Social Studies Midterm Study Guide
1. What is the 0° line of latitude, it divides the earth into Northern and Southern hemispheres? equator
2. What is the 0° line of longitude, it divides the earth into Eastern and Western hemispheres? prime meridian
3. A hemisphere is: any half of the earth
4. Know your 5 themes of geography. –
The 5 Themes of Geography
1. Location: Knowing exactly where you are on the planet
-Equator: An imaginary line that divides the earth into Northern and Southern hemispheres
-Latitude and Longitude: Imaginary lines that form a grid around the globe
-Relative Location: Finding out where you are based on your relative location to another place
2. Place: What is a place like? Culture, Ecosystems, Physical Characteristics
3. Human Environment Interaction: The way people have changed their environment to meet their needs OR adapted to their environment
4. Movement: Moving people, ideas and products around the world
5. Region: An area that shares common characteristics (ex: political boundaries, climate and culture)
5. Which of the following words is defined as: weather over an extended period of time? climate
6. Which of the following terms a narrow passage of water connecting two larger bodies of water: strait
7. How long does it take for the earth to revolve around the sun? 365 ¼ days
8. Why do mapmakers use different projections? Because all maps cause distortion
9 & 10 latitude and longitude. Latitude goes across and measures distance from equator, Longitude goes up and down and measures distance from the Prime Meridian
Area - the size of a country measured in square kilometers
Population – the number of people living in a country
Percentage of Internet users – the percentage of people in the country who use the internet.
21. Which of the following events caused the end of the Minoan Civilization? A volcanic eruption
22. Why was Alexander the Great important? He spread Greek culture to the known world
23. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is a habit”
24. How long did the Greeks besiege Troy? 10 years
25. Who’s idea was it to pretend to sail away and leave the Trojans a big wooden horse full of Greeks? Odysseus
26. Direct Democracy- A government in which people vote to make their own rules and laws
27. Representative Democracy - A government in which people vote for representatives, then the representatives make the laws
28. Tyranny – rule by a dictator
29. Oligarchy – rule by a small group
30. Monarchy – rule by a king
31. Democracy – rule by the citizens voting in an assembly
32. Who was the King of the Gods? Zues
33. Who was married to Zeus and very jealous of him? Hera
34. Hades – god of the underworld
35. Poseidon – god of the sea
36. Which civilization became the most powerful empire the world had ever seen? Rome
37. Which events are in the correct order for the history of Roman government? (3 stages)
Monarchy (King)à Republic à Tyranny (Emperor)
38. Who seized power in Rome as a dictator in 49 BC? Julius Caesar
39. Why was the Roman Empire so successful? It’s powerful army
40.What were the benefits of Roman rule? Peaceful trading throughout the empire
41. A city-state is best defined as: A city and the surrounding countryside
42. Why was there no Celtic empire? They were not unified (didn’t work together)
43. Why does much of Celtic culture remain a mystery? They had no written language
44. to 46. Directions (also know Oceans and Seas)
47. This body of water surrounds Iceland. Atlantic Ocean
48. Which country is also a peninsula? Italy
49. to 56. Are the locations of European Countries.
57. Which continent contains France, Germany, Italy and Spain? Europe
58. What separates the UK and France? English Channel
59. What effects the climate of Europe? Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Drift