The GED Social Studies Exam - Geography

T
HE GEOGRAPHY SECTION
of the GED will cover many areas, including topography (landforms), climate,
culture, and population distribution. This section will also test your ability to use and understand maps.
Many questions will use a photograph, map, chart, table, or other source to present material.
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Physical Geography
Physical geography studies the features of the Earth’s surface. This branch of geography looks at climate, plant
and animal life, bodies of water, and landforms. Maps are the most important tool of geography. Topographical
maps give details about land. They show different elevations above and below sea level. Globes and world maps
show oceans, seas, and the seven continents of the planet.
CHAPTER
Geography
IN THE geography section of the GED, you will be asked to answer
questions relating to both physical geography (the features of the
Earth’s surface) and cultural geography (the way humans relate to their
physical environment).
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Reading and Understanding Maps
Intersecting lines that form a grid help locate specific
areas on a world map. Lines of latitude run parallel to the
equator, an imaginary line that runs east and west. The
equator is at 0° latitude. It divides the globe into two
halves, called the northern and southern hemispheres.
Lines of longitude run parallel to the prime meridian, an
imaginary that runs north and south through Green-
wich, England. The prime meridian is at 0° longitude. It
divides the globe into two halves, called the eastern and
western hemispheres. To find a specific location on the
globe, look for the point where its latitude and longitude

intersect. For example, you can find the western portion
of Brazil if you are given its coordinates as 45° west lon-
gitude and 10° south latitude.
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Climate
Climate describes the atmosphere of a region over a long
period of time. It includes rainfall, humidity, wind, and
other elements. A region’s climate is most affected by its
latitude. Broad areas, called climatic zones, lie along lati-
tudinal lines between the equator and the north and
south pole. The tropical zone includes all land and water
that falls between two imaginary lines called the Tropic of
Cancer (23.5 north latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn
(23.5 south latitude). The tropics—hot, wet, with little
seasonal change—contain the world’s largest rainforests.
It also contains savanna and desert climates. Much of
Africa, Central America, the Caribbean, South America,
Southeast Asia, and India are part of the tropical zone.
The temperate zones lie between the tropics and the
polar circles. They are characterized by four seasons, usu-
ally a hot summer, cold winter, and intermediate spring
and fall. Much of North America, Europe, Russia,
China, and the Middle East are found in the northern
temperate zone. Australia and the southern part of South
America fall within the southern temperate zone. The
polar or arctic zones are the areas near the north and
south pole. This zone is characterized by long, cold win-
ters and short, cool summers. The Arctic Circle marks the
region near the north pole and the Antarctic Circle marks
the area surrounding the south pole.

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Cultural Geography
Cultural geography explores the relationship between
humans and their natural environment. It looks at how
people both adapt to and transform their physical sur-
roundings to suit their needs. Many aspects of culture—
a shared way of living among a group of people that
develops over time—are influenced by environment.
Geographers study the belief systems, language, food,
architecture, and clothing of particular regions.
They also study population—the size, makeup, and
distribution of people in a given area over a period of
time. This field, called demography, looks at changes in
population through birth rate, death rate, and migration
from one place to another. One major factor affecting
where people live is a region’s type of economy. In areas
that depend on agriculture for their economy, people
generally live in rural areas. In places with an industrial
economy, urban areas become major population centers.
In 1950, 29% of the world’s population lived in urban
areas. In 1990, this figure increased to 43%.
Today, more than half the world’s population—an
estimated 6.2 billion—lives in Asia, with China and India
as major contributors. The United States, the third most
populous country in the world, makes up less than 5% of
the global total.
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GEOGRAPHY
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Source: Data from U.S. Census Bureau, International Data
Base.
The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the world pop-
ulation will reach over nine billion people by 2050, with
most of the population increase occurring in less devel-
oped countries.
E
XERCISE
10
Use the pie graph and paragraph about world popula-
tion distribution to answer the following question. The
answer is on page 169.
1. Which of the following is a statement of fact
rather than opinion?
a. The Chinese government should continue its
“one child-one family” policy to curtail its
population growth.
b. The world population will exceed nine billion
people by 2050.
c. Three out of five persons on Earth today live
in Asia.
d. The U.S. population will decline in the next
century because it is too expensive to live here.
e. Population growth should be a top concern
for all nations.
Remaining
Asia
23%
Africa
14%

Latin America
and Caribbean
8%
Europe
12%
China
20.5%
India
17%
North America
5%
Oceania 0.5%
Distribution of
World Population 2002
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O
N THE
S
OCIAL
Studies Exam, you will read short passages, varying in length from 50 to 170
words, and then answer a multiple-choice question or set of questions concerning the passage.
Reading passages may be taken from a number of sources, often drawn from a workplace or aca-
demic context. The test uses both primary sources, such as firsthand historical or practical documents, and sec-
ondary sources, such as excerpts from editorials, news articles, or news magazines.
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Be an Active Reader

