Social Studies - If the tax rate for a single person with $25,000 in taxable income is 24 percent,

If the tax rate for a single person with $25,000 in taxable income is 24 percent, and the tax rate for a single person with $20,000 in taxable income is 20 percent, the tax rate over this income range is 

(A) regressive 

(B) progressive 

(C) proportional 

(D) revenue-neutral

Answer: 

Option (B) is correct. 

A progressive tax rate is one in which the tax rate increases as income rises. In this example, someone earning $25,000 a year is taxed at a higher rate than someone earning a lower income; thus, the tax rate is progressive.

Social Studies - The map above shows which of the following to be true about precipitation in China?

The map above shows which of the following to be true about precipitation in China? 

(A) The north receives more precipitation than the south. 

(B) The driest region is the northeast. 

(C) The southeast receives the most precipitation. 

(D) The west receives more precipitation than the east.

Answer: 

Option (C) is correct. 

The map shows that the greatest amount of precipitation (1,500 millimeters on average) is in southeast China, compared to other areas that receive far less precipitation (less than 500 millimeters on average).

Social Studies - According to Erik Erikson, the primary dilemma faced in adolescence is

According to Erik Erikson, the primary dilemma faced in adolescence is 

(A) industry vs. inferiority 

(B) identity vs. identity confusion 

(C) generativity vs. stagnation 

(D) integrity vs. despair

Answer:

Option (B) is correct. 

Erikson stated that an adolescent needs to integrate previous experiences in order to develop a sense of “ego identity.”

Social Studies - A geographer beginning a study of the cultural landscape within a specific region

A geographer beginning a study of the cultural landscape within a specific region would most likely benefit from which of the following activities? 

(A) Describing and mapping the building types on a plat map 

(B) Determining how many cars travel along the highway system 

(C) Establishing the percentage of adults with a college education 

(D) Graphing and analyzing economic data for the past century

Answer: 

Option (A) is correct. 

A key component of the cultural landscape is building types. These are easily plotted on maps for spatial analysis and determination of cultural influences on the landscape. 

Social Studies - With which of the following statements would both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke

With which of the following statements would both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke most probably have agreed? 

(A) Government authority is created as the result of a social contract. 

(B) Government must enforce religious law to prevent moral decay. 

(C) Government must enforce the majority’s will regardless of the wishes of the minority. 

(D) Government must bend to the will of the educated minority.

Answer: 

Option (A) is correct. 

Hobbes and Locke both agreed that government authority was established through a social contract, although their views of the nature of that authority differed.

Social Studies - The term “Cold War” refers to the

The term “Cold War” refers to the 

(A) race between the United States and the Soviet Union to claim ownership of Antarctica 

(B) contest between the United States and the European Union for economic domination in the West 

(C) struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union to gain political hegemony in world affairs 

(D) competition between the Soviet Union and China for the resources of the Pacific Rim

Answer: 

Option (C) is correct. 

The term “Cold War” is used to describe the tense relationship that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union in the years immediately following the Second World War. During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union sought to extend their economic, diplomatic, and, at times, military influence in many parts of the world. Beginning in the late 1980s, dramatic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe led to a reduction in U.S.–Soviet tension and the end of the Cold War.

Social Studies - In which of the following fields did Islamic civilization most influence Europeans at the time of the Crusades?

In which of the following fields did Islamic civilization most influence Europeans at the time of the Crusades? 

(A) Music 

(B) Theology 

(C) Mathematics 

(D) Law

Answer: 

Option (C) is correct. 

At the time of the Crusades, when contact increased between Europe and the Islamic world, Islamic mathematicians were using sophisticated mathematical tools and concepts (algebra, zero, Arabic numerals) that were unfamiliar to Europeans. In the twelfth century, European scholars became more aware of and interested in the contributions of Islamic mathematicians, and they made this knowledge available to the West in Latin translations.

Social Studies - The legal basis for the escalation of United States involvement in the Vietnam War was the

The legal basis for the escalation of United States involvement in the Vietnam War was the 

(A) declaration of war by Congress 

(B) passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution by Congress 

(C) United Nations resolution condemning the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam 

(D) mutual defense provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Answer: 

Option (B) is correct. 

There was no declaration of war by Congress. However, Congress did pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which authorized the president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.”

