinational state
stateless nation
a subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has a high degree of self-government, or autonomy, in its decision making
state
nation
nation-state
autonomous region
the process of drawing new boundaries for U.S. congressional districts to reflect the population changes since the previous U.S. census
redistricting
gerrymandering
reapportionment
electoral college
the manipulation of voting district boundaries to favor a particular political party, group, or election outcome
reapportionment
redistricting
gerrymandering
electoral college
an independent state that concentrates power in the central government and grants little authority to the provinces
unitary state
nation-state
stateless nation
federal state
an independent country that disperses significant authority among subnational units
unitary state
nation-state
stateless nation
federal state
