Sample Test Questions


First, a message regarding my testing philosophy...

I am most interested in what students can do with the knowledge and skills they have gained in my classess. Consequently, not many of my test questions emphasize low-level, rote-memorization types of responses. Instead, many questions ask students to apply what they have learned in class. Many students find this frustrating, but I am providing some sample questions here so you can gain a sense of what I expect.
Now, a few questions. Check this site for updates and more specific information as we get closer to each test.

1. Which of these statements does not explain why geographers study regions?

a) Regions can be used as examples to illustrate generalizations and principles.
b) Regions are always unique and unlike other areas of Earth, therefore need to be studied intensively to be understood.
c) Regions can serve as analogies to other places and help us to understand what other places are like.
d) Studying regions help humans make sense of complex areas of the world which other wise might be incomprehensible.

See Topic 1

Correct answer: B


Comment: Note here that the secret is the word NOT. If you know why geographers study regions, a topic which we will address in class, you will be able to identify the "outlier."

2. Which of these statements explains why several climate regions of Texas exhibit two peak periods of precipitation, one in late spring (April/May) and one in early fall (September/Oct.)?

a) orographic features produce spring/fall rain spikes
b) frontal clashes of cold Arctic air and warm Gulf air
c) these seasons see the most frequent and damaging hurricanes
d) all of these
e) none of these

 
See Topic 2

Correct answer: B

Comment: Here you see one of my favorite devices, "all" vs "none" as options. This makes your ability to distinguish between the correct and incorrect answers more challenging and less like a guessing game.

Here is another:

3. Agriculture in Texas

a) is the single largest employer in the state providing jobs to 35% of all Texans
b) produces more than 50% of the state gross product
c) is the nation's leading agricultural producer
d) Statements A, B, and C are all true
e) Statements A, B, and C are not true

 

Correct answer: E


The other form of that type of question is like this:

4) Organic cotton, wineries, aquaculture, and the development of Texas-specific nursery products are all

a) examples of agriculture which have declined in Texas
b) examples of attempts to diversify Texas agriculture
c) agricultural activities which have expanded in the last decade
d) Statements A & B are true
e) Statements B & C are true

Correct answer: E

 
See Topic 7

It all comes down to reading carefully and knowing the material well.

I commonly include maps, graphs, and charts to be interpreted on tests. These are generally items which I have used in class, although on some occassions I will take numbers and place them in a graphic format for you to interpret. Be prepared to know both big ideas and generalizations, and the specific information/facts which undergird the concepts.
Some of the questions will come from Jordan, the textbook. I will usually identify a question as coming from there, for example:

5. The political culture regions identified by Jordan

a) were clearly reflected in the election results in Nov 1996
b) are significant in explaining voting behavior in Texas today
c) may have little significance in explaining voting behavior in contemporary Texas
d) reflect voting behavior in Texas in the 1960s and 1970s but not the 1940s and 1950s

Correct answer: C

Here are some additional practice questions, mainly from Jordan.

6. According to Jordan, the vote for secession from the Union, the vote for women's suffrage, for the Equal Right s Amendment to the Constitution and Prohibition all reflect

a) that sectionalism is the rule in Texas politics.
b) that Democrats voted the party line and showed support for the platform of the Democratic Party by doing so.
c) that the political beliefs of Texas are uniform throughout the state.
d) Statements A&B are true.
e) Statements B&C are true.

Correct answer: A

7. The economy of Texas has undergone rapid change in the last two decades. Which statement best summarizes these changes?

a) The economy of Texas has inflated and grown because of the health of the oil and gas market.
b) The economy of Terxas has become less like that of the United States and more like that of its global competitors.
c) The economy of Texas has shifted from being grounded in the production of goods to being grounded more in the service sector of the economy.
d) The economy of Texas has become more dependent on its natural resources and less dependent on its human resources.

Correct answer: C

8. Jordan characterizes Texas

a) as a state with fundamental spatial contrasts of land and culture.
b) as a border province between Anglo and Latin America, the Bible Belt and Roman Catholicism, and other regions.
c) as one unified cultural region.
d) A and B
e) B and C

Correct answer: D

9. According to our text

a) Texas is geographically diverse; the majority of Texans identify more closely with some portions of the state than with Texas as a whole.
b) Texas is geographically unified; the majority of Texans identify with the entire state as a single region.
c) Texans have a well developed sense of vernacular and perceptual regions and accurately place themselves in widely acknowledged sub-regions.

Correct answer: see Chapter 12, page 280

10. The period 1861 to 1900 can be characterized as

a) a period of economic integration with the rest of the United States.
b) a time when the frontier in Texas remained unsettled and West Texas remained a unique identity.
c) a period of slow population growth from immigration.
d) All of the above.
e) None of the above.

Correct answer: A

11. Spanish and English are the two languages spoken by most people in Texas. What was the third most common mother tongue according to Jordan in 1970-- and today according to the U.S. Census?

a) Chinese
b) German
c) Vietnamese
d) Czech

Correct answer: see page 101

12. The regional economies of Texas

a) share uniform characteristics in terms of the nature of their workforce
b) are driven by different growth factors
c) show differentiation in terms of their industrial bases and infrastructure
d) all of these statements are true
e) only statements B&C are true

Correct answer: E

Study Hints for Test 2

Chapters 5, 6, 9, 1, 12, 7, 8, 10, 11

Activities 3 and 4

Readings: Deep East Texas, Cumulative Voting, Spanglish

Web-based self-learning site on Urban Geography of Texas

Chapter 5: Language, place names, no "mott."

Chapter 6: Religion, regions and characteristics

Chapter 9: read it all, think about the house types

Chapter 1: what is the essential geographic question?

Chapter 12: diversity of regions, perception

Chapter 7: Seven things to remember, political culture regions, then and now, changes in voting patterns

Chapters 8 and 11: regional patterns, role and characteristics of agriculture in Texas, von Thunen's theory on agricultural location, changes and patterns in the Texas economy, characteristics of regional economies (see ARGOT), general economic theories (Location, Location, Location, pp240-1)

Notes since last test, especially regions of Texas at different periods of time

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