Study Guide

Field 244: Social Science: Economics 
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. Read each question and its answer choices carefully and choose the ONE best answer.

During the test you should try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for choosing an incorrect response.

Objective 0001 
Understand basic sources, tools, and methods of social science inquiry and interdisciplinary connections among the social sciences

1. A social science researcher would be most likely to use sampling techniques in conducting which of the following research projects?

  1. a study of demographic changes on one city block over time
  2. an exploration of untreated depression in people statewide
  3. a report on ritual mask use in modern and ancient Maori culture
  4. a comparison of campaign finance laws in five contiguous states
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Sampling is the process of selecting a small number of representative units from a population of interest, so that results based on studying the sample can be generalized to the population from which they were chosen. Sampling is most appropriate when the population exists in the present and is too large to allow for a full census.

Objective 0002 
Understand the use of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation in social science inquiry and basic historical concepts.

2. A high school social science teacher has assigned students a semester-long research project. One instructional goal for the research project is for students to demonstrate their ability to evaluate sources throughout the inquiry process. The teacher could best accomplish this goal by:

  1. requiring students to utilize primary sources.
  2. steering students toward an academic database to conduct their research.
  3. having students submit an annotated bibliography.
  4. including a "source analysis" component on the grading rubric for the project.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
An annotated bibliography is a list of sources on one topic that includes a brief note or annotation for each source, describing its content, relevance, and credibility. By having students submit annotated bibliographies, the teacher requires students to evaluate their sources and gains an opportunity to assess their progress toward this instructional goal.

Objective 0002 
Understand the use of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation in social science inquiry and basic historical concepts.

3. For which of the following tasks would historians rely most on chronological thinking?

  1. identifying central questions in narratives
  2. explaining historical causality
  3. proposing alternative choices for addressing a historical problem
  4. considering multiple perspectives
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Much of the work of historians involves the ambiguities of cause and effect. Because causes precede effects, sometimes by extended periods, historians can begin to consider questions of historical causality by tracing events chronologically.

Objective 0003 
Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the social science classroom.

4. Use the sentence below to answer the question that follows.

By developing new products and/or starting new businesses and being willing to take on the associated risks of such endeavors,  start underline entrepreneurs end underline  play a key role in helping an economy grow.

A teacher could best promote students' understanding of the underlined vocabulary word in the sentence by providing explicit instruction in which of the following types of context clues?

  1. contrast
  2. explanation
  3. inference
  4. restatement
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Many educational texts are carefully written to include information that can serve as context clues to support students’ reading comprehension. Generally, however, students need to be taught how to recognize and access the several types of context clues. In this text, the term entrepreneur is introduced with the help of an explanation clue, in which the new vocabulary word is explained within the same sentence. Explanation clues can also appear in the sentence immediately preceding or following the sentence containing the target word.

Objective 0003 
Understand the process of reading, and apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' reading development in the social science classroom.

5. A high school social science class includes some English language learners and struggling readers who lack the basic reading skills necessary to comprehend complex informational texts. Which of the following strategies for differentiating reading assignments for these students would be most appropriate for a content-area teacher to use to address the students' reading comprehension needs?

  1. teaching the students the basic reading skills that they lack and then reviewing key skills before assigning a new text for independent reading
  2. using a variety of techniques to promote the students' development of oral reading fluency with respect to an assigned text, such as phrase-cued reading, choral reading, and echo reading
  3. introducing key vocabulary to the students prior to assigning a new text and having them read aloud, discuss, and annotate the text with a partner
  4. allowing the students to search for an alternative text online that addresses the same topic as an assigned text but is written for a grade level that is better aligned with their own reading level
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Lack of academic language knowledge is a common contributing factor to comprehension difficulties for students who are English language learners and/or struggling readers. Providing English language learners and struggling readers with explicit instruction in a text's key academic vocabulary, coupled with repeated meaningful exposure to and practice using the new vocabulary (e.g., by having them read aloud and discuss the text with a partner) is an effective approach for enhancing the students' comprehension of new academic language in a complex informational text. Finally, annotating the text with a partner requires the students to use various means (e.g., sticky notes, highlighting, notes in the text's margins) during reading to identify the text's key ideas and details, including the author's argument, claims, and evidence. Text annotation reinforces students' reading comprehension as well as their retention of essential text content.