Social Studies - President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared free only those slaves who

President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared free only those slaves who 

(A) were living in the areas still in rebellion 

(B) were serving in the Union armies 

(C) were living in the border states 

(D) had escaped to Northern states

Answer: 

Option (A) is correct. 

The Emancipation Proclamation freed only those slaves who were living in the states or parts of states still in rebellion. Lincoln feared that complete emancipation would cost the Union the loyalty of the border states (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware), slave states that remained loyal to the Union. Moreover, President Abraham Lincoln did not believe he had the constitutional authority to declare free those slaves living in areas loyal to the Union.

Social Studies - The construction of a transportation network that included roads, canals, and steamboats

The construction of a transportation network that included roads, canals, and steamboats that took shape in the United States in the early decades of the nineteenth century had which of the following effects in the years before the Civil War? 

(A) It decreased the need for immigrant labor. 

(B) It stimulated the development of a market revolution. 

(C) It weakened the plantation system in the southern states. 

(D) It transformed the United States into an international military power.

Answer: 

Option (B) is correct. 

By 1850, the United States had put in place a transportation network based on roads, canals, and steamboats. This network enabled factories and farms to get their goods to market much more efficiently and cheaply. Economic expansion increased the demand for immigrant labor; the plantation economy was also strengthened. The nation did not, however, become an international military power during this period.

Social Studies - The map above best illustrates which of the following aspects about the unification of Germany

The map above best illustrates which of the following aspects about the unification of Germany between 1866 and 1871 ? 

(A) It was achieved through a combination of diplomatic and military means. 

(B) It was led by the government of German-speaking Austria. 

(C) The states that became part of unified Germany in 1871 had previously been allies of Austria. 

(D) Prussians could vote for Parliament in the unified German state, but Germans from other states could not.

Answer: 

Option (A) is correct. 

The map shows that some German states joined the North German Confederation, and others joined the German Empire, on their own accord, while other German states were annexed by Prussia as a result of military victories (in the PrussianAustrian War of 1866 and in the Franco- Prussian War of 1870–1871). The southern states that joined the Empire in 1871 (Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, and Hesse-Darmstadt) had previously been allies of Austria (in the Prussian-Austrian war of 1866), but that is not reflected in the map.

Social Studies - Which of the following groups was converted to Christianity in the tenth century C.E.

Which of the following groups was converted to Christianity in the tenth century C.E. by missionaries from the Byzantine Empire? 

(A) Franks 

(B) Visigoths 

(C) Russians 

(D) Anglo-Saxons

Answer: 

Option (C) is correct. 

The Russian Grand Prince of Kiev, Vladimir I, converted to Christianity in 988 C.E. and ordered the conversion of his subjects in the Byzantine (Greek Orthodox) rite. The Franks were converted by papal emissaries from Rome. The Visigoths began converting to Christianity as they came in contact with the Roman Empire. AngloSaxons were converted in part by Celtic Irish and Scottish missionaries and in part by Augustine of Canterbury, a missionary appointed by Pope Gregory the Great.

Social Studies - Which of the following statements reflects the Confucian worldview that figured prominently in classical Chinese culture?

Which of the following statements reflects the Confucian worldview that figured prominently in classical Chinese culture? 

(A) Having faith in God will be rewarded in the afterlife. 

(B) Life’s ultimate goal is to escape the suffering inherent in the endless cycle of death and reincarnation. 

(C) A life of quiet contemplation and isolation from worldly temptations will result in selfperfection. 

(D) Observing rules of proper behavior toward others will ensure social and political harmony.

Answer: 

Option (B) is correct. 

By 1850, the United States had put in place a transportation network based on roads, canals, and steamboats. This network enabled factories and farms to get their goods to market much more efficiently and cheaply. Economic expansion increased the demand for immigrant labor; the plantation economy was also strengthened. The nation did not, however, become an international military power during this period.

Social Studies - During President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration in the 1950s, the federal government

During President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration in the 1950s, the federal government promoted significant changes in transportation in the United States by 

(A) establishing generous subsidies for urban mass transit 

(B) sponsoring research to develop less polluting automobiles 

(C) funding the construction of the interstate highway system 

(D) funding the establishment of a national railroad passenger system

Answer: 

Option (C) is correct. 

The construction of the interstate highway system was a major federal initiative of the 1950s, funded by an act of Congress in 1956. The federal government did not spend substantial amounts of money on research related to automobile pollution control, urban mass transit, or a national railroad system during this period.