When you read social studies material, you use a similar set of skills as you do when you read other kinds of text.
Reading is an active exercise in which you interact with the text, paying close to attention to the key thoughts and
details of a passage. Try skimming a passage first so that you can discern its organization and get clues about its
main ideas. If you read at a slow pace initially, you may lose the overall idea in too many details. Look to see if a
reading excerpt is broken into sections, if there are any helpful topic headings, and what key terms are boldfaced
or highlighted. After you finish skimming, go back and read more closely. This time ask yourself questions as you
read to help you better understand and recall the passage: What is the main point of the text? How did the author
support his or her point? As you read, consider making quick notes on a separate piece of paper to help you high-
light important words or ideas.
CHAPTER
Tips and
Strategies for
the GED Social
Studies Exam
YOU HAVE reviewed what you need to know for the Social Stud-
ies Exam. Now you will learn some specific tips and strategies to use
on the exam.
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Where Is the Main Idea?
To show that you understand the concepts presented in
social studies material, the test will sometimes ask you to
find the main idea of a passage. A main idea is a general
statement that contains all the ideas within a passage. It
is an author’s main point.
To locate a main idea, carefully read the topic sentence
of the passage. The first sentence may contain the overall
idea that an author wishes to express. However, some-
times an author may build up to his or her point, in

which case you may find the main idea in the last sentence
of the introductory paragraph or even the last sentence of
the entire passage. Students often confuse the topic or sub-
ject of a passage—that is, what the passage is about—with
the main idea. The main idea is what the author intends
to say about the subject. For example, read the following
paragraph:
The fertile black soil of the Nile River Valley in
northeastern Africa gave rise to the agriculture-
based society of ancient Egypt. For more than
3,000 years beginning as early as 5,000
B
.
C
., this
civilization flourished. Its cultural contributions
include basic concepts of arithmetic and geome-
try, a calendar, jewelry, pottery, statues, the pyra-
mids at Giza, underground burial chambers,
and the mummification process. The Egyptian
script, called hieroglyphics, is a form of writing
based on pictures. The Rosetta Stone, a granite
slab inscribed in 196
B
.
C
. with three identical
texts—two in hieroglyphic languages and one in
ancient Greek—aided scholars in deciphering
hieroglyphics.

Note that a statement might be too general to best
describe the main idea of a passage. For example, look at
the following choices. Which best describes the main
idea of the selection?
a. Early civilizations often developed near a
water source.
b. Before deciphering the Rosetta Stone, scholars
could not read Egyptian hieroglyphics.
c. Ancient Egypt was a sophisticated civilization
that made many contributions to human
culture.
d. The most important Egyptian contribution
was a written script called hieroglyphics.
e. Scholars have found similarities between
heiroglyphics and ancient Greek.
Although choice a is a true statement, it is too general
to express the main idea of the paragraph. Choice b is
also a true statement but is too specific to describe the
passage’s main idea. Choice d is an opinion that is not
supported by the details of the passage. Choice e is not
supported by the passage. Choice c best describes the
paragraph’s main idea.
To practice finding the main idea, ask yourself some of
the following questions when you read:
■
What is this passage about?
■
What is the author’s purpose?
■
If you were asked to choose a headline or title for

the passage, what would you choose?
■
Which sentence contains all the ideas expressed
in the passage?
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Finding Supporting Ideas
After you have highlighted the main idea of a passage, the
next step is to find the details or facts that an author has
provided to support his or her main position. While a
main idea is a general statement, a supporting idea is spe-
cific information. For example, read the next paragraph
from a U.S. Census Bureau report:
The growth of human population has been, is
now, and in the future will be almost entirely
determined in the world’s less developed coun-
tries (LDCs). Ninety-nine percent of global nat-
ural increase—the difference between numbers
of births and numbers of deaths—now occurs
in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, and
Latin America.
The topic of this paragraph is world population. The
main idea of the passage is what the writer is saying about
world population. In this case, the first sentence
expresses the main idea: The growth of human population
has been, is now, and in the future will be almost entirely
determined in the world’s less developed countries (LDCs).
The next sentence offers specific information that
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supports the main idea. It offers a specific fact in the
form of a statistic (ninety-nine percent of global natural
increase) and gives details about which areas of the world
the passage is talking about (developing regions of Africa,
Asia, and Latin America).
These words and phrases are often used to introduce
a detail or idea that supports an author’s position:
for example for instance
one reason is in one case
in particular specifically
To practice locating supporting ideas while you read,
skim the text and look for the following:
■
examples that bolster the main idea
■
contrasting arguments that clarify the author’s
point
■
arguments for the author’s position
■
details that answer what, when, where, why,
or how
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Restating Information
The GED Social Studies Test will ask you to answer ques-
tions based on details supplied in a passage. However, the
answer choices will not present the details in the same
words—they may restate the information in different
terms. To strengthen your critical thinking skills, when

