Unit 4: Political Patterns & Processes
Human Geo · Unit 4 · Paper 1

Political Patterns & Processes unit test

A test on this unit alone, marked as a percentage and a letter grade — for the test your class is actually sitting, rather than for May. Answer everything, then submit once: seeing the answer to question 3 before attempting question 4 makes the final percentage meaningless.

Paper 1Paper 2Paper 3
Each paper is built from this unit’s 16 terms and is the same for everyone, so a teacher can assign “Unit 4, Paper 1” and every student sits the identical test. Multiple choice is marked objectively; the written sections you mark yourself against the model answer and rubric.
Suggested time 34 min 31 points0/17 attempted
1

Shatterbelt

2

Boundary types

3

Balkanization

4

Colonial legacy of boundaries

5

Gerrymandering

6

Sovereignty

7

Enclave and exclave

8

Antecedent, subsequent, superimposed and relict boundaries

9

State, nation and nation-state

10

Unitary vs federal states

11

Choke point

12

Devolution

Short answer 1. Define or explain: Territoriality

3 pts

Short answer 2. Define or explain: Supranational organization

3 pts

Short answer 3. Define or explain: Centripetal and centrifugal forces

3 pts

Short answer 4. Define or explain: Stateless nation and multinational state

3 pts

Free response

7 pts

TWO STIMULI. Examine the two stimuli, described below. Stimulus 1 — A map of a hypothetical country divided into ten legislative districts of roughly equal population. Districts 1 through 4 are compact and roughly square, covering the rural western half of the country. Districts 5 through 10 cover the eastern half, where the country's largest city is located; district 7 is a long, narrow shape that extends nearly the full width of the city, connecting two distant neighborhoods by a corridor only a few blocks wide, while districts 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 wrap around it in irregular shapes. Stimulus 2 — A map showing a portion of the border between two neighboring countries. For most of its length the border follows a river; along one stretch of about 200 kilometers it runs as a straight line along a line of latitude, cutting across an area where a single ethnic group's traditional territory lies on both sides.

A. Identify the type of boundary illustrated by the straight-line segment in Stimulus 2.

B. Describe the practice illustrated by district 7 in Stimulus 1.

C. Describe one purpose of redistricting.

D. Explain how the shape of district 7 could affect the outcome of an election.

E. Explain one reason a boundary drawn as in the straight-line segment of Stimulus 2 may generate conflict.

F. Explain how the river boundary in Stimulus 2 could become a source of dispute even though it follows a physical feature.

G. Explain one way a supranational organization could reduce tensions arising from the boundary in Stimulus 2.