Diagnostic Test
SAT Subject Test in World History
Time—60 minutes 95 questions
Directions: Each of the questions or incomplete statements is followed by five answer choices. Choose the answer choice that best answers the question or best completes the incomplete statement.
Note: This test uses the chronological designations BCE (before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era). These designations correspond to BC (before Christ) and AD (anno Domini), which are used in some history texts.
1. The Petition of Right, which was drafted in 1628, attempted to restrict Charles I from doing any of the following EXCEPT
A. requiring citizens to quarter soldiers in their homes
B. declaring martial law during peacetime
C. enacting taxes without parliamentary approval
D. suspending a law passed by Parliament
E. imprisoning people without regard to due cause
2. The concept of a state ruled by philosophers and built on a structure of class divisions determined by intelligence was most strongly supported by
A. Aristotle
B. Euclid
C. Plato
D. Pythagoras
E. Socrates
3. Which of the following is the most important aspect of the samurai code of conduct, known as the bushido?
A. Loyalty to the feudal lord
B. Preservation of personal honor
C. Protection of the emperor
D. Defense of territory
E. Acceptance of death
“It has been thought a considerable advance towards establishing the principles of Freedom to say that Government is a compact between those who govern and those who are governed; but this cannot be true, because it is putting the effect before the cause; for as man must have existed before governments existed, there necessarily was a time when governments did not exist, and consequently there could originally exist no governors to form such a compact with. The fact, therefore, must be that the individuals, themselves, each, in his own personal and sovereign right, entered into a compact with each other to produce a government: and this is the only mode in which governments have a right to arise, and the only principle on which they have a right to exist.”
4. The text above was part of a pamphlet written in support of which of the following?
A. Russian Revolution
B. Velvet Revolution
C. Haitian Revolution
D. Glorious Revolution
E. French Revolution
5. Chinese trade during the Song dynasty was most strongly influenced by the
A. restoration of centralized governance
B. invention of the magnetic compass
C. enactment of the Confucian civil service system
D. building of the Grand Canal
E. diffusion of Buddhism across China
6. The political theories of communism and fascism share all of the following tenets EXCEPT
A. adherence to single-party rule
B. loyalty to the state
C. opposition to social democracy
D. dissolution of social classes
E. support of dictatorial leadership
7. Which of the following is the most direct cause of World War I?
A. Invasion of Poland
B. Formation of the Triple Alliance
C. Annexation of Bosnia
D. Onset of the Russian Revolution
E. Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
8. Which of the following was made clearer to modern scholars after the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1798?
A. Laws of ancient Mesopotamia
B. Origins of Hinduism
C. Written language of ancient Egyptians
D. Trading practices of Sumerian society
E. Agricultural methods of ancient China
9. The civilization depicted in the photograph above
A. placed little emphasis on education
B. conquered much of Europe
C. introduced the concept of drama
D. practiced Zoroastrianism
E. depended on the Nile River
“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
10. The quotation above referenced the hard fighting in which of the following wars?
A. World War I
B. World War II
C. Korean War
D. First Balkan War
E. Six-Day War
11. All of the following are true about the people of ancient Mali EXCEPT
A. they built their wealth through gold and trade
B. they established Timbuktu as a major city
C. they were sometimes ruled by Muslim leaders
D. they organized villages on the basis of kinship
E. they relied on a strong governmental system
12. The creation story contained in the Popol Vuh was written by the
A. Aztec
B. Inca
C. Maya
D. Olmec
E. Toltec
13. British imperialism in India resulted in all of the following EXCEPT
A. enactment of restrictive trading policies
B. increased productivity in native industries
C. improved medical care and sanitation
D. increased exportation of raw materials
E. expansion of the transportation system
14. The Mongolian occupation of China, which occurred during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, improved China's economic stability by
A. decreasing taxes on imported goods
B. leading to an extension of the Grand Canal
C. decentralizing the Chinese government
D. encouraging Chinese industrialization
E. making travel on trading routes safer
15. Which factor played an important role in the escalations of both the French and Russian revolutions?
A. Rise of industrialization
B. Oppressive monarchical rule
C. Previously failed uprisings
D. Influence of communism
E. Demand for women's rights
16. Which of the following answers lists the wars in the correct chronological order?
A. Thirty Years' War, Crimean War, Boer War, Hundred Years' War
B. Crimean War, Hundred Years' War, Boer War, Thirty Years' War
C. Hundred Years' War, Thirty Years' War, Crimean War, Boer War
D. Boer War, Crimean War, Hundred Years' War, Thirty Years' War
E. Hundred Years' War, Boer War, Thirty Years' War, Crimean War
Peoples of Mesoamerica, 300-1519 CE
17. Around 1400 CE, the shaded region on the map above was inhabited by the
A. Aztec
B. Inca
C. Maya
D. Olmec
E. Toltec
18. Which of the following would a believer in legalism LEAST LIKELY support?
A. Strong family values
B. Loyalty to rulers
C. Equal access to education
D. Submission to state policy
E. Censorship of media
“What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces, above all, is its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.”
