Study Guide for Final Exam—7th Grade Social Studies 2016

  1. Know the following vocabulary words:
  2. Irrigation
  3. Nomads
  4. Theocracy
  5. Sharia
  6. Specialization
  7. Tariff

Middle East

  1. What are the holy books for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?
  2. What was the capital city of the Ottoman Empire?
  3. Which countries established mandates in the Middle East after WWI?

What was the purpose of this system?

  1. Why have the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers been sources of conflict for many years? (also know their location)
  2. Where are the most highly populated areas in the Middle East?
  3. Why can political unrest in the Middle East impact countries all over the world?
  4. What is Israel’s major ethnic group?
  5. What is the major ethnic group in the Middle East?
  6. What is the major ethnic group in Iran?
  7. There is usually a direct connection between a high standard of living and a high ______.
  8. When Muhammed died, the followers of Islam disagreed over who should take over religious power. The two arguing groups split and there are now two forms of Islam. Name those two different groups.
  9. Give some of the reasons why the Ottoman Empire fell.
  10. Saudi Arabia’s government is best described as a
  11. Which country in the Middle East gives its citizens the most democratic freedoms?
  12. What is the name for the type of economy where businesses are owned by both individuals AND the government?
  13. What is OPEC and what is its purpose?
  14. What country was created in 1948 when the United Nations divided up Palestine’s land between the Arabs and the Jews?
  15. The Persian Gulf War began in 1991 when Saddam Hussein (dictator of Iraq) invaded what neighboring country?
  16. Know the difference between the following government systems:
  17. Unitary
  18. Federal
  19. Confederation
  20. Know the difference between the role of the citizen in the following government systems:
  21. Democratic
  22. Oligarchic
  23. Autocratic
  24. How is a parliamentary democracy different from a presidential democracy?
  25. What lake in Africa is the source of the Nile River?
  26. Why do some parts of Africa remain underdeveloped? Why did other areas develop quickly?
  27. What is desertification and how is it impacting Northern Africa?
  28. What was the result of the Bantu migration throughout Africa?
  29. What was apartheid in South Africa? How has their government changed today?
  30. What was the main purpose of the Pan-African movement?
  31. Why is the population of the Sahara Desert low?
  32. What is the difference between an ethnic group and a religious group?
  33. What did Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk do for South Africa?
  34. Great diversity in some parts of Africa has led to
  35. Many wars have begun in Africa because of the __ made by the Europeans during colonialism.
  36. What was the purpose of the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885?
  37. Europeans wanted to colonize Africa to gain ____.
  38. South Africa’s independence movements were mainly conflicts between what 3 groups?
  39. Which European power tortured and maimed the people of the Congo for its rubber trade?
  40. What was Social Darwinism?
  41. What is the major physical barrier in the continent of Africa?
  42. What has the Aswan High Dam done for Egypt?
  43. What is Africa’s topography like?
  44. The Arabs are usually found in what region of Africa?
  45. How does a Federal system of government divide power?
  46. What role does government stability have in the fight against AIDS in Africa?
  47. A country that invests in human capital (education and training) usually has a high _____.
  48. How has oil impacted the lives of Nigerians? Does their government “share the wealth?”

Asia

  1. Where do most people in China live?
  2. Know the following vocabulary and where each is usually practiced:
  3. Buddhism
  4. Confucianism
  5. Shinto
  6. Hinduism
  7. Reincarnation
  8. The major belief system in China is _____.
  9. Which river is nicknamed “China’s Sorrow” because of the numerous floods and loss of life?
  10. What are kami and what religion are they associated with?
  11. 80% of Japan’s land consists of ___.
  12. Japan’s climate is largely controlled by ____.
  13. Which country in Asia had the greatest cultural influence on its neighbors?
  14. Who were the samurai?
  15. Which country is “The Subcontinent of Asia?”
  16. Which two Asian nations are archipelagoes?
  17. What are the three great rivers of the Indian Subcontinent?
  18. How does terracing help food production in Southern and Eastern Asia?
  19. What was the name of a social group that identified people according to the occupation of their ancestors in India?
  20. Name some of the struggles facing modern India.
  21. Why was Japan occupied after WWII?
  22. What was the Cultural Revolution?
  23. Why does Korea remain a divided nation?
  24. What was a common force in all Indochina’s independence movements?
  25. Who were the Kamikaze?
  26. In 1949, what political party took over China? What happened in Taiwan at that time?
  27. Why did we enter the Korean War?
  28. Why did we enter the Vietnam War?
  29. What was President Truman’s MAIN reason for firing our commanding general in Korea?
  30. What 2 countries supplied the Communist North with supplies to fight us in Korea?
  31. Which leader proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam?
  32. How did France try to maintain their influence in Indochina?
  33. What was Diem’s rule like in South Vietnam?
  34. Which U.S. president sent the greatest number of troops to Vietnam?
  35. Who were the Viet Cong?
  36. What was the turning point in the Vietnam War when the American people began questioning whether or not we could win?
  37. Who was Mohandas Gandhi?
  38. What was the name of the split/division between India and Pakistan? Why were the separated?
  39. What was the Indian National Congress?