Study questions for the final exam - World Geography - SCU - Forsberg

• In addition to these questions, study the vocabulary definitions and main points listed at the end of each chapter.

Chapter 7 & pp. 244-249

• What are the assumptions behind Rostow's theory of development as stages of growth?
• What are the first, second, and third worlds and when were they invented?
• What is a tariff and what purpose do they serve?
• What are GNP/GDP and what do they show about a country's development? What do they NOT show?
• Give examples of other statistical indicators used to measure development.
• Developing countries have work forces engaged for the most part in which sector of the economy? What about 'post-industrial' countries?
• How do agglomeration effects produce an external economy?
• How does development in the core lead to backwash effects in the periphery?
• What are the advantages to a manufacturer that sets up a transnational commodity chain?
• What is affluenza and what is the cure?
• How does knowledge impact economic development?

Chapter 8

• Compare and contrast hunting and gathering, subsistence agriculture, and commercial agriculture.
• Describe the nature, advantages, and disadvantages of shifting cultivation and pastoralism. In what parts of the world with what types of climates is each most likely to be practiced? Does each tend to take place in areas of low, medium, or high population density, and why?
• Describe the development of soil as a system. What produces it?
• Compare and contrast the 'traditional' and 'conventional' models of agriculture in terms of pattern and purpose.
• Compare and contrast the characteristics of a field planted as a polyculture (intertillage) with one planted as a monoculture. Which is better for the soil?
• Define biotechnology, explain how it has been used so far, and analyze its positive and negative effects, both now and in the future.
• Discuss some of the impacts of agriculture on the environment.
• Explain how the application of computer technology is revolutionizing agriculture by making it more precise.

Chapter 9 & pp.202-213

• What is the common root of the Romance languages? Where did Hungarians and Finns come from?
• Discuss the concepts of boundaries and frontiers in political geography.
• Define and distinguish between the following: territory, state, sovereignty, nation, nation-state, nationalism, geopolitics.
• Why are true nation-states so rare?
• Give an example of a nation without a state, and explain what problems they might experience.
• Why is it important that a state be a contiguous entity?
• Define 'cultural nationalism' and give an example.
• What is a supranational organization? Give an example of how they are changing the role of the state.

Ch. 10

• Why were early cities so small by our standards today?
• Describe the locational patterns of cities as they relate to their function and economic base.
• What is a gateway city and where were they typically established?
• In central place theory, what is the size and spacing of urban areas a function of?
• Which regions of the world are the most urbanized? Which are the least?
• Which regions of the world are experiencing the fastest rate of urbanization? Why?
• What makes an urban area a primate city?
• Why is a city's economic base important for its growth prospects?

Ch. 11 & Ch. 5 pp. 213-219

• Describe the characteristics of the 1) central business district (CBD) and the 2) zone of transition.
• Explain the historical geography of the inner city. Why did a concentration of minorities develop there?
• Explain what is an isochron and how is it used to explain the process of sprawl?
• Many major cities have experienced a fiscal squeeze. Why are central city areas unable to generate sufficient tax revenue?
• What does gentrification involve?
• What are the two main causes of segregation?
• Why do the cores of older Islamic cities have such complex street patterns? Compare them to those of American cities.
• Why do some urban models assume conditions of an isotropic surface?
• Describe why edge cities formed, and their effect on the original core and surrounding hinterland.

Ch. 12 & pp.257-265

• On what information are geographers predicting future trends? What aspects of the future are the least predictable?
• What caused the current debt crisis? What are the long-term prospects for for highly indebted countries?
• Describe the technologies and innovations of the next economic cycle. Are these technologies likely to be implemented soon?
• Is carrying capacity meaningful at the national scale?
• What is the World Trade Organization and how is it changing the role of national and local governments?