19. The statement above MOST clearly reflects a major tenet of which political philosophy?
A. Communism
B. Democracy
C. Fascism
D. Theocracy
E. Totalitarianism
“However well educated and clever a native might be, and however brave he may prove himself, I believe that no rank we can bestow on him would cause him to be considered an equal of the British officer.”
—Lord Kitchener, British military commander in India
20. This statement supports which of the following generalizations about colonial powers and the native populations they govern?
A. Colonial powers usually controlled native populations primarily through military force.
B. Colonial powers often viewed themselves as racially superior to native populations.
C. Colonial powers tended to use native populations to bolster their military strength.
D. Colonial powers were needed to help govern less capable native populations.
E. Colonial powers encouraged native populations to improve their individual statuses.
21. The United Nations deployed an international military force in South Korea in 1950 primarily because
A. North Korea threatened to launch a nuclear attack against South Korea
B. North Korean and Chinese ships attacked South Korean ships in the Yellow Sea
C. North Korean troops had crossed the 38th parallel into South Korean territory
D. North Korea acquired nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union
E. North Korea was on the verge of overthrowing the South Korean government
22. According to the traditional Hindu caste system, an unskilled worker would be considered part of which class?
A. Brahmans
B. Harijans
C. Kshatriya
D. Shudra
E. Vaishya
23. Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam in 1941 and founded the Vietminh in response to a crisis primarily concerning
A. increasing communist influence in Vietnam
B. American militarization of South Vietnam
C. the dictatorial leadership of Ngo Dinh Diem
D. French colonial control over Vietnam
E. the geopolitical division of North and South Vietnam
24. The main purpose of the World War I era cartoon above was to
A. encourage American involvement in the war effort
B. demonstrate the might of German naval forces
C. discourage international trade during the war
D. imply German barbarism and disregard for human life
E. illustrate the weakness of Allied military forces
25. Which of the following occurred during the New Kingdom period of ancient Egyptian history?
A. Reign of the pharaoh Khafra
B. Carving of the Rosetta stone
C. Building of the pyramids
D. Expulsion of the Hyksos
E. Construction of the Sphinx
26. Which of the following was true of both the Kush and the Bantuspeaking people of ancient Africa?
A. Both modeled their forms of leadership after the ancient Egyptians.
B. Both developed ironworking to make iron-tipped weapons and tools.
C. Both began as migratory cultures that eventually settled in a single region.
D. Both spread their languages throughout Africa through cultural intermarriage.
E. Both were chiefly agrarian and relied on farming and raising animals.
27. The Battle of Trafalgar was a key naval victory for the British in their war against
A. Austria-Hungary
B. France
C. Germany
D. Portugal
E. Spain
28. All of the following are true about the Inca civilization EXCEPT
A. they used a system of parallel descent in which daughters inherited from their mothers and sons from their fathers
B. they demanded that neighboring communities pay them tributes as a means of funding their imperial expansion
C. they believed that their ruler was a god that descended from the sun and that his main wife represented the moon
D. they allowed conquered communities to retain their individual culture and local leaders in return for allegiance to the empire
E. they performed most of their sacrifices using animals like llamas or guinea pigs instead of humans
29. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, was originally built to serve as a
A. fortress
B. monastery
C. mosque
D. palace
E. tomb
30. During the Punic Wars, Rome fought in three separate campaigns against the
A. Carthaginians
B. Gauls
C. Illyrians
D. Macedonians
E. Samnites
SCHOOL LIFE EXPECTANCY IN YEARS
|
COUNTRY |
MEN |
WOMEN |
|
El Salvador |
12 |
12 |
|
Somalia |
3 |
2 |
|
Cambodia |
10 |
9 |
|
Spain |
16 |
17 |
|
Ethiopia |
9 |
8 |
|
Honduras |
11 |
12 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
31. Which of the following statements is best supported by the information in the table above?
A. Both men and women in technologically advanced countries have greater access to secondary education than do their counterparts in developing nations.