Objective 0004 
Understand political concepts, systems, features, and processes in the United States and other world areas.

6. The U.S. Congress is best able to influence foreign policy by exercising its constitutional power to:

  1. regulate international commerce.
  2. establish independent regulatory commissions.
  3. appropriate federal funds.
  4. approve or reject presidential appointments.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The power to tax and spend is the first of the enumerated powers given to Congress in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. One illustrative example of Congress influencing foreign policy through the "power of the purse" is the Boland Amendments to the Defense Appropriations Act during the 1980s. This series of amendments banned U.S. assistance to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels.

Objective 0005 
Understand economic concepts and systems, the operation of the U.S. and world economies, and personal finance.

7. A consumer who is choosing between a credit card with a high interest rate and no annual fee and one with a low interest rate and a substantial annual fee should consider spending habits primarily for which of the following reasons?

  1. If the consumer's large purchases are seasonal, an annual fee may seem burdensome.
  2. If the consumer's purchases are mostly made with cash, a high interest rate is more affordable.
  3. If the consumer spends the same amount each month, a high annual fee may be critical.
  4. If the consumer limits purchases and pays the bill in full each month, the interest rate is irrelevant.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The scenario illustrates the common economic phenomenon of a trade-off where an advantage comes with the opportunity cost of an offsetting disadvantage. The disadvantage of the first credit card, a high interest rate on balances carried forward, can be avoided if the consumer does not carry a balance and instead pays the credit card bill in full each month.

Objective 0006 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in world history.

8. Which of the following developments reflects an important consequence of the Neolithic agricultural revolution?

  1. the emergence of pietistic religions
  2. a more equitable distribution of wealth
  3. a decrease in average family size
  4. the creation of permanent settlements
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
In the Paleolithic Era, early humans lived in small groups sustained by hunting and gathering. As they gained knowledge of the migration habits of the animals they hunted and the growth patterns of the wild grains they gathered, humans began domesticating animals and cultivating crops to feed gradually rising populations. As early as 10,000 B C E, these new ways of acquiring food led humans to establish permanent agricultural villages.

Objective 0007 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in U.S. and Illinois history.

9. The increased use of steam power by U.S. manufacturers during the first half of the nineteenth century most directly influenced the:

  1. location and productivity of factories.
  2. division of labor in factories.
  3. variety of goods produced in factories.
  4. quality of goods produced in factories.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The development of steam power marked a signal advance in the ability to do work, which had previously been limited to the muscle power of humans and draft animals supplemented by energy generated by wind and running water. Steam requires the burning of wood or, more commonly, coal to boil water, so the factories that used steam power tended to be located near sources of those raw materials. Furthermore, steam-powered factories required substantial human labor and produced large amounts of consumer goods, encouraging a concentration of population into fast-growing urban centers.

Objective 0007 
Understand major developments and patterns of continuity and change in U.S. and Illinois history.

10. Which of the following provisions of the U.S. Constitution most clearly reflects the framers' goal of creating a strong national government after the failure of the Articles of Confederation?

  1. "The Congress shall have power to... make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States."
  2. "[The president] shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for."
  3. "The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed."
  4. "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence."
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The Constitution enumerates seventeen specific delegated powers to Congress, several of which are substantially more expansive than the powers of its predecessor under the Articles of Confederation. In addition, the Constitution gives Congress "implied powers" to legislate on other matters that "shall be necessary and proper." This clause gives Congress and the national government generally much more power than the central government that had been established by the Articles of Confederation.

