Virginia Standards of Learning End-of-Course World Geography

1.On a Virginia landform map, the fall line runs from the Washington area through Fredericksburg and Richmond toward the North Carolina line. What does that line mark?

2.A globe strip labeled 37 degrees north crosses Virginia from the Eastern Shore to the mountains and keeps running east and west around Earth. What is that strip measuring?

3.Ship officers draw a line from the North Pole to the South Pole and call it 77 degrees west. Which measurement does that line record?

4.A classroom globe has one line that circles Earth halfway between the poles and is marked 0 degrees. What is that line, and what does it separate?

5.Greenwich, England, is the reference for a line marked 0 degrees that runs from pole to pole. Which description of that line is accurate?

6.A planner sets a map of one Richmond neighborhood beside a map of the whole world. The neighborhood sheet is called a large-scale map. Why is that name used?

7.Hikers read a topographic map of a Blue Ridge trail. In one stretch the contour lines nearly touch, then they spread far apart in a valley meadow. What does the tight cluster mean?

8.On a Mercator wall map, Greenland looks roughly as large as Africa. A student checks an equal-area atlas and disagrees. What is the Mercator map doing?

9.A county office stacks digital layers for flood zones, roads, schools, and population on one map and then asks which neighborhoods would be cut off in a storm. Which tool is built for that work?

10.A fishing boat off the Virginia capes needs its latitude and longitude in the dark, with no landmarks in sight. Which system is designed to give that position?

11.Four notes describe Richmond. Which note gives the city's absolute location?

12.A port brochure says Hampton Roads is in southeastern Virginia, where rivers meet the Chesapeake Bay and ships can reach the Atlantic. What kind of location is that sentence giving?

13.A state atlas colors each county: pale counties have few people per square mile, and dark counties have many. No county changes size. What kind of map is this?

14.Geographers outline the humid subtropical climate across the southeastern United States, including much of Virginia, because those places share a measured pattern of heat and rainfall. What type of region is that outline?

15.Commuter rail, warehouse shifts, and evening news from one downtown tie towns across northern Virginia to Washington, D.C. Geographers treat that commuting area as which kind of region?

16.Ask people where 'the South' begins and the answers differ, yet many still use the name for a cultural area that often includes Virginia. Which region type fits that name best?

17.Richmond has long, hot days in late June and short, cooler days in late December. Which statement explains that pattern?

18.Noon in Norfolk is followed by sunset, night, and another sunrise. Which motion of Earth produces that cycle of day and night?

19.A science notebook says Earth completes one full trip around the Sun between one January and the next. What is the name of that motion, and about how long does it take?

20.On the June solstice the noon Sun is directly overhead at a line about 23.5 degrees north of the equator. What is that line called, and why does it matter?

21.North of a circle near 66.5 degrees north, there is at least one summer day when the Sun does not set. What is that circle?

22.A flight from Tokyo toward Honolulu crosses a zigzag line in the Pacific and the crew changes the calendar date. What line did the plane cross?

23.On the same clear morning, sunrise reaches a city far to the east of Virginia before it reaches Norfolk. Why does the eastern city see the Sun first?

24.Moist ocean air climbs a coastal mountain range, drops heavy rain, and descends the far side as warm, dry wind. A desert lies on that far side. Which side is the desert on?

25.Clouds pile up on the ocean-facing slopes of a mountain range, and those slopes receive most of the year's rain and snow. Why does that side stay so wet?

26.A climate summary for most of Virginia lists hot, humid summers, mild winters, and rain in every season, with cooler conditions on the highest ridges. Which label fits that summary?

27.Coastal Oregon and the lowlands of Ireland stay mild for their latitudes, with clouds and rain in many months and no long dry summer. Which climate name fits both coasts?

28.Farmers around the Mediterranean Sea, in central Chile, and in southern California all plan for rainy winters and dry, sunny summers. What climate do they share?

29.In the Amazon Basin and the Congo Basin, monthly temperatures stay high and rain is heavy in every season. Which climate and vegetation pattern is that?

30.On the East African plains, tall grass and scattered trees green up in a rainy season and dry out when the rains fail for months. What climate pattern is that?

31.Along the Arctic coast of Alaska and Siberia, winters are long, trees do not grow, and the soil below the surface stays frozen. Which environment is this?

32.South of the Arctic tundra, a huge belt of spruce, fir, and pine stretches across Canada and Russia. Winters are long and cold. What is this forest zone called?