B. Politically stable nations are more likely than unstable ones to have equal access to education for both men and women.
C. Women in developing nations have less access to education at any level than men do.
D. Women have relatively equal access to education as their male counterparts in most developing nations.
E. Access to quality education at any level depends on the overall poverty level of the nation.
32. Which country did Britain establish in Asia before India earned its independence in 1947?
A. Afghanistan
B. Bangladesh
C. Pakistan
D. Nepal
E. Turkmenistan
33. All of the following were factors in the decline of both the Roman Empire and the Han dynasty EXCEPT
A. difficulty with governmental administration due to their large size
B. violence from political resistance groups within their borders
C. poor agricultural yield, famine, and rapidly spreading epidemics
D. barbarian invasions along their borders that negatively affected trading
E. division by generals who attempted to seize power and proclaim themselves emperor
34. In the nineteenth century, which region of colonial Southeast Asia was an independent nation that served as a “buffer zone” between other imperially governed states?
A. Burma
B. Singapore
C. Borneo
D. Sumatra
E. Siam
35. The city of Great Zimbabwe rose to prominence during the thirteenth century primarily as a result of its
A. possession of working gold mines
B. strong agricultural economy
C. widespread military conquests
D. control of a key trading route
E. political ties to the Roman Empire
“It is mere human talk to preach that the soul flies out [of purgatory] immediately [when] the money clinks in the collection box.”
36. Which of the following religious leaders most likely made the statement above?
A. John Calvin
B. Ignatius of Loyola
C. Martin Luther
D. John Knox
E. Ulrich Zwingli
37. The Neolithic Revolution was a fundamental shift in the human way of life during the prehistoric era that was primarily marked by the
A. emergence of early governments
B. development of agricultural techniques
C. formation of organized religions
D. beginning of systematic trade
E. construction of early tools and machines
38. Which Mesoamerican culture used chinampas to increase the amount of agricultural land available for use in its capital city?
A. Inca
B. Olmec
C. Maya
D. Aztec
E. Toltec
39. An interest in natural resources and commodities such as oil, tin, and rubber led the Dutch to colonize which region of Southeast Asia starting in the seventeenth century?
A. Indonesia
B. Malaysia
C. Burma
D. Siam
E. Philippines
40. Which of the following modern countries is NOT matched with the imperial power that once controlled it?
|
A. |
Bosnia |
Austrian-Hungarian Empire |
|
B. |
Cambodia |
Mongol Empire |
|
C. |
Yemen |
Umayyad Empire |
|
D. |
Turkey |
Ottoman Empire |
|
E. |
Guyana |
British Empire |
41. In his 1776 book The Wealth of Nations, economist Adam Smith advocated the laissez-faire economic philosophy and specifically condemned
A. communism
B. feudalism
C. imperialism
D. mercantilism
E. capitalism
42. Which of the following Chinese dynasties instituted the first civil service examination?
A. Tang
B. Zhou
C. Sui
D. Qin
E. Han
43. The Four Noble Truths form the basis of which major Eastern religion?
A. Hinduism
B. Sikhism
C. Daoism
D. Buddhism
E. Shintoism
44. Which of these answers best describes how Germany and Japan were similar in the lead-up to World War II?
A. Both nations wanted to isolate themselves from foreign influence.
B. Both nations were convinced of their ethnic superiority.
C. Both nations were interested in territorial expansion for economic gain.
D. Both nations were suffering because of heavy losses incurred in World War I.
E. Both nations supported the ethnic and racial cleansing of minority groups.
45. The Spanish settlers who governed colonies in Mesoamerica imported Africans as a source of labor instead of enslaving Native Americans primarily because
A. Africans were more obedient to Europeans than Native Americans
B. Africans were more resistant to disease than Native Americans
C. Africans were a cheaper source of labor than Native Americans
D. Africans were more skilled at manual labor than Native Americans
E. Africans were easier to communicate with than Native Americans
“At this point one may note that men must be either pampered or annihilated. They avenge light offenses; they cannot avenge severe ones; hence, the harm one does to a man must be such as to obviate any fear of revenge.”
