Use these CLEP Social Sciences and History sample questions to review history, political science, geography, and economics. The questions test factual knowledge as well as the ability to apply concepts, compare systems, and interpret historical and social-science relationships.
Topics Covered
- United States history
- Western civilization
- World history
- Comparative government
- United States government
- Population and physical geography
- Opportunity cost
- Fiscal policy
Sample Questions
- A. The movement of millions of African Americans from the South to cities in the North, Midwest, and West
- B. The permanent end of immigration from Europe
- C. The movement of industrial workers from northern cities to southern plantations
- D. The return of formerly enslaved people to Africa
- E. The migration of western farmers to New England mill towns before the Civil War
Show Answer
During the Great Migration, millions of African Americans left the South for urban areas elsewhere in the United States.
Employment opportunities and the desire to escape Jim Crow segregation and racial violence were major motivations, and the migration reshaped American cities, politics, and culture.
- A. It ended religious conflict throughout Europe.
- B. It created new Christian denominations and weakened the religious unity of Western Europe.
- C. It restored the political authority of the Roman Empire.
- D. It eliminated the influence of printing.
- E. It caused European monarchies to abandon Christianity.
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The Protestant Reformation led to the growth of Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, and other Protestant traditions.
It weakened the religious unity of Western Christianity and contributed to major political, social, and military conflicts.
- A. The exchange of ambassadors between European monarchies
- B. The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres
- C. The creation of a common European currency
- D. The division of Africa among industrial powers
- E. The spread of writing from Mesopotamia to Egypt
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The Columbian Exchange followed sustained contact between the Americas and the Eastern Hemisphere after 1492.
It included crops, livestock, diseases, technologies, and human populations, including the forced movement of enslaved Africans.
- A. Demand for luxury goods and the protection of trade routes by large empires
- B. A complete absence of political conflict in Central Asia
- C. The invention of steam-powered ships
- D. The elimination of all tariffs by a world government
- E. The replacement of caravan travel by railroads
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Silk Roads commerce expanded when merchants could move valuable goods across networks protected by stable states or empires.
Products such as silk, spices, precious metals, and luxury crafts supported long-distance exchange even though transportation was expensive.
- A. Brown v. Board of Education
- B. Gideon v. Wainwright
- C. Marbury v. Madison
- D. McCulloch v. Maryland
- E. United States v. Nixon
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In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court asserted its authority to determine whether federal laws conflict with the Constitution.
That authority is known as judicial review.
- A. A parliamentary executive usually depends on the confidence of the legislature.
- B. A parliamentary system never has political parties.
- C. A presidential system cannot have a written constitution.
- D. A parliamentary system gives judges complete control of legislation.
- E. A presidential system requires hereditary leadership.
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In a parliamentary system, the prime minister and cabinet normally emerge from the legislature and remain in office only while they retain legislative confidence.
In a presidential system, the executive and legislature are elected separately and generally serve fixed terms.
- A. Gross domestic product
- B. Population density
- C. Life expectancy
- D. Natural increase
- E. Dependency ratio
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Population density measures the average number of people living within a unit of land area.
It does not show how evenly the population is distributed within the region, but it provides a basic comparison of settlement intensity.
- A. Urban heat island
- B. Plate subduction
- C. Rain shadow
- D. Cultural diffusion
- E. River meandering
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A rain shadow forms when mountains force moist air to rise, cool, and release precipitation on the windward side.
The descending air on the leeward side becomes warmer and drier, producing comparatively arid conditions.
- A. The admission price of the festival
- B. The $80 in wages the student gives up
- C. The total amount of money spent by festival organizers
- D. The value of every activity the student could ever choose
- E. Zero, because the festival has free admission
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Opportunity cost is the value of the next-best alternative that is forgone when a choice is made.
By attending the festival, the student gives up the opportunity to earn $80.
- A. The central bank raises interest rates.
- B. The government reduces spending and raises taxes.
- C. The government increases spending or reduces taxes to stimulate aggregate demand.
- D. Commercial banks increase their reserve holdings voluntarily.
- E. Businesses raise prices to protect profits.
Show Answer
Expansionary fiscal policy uses government spending increases, tax reductions, or both to increase aggregate demand during an economic slowdown.
Changes in interest rates and bank reserves are normally associated with monetary policy rather than fiscal policy.
How to Use These Questions
Identify the discipline being tested before evaluating the choices. History questions usually require chronology, causation, or context; government questions focus on institutions and political systems; geography questions examine spatial or environmental relationships; and economics questions emphasize scarcity, incentives, policy, and markets.
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