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Descriptive Statements:
- Apply the five fundamental geographic themes of location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the six essential elements of geography, including the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, and the uses of geography.
- Apply basic geographic terms and concepts such as habitat, ecology, interdependence, assimilation, demographic cycle, complementarity, cultural convergence, and cultural diffusion.
- Recognize basic characteristics of maps and globes, including keys and legends; scale; latitude and longitude; and the advantages and disadvantages of maps, globes, and standard map projections.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics and uses of various geographic reference sources, tools, and technologies, including atlases, almanacs, gazetteers, encyclopedias, satellite images, geographic information systems, global positioning systems, and computer databases.
- Interpret geographic information presented in various visual formats, including maps, charts, tables, population pyramids, and images.
- Apply skills and procedures used in geographic research, including formulating appropriate research questions, collecting and presenting information, identifying main ideas, analyzing cause-and-effect relationships, distinguishing between fact and opinion, determining the adequacy and relevance of information, and drawing conclusions.
Sample Item:
A third-century statue of the Indian prince Siddhartha reveals a mixture of artistic styles.
The curly hair, stocky physique, and deeply carved drapery of his robe are elements of Greek artistic tradition.
The nimbus of light around the figure's head is an element that originated in Iranian statues of sun gods.
The facial expression is typical of Indian mysticism. Carved in Pakistan, the crossroads of Eurasian travel
routes, the statue combines artistic ideas from several of the cultures that met there to trade.
The blending of artistic styles in this statue is an example of the process of cultural:
- innovation.
- convergence.
- assimilation.
- diffusion.
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
D. This question requires the examinee to apply basic geographic terms and concepts. Cultural diffusion is the process by which cultural traits, practices, or products spread from an area of origin over space or through time.
Descriptive Statements:
- Locate major landmasses, significant landforms, and important bodies of water in various parts of the world on maps of different types and scales.
- Recognize various types of physical features such as gulfs, deltas, capes, isthmuses, peninsulas, and archipelagoes.
- Demonstrate knowledge of national boundaries and the geopolitical factors that influence them.
- Recognize the principal elements of climate, global and regional climatic patterns, and the processes that influence weather.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the ways in which internal and external processes (e.g., tectonic movement, volcanism, glaciation, erosion, deposition) shape the physical features of the earth.
- Recognize the location, distribution, and uses of natural resources in the United States and the world and the influence of natural resources and ecosystems on human populations.
- Analyze the effects of physical factors such as climate, topography, ecology, and location on population distribution, livelihood, industry, agriculture, and transportation.
- Analyze ways in which human societies modify the physical environment and adapt to environmental change, including agricultural activities, industrialization, urbanization, armed conflicts, conservation initiatives, and programs for resource use and management.
- Examine the causes and effects of current environmental problems, including global warming, tropical deforestation, decline of fish stocks, desertification, acid rain, waste disposal, and reduced quality and availability of water; and the role of technological innovation and development in the creation and solution of environmental problems.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how geographic factors have influenced historical events and developments.
Sample Item:
Which of the following best explains why northwestern Europe experiences a significantly warmer climate than
regions of western Russia at the same latitude?
- Prevailing wind patterns from the Arctic are more common in western Russia.
- The North Sea moderates temperatures in northwestern Europe.
- The Ural Mountains create a significant barrier trapping cold air in western Russia.
- Annual precipitation levels are higher on average in northwestern Europe.
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
B. This question requires the examinee to recognize major global and regional climatic
patterns. The North Atlantic Drift, a warm ocean current that is an extension of the Gulf Stream, keeps
northern European coastal areas ice-free in winter and moderates the climates of regional land areas.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics of major cultural groups associated with particular world regions, including language, clothing, habitation, ethnic homogeneity or diversity, government, food, patterns of livelihood, art and literature, and how places serve as cultural symbols.
- Examine the establishment of human settlements and how their organization and functions have changed over time.
- Examine world population patterns and trends, including world and regional population distribution; the demographic structure of particular places and regions; and the economic, environmental, and cultural reasons for demographic change.
- Analyze the causes and effects of historical and contemporary migrations of human populations, including push and pull factors and the diffusion of ideas, beliefs, and cultural traits from one culture to another.
- Examine categories, patterns, and networks of economic activity in human societies.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the roles and functions of social institutions such as the family, education, religion, and government, including cultural transmission, social integration, personal development, social control, and the promotion of innovation.
- Analyze how the forces of cooperation and conflict, including political and cultural divisions within and between places, regions, and major international organizations, influence the division and control of the earth and its resources.
Sample Item:
Compared with countries in southern Asia, European countries are more likely to have populations that are:
- evenly distributed across urban and rural regions.
- concentrated in urban areas.
- densely settled in river valleys and low-lying plains.
- concentrated in coastal regions.
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
B. This question requires the examinee to examine historical and contemporary patterns of
human settlement. Whereas about three of every four Europeans lived in urban areas during the early
twenty-first century, levels of urbanization in southern Asia varied from 23 percent in Bangladesh to 34 percent
in Pakistan to 67 percent in India.
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