46. The quotation above is taken from which of the following?
A. The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
B. In Praise of Folly, Desiderius Erasmus
C. Utopia, Sir Thomas More
D. The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli
E. Two Treatises of Government, John Locke
47. Aside from gold, the most valuable and highly traded commodity in the West African kingdom of Ghana was
A. salt
B. ivory
C. slaves
D. grain
E. rice
48. All of the following are examples of trading agreements EXCEPT
A. NAFTA
B. OPEC
C. LAFTA
D. GATT
E. ASEAN
49. The Chinese ruled over Vietnam between roughly the first and tenth centuries CE. During this period, the Chinese encountered the most resistance from the Vietnamese when they attempted to
A. implement their civil service and bureaucratic systems
B. introduce the Vietnamese to the Confucian ideology
C. de-emphasize the role of women in Vietnamese society
D. employ traditional Chinese agricultural methods
E. convert the Vietnamese to the Buddhist religion
50. The rise of feudalism in Western Europe was primarily the result of
A. political unrest caused by severe famine
B. fear of attack from foreign invaders
C. the collapse of the Carolingian dynasty
D. disputes about church authority over state matters
E. an increase in trading with overseas countries
END OF DIAGNOSTIC TEST
Diagnostic Test Answers and Explanations
Answer Key
|
1. D |
26. B |
|
2. C |
27. B |
|
3. A |
28. B |
|
4. E |
29. E |
|
5. B |
30. A |
|
6. D |
31. D |
|
7. E |
32. C |
|
8. C |
33. B |
|
9. C |
34. E |
|
10. B |
35. D |
|
11. D |
36. C |
|
12. C |
37. B |
|
13. B |
38. D |
|
14. E |
39. A |
|
15. B |
40. B |
|
16. C |
41. D |
|
17. A |
42. E |
|
18. C |
43. D |
|
19. A |
44. C |
|
20. B |
45. B |
|
21. C |
46. D |
|
22. D |
47. A |
|
23. D |
48. B |
|
24. A |
49. C |
|
25. D |
50. B |
Answer Explanations
1. D. The Petition of Right, which Parliament asked Charles I to sign in return for money he desperately needed to fund his war efforts against both France and Spain, was intended to place several new restrictions on the power of the monarchy. Under the terms of the agreement, the king would no longer have the authority to require citizens to quarter soldiers in their homes, to declare martial law during peacetime, to enact taxes without prior approval of Parliament, or to imprison people without regard to due cause. The king's ability to suspend a law passed by Parliament, which was later restricted with the signing of the Bill of Rights in 1689, was not part of the Petition of Right.
Difficulty Level: Medium
2. C. In his most famous work, The Republic, Plato outlined his vision of the ideal state. According to Plato, the ideal state was an intellectual aristocracy in which the most intelligent members of society held power while those of lesser intelligence would be strictly confined to various forms of labor according to their individual abilities. He went on to claim that if members of each part of the society fulfilled the obligations of their specific roles, society would function harmoniously.
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. A. While all of the responsibilities listed were part of the bushido, the central theme and most defining aspect of this code of conduct was absolute loyalty to the feudal lord. As the primary code of conduct for both men and women in the samurai class, the bushido was designed to protect Japanese feudal communities from dangerous bandits who wandered throughout the countryside.
Difficulty Level: Hard
4. E. The quotation, taken from Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, was written in reference to and in support of the ongoing French Revolution in 1791. In this excerpt, Paine denounces the idea of hereditary government and instead argues that governments are created by the people they serve, adding that this is the only lawful way a government can be created.
Difficulty Level: Hard
5. B. The invention of the magnetic compass had the most significant impact on Chinese trade during the Song dynasty. The magnetic compass allowed the Chinese to expand their trading routes further into the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf than had ever been possible before. In addition, the invention of the magnetic compass allowed the Chinese to open a direct trading route to the eastern African coast.
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. D. Although communism and fascism both include similar viewpoints on many political issues, their individual philosophies on social classes differ sharply. Fascism favors the existence of a system of social classes, but communism calls for the total dissolution of class delineations.
Difficulty Level: Medium
7. E. Although World War I was precipitated by a series of related events, the single most significant event was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. His death at the hands of Gavrilo Princip, who was in favor of Bosnian self-rule, led Austria- Hungary to declare war on Serbia, which eventually led to the outbreak of World War I.
Difficulty Level: Easy
8. C. The Rosetta stone—which was discovered by French soldiers who were serving in Egypt under the command of Napoléon Bonaparte— contained inscriptions, each written in Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphics. This discovery marked the first time that linguists were able to translate the meaning of hieroglyphics, the written language of the ancient Egyptians.