33.The Sahara is hot and the interior of Antarctica is bitterly cold, yet geographers call both deserts. What trait are they using?

34.South of the Sahara, a belt of short grass and scattered shrubs runs from the Atlantic toward the Red Sea. Rains are unreliable, and herders and farmers share a narrow living. What is this belt?

35.Northern Chile's Atacama Desert can go years with almost no rain, even though the Pacific Ocean is next to it. Which pair of influences best explains that dryness?

36.In South Asia, summer winds blow from the ocean onto the land and bring soaking rain. In winter the wind turns around and much of the region is dry. What is this seasonal pattern called?

37.Every few years, surface water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific warms, trade winds slacken, and rainfall patterns shift from Peru to the western Pacific. What is that episode called?

38.A storm with a calm eye and spiral rainbands is called a hurricane near the Caribbean, a typhoon near Japan, and a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. Why do the names differ?

39.The Himalayas are still being pushed higher where the Indian plate meets the Eurasian plate. What kind of plate boundary builds this range?

40.Along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, seafloor on either side is youngest at the crest and older farther away. What plate motion does that pattern show?

41.California's San Andreas Fault is famous for earthquakes, but it has no deep ocean trench and no volcanic mountain chain along it. What kind of boundary is it?

42.Japan, the Aleutian Islands, the Andes, and the islands of Indonesia all have frequent earthquakes and active volcanoes. What do these places share?

43.The Andes rise along the west coast of South America beside a deep ocean trench. Volcanoes dot the crest. Which plate action explains that pairing of trench and mountains?

44.Frost splits a cliff into loose stones that stay at the foot of the cliff. Later a flood carries those stones downstream. Which sentence uses the two process names correctly?

45.Where the Mississippi slows as it enters the Gulf of Mexico, it drops mud and sand and builds low, branching land. What is that landform, and why does it grow there?

46.An earthquake begins many kilometers underground beneath a coastal town. Seismologists then mark the spot on the surface directly above that starting point. What are the underground point and the surface point called?

47.A powerful earthquake on the seafloor shoves a huge mass of water upward. Hours later, harbors across the ocean see a series of damaging waves. What are those waves, and what set them off?

48.In eastern Africa, long valleys, volcanoes, and deep lakes such as Tanganyika mark a zone where the continent is pulling apart. What kind of plate boundary is this?

49.Iceland rises from the North Atlantic with active volcanoes, young lava fields, and a rift valley that hikers can walk through. Why is this island so volcanically active?

50.A cross-section of Virginia starts at the Atlantic beaches and ends in the southwest coalfields. Which list names the physiographic regions in order from east to west?

51.The Shenandoah River runs northeast between a high wooded ridge on the east and long parallel ridges on the west. In which Virginia region does that valley lie?

52.For generations, towns in Virginia's far southwest sent coal out by rail from hills cut by deep stream valleys. Which physiographic region contains that coal country?

53.The Chesapeake Bay is long and shallow, river water from the Susquehanna and Virginia's rivers mixes with seawater, and the old river valley is drowned. What kind of water body is the bay?

54.From the mountains to the Chesapeake, one river separates much of northern Virginia from Maryland and passes Washington, D.C. Which river is the border?

55.Naval ships, coal piers, and container cranes share a broad harbor where the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers meet the Chesapeake Bay. Which Virginia place is this?

56.A Virginia county seat lies on a narrow peninsula east of the Chesapeake Bay, linked to the mainland by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Which part of the state is that?

57.South of the James River, a forested wetland of peat soils and dark water stretches from Virginia into North Carolina. Canals and a wildlife refuge cross it. What is this wetland?

58.Ocean-going ships of the 1700s could sail up the James River only as far as the rapids. A city grew at that stop and later became Virginia's capital. Which city, and why there?

59.Between the rapids at Richmond and the first high ridge of the Appalachians, the land is a rolling upland of old rock, farms, and growing cities. Which region is that upland?

60.Skyline Drive follows a long, forested crest that looks east over the Piedmont and west into the Shenandoah Valley. Which mountain region is that crest?

61.Virginia lies north of the equator and west of the prime meridian. In which two hemispheres is the whole state located?

62.A student lists states that share a land boundary with Virginia: North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Maryland. A friend wants to add one more state that does not actually touch Virginia. Which state does not belong?

