Download Integrated Social Science Outline for Mid Term

Integrated Social Science Outline for Mid Term
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II.
Government Basics (Powerpoint & discussion notes and handouts)
Origins of State – force, evolutionary, divine right, social contract
Political theory - Hobbes, Locke & Rousseau
Characteristics of states, public policies & services. anarchy
Structures of Government – definitions, pros/cons, examples
1. Unitary, federal, and confederate
2. presidential and parliamentary
3. democracy and dictatorship
a. direct democracy vs. indirect democracy
b. oligarchy vs. autocracy
c. authoritarian vs. totalitarian
Political Party Systems– one, two, multi
1. functions of parties
2. pros/cons of each system
3. role in the political system
Interest Groups vs. Political Parties – similarities & differences
Role of the Media in politics
Principles of American Democracy – limited government, federalism, judicial review, popular
sovereignty, checks and balances, separation of power
Citizenship
1. rights and responsibilities of citizens
2. participation in the political process
Economic Basics (Powerpoint & discussion notes and handouts)
A. Economic Ideologies – capitalism, communism & socialism; Marx – Communist Manifesto; Smith –
Wealth of Nations, Laissez Faire
B. Economic Systems – traditional, market, mixed, command; Spectrum of Economic Control
C. economics, needs, wants, scarcity, trade-off, opportunity costs & benefits, Four Factors of Production,
Three Basic Economic Questions
D. Microeconoimcs – Supply & Demand
1. Laws of Supply and Demand, diminishing marginal utility
2. Graphing Supply & Demand, Y axis = price, X axis = quantity;
3. equilibrium, market clearing price,
4. shortage, surplus,
5. price elasticity of demand,
6. determinants of demand (tastes, income, substitute and complementary goods, number of
buyers), determinants of supply (changes in inputs & technology),
7. shifts in supply and demand, plotting a shift in either supply and demand and how that affects the
equilibrium price
E. Government regulations in the economy
1. price controls – ceilings & floors
2. quotas, tariffs, subsidy, embargo
F. Macroeconomics - Circular Flow Model; more complete Circular flow
1. leading indicators – GDP, Unemployment, Inflation/CPI, Interest Rates
2. GDP; components of GDP, Guns vs. Butter, trade deficit/surplus, nominal values vs. real values,
inflation, durable goods, non-durable goods, per capita GDP, double counting, underground
market,
3. business cycle – contractions, expansions, recessions, depressions; impacts on leading
indicators
G. Fiscal & Monetary Policy
1. The government and Fiscal Policy – automatic stabilizers & discretionary policy – taxation and
gov spending;
2. The Fed and Monetary Policy; interest rate manipulation;
3. goals of fiscal & monetary policy; loose vs. tight policy
III.
Geography Basics
(Textbook Chapters 1-4, outline & discussion notes, and
handouts)
A. Geography skills handbook & Mental mapping skills
B. Themes of Geography- location, place, region, human environment interaction, movement
1. Location – Where is it?; Absolute Location, Longitude & Latitude, Grid System, degrees,
coordinates, Prime Meridian, Equator, Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, International Date line
– degree measurements; Relative Location, Spatial relationships
2. Place – physical and human characteristics; what is it like there?, what makes it unique?, site
& situation, accessibility, connectivity; Change over time
3. Region – shared characteristics amongst places, Uniform Region, Perceptual Region,
Functional Regions
4. Human Environment Interaction – how & why humans alter the earth to fit their needs and the
consequences of these interactions
5. Movement – migration (emigration & immigration), why it happens & results of migration
C. Geography of the Earth
1. Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere,
2. The Universe –heliocentric, 8 planets – differences between terrestrial & gas; asteroid belt
3. Layers of the Earth – inner & outer core, mantle, crust
4. plate tectonics; Internal Forces – subduction, accretion, translation, spreading, folding,
faulting, earthquakes, volcanoes, Ring of Fire, tsunami
5. External forces- 3 types of erosion, physical & chemical weathering; changing of landforms
and waterways as a result of external forces
6. Water cycle – evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration
D. Climates of the Earth
1. Weather vs. Climate, axis, revolution, equinox, solstice, seasons
2. Latitude regions – high/polar, mid, low/tropic
3. Greenhouse Effect, global warming
4. Mountains effect on climate - Rain shadow Effect, leeward, windward
5. Currents & Winds – prevailing wind names & directions, Coriolis Effect, doldrums, horse
latitudes, hot vs. cold currents, direction of currents based on hemisphere, Gulf Stream & the
North Atlantic Drift
6. El Nino – location affected, changes in wind, currents, and precipitation
7. Climates – types of and characteristics of all the climate regions
E. Human Geography
1. Population density, distribution, & growth, zero population growth,
2. Developed & Developing Countries;
3. migration – immigration vs. emigration;
4. Culture regions, what determines culture; cultural diffusion, cultural hearths,
5. natural resources, interdependency, trade,
6. industrialization, pollution
Note: There is a review of types of governments and economic systems in the geography book (pages 86
–90). You may also check out an American Government and/or Economic text if you want to review
material from those sources.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
YOUR BEST RESOURCE FOR THE MIDTERM IS YOUR ORGANIZED BINDER! EACH OF THE
UNITS WE HAVE STUDIED WILL BE ON THE EXAM.
THE EXAM WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 180 SCANTRON QUESTIONS, SO BE SURE TO HAVE A
PENCIL OR TWO.
THE MID TERM IS 10% OF YOUR OVERALL GRADE AND WILL BE FACTORED IN TO WHETHER
OR NOT YOU ARE EXEMPT FROM THE FINAL. REMEMBER YOU HAVE TO HAVE A 93% OR
BETTER AVERAGE TO BE EXEMPT FROM THE FINAL SO DOING POORLY ON THE MID-TERM IS
NOT AN OPTION IF YOU WANT TO BE EXAMPT!
IV.
United States & Canada (Textbook Chapters 5-7, notes, and handouts)
A. Physical and political geographical aspects of US and Canada, major landforms and waterways,
Political features in reference to physical features; Country and state/province/territory; Know your
maps – how political
B. Climates and vegetation of Canada and the U.S.- where are certain types of vegetation and climates
found
C. Natural boundaries, rain shadow effect from the Pacific Ranges & Rockies, winds that affect both
countries climates, hurricanes, tornadoes, natural resources, continental divide, Great Divide,
Canadian Shield, Piedmont, Coastal Lowlands, Everglades, Death Valley
D. Land bridge Theory, Native Americans, Vikings – Leif Eriksson, exploration of the New World –
British, French, Spanish, 1st settlement in US, 4 major colonies establishing permanent population in
US and Canada
E. Population growth and expansion in US and Canada 1800’s – European Immigration and Western
Expansion- how, why, when; most densely populated regions of both US and Canada, Urban
Corridor, Ontario Peninsula, St. Lawrence River Valley, Great Lakes Region; Western population
centers – Vancouver & Coastal California
F. Government, economy, and people of Canada & the US; party systems US and Canada, currency,
language & religion, how US and Canadian governments work and how they differ; strength of the
economy in each country – trade relationships; FTA, NAFTA
G. British North America Act, Dominion of Canada, Independence Day, Constitution Act
H. Quebec Separatist Movement – why do they want to separate, history of the movement, French and
Indian War, Quebec Act, Meech Lake Agreement, Charlottetown Accords, Constitution Act;
Separatist votes (1980 & 1995)in Quebec and the outcome