Difficulty Level: Easy
9. C. The photograph depicts the Parthenon, one of the best-known architectural ruins of the ancient Greek civilization. Along with their great contributions to science, mathematics, philosophy, and literature, the ancient Greeks are also remembered for creating the art of drama. Greek drama was divided into two categories: tragedy (which often focused on a strong central character with a flaw) and comedy (which contained humorous and satirical scenes).
Difficulty Level: Easy
10. B. The quote in question, which was spoken by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on June 4, 1940, was made in reference to England's ongoing military efforts in the early portion of World War II.
Difficulty Level: Easy
11. D. The Mali Empire of West Africa, which flourished between approximately 1235 and 1403 CE, was a strongly governed imperial state that owed much of its wealth and power to its considerable gold holdings and trading practices. Their success was also due to strong leadership, especially that of the Muslim ruler Mansa Musa. The Mali also established Timbuktu as one of the major African cities of the period. Unlike the Bantu civilization, however, they did not organize their villages on the basis of kinship.
Difficulty Level: Hard
12. C. The Popol Vuh was one of the sacred books of the Maya and contains the Mayan interpretation of the creation story. Believed to have been written between 1554 and 1558 CE, the Popol Vuh offers a historical chronology of the Quiche Maya and contains a time line of royal succession from their founding to 1550 CE.
Difficulty Level: Medium
13. B. One of the most disastrous effects of British imperial rule in India was the impact it had on that country's native industries, particularly the textile industry. Looking for a cheaper alternative to the relatively expensive handmade textile produced by the native Indian textile industry, the British opted to import more affordable textiles from their own factories in Great Britain. As a result, the Indian textile industry all but collapsed.
Difficulty Level: Medium
14. E. The Mongolian occupation of China led to an era of peace known as the Pax Mongolica. The peaceful atmosphere of this era made traveling on the major trade routes around China much safer, which increased trade between Asia and Europe.
Difficulty Level: Hard
15. B. The French and Russian revolutions were both motivated by oppressive monarchs. The extravagant spending and abusive behavior of King Louis XVI incited the French Revolution. Similarly, the oppressive policies of czars Alexander II, Alexander III, and Nicholas II sparked the Russian Revolution.
Difficulty Level: Medium
16. C. The correct chronological order is Hundred Years' War, Thirty Years' War, Crimean War, and Boer War. The Hundred Years' War was a long-term battle between Britain and France that took place intermittently between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Thirty Years' War unfolded across much of Europe and lasted from 1618 to 1648. The Crimean War, fought primarily between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, took place in the mid-1850s. Finally, the Boer War, which pitted the Dutch settlers of South Africa against the British, broke out in 1899.
Difficulty Level: Medium
17. A. The land in the shaded region of the map was inhabited by the Aztec circa 1400 CE. The Aztec, originally a nomadic people from northern Mexico, first entered the Valley of Mexico in approximately 1200 CE. About 125 years later, they established a permanent settlement on an island at the center of Lake Texcoco, which became their capital city of Tenochtitlan. The Aztec Empire continued to flourish until Hernan Cortes conquered it in 1521.
Difficulty Level: Easy
18. C. The philosophy of legalism is based on the belief that personal freedoms lead to disorder. As such, concepts such as censorship and submission to the government are critical components of legalism. Equal access to education, in contrast, would be in stark contrast with the tenets of legalism. Instead, supporters of legalism advocated for a strictly controlled education system divided by class.
Difficulty Level: Medium
19. A. The quote reflects one of the major tenets of communism. Taken from The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the quote describes the Marxist belief that the fundamental inequality in most economies would lead to a revolt of the proletariat workers against the middle-class bourgeoisie. The ultimate goal of such revolt, they believed, would be the establishment of a communist state.
Difficulty Level: Hard
20. B. Lord Kitchener's statement supports the generalization that colonial powers often viewed themselves as racially superior to native populations. Kitchener and other British military leaders believed that they were superior to the people they ruled.
Difficulty Level: Medium
21. C. The Korean War was ignited when North Korean troops crossed over the 38th parallel and into South Korean territory. In response to this aggression, the United Nations sent an international military force to defend South Korea and push the North Korean invasion force back across the 38th parallel. A ceasefire agreement eventually established a border between North and South Korea near the 38th parallel with a demilitarized zone on either side.
