Global History & Geography II: c. 1750 to the Early 21st Century — Midterm exam worked answers
Student exam paperA course-authored written history assessment. Use two 60-minute blocks for the midterm, three for the final, and one for the optional sample. Marking and revision have a separate parent-plan session.
20 questions · 60 points · suggested 120 minutes
Student instructions
- Use supplied evidence and your timeline; notes and a glossary are permitted.
- Give short reasoned answers; distinguish observations from interpretations.
- Keep worked keys closed until after attempting the paper.
- Equivalent supported explanations and accessible response formats are accepted.
Historical inquiry methods
| Task | Method |
|---|---|
| Context | Identify period, place, institutions, and earlier conditions. |
| Source | Identify maker, date, purpose, form, and limits. |
| Causation | Explain a mechanism; chronology alone is not causation. |
| Comparison | Use stated criteria and comparable evidence. |
Coverage and marks
| Chapter | Questions | Points |
|---|---|---|
| The World Around 1750 & Atlantic Revolutions | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | 15 |
| Nations, Industry & Economic Life | 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | 15 |
| Reform, Imperialism & Asian Transformations | 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 | 15 |
| World Wars, Revolution & Dictatorship | 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 | 15 |
Parent / teacher marking guide
- A person awards each of the three criteria separately.
- Accept different supported interpretations; exact model wording is unnecessary.
- Use feedback and revision to diagnose gaps. A score does not certify homeschool credit.
Question 1 · 3 points
A map labels a province as part of an empire. Does it establish that its people supported the ruler?
Worked answer
No. It records a territorial representation. Local records, petitions, administrative practices, and evidence of resistance would be needed to evaluate support or effective control.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 2 · 3 points
A revolution follows the publication of a rights text. Is that enough to establish that the text caused the revolution?
Worked answer
No. Establish how people encountered and used it, and connect the argument to political decisions. Examine taxation, conflict, organization, and other conditions rather than treating sequence as proof of causation.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 3 · 3 points
A later constitution follows the declaration. Does their sequence prove that every rights claim became enforceable?
Worked answer
No. Compare the operative provisions, eligibility, institutions, and implementation. A statement of principles and a rule supplying a remedy have different functions and scopes.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 4 · 3 points
A government calls a defendant an enemy during wartime. What evidence is needed before treating the label as established wrongdoing?
Worked answer
Identify the specific allegation, evidence, procedure, and decision makers. An official label records a claim; a wartime context does not by itself prove an individual’s conduct.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 5 · 3 points
Was Haitian independence achieved by Louverture alone?
Worked answer
No. Enslaved and free participants, multiple leaders, local organization, warfare, and international conditions shaped the revolution. Louverture died before the 1804 declaration, so the later outcome requires its own actors and chronology.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 6 · 3 points
An independence speech speaks for the people. How would you test whether all communities shared its goals?
Worked answer
Identify its author, audience, and political purpose. Compare petitions, mobilization, local records, and opposing accounts from named communities; a representative claim is not direct evidence of unanimous agreement.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 7 · 3 points
A successful unification is celebrated in a later textbook. Does success prove that the process was inevitable?
Worked answer
No. Examine earlier alternatives, decisions, conflicts, and constraints. A later outcome does not establish what participants expected or remove the possibility of a different path.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 8 · 3 points
A steam engine is patented before factories use it widely. What might explain the delay?
Worked answer
Cost, reliability, fuel and transport access, existing equipment, finance, skilled maintenance, and market demand can delay adoption. A patent records a claim about an invention, not the operation of an entire economy.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 9 · 3 points
A newspaper labels a reform socialist. What should be checked before describing its economic effects?
Worked answer
Identify the actual ownership, financing, decision rules, period, and sector. A political label may express approval or criticism without supplying evidence about how the institution works.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 10 · 3 points
An image shows children near machinery. Does it establish their age, pay, and daily hours?
Worked answer
No. It records selected visible details. Verify the date, place, creator, caption, and employment records before inferring age, status, pay, or working time.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 11 · 3 points
A voting reform increases the electorate. Does that prove equal political power?
Worked answer
No. Check eligibility, turnout, district representation, intimidation, and access to organizing. Expansion can be significant while leaving unequal participation and excluded groups.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 12 · 3 points
Did the Berlin Conference establish agreement among African communities on colonial boundaries?
Worked answer
No. African representatives were excluded. Agreements among outside powers differ from local consent, and many boundaries and forms of control developed through later conquest and administration.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 13 · 3 points
A resistance movement fails to obtain independence immediately. Does that establish that it had no historical effect?
Worked answer
No. Investigate institutional changes, later organizing, political language, repression, and community consequences. Immediate victory is one outcome measure rather than a complete account of influence.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 14 · 3 points
A reform imports machinery. Does that show that it changed every political institution?
Worked answer
No. Technology, ownership, administration, education, and political representation can change at different rates. Examine the reform’s stated scope and implementation rather than treating one imported machine as a complete transformation.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 15 · 3 points
A foreign account describes Japan before 1868 as having no modern knowledge. What should be investigated?
Worked answer
Check existing literacy, commerce, technology, education, and selective foreign exchange. The account’s date, purpose, and definitions matter; a dramatic transition does not establish an absence of earlier institutions or knowledge.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 16 · 3 points
Does the 1918 armistice mean every conflict ended and all peace terms were settled that day?
Worked answer
No. An armistice stops fighting under stated terms; treaties and other conflicts followed. Identify the front, parties, and date before treating one agreement as universal peace.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 17 · 3 points
A book says February 1917 and another says March 1917 for the same revolution. Must one be wrong?
Worked answer
Not necessarily. Check the calendar convention: Russia then used the Julian calendar, while Gregorian dates differ. Identify the event and conversion before treating date labels as a substantive contradiction.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 18 · 3 points
A mandate changes the administrator’s title. Does that prove the population obtained self-government?
Worked answer
No. Examine who selected officials, made laws, controlled resources, and could challenge decisions. A new label can coexist with continued outside authority.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 19 · 3 points
If two regimes censor newspapers, does that prove they have identical ideologies and victims?
Worked answer
No. Censorship is one comparable method. Examine the specific ideology, institutions, targets, dates, and policies before equating their histories or consequences.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.
Question 20 · 3 points
Does May 1945 mark the end of World War II in every theater?
Worked answer
No. Germany’s surrender ended major fighting against Germany, while the war against Japan continued. Japan’s August announcement and September formal surrender have distinct dates and functions.
Identify the relevant context and evidence.
Explain the connection using the supplied information.
Qualify the conclusion with the relevant limitation or distinction.
Marking criteria
- Accurate context or identification.
- Evidence connected to an explained conclusion.
- A correct limitation, distinction, or qualification.