1. A college class is studying the impact of bottled water on the environment. Which of the following is true about
plastic water bottles?
a. Most of them are recycled and not a hazard.
b. Most of them are not reused in industry.
c. Most of them are not recycled and an environmental problem.
d. Most of them are not recycled but not an environmental problem.
2. The U.S. consumes approximately _____ of the world’s energy, but is home to only 5% of the world’s population.
a. one-fifth
b. one-quarter
c. one-third
d. one-half
3. ______ now exceeds the United States in the release of carbon-based emissions.
a. China
b. India
c. Russia
d. Iran
4. The U.S. emits _____ percent of global carbon.
a. 10
b. 20
c. 50
d. 70
5. A large portion of the pollutants released into the air in the U.S. come from
a. oil drilling.
b. automobiles.
c. pollution.
d. chlorofluorocarbons.
6. By mid-century, it is estimated that the U.S. population will be:
a. older than today.
b. more female than today.
c. younger than today.
d. more male than today.
7. The placing of dumps near minority communities reflects _______________ .
a. an accident of history
b. purposeful attempts to put waste next to powerless communities
c. poor communities desire to live near waste dumps
d. none of the above
8. Using data from the 2010 Census, the current population of the United States is estimated to be about _____
million.
a. 171
b. 311
c. 439
d. 695
9. The 2010 Census allowed individuals to self-select their race. Approximately _____ percent of Americans
identified themselves as “mixed race” in 2010.
a. 1.2
b. 3
c. 5.8
d. 7.4
10. The _____ is defined as the number of births each year for every 1000 people in the population.
a. fertility rate
b. refined birth rate
c. fecundity rate
d. crude birth rate
11. The 1924 National Origins Quota law encouraged immigration from _____ and discouraged immigration from
_____.
a. France; Italy
b. Greece; Germany
c. England; Poland
d. Turkey; Switzerland
12. Which of the following groups are indigenous to what is now the US?
a. Whites and Africans
b. Africans and Chinese
c. Mexicans and American Indians
d. American Indians and Africans
13. In the United States, the sex ratio is _____, which indicates _____.
a. 54; there are more males than females.
b. 114; there are more females than males.
c. 94; there are more females than males.
d. 104; there are more males than females.
14. A cohort consists of
a. all persons who have a particular event in common.
b. all persons born within a given period.
c. a group of people who have common values.
d. a group of persons who live in the same geographic area.
15. According to Malthusian theory, population growth tends to be _____.
a. arithmetic
b. linear
c. exponential
d. curvilinear
16. Malthus reasoned that the only checks on population growth were:
a. famine, disease, and war.
b. politics and government regulation.
c. morality and self-sacrifice.
d. technological advancements.
17. When Bobby and Gail study the local population, the number of people per square mile is ___________ .
a. medium population
b. birthrate
c. death rate
d. population density
18. Mary’s parents are part of a larger elderly population than her grandparents. This is an example of ___________
.
a. a higher birthrate
b. a higher death rate
c. the graying of the population
d. a higher infant mortality rate
19. Sociologists who are interested in understanding the conditions behind the overthrow of a state and the resulting
large-scale consequences study _____________ .
a. revolutions
b. collective behaviors
c. cultural diffusion
d. demographic transitions
20. Which of the following is not a condition under which revolutions are likely to occur?
a. a breakdown of disenfranchised groups
b. cultural diffusion
c. development of structural opportunities
d. a major economic crisis
21. Collective behavior is
a. logical.
b. short-lived.
c. predictable.
d. spontaneous.
22. _____ occurs when the usual conventions that guide social behavior are disrupted for some reason and people
establish new, usually sudden, norms in response to an emerging situation.
a. demographic change
b. social organization
c. collective behavior
d. social solidarity
23. According to functionalists, _____ is the primary cause of social change.
a. global development
b. economic inequality
c. modernization
d. technology
24. According to functionalists, _____ over time.
a. complex societies become more complex
b. simple societies become more simple
c. simple societies become more complex
d. complex societies become more simple
25. John is interested in studying demography. Which of the following will he spend his time researching?
a. Environment and society
b. The past and future composition of populations
c. The social processes of human engineering
d. Perspectives on social change
26. According to conflict theorists, society changes because
a. conflict is inherent.
b. the division of labor is based on class differences.
c. powerful nations control less powerful nations.
d. technology leads to homogeneous societies.
27. According to Georg Simmel, urban dwellers avoid _____, which is more likely found in rural communities.
a. interaction
b. emotional involvement
c. alienation
d. family ties
28. According to Marx and Habermas, the personal feelings of powerlessness that accompany modernization are the
result of
a. technology.
b. war.
c. revolution.
d. social inequality.
29. Unlike Spencer, Marx emphasized that social change was based on _________________ .
a. the capitalist system
b. a future classless society
c. consensus
d. social order due to class conflict
30. When sociology students are interested in theorizing social change by looking at how people define social behavior,
which of the following perspectives are they using?
a. Conflict
b. Symbolic Interaction
c. Functionalism
d. Evolutionary
31. John is studying the impact of the sun’s light on the earth. Which environmental issue is he not directly concerned
with?
a. the greenhouse effect
b. global warming
c. environmental racism
d. carbon dioxide buildup
32. In the U.S. today, the current population of the United States is more than _____ million.
a. 610
b. 400
c. 316
d. 350
33. For those opposed to permitting the self-selection of more than one race in the U.S. Census, an important
argument is that
a. mostpeopledon’treallyknowwhatracetheyare.
b. there is no such thing as race, so multiracial makes no sense.
c. identifying as multiracial reduces the strength of numbers of already underrepresented minority groups.
d. younger people are more likely to identify as multiracial than older people.