Difficulty Level: Medium
22. D. In the traditional Hindu caste system, unskilled workers are considered part of the class known as Shudra. The highest level of the caste system, which was reserved exclusively for priests, is the Brahmans caste. The Kshatriya caste consisted of rulers and warriors. The Vaishya caste includes skilled workers, traders, merchants, and some minor officials. The Harijans caste, also referred to as the pariah, is made up of members of Hindu society often known as the untouchables.
Difficulty Level: Hard
23. D. Ho Chi Minh's return to Vietnam in 1941 and his establishment of the Vietminh, which was also known as the League for the Independence of Vietnam, was a result of ongoing French colonial control. Independence movements in Vietnam and other parts of French Indochina began to appear in the 1930s. Ho Chi Minh emerged as a major figure in these movements and was condemned to death by the French government. Minh was forced to flee, but he returned in 1941 and founded the Vietminh.
Difficulty Level: Hard
24. A. This cartoon is meant to condemn German military actions and encourage American involvement in World War I. The cartoon depicts the sinking of the Laconia, a British ocean liner that was torpedoed by a German U-boat. The American flags in the illustration show that several Americans were on board when the ship was sunk.
Difficulty Level: Medium
25. D. During the New Kingdom period, between 1550 and 700 BCE, the Hyksos were expelled from Egypt. The Hyksos crossed the Sinai Peninsula and invaded Egypt around 1650 BCE. They ruled over the Egyptians for about a century before they were finally expelled around 1550 BCE.
Difficulty Level: Medium
26. B. The Kush and the Bantu-speaking people both developed methods of ironworking that allowed them to make iron-tipped weapons and tools. Although it remains unclear whether they invented or borrowed the process, the Bantu-speaking people were among the first to practice ironworking, using the process mainly to create iron-tipped weapons. The Kush also used ironworking to make weapons and tools, but they traded most of their iron creations with other cultures in return for other goods.
Difficulty Level: Hard
27. B. The Battle of Trafalgar was a major victory for the British in 1805 in their struggle against France during the Napoleonic Wars. In need of naval support for his ground troops fighting in southern Italy, Napoléon ordered Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve to bring his fleet of thirty-three ships through the Strait of Gibraltar. British Admiral Horatio Nelson met Villeneuve near Cape Trafalgar and engaged him with a fleet of twenty- seven ships. Nelson's historic victory cemented the British position as the dominant European naval force for more than one hundred years.
Difficulty Level: Easy
28. B. Unlike the Aztec and other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Inca did not force neighboring communities to pay tributes. Instead, the Inca required these communities to offer their assistance in various ways, including helping with public building projects, working in their mines, or performing agricultural duties.
Difficulty Level: Hard
29. E. The Taj Mahal was originally built to serve as a tomb. The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal in 1631 as a memorial to his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Mahal, who had also served Jahan as a trusted political adviser, died as a result of complications during childbirth.
Difficulty Level: Easy
30. A. Rome fought against the Carthaginians in the Punic Wars. The first Punic War (264-241 BCE) was between Rome and Carthage over control of the islands of Sicily and Corsica. The Roman navy eventually gained control of the sea-lanes in the region, forcing Carthage to surrender. The Second Punic War (218-201 BCE) began when the Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed the Alps and invaded Italy. After a bloody campaign in Italy, Hannibal was forced to retreat because of an invasion in Carthage. Shortly after his return, the Carthaginians were defeated. The Third Punic War (149-146 BCE) was ignited when Carthage refused to move its city further inland. This final conflict ended with the total destruction of Carthage.
Difficulty Level: Medium
31. D. On the basis of the information included in the table, the statement that women have relatively equal access to education as their male counterparts in most developing nations is most accurate. According to the table, there is no more than one year's difference between the school life expectancy of men and that of women in the developing nations listed. (School Life Expectancy is the number of years of education citizens in a country receive during their lives.) Given this, it is possible to draw the conclusion that access to education in these countries is roughly equal for both men and women.
Difficulty Level: Medium
32. C. Great Britain divided the Indian subcontinent into the separate nations of India and Pakistan. Great Britain established Pakistan after Islamic leaders raised concerns about the power that India, a mostly Hindu culture, would have in the region once it gained independence.
Difficulty Level: Medium
33. B. While both the Roman Empire and the Han dynasty fell into decline as a result of many of the same factors, the influence of violent political resistance groups was a unique problem for the Han dynasty. During the course of its reign, the Han dynasty faced violent internal struggles brought about by resistance groups like the Red Eyebrows and the Yellow Turbans. These groups formed in response to what they perceived as ineffective governance and poor living conditions.
