GED Social Studies Practice Questions

Don't worry about the "new, improved" GED test. That won't happen until 2014, and until then you can rely on these questions.

Question 1-3 refers to the following chart:

1. Which nation was the first to abolish slavery?

1. Spain
2. Britain
3. Denmark
4. France
5. United States

2. If the United States had not won the Revolutionary War, when would slavery have been outlawed?

1. 1792
2. 1794
3. 1807
4. 1834
5. 1888

3. Which of the following conclusions is valid, based on your prior knowledge and the information on the chart?

1. More slaves worked in Brazil than in any other nation
2. France realized its ideals of independence sooner than did the United States
3. Denmark was the largest slave-holding state in Europe
4. Britain freed enslaved peoples only after losing the Asian nations of the British Empire
5. The slave trade continues to flourish in Spain

Questions 4-5 refer to the following map:

4. Which South American nations were the last to receive independence?

1. Argentina and Paraguay
2. Ecuador and Venezuela
3. Bolivia and Uruguay
4. Peru and Brazil
5. Chile and Colombia

5. Which of the following generalizations is valid?

1. The nations of North America were also fighting for independence at the same time as those nations in South America listed above
2. France lost most of its possessions in the New World as a result of these revolutions
3. Nations on the west coast received independence first
4. Landlocked countries were among the first to gain independence
5. South America experienced multiple revolutions during the first three decades of the nineteenth century

Question 6 and 7 refer to the following chart:

6. If the government were to end the use of offshore tax havens for corporations, as President Barack Obama promised in his 2008 campaign, how would the chart change?

1. Corporate income taxes would decrease
2. Retirement receipts would increase
3. Individuals would pay less in income taxes
4. The share of corporate income taxes would increase
5. Sales taxes would be lowered

7. Which category of taxpayer contributes the most to the federal budget?

1. Individuals
2. Corporations
3. Businesses paying Social Security tax
4. Federal government agencies
5. City governments

For questions 8-12 read the passage and answer the question that follows:

8. The United States Congress funds Amtrak, a national railroad system. Railroads did not exist when the framers wrote the Constitution. Nevertheless, this use of funds is legal and is covered in Article 1 of the Constitution as:

1. a delegated power
2. a denied power
3. an expressed power
4. an implied power
5. an inherent power

9. In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas. They were to enforce integration at Little Rock Central High School, although the governor of the state had tried to prevent integration. Eisenhower's action is an example that illustrates:

1. acting like a dictator with power he did not legally have
2. showing a governor that he had no real power in state government
3. trying to keep federal troops out of Vietnam
4. states' rights being more important than federal law
5. upholding federal law if state or local officials will not

10. In two referendums, citizens of New York City voted to limit key office holders, such as the mayor, the City Council members, and the comptroller, to two consecutive four-year terms. In November 2008, however, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law a proposal that removes these limits. Which of the following conclusions might you draw?

1. The referendum votes were improperly counted
2. Mayor Bloomberg is nearing the completion of his two terms in office
3. People petitioned to have the earlier referendums revoked
4. City Council members pressured the mayor
5. Bloomberg is the most beloved leader since Theodore Roosevelt

11. Article II of the United States Constitution requires the president to be a natural-born citizen. In 2003, Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican, Utah) proposed that the rule be changed to allow anyone who has been a citizen for 20 years to be president. In the House of Representatives, an amendment requiring citizenship for 35 years was proposed. Previous attempts to change the Constitution have failed. Which of the following statements is fact, not opinion?

1. Those who wrote the Constitution knew of other cases in which foreign countries tried to gain control of others
2. Anyone who wants to be president should, I feel, have military experience
3. I think that the Constitution's rules are outdated and need to be changed
4. All kinds of foreign nuts would run for the presidency if the Constitution changed
5. Senator Hatch was probably just trying to help California's Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is foreign born

12. In 1983, Dianne Feinstein, who is now a U.S. senator, was mayor of San Francisco. She called for a women-mayors' caucus to be part of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The organization exists to encourage women to run for mayor and to be more involved in the larger organization. This goal is an example of

1. cronyism
2. networking
3. lobbying
4. patronage
5. socialism

Questions 13-15 refer to the following chart:

13. To which nation would you go to study the living traditions of the Mayans?

1. Honduras
2. Costa Rica
3. Belize
4. Nicaragua
5. El Salvador

14. Which of the following conclusions is valid?

1. The Creole population is the largest ethnic group in Latin America
2. The Maya have completely died out
3. Costa Rica used Chinese labor to build the canal
4. Few people in Nicaragua are of mixed heritage
5. The Amerindian population of many Central American countries was destroyed by war and disease

15. Based on your general knowledge, how do you explain the large Creole population of Belize?

1. Belize is near the Caribbean, where many Africans were once enslaved
2. Belize has long been a trading partner with West African nations
3. Many Creole who once lived in New Orleans left after Hurricane Katrina
4. The Creole came to Belize to start new restaurants
5. Belize invited the Creole nation to migrate to their country

GED Social Studies Answers and Explanations