34. Which of the following is not a factor in determining the total number of people in a society?
a. birth
b. death
c. migration
d. gender
35. John is moving to Nigeria. According to the text, which of the following best characterizes its population?
a. It will not be a major contributor to world population growth in the future.
b. It has a stable population.
c. It is going to decline in population in the future.
d. It is one of the eight countries expected to expand population in the future .
36. The actual shape of an age-sex pyramid is a reflection of the
a. birth rate of a society.
b. rate of immigration compared with other countries.
c. overall size of the population.
d. death rate of a society.
37. Cohorts are useful for analyzing all of the following, except:
a. the number of people in the population of different ages, at different times.
b. how many high schools and universities will be needed at some time in the future.
c. whether or not the social security system will continue to have funds.
d. the gender ration within a population.
38. Toynbee’s cyclical theory of social change argues that societies _____________ .
a. are everlasting
b. become part of other societies
c. are never the same twice
d. are born, mature, decay and sometimes die.
39. According to the text, World War II contributed to social change in the United States in all of the following ways,
except:
a. an increased number of women began working outside of the home.
b. mass-production increased.
c. many men in the service received college educations using the GI Bill.
d. technology improved working conditions.
40. Herbert Spencer argued that social change will occur when _____.
a. societies develop a state of mechanical solidarity
b. societies become more heterogeneous
c. societies become more similar
d. none of the above
41. Which of the following assumes societies evolve due to industrialization?
a. modernization theory
b. world systems theory
c. dependency theory
d. cyclical theory
42. According to Habermas a society that experiences social inequality will also experience ___________ .
a. social stability
b. wide spread apathy
c. social conflict
d. None of the answer choices are correct.
43. How do social movements differ from other types of social organization?
a. Social movements tend to be more bureaucratic and structured than other social organizations.
b. Unlike other social organizations, social movements thrive on spontaneity.
c. Social movements are more long lasting than most types of social organizations.
d. Social movements are smaller in scope than other types of social organizations.
44. When a college student engages in a fad they are participating in _____________ .
a. a status symbol
b. a social change
c. modernization
d. rapid communication
45. Studies of ecosystems have demonstrated that
a. a disturbance in one element in the ecosystem has an impact on the entire system.
b. it is impossible for the social sciences to interconnect with the biological sciences in an ecosystem.
c. there are many social problems that are much more pressing than the environment of the ecosystem.
d. with proper management all resources in the ecosystem can eventually be renewed.
46. Bob is studying the scientific study of the interdependencies that exist between humans and our physical environment
He is studying _____.
a. population studies
b. ecology
c. carrying capacity
d. environmental sociology
47. The upper atmosphere shield that blocks dangerous ultraviolet light, protecting humans from sunburn and skin
cancer is called the _____.
a. ozone layer
b. ionosphere shield
c. stratosphere screen
d. ultraviolet filter
48. An example of a resource that is not renewable, regardless of how well we manage it, is _____.
a. timber
b. fossil fuels
c. seafood
d. iron
49. A system of the interdependent parts that involves human beings in interaction with one another and their physical
environment is called _____.
a. demographics
b. environmentalism
c. human ecosystem
d. ethnology
50. The pattern of disproportionate dumping of toxic waste and other forms of pollution in neighborhoods where the
poor and people of color live is called _____.
a. environmental inequity
b. industrial racism
c. polluter genocide
d. environmental racism
51. According to the text, research on environmental racism indicates that:
a. it is probably not done intentionally and many dumps are also located in White neighborhoods.
b. the problem is overstated; it does not occur very often.
c. the location of hazardous wastes near minority neighborhoods is too frequent to be occurring by chance.
d. most of the toxic dumps have now been dismantled and cleaned up.
52.
The 2011 nuclear power plant leakage in _____ that occurred following the major earthquake and tsunami (the
resulting massive ocean wave) showed how vulnerable social systems can be to natural disasters.
a. Chernobyl (in the Ukraine)
b. Three-Mile Island in Pennsylvania
c. Japan
d. Poland
53. Which federal document requires a national census to be conducted every ten years?
a. the U.S. Constitution
b. Executive Order 816
c. Title VII
d. the Declaration of Independence
54. According to the text, some groups of people are likely to be undercounted by the Census for various reasons. Why
does this matter?
a. The original purpose of the Census was to determine the gross capital product more accurately.
b. The Census is used to apportion representation in government as fairly as possible.
c. Without an accurate population count, it is not possible to provide welfare programs.
d. The U.S. standing in the world is determined in part on the size of our population.
55. In Census 2000, the undercount for the entire U.S. population of the United States was 2.4 percent. Which of these
groups is most like to be undercounted by the Census?
a. suburban dwellers
b. the homeless
c. residents of New York City
d. farmers
56. The2000U.S.censusisestimatedtohaveundercountedapproximatelytwopercentofthecountry’spopulation.
The estimated undercount for Hispanics is as high as ______ percent.
a. 5
b. 15
c. 25
d. 35
57. Which of these statements bestdescribescurrentincreasesintheworld’spopulation?
a. Theworld’spopulationincreasesarithmetically.
b. Theworld’spopulationincreasesinalinearfashion.
c. Theworld’spopulationincreasesexponentially.
d. Theworld’spopulationincreasesatarateofabout1000peopleperminute.
58. According to the Census Bureau, as of 2012 the country with the lowest birthrate is _____.
a. the U.S.
b. Japan
c. Niger
d. Spain
59. The all-time high birth rate in the United States was 30.1 in 1910 but has declined rather steadily since then, with an
exception. When was the exception?
a. during the colonial period
b. during the late nineteenth century
c. just following World War II
d. just following the Vietnam War
60. Projections that the United States will have a significantly greater proportion of minorities are based on:
a. birth rates.
b. death rates.
c. migration rates.
d. All of the answer choices are correct.