GED Social Studies Sample Questions and Explanations

In a representative democracy, voters choose people (representatives) to make laws and decisions for them. Americans elect members of Congress, a President, state lawmakers, and local officials. Another name for this system is a republic.

Wrong choices

• A king shares power with an elected parliament: A king sharing power with a parliament is a constitutional monarchy, such as the United Kingdom.
• Citizens vote directly on every law: Voting directly on every law is a direct democracy. In the U.S., most laws are made by elected lawmakers.
• The army chooses the country's leaders: Leaders chosen by the army is a military government, not a democracy.

The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, abolished slavery in the United States. It is the first of the three Civil War (Reconstruction) Amendments: the 13th, 14th, and 15th.

Wrong choices

• The 19th Amendment: The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
• The 15th Amendment: The 15th Amendment barred denying the vote because of race.
• The 14th Amendment: The 14th Amendment gave citizenship and equal protection of the laws.

Equilibrium is the point where the supply curve and the demand curve cross. Here, S and D1 cross at 50 units and $5. At that price, buyers want to buy exactly as many units as sellers want to sell.

Wrong choices

• $4: At $4, the quantity demanded on D1 (60 units) is more than the quantity supplied (40 units), so it is not equilibrium.
• $6: $6 is where supply meets the dashed line D2, not D1.
• $7: At $7, the quantity supplied (70 units) is more than the quantity demanded on D1 (30 units), so it is not equilibrium.

Rivers provided water for drinking and crops, rich soil from floods, and a way to travel and trade. Ancient Egypt grew along the Nile, and Mesopotamia grew between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Wrong choices

• Mountain tops: Mountain tops are hard to farm and travel to.
• Deserts far from water: Deserts far from water could not support large farming communities.
• Frozen polar regions: Polar regions are too cold for farming.

Federalism divides power between the national (federal) government and the states. The national government handles things like printing money and foreign affairs. States handle things like driver's licenses and public schools. Some powers, such as taxing, are shared.

Wrong choices

• Citizens vote directly on all laws: Voting directly on laws is direct democracy.
• All power belongs to the national government: If all power belonged to the national government, it would be a unitary system, not federalism.
• Power is divided among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches: Dividing power among three branches is separation of powers. Federalism is about levels of government.

The 19th Amendment says the right to vote cannot be denied because of sex. It was the result of decades of work by suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Wrong choices

• The 15th Amendment: The 15th Amendment barred denying the vote because of race.
• The 13th Amendment: The 13th Amendment ended slavery.
• The 26th Amendment: The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18.

Inflation is a general increase in prices across the economy. When prices rise, the same amount of money buys fewer goods and services, so money loses purchasing power. The opposite, a general fall in prices, is called deflation.

Wrong choices

• A general fall in prices over time: A general fall in prices is deflation.
• A rise in the number of people without jobs: More people without jobs is rising unemployment.
• A rise in the total amount a country produces: Growth in what a country produces is GDP growth.

A renewable resource is replaced by nature in a short time, such as wind, sunlight, and flowing water. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are nonrenewable because they take millions of years to form.

Wrong choices

• Coal: Coal takes millions of years to form, so it is nonrenewable.
• Oil: Oil is a fossil fuel, so it is nonrenewable.
• Natural gas: Natural gas is a fossil fuel, so it is nonrenewable.

Article I of the Constitution gives the power to make federal laws to Congress, the legislative branch. Congress has two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Wrong choices

• The Federal Reserve: The Federal Reserve is the nation's central bank. It manages money and interest rates, not laws.
• The judicial branch (the courts): The judicial branch interprets laws and decides cases.
• The executive branch (the President): The executive branch carries out and enforces laws. It does not pass them.

The Articles of Confederation (written in 1777, in effect from 1781) were the first plan of government for the United States. Because Americans feared a strong central government, the Articles made Congress weak: it could not tax directly or regulate trade well. These problems led to the Constitution in 1787.

Wrong choices

• It controlled the states completely: Under the Articles, the states kept most of the power.
• It had a strong system of national courts: The Articles did not set up a national court system.
• It had a powerful President who controlled Congress: The Articles had no President or separate executive branch.