Difficulty Level: Hard
34. E. Siam, which remained free of imperial governance, served as a “buffer zone” between the British-controlled colony of Burma and French Indochina. Siam, known today as Thailand, achieved its unique status as a result of territorial disputes between the French and British. Unable to come to terms on any plan for mutually colonizing Siam, the French and British simply agreed to allow it to serve as an independent neutral area.
Difficulty Level: Hard
35. D. Great Zimbabwe became one of the most prominent African cities in the thirteenth century because it controlled a key trading route. In the 1200s, Great Zimbabwe took control of a critical trading route that connected the central African gold fields with the trading port of Sofala. After assuming control of the route, the city grew wealthy and powerful. Difficulty Level: Hard
36. C. The above statement was taken from the Ninety-Five Theses, a major work of the Protestant Reformation written by German priest Martin Luther. In October 1517, Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany, as a means of sparking public debate about the Catholic Church's practice of selling indulgences, which were simple slips of paper said to guarantee forgiveness of the buyer's sins. In reality, the sale of these indulgences was a method of raising funds for the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica.
Difficulty Level: Medium
37. B. The Neolithic Revolution, which is also commonly known as the Agricultural Revolution, was a major shift of the human way of life that was primarily caused by the emergence of agricultural techniques. This revolution began after a series of ice ages left Neolithic humans unable to rely solely on the hunting and gathering techniques they had used to acquire sustenance in the past. Faced with an insufficient supply of resources for their survival, humans were forced to turn to agriculture and establish permanent settlements.
Difficulty Level: Hard
38. D. The Aztec pioneered the practice of using man-made plots of land called chinampas to increase the agricultural land available for use. Since the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was built on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, the amount of agricultural land was limited. The Aztec augmented their existing land with additional floating plots of land made from rafts. These rafts were made of reeds that were woven together and topped with fertile soil.
Difficulty Level: Hard
39. A. Driven by an interest in the region's oil reserves and the availability of commodities like tin and rubber, the Dutch began actively colonizing the region of Southeast Asia known as Indonesia in the seventeenth century. Colonists organized plantations and opened numerous trading posts. By the turn of the eighteenth century, the Dutch had come to dominate Indonesia, renaming it the Dutch East Indies.
Difficulty Level: Medium
40. B. The present-day country known as Cambodia was not controlled by the Mongol Empire. Before being colonized by the French in the nineteenth century, modern Cambodia was ruled by the Khmer Empire, which reached the height of its power around the turn of the thirteenth century. The Khmer Empire, perhaps best known for constructing the Hindu temple structure of Angkor Wat, amassed control over a vast swath of Southeast Asia thanks to a strong economy based largely on the cultivation of rice.
Difficulty Level: Hard
41. D. In The Wealth of Nations economist Adam Smith argued that governments should take a “hands-off’ approach to economics; he condemned mercantilism. He argued that the common mercantilist policy of using protective tariffs to safeguard home industries was counterintuitive to free trade. Smith also argued that labor, not land, was the source of a nation's true wealth. He also stated that governments should not be involved in a nation's economic affairs.
Difficulty Level: Hard
42. E. The implementation of the first civil service examination in Chinese history occurred during the reign of the Han dynasty. As the Chinese civil service developed during the Han dynasty, the need for a recruitment system that would ensure that civil service agencies were staffed by competent, honest men increased exponentially. The Han system of civil service training and examination was designed to address this issue and improve governmental efficiency.
Difficulty Level: Medium
43. D. Founded by and based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (later known as Buddha), Buddhism was built on the principles known as the Four Noble Truths. These truths state the following: all human life is filled with sorrow and suffering; suffering is caused by desire; through rejection of desire, people passing through a series of reincarnations can reach nirvana; and nirvana is reached by strict adherence to the Eightfold Path.
Difficulty Level: Medium
44. C. Germany and Japan had similar interests at the beginning of World War II in that they both wanted to expand their territories and economics. However, the countries also had very different motivations in other ways. For example, Germany was interested in gaining power in Europe, while Japan was interested in gaining power in Asia.
Difficulty Level: Hard
45. B. The Spanish settlers of Mesoamerica favored using imported Africans as a source of labor over the Native Americans already present in the regions because Africans were more resistant to disease. As a result of their previous isolation from Europeans and other foreign cultures, the Native Americans of Mesoamerica were highly susceptible to European diseases, such as smallpox, and were quickly debilitated. Africans were much more resistant to both European and tropical diseases.
