Social Studies Test

Question 1

Fertile Crescent

Answer 1

a region of the Middle East that stretches in a large, crescent-shaped curve from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea

Question 2

Mesopotamia

Answer 2

wide, flat plain in between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq

Question 3

irrigate

Answer 3

supply water to crops

Question 4

city-state

Answer 4

an independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory

Question 5

barter

Answer 5

trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money

Question 6

polytheism

Answer 6

The belief in or worship of more than one god.

Question 7

ziggurat

Answer 7

brick, pyramid-shaped Mesopotamian temple

Question 8

empire

Answer 8

state containing several countries or territories

Question 9

ally

Answer 9

an independent state that works with other states to achieve a shared military or political goal

Question 10

cultural trait

Answer 10

an idea or way of doing things that is common in a certain culture

Question 11

Hammurabi’s Code

Answer 11

a set of laws that governed life in the Babylonian empire

Question 12

rule of law

Answer 12

the idea that all members of a society - even the rich and powerful - must obey the law

Question 13

soldiers who fight while riding horses

Answer 13

cavalry

Question 14

standing army

Answer 14

a permanent army of professional soldiers

Question 15

payment made to show loyalty to a stronger power

Answer 15

tribute

Question 16

money that is used as a medium of exchange, usually bills or coins

Answer 16

currency

Question 17

a carved stone slab or pillar that stands on end

Answer 17

stele

Question 18

art of steering a ship from place to place

Answer 18

navigation

Question 19

a area ruled by a distant country

Answer 19

colony

Question 20

cultural diffusion

Answer 20

the spreading of cultural traits from one region to another