you are reading, pause and think about what the mate-
rial is stating. Then try putting it in your own words.
This will help you better understand reading material
and increase your ability to recognize the same material
even if it is written in new terms. For example, read the
following passage:
The North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) is an agreement between Canada,
Mexico, and the United States to remove tariffs
and trade barriers from goods made and sold in
the continent. Before the pact was approved in
1993, lawmakers and special-interest groups
fiercely debated the issue. Labor groups believed
that NAFTA would make it easier for U.S. busi-
nesses to move their production plants to Mex-
ico to take advantage of cheap labor.
Environmental groups opposed NAFTA because
they felt that pollution regulations would be
more difficult to enforce.
Think about how you would rephrase this informa-
tion in your own words. Now answer the practice
question.
According to the information in the paragraph, which
of the following is true?
a. Supporters of NAFTA were not challenged.
b. Opponents of NAFTA wanted to keep duties
and other tariffs on U.S. goods shipped to
Mexico.
c. Labor groups were afraid that U.S. jobs would
be lost.

d. Canada and the United States never approved
NAFTA.
e. Labor groups believe it is cheaper to produce
goods in the United States.
Choice c is correct. It restates the following sentence
from the passage: “Labor groups believed that NAFTA
would make it easier for U.S. businesses to move their
plants to Mexico to take advantage of cheap labor.”
Choices a and d are incorrect statements. Choice b may
be true, but it is not mentioned in the paragraph.
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Making Inferences
While restating information tests your ability to know
what a text says, making inferences about a passage
demonstrates your ability to know what a text means.
Sometimes, an author may not explicitly state his or her
main idea or offer a conclusion. You must infer the
author’s meaning. Being able to make inferences is an
important critical thinking skill. To figure out an
unstated idea or conclusion, look at what the author has
stated. Ask yourself these questions:
■
What can I conclude based on the information
provided?
■
What is the author suggesting?
■
What will be the outcome?
■
Would the same outcome occur in another

setting?
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Read the following excerpt from Elizabeth Cady Stan-
ton’s paper, “Self-Government the Best Means of Self-
Development,” which she presented to the U.S. Senate
Committee on Woman Suffrage at a March 7, 1884 hear-
ing. Then answer the practice question.
“They who say that women do not desire the
right of suffrage, that they prefer masculine
domination to self-government, falsify every
page of history, every fact in human experience.
It has taken the whole power of the civil and
canon law to hold woman in the subordinate
position which it is said she willingly accepts.”
What is the author of this passage suggesting?
a. Women do not want the right to vote.
b. Women need to have access to education
before they are allowed the right to vote.
c. Lawmakers and religious leaders have been
coercive in maintaining women’s status as
“second-class” citizens.
d. Women can still be influential citizens with-
out the right to vote.
e. Women willingly accept their subordinate
position.
Statements a, d, and e are incorrect. Elizabeth Cady
Stanton is making a counterargument against the posi-

tion that women do not want the right to vote. Statement
b is not supported by the details given in the passage.
Statement c is the best answer. Stanton uses strong lan-
guage to make her argument for women’s suffrage. She
says that “canon law,” which refers to the laws of the
Christian Church, and “civil law,” which refers to the laws
of the United States, have used their power to keep
women in a “subordinate position.”
Looking for Proof
Just because something is in print does not mean that the
reader must believe it or take it as fact. Most written
material has some bias. Sometimes, a writer’s beliefs may
unknowingly affect how he or she writes about an event.
In other instances, a writer purposefully tries to shape
your reaction and opinion. For example, a writer may
present only one perspective of an event or include only
facts that support his or her position. One crucial think-
ing skill that the GED will measure is your ability to
make judgments about what you read. As you read, you
will need to challenge the author’s assumptions and posi-
tions, tell the difference between fact and opinion, and
look for complete and accurate information.
F
ACT VS
. O
PINION
A fact is a statement that can be verified by a reliable
source. Because all sources have some bias, you must
decide whether you think a source presents accurate,
researched information. Examples of reliable sources of

information may include official government docu-
ments, encyclopedias, or well-documented studies. Here
is an example of a factual statement:
The U.S. population is growing older—in fact,
adults over age 65 are the fastest-growing seg-
ment of today’s population.
This sentence could be supported by the recent national
census.
An opinion is a statement of the beliefs or feelings of
a person or group. It cannot be proven by a reliable
source. An opinion is a judgment that may or may not
be true. It includes predictions of the future because it
cannot be proven at the current time. The following sen-
tence represents an opinion:
Many believe that the population boom among
elderly Americans will create a future health-
care crisis.
Note that this statement is attributed to a source
(“many”) that is unknown and therefore cannot be ver-
ified. It also represents a belief or speculation about the
future. Others may disagree with this prediction.
Be alert to the common words that may introduce a
statement of opinion:
likely should/could say
possibly think charge
probably believe attest
E
MOTIONAL
L
ANGUAGE

Propaganda refers to techniques that try to influence
your opinion, emotions, and attitudes in order to bene-
fit an organization or individual. Propaganda uses lan-
guage that targets your emotions—your fears, beliefs,
values, prejudices—instead of appealing to reason or
critical thinking. Advertising, media, and political cam-
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