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7th Grade Social Studies
Study Guide 1st Semester Exam
MIDDLE EAST UNIT:
1. Geographically speaking, which country lies between Iraq and Afghanistan? Iran
2. The Suez Canal connects what two major bodies of water? Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea
3. The process of removing salt from salt water in order to make it suitable for farming and drinking is known as…..? desalination
4. Disputes over what natural resources are problematic for many Middle East countries? Fresh water sources
5. Although it has significant oil and natural gas resources, a major international issue surrounding Iran in the first decade of the 21st century has been its attempt to develop….what? nuclear weapons
6. A major environmental issue facing the countries of the Middle East is the pollution of the…?
7. The majority of Saudi Arabia is covered in what landform? desert
8. What non-renewable natural resource has contributed to the growth of the Middle East? Oil
9. Because of its location over some of the world’s largest oil deposits, which nation’s income rose dramatically during the 20th century? Saudi Arabia
10. The climate of the Middle East has led much of the region to experience a scarcity of? water
11. What is shared within an ethnic group? Customs, history, traditions, language, etc.
12. Which religion do most people in Southwest Asia practice? Islam
13. Who make up the largest minority ethnic group in Turkey? Kurds
14. The Islamic religion is divided between the Sunni and __Shia______Muslims.
15. The oldest of the prominent religions of the Middle East is Judaism
16. The Torah, which contains the Mosaic Law, is most often used in which religion? Judaism
17. The Gospels tell the story of what prophet? Jesus
18. What caused the Ottoman Empire to decline? The empire got too large to manage and sided with the Central powers during WWI and were defeated.
19. After which war did the Ottoman Empire officially come to an end? WWI
20. What effects did the collapse of the Ottoman Empire have on its former territories? The territories were divided up by Great Britain and France. Artificial boundaries were drawn and groups were divided
21. Prejudice against Jews ranging from apathy to extreme hatred and persecution is called __anti-semitism____.
22. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is most likely related to the territory formally known as Palestine was “given” to Israel due to their suffering during WWII.
23. Which Middle Eastern city is holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims? Jerusalem
24. Which ethnic groups would most likely practice Islam? Arab
25. What are the Five Pillars of Islam? Five basic obligations that Muslims are supposed to do in their lifetime.
26. What was the result of the Persian Gulf War? Iraqi forces were defeated
27. Which war was caused by a dispute over oil? Persian Gulf War
28. Which event marked the end of the Ottoman Empire? WWI
29. Gabriel, the Messenger, is recognized in which religion(s). Christianity
30. The mass imprisonment and slaughter of over six million European Jews during WWII is known as the___Holocaust_____
31. Who is Osama bin Laden? Considered the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks on U.S. soil. He is also the leader of the terrorist group Al Qaeda.
32. Describe Operation Iraqi Freedom?
33. What is a monarchy? a form of government with a monarch(king/queen) at the head of state.
34. What form of government does Israel have? Parliamentary democracy
35. What is a theocracy? a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.
36. What form of government does Saudi Arabia have? Monarchy
37. What’s the difference between a confederation and a unitary form of government? The major difference between a unitary government and a confederation is that a unitary form of government is one where a central government controls the state and local government and a confederation is where states have complete control of themselves.
38. What does democracy mean? A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
39. What form of government does Iraq have? It is a parliamentary democracy which uses a federal system of government. (named Republic of Iraq)
Government:
Review the ways that government systems distribute their power and write down who holds the power in each of them.
Unitary – Power is held by one central authority.
Confederation – Power is shared by an alliance of independent states (or countries)
Federal – Power is shared by a powerful central government and the state or local governments.
Review the ways governments determine citizen participation and write down how citizens participate in each of them.
Autocratic – Citizens cannot participate in the selection of the ruler or vote on the country’s laws
Oligarchic – Ruled by a small group of people. Citizens do not select the members of this group or vote on the country’s laws. (the group gets their power from either military force, religion, or wealth & resources)
Democratic – Citizens hold the power; all citizens have the opportunity to vote for leaders and laws.
What are the main differences between a parliamentary and presidential democracy?
Parliamentary Democracy:
What is the title of the person who is head of government? Prime Minister; Head of State
Presidential Democracy:
What is the title of the person who is head of government? President; Head of State
**Know the impact of oil on: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Israel**
Saudi Arabia – Number 1 oil producer in the ME
Iran – 2nd largest oil producer in the ME….most of the profits from oil go to the build-up military.
Israel – relies mainly on technology; not a major oil producer
Economic Systems
Traditional – Traditions, customs, and beliefs shape what goods and services should be produced.
Command – Government makes all economic decisions.
Market – Private businesses and individuals make all economic decisions.