Difficulty Level: Medium
46. D. The above quotation is taken from The Prince. One of the premier works of political literature of the early Renaissance, The Prince was written by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1513 and was first formally published in 1532. In this renowned work, Machiavelli provided for current rulers and future rulers a guide to acquiring power, establishing a state, and maintaining it by any means necessary.
Difficulty Level: Medium
47. A. Second only to gold in worth, salt was a vitally important and extremely valuable commodity in the kingdom of Ghana. The unusually high value of salt in West Africa was largely because the region had no natural sources of the mineral, which was vital to human life. To ensure the viability of their community, the people of Ghana relied on a lucrative trade route that brought a steady supply of salt into their kingdom from the Sahara desert in the east.
Difficulty Level: Medium
48. B. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Latin American Free Trade Agreement (LAFTA), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) all are examples of trading agreements. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a multinational organization designed to aid in the coordination of the petroleum policies of its member nations. First established in September 1960, OPEC is currently composed of twelve member countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela.
Difficulty Level: Easy
49. C. While the Vietnamese readily accepted the implementation of Chinese practices in regard to civil service, Confucianism, Buddhism, and agriculture, some of the cultural differences between the two societies ultimately sparked resistance. The de-emphasis of the role of women in the Vietnamese society, for example, led to increased tensions between the Vietnamese and the Chinese. Eventually, this cultural conflict led to resistance efforts that ultimately ended with the restoration of Vietnamese independence in 939 CE.
Difficulty Level: Hard
50. B. The political system of feudalism came to dominate Western Europe primarily because of the European peoples' fear of attack from foreign invaders. After the Germanic invasions that led to the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century and the numerous Viking intrusions of the ninth century, Europeans were left terrified and desperate for some form of protection from further violence. The feudal system offered the otherwise defenseless inhabitants of Europe with a sense of protection and safety.
Difficulty Level: Hard
Using the Diagnostic Test
Calculating Your Score
Calculating your raw score for the SAT Subject Test in World History isn't difficult. Follow the steps below to approximate your raw score.
1. Count the items you answered correctly. Write that number here:
2. Count the items you answered incorrectly. Write that number here, then perform the calculation:
3. Subtract the results of #2 from the total in #1:
4. Take the results of #3 and round up or down as necessary to obtain a whole number:
This is your raw score. The College Board goes one step further and translates your raw score into a scaled score. It isn't necessary to take that extra step to determine how well you'll perform. If you obtained a high raw score (maximum: 80), that would translate to a high scaled score (800). Congratulations! You're definitely ready to ace this exam. If, on the other hand, you obtained a low raw score (say, 20 or under), that would translate to a low scaled score, roughly 450. Remember, you want to hit at least the average national score (for 2011, this was 607 for the SAT Subject Test in World History). Although the exact number you must achieve will vary from year to year, you should try to get a minimum raw score of around 50 to hit the average.
Improving Your Score
How do you feel about your performance? Remember, the diagnostic examination in this book is meant to help you identify your weak areas and show you where you may need to improve in terms of either the content you are studying or your actual test-taking habits. Don't underestimate the importance of good test-taking habits; for standardized examinations such as this one, your approach is every bit as important as the knowledge you bring to the table.
Assess your performance honestly. Go back through the test and review the questions you answered correctly, those you answered incorrectly, and those you skipped. Can you identify patterns or trends in your incorrect or missed answers? Did you make dumb mistakes by failing to read all of the answer options or by misreading the questions? Did you miss many core concepts? Also review the vocabulary terms you highlighted. Are these similar in nature or related to particular concepts or ideas? If you have time, make an effort to follow up on this material. Close the gaps in your knowledge so they aren't a problem when you get to your actual test.
Finally, how did you do with time? Did you run out of time? Were you rushing to finish within the allotted time period? Did you spend too much time on each individual question? Or did you fail to spend enough time? Remember, successful test-taking is as much about managing your time as it about understanding the content.
A Final Word about the Diagnostic Test
Finally, don't feel too bad if you didn't do well on this diagnostic test the first time through. After all, the entire point of this book is to give you the opportunity to identify areas for improvement and to give you the materials for practice. Use this book to test and retest, until you feel thoroughly comfortable with both the setup and the content of the examination.
Before moving on, head back to The Main Course and review the test-taking strategies discussed there. Now that you've had an opportunity to test, some of the test-taking strategies will make a whole lot more sense to you. As you move forward, you'll be able to see more specifically how you can apply these strategies to your advantage.