Objective 0008 
Understand tools, concepts, and processes of human and physical geography.

11. Which of the following examples best illustrates how experience and culture influence human perceptions of regions?

  1. A person from Canada is more likely than a person from Guatemala to view Latin America as a culture region.
  2. A person from Italy is more likely than a person from Spain to view Western Europe as a culture region.
  3. A person from South Africa is more likely than a person from Egypt to view sub-Saharan Africa as a culture region.
  4. A person from Malaysia is more likely than a person from Thailand to view Southeast Asia as a culture region.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
In geography, a region is an area of land that shares one or more characteristic features. Because many regions are defined by their human features, such as the predominant languages, ethnicities, and economic activities across an area, cultural background and personal experiences can influence how people perceive regions. For example, an individual living in Guatemala may be attuned to cultural differences across Central and South America, while an individual living in Canada may be more likely to perceive Latin America as a cohesive region.

Objective 0009 
Understand concepts, terms, and theories related to human behavior and development, the study of cultures, the structure and organization of human societies, and the processes of social interaction.

12. A major sociological difference between preindustrial and postindustrial societies is that in a preindustrial society:

  1. gender roles are likely to be less rigidly defined.
  2. social status is more likely to be determined by nonmonetary standards.
  3. people are less likely to integrate religious and secular concerns.
  4. an individual's sense of self is more likely to be shaped by occupational role.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Because preindustrial societies operate close to subsistence level, mass participation in producing food is required. In many such societies, the most monetized classes—such as people engaged in mercantile trade—have lower social status than warriors, priests, and landowners. In industrial and postindustrial societies, social classes become even more stratified, with monetary accumulation typically measuring social status.

Objective 0010 
Understand economic concepts, terms, theories, skills, perspectives, and systems.

13. An economics teacher could best use which of the following examples to illustrate the use of money as a medium of exchange?

  1. A social media marketing firm charges its clients a specific fee for its services, in the form of the local currency.
  2. All the world's countries use U.S. dollars to measure and record the price of crude oil.
  3. An individual invests in a bond and later receives interest payments, with both payments in the same currency.
  4. A household keeps in a bank account an emergency fund equal to six months of expenses.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
In order to serve as money, an asset needs to be regularly accepted by creditors for payment of debts or by sellers in exchange for goods and services. A firm charging a client a fee for service shows the latter function of money, even if some asset other than conventional paper currency were being used as the medium of exchange.

Objective 0010 
Understand economic concepts, terms, theories, skills, perspectives, and systems.

14. A middle school teacher is ending a unit on basic economies. Which of the following formative assignments would best help reinforce students' understanding of the rationing role of supply and demand in a market economy?

  1. making predictions about the price of tickets to entertainment events based on the average attendance at such events at a local arena
  2. role-playing the decisions of retailers to analyze why stores sometimes do not meet consumer demand during an annual sale
  3. finding and explaining a real-world example of a monopoly that charges different prices to different categories of consumers
  4. creating double-line graphs of recent actual data matching price trends for gasoline with fluctuations in crude oil supply
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Scarcity and the rationing of scarce resources is a fundamental problem of economics. In a market economy, rationing is generally accomplished through prices set by supply and demand; higher demand for a good or service will result in a higher price, which in turn will limit the quantity of demand and prevent a shortage. Students' understanding of the rationing role of market prices can be demonstrated and deepened by predicting prices for goods such as tickets to an entertainment event under different market conditions.

Objective 0011 
Understand market economies.

15. Use the information below to answer the question that follows.

After securing financing, recruiting and training qualified employees, verifying or challenging zoning, obtaining professional licensing, and creating a marketing plan, new companies must then create and sell their products or services.

A teacher of economics could best use this information to illustrate which of the following generalizations about perfectly competitive markets?