Most economies in the world are __Mixed______
Make sure you define and have a thorough understanding of the following terms:
a. Quota
b. Embargo
c. Currency Exchange
d. GDP
e. GDP per Capita
f. Literacy Rate
g. Tariff
h. Specialization
i. currency exchange
AFRICA UNIT:
African Geography:
1. What is the longest river in the world? Nile
2. What is the largest lake in Africa? Lake Victoria
3. What is the largest desert in Africa? Sahara
4. What is the Sahel and what is happening to it? An area south of the Sahara and it is slowly turning into desert
5. What factors led to this problem in the Sahel? Over-grazing, bad farming practices, and drought
6. What threatens the extinction of African rainforests? Commercial logging
7. How did the Aswan Dam impact farming and water supplies? It has allowed Egypt to have year-round irrigation so farmers can grow three crops a rather than one. Farmers no longer depend on an annual flood to bring water to their fields.
8. What impact has pollution had on Africa’s water supply? Heavily contaminated by human and industrial waste
9. What is the Green line? The place where cultivated land ends and desert begins.
10. What mountain range is located in northern Africa? Atlas Mountains
11. What is Africa’s transition zone between desert and rainforest? savanna
12. What is the longest and second deepest lake in the world? Lake Victoria
13. What is the definition of “deforestation”? destruction/cutting down/removal of trees
14. Since the late 1900’s, the Sahel region has faced problems from: increasing desertification
15. Where do most of Egypt’s people live? In the Nile River Valley
16. What makes up a large portion of Nigeria’s potential wealth? Oil
17. What is “desertification”? the process of desert expanding into areas formally that had been farmland
18. What is a problem facing those that depend on the Nile for water? Heavily contaminated by human and industrial wastes
19. Why is farming difficult in the Sahel? Little to no rain falls in this region
20. What is an ethnic group? People who share language and culture
21. What is a religious group? People who share a belief in the same god(s)
22. Africa’s two main religious groups are: Christianity and Islam
23. What religion did Arabs bring to Africa? Islam
24. Most African languages can be traced to which ethnic group? Bantu
25. Why are so many different languages spoken in Western Africa? Because each ethnic group speaks a separate language
26. In which country do most Ashanti live? Ghana
27. About how many people in Africa are part of Bantu culture? Over 60 million
28. The Swahili language is a mixture of Bantu and ___Swahili______.
29. Where are the majority of the Swahili people found? East Africa
African History:
1. Why did Europeans first take an interest in the African continent? They were involved in the slave trade
2. Why did Europeans set up colonies in Africa? They need raw materials found in Africa
3. The European division of Africa caused: Tribal conflicts, civil war, desire for independence
4. A strong belief in one’s country is called: Nationalism
5. In 1963, Kenya gained independence from: Great Britain
6. What is the apartheid system? Separated blacks and whites in South Africa
7. Apartheid separated blacks and whites in which African country: South Africa
8. This man was arrested and imprisoned for resisting apartheid: Nelson Mandela
9. Besides Nelson Mandela, who helped end apartheid? F. W. de Klerk
10. The main goal of the Pan-African movement was to: unite African to work together to solve Africa’s problems
African Governments:
1. Which type of government allows for citizens to have greatest political influence? Direct democracy
2. In an autocratic government, freedom of speech usually: censored and controlled by the government
3. Which system of government do states, cities, and counties have the least political power? Unitary
4. Which type of government does the central government and state governments share power? Federal System
5. A system of government where power is not shared between the strong central government and state governments is: Unitary system
6. The type of government where power rests with a small group is: Oligarchy
7. Two forms of democratic governments are parliamentary and: presidential
8. What type of government does Kenya have? Unitary
9. In which type of government are citizens most likely to choose their leader? Democracy
10. In Kenya, the president is both the chief executive and the head of state. What type of democracy is this? Presidential Democracy
11. Which type of government would abolish opposing political parties, election of leaders, and freedom of speech? Dictatorship
12. If Kenya and the US are both presidential democracies, how do they determine their leaders? The citizens directly vote on the leaders in both countries
13. This system of government is a loose alliance where local governments hold the power: Confederation
14. Small group holds the power: Oligarchy
15. Directly voting for president: Presidential Democracy
16. Legislative branch elects prime minister: Parliamentary democracy
17. How is the president of South Africa chosen? He is elected by the county’s people
18. Power is shared between states and national government: Federal
19. No separation of power between executive & legislative branch; citizen’s vote for legislature and legislature elects head of government: Parliamentary Democracy
Vocabulary Words to know:
subsistence farming / irrigation / drought / nomads / aridsemi-arid / oasis / sub-Saharan Africa / imperialism / apartheid
nationalism / partition / assimilation / famine / literacy rate
Arab / Ashanti / Bantu / Swahili / Kurds
Arabs / Persians / OPEC / republic / assimilation