  1. Perfect competition requires that firms be well equipped to deal with bureaucratic realities.
  2. Perfect competition typically results in an economic system that values entrepreneurialism.
  3. Perfect competition excels in economic systems with a high degree of government regulation.
  4. Perfect competition is relatively rare in the world outside of textbooks due to barriers to entry.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Perfect competition is a market structure in which many small buyers and sellers interact to set a price that none of them individually can influence. The existence of economic profits attracts new entrants who compete by lowering prices until economic profits disappear. This equilibrating process requires that firms be free to enter the market without facing start-up costs, regulatory costs, or other barriers. Since these barriers to entry are pervasive, perfect competition is an idealized model that is only partially approximated by some financial markets.

Objective 0012 
Understand the components, structure, organization, and operation of the U.S. economy.

16. In which of the following situations would a manufacturing firm's demand for labor most likely decrease?

  1. when the supply of labor increases
  2. when the price of using capital relative to that of using labor decreases
  3. when the price of the firm's products increases
  4. when plant reorganization raises the marginal product of an additional unit of labor
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Like other markets, labor markets are governed by the forces of supply and demand. Because some substitutability between the use of labor and capital such as machinery is typical in production processes, an increase in the price of labor (wages) or a decrease in the price of capital generally leads to a substitution toward the use of capital and a decrease in the demand for labor.

Objective 0012 
Understand the components, structure, organization, and operation of the U.S. economy.

17. The productivity of a national economy is said to be increasing when statistics show that:

  1. a measure of output per worker hour of input is increasing.
  2. variable costs as a percentage of total costs are decreasing.
  3. the rates of cyclical and structural unemployment are decreasing.
  4. corporate profits as a percentage of gross national income are increasing.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The macroeconomic concept of productivity is the fundamental determinant of the growth of a country's material standard of living over the long run. Productivity is defined as a measure of the output per unit of input and is most often computed as gross domestic product divided by hours of labor input.

Objective 0013 
Understand the role of government in the U.S. economy.

18. Which of the following tax policies is specifically designed to increase economic growth?

  1. a tax on the outsourcing of production to foreign countries
  2. a tax on the acquisition of capital assets
  3. a tax credit for research into new technologies
  4. a tax credit for installation of energy-efficient equipment
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Taxes generally discourage the activity or item being taxed, while a tax credit serves as a positive incentive. A tax credit for research into new technologies would be expected to contribute to the growth of the capital stock, one of the factors of production. The availability of factors of production, including natural, human, and capital resources, largely determines the ability of an economy to grow in the long run.

Objective 0013 
Understand the role of government in the U.S. economy.

19. Which of the following actions would the Federal Reserve System most likely take to control rising inflation?

  1. reducing the proportion of paper currency and coins in the money supply
  2. raising the discount rate on loans to member banks
  3. increasing the purchase of government bonds through open-market operations
  4. lowering the reserve requirements for member banks
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Using the tools of monetary policy, the Federal Reserve can slow the growth of the money supply to maintain the stable value of money and counter inflation. One tool the Federal Reserve can use is the discount rate charged to banks that have lent too much money. A higher discount rate discourages commercial banks from creating money through the lending process. The resulting slowing of economic activity is likely to ease demand-pull inflationary pressures throughout the economy.

Objective 0014 
Understand international economics and global economic interdependence.

20. Which of the following statements best describes a major consequence of the growing interdependence of contemporary economic systems?

  1. a narrowing of balance of payments differentials among trading partners
  2. an increase in the global regulation of capital mobility
  3. a narrowing of per capita income differentials among economies
  4. an increase in the global specialization of labor
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
When national economic systems are less interdependent and more self-sufficient, the labor force in each country produces the entire range of goods and services, from food to manufactured goods to technological services. In contrast, an open economy with international trade and interdependence allows workers in different localities to specialize in functions determined by their preferences, resources, human capital, and other considerations. In the contemporary interdependent world, most of the world's cereal grains, automobiles, apparel, and many other goods and services are each produced in relatively few countries that specialize in those products.