63.A travel page calls Virginia Beach the state capital because it is Virginia's most populous independent city. Which correction should a geographer make?

64.A river rises in Virginia's western highlands, passes Lynchburg and the falls at Richmond, and widens toward Newport News. Where does that river, the James, deliver its water?

65.Ships leaving the Virginia capes soon meet a warm ocean current flowing north along the western Atlantic. Which current is it, and what does it carry toward Europe?

66.Along Virginia's Atlantic edge, especially off the Eastern Shore, narrow sandy islands face the open ocean while quieter water lies behind them. What job do these barrier islands do?

67.Richmond on the James and Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock both grew where boats from the coast had to stop. What geographic advantage did those fall-line sites share?

68.The 1607 English settlement at Jamestown stood on a low river peninsula, with no rapids and with tidewater reaching the shore. Which statement places it correctly in Virginia's regions?

69.Travelers crossing from Virginia into the Rockies notice that the western peaks are higher and more rugged, while Virginia's ridges are lower and more rounded. What history of the two ranges explains the contrast?

70.A river journey in Egypt moves from the Sudanese border toward Cairo and then Alexandria. The water is flowing toward the Mediterranean the whole way. Which direction does the Nile flow, and why does that surprise some map readers?

71.At its mouth the Amazon pushes a huge volume of freshwater into the Atlantic, and its basin covers most of northern South America. Which comparison with other rivers is the surest?

72.Climbers aiming for the highest point above sea level head to the crest where Nepal meets China. Which mountain are they climbing, and in which range is it?

73.A sand sea, gravel plains, and rare oases cover most of North Africa from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Which statement identifies this region without confusing it with a cold desert?

74.One country reaches from eastern Europe across Siberia to the Pacific and covers more land than Canada, China, or the United States. Which country is it?

75.A 2024 population chart hangs in a geography classroom. China is no longer in first place. Which country does the chart show as the world's most populous in the mid-2020s?

76.A traveler who speaks Spanish can get by in Peru, Argentina, and Colombia, then crosses into Brazil and hears a different official language. Which language is it, and why is Brazil different?

77.Islam began in Southwest Asia, yet the country with the largest Muslim population is a chain of islands in Southeast Asia. Which country is that?

78.A container ship leaves the Mediterranean, crosses Egypt, and enters the Red Sea without sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. Which waterway made that route possible?

79.A ship loaded in the Caribbean climbs through locks and comes out on the Pacific side of a narrow neck of land in Central America. Which canal, and which two oceans, are involved?

80.Tankers leaving the Persian Gulf must pass a narrow strait between Iran and the Musandam Peninsula of Oman before they reach the open Arabian Sea. Why do geographers call this strait a choke point?

81.Between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, ships crowd a narrow passage linking the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea. What is this passage, and why does it matter?

82.Atlas makers often draw the boundary between Europe and Asia along a low north-south range in western Russia, then continue it along a river to the Caspian Sea. Which range is the usual landmark?

83.Satellite night lights in Egypt form a bright ribbon and a glowing triangle at the Mediterranean, while the land on either side stays dark. What does that pattern show about where people live?

84.Australia is a whole continent, yet its largest cities, including Sydney and Melbourne, cluster on the coast, and the interior is thinly settled. What best explains that pattern?

85.Canada is the world's second-largest country, but most of its people live in a relatively narrow band in the south. Why is the northern majority of the land so sparsely settled?

86.China's western half includes the Tibetan Plateau and dry basins, while the east holds the great river plains. Where do most of China's people live, and why?

87.Siberia makes up most of Russia's land, yet a population map shows the heavier shading west of the Ural Mountains. What does that map tell a reader?

88.Bangladesh occupies a low-lying delta where the Ganges and Brahmaputra meet the Bay of Bengal. Millions of people farm that land. Which hazard comes with this location?

89.In the Netherlands, dikes hold back the sea and pumps keep water off fields and towns that sit at or below sea level. What is the name for this reclaimed land?

90.In the 1960s the Aral Sea, between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was one of the world's largest lakes. By the 2000s most of it had dried into salty flats. What human action caused the collapse?

91.Satellite images of the southern Amazon show rectangular clearings spreading out from roads. Ranchers and farmers are the main reason those rectangles appear. What change is underway, and why does it matter beyond Brazil?

92.Along the southern edge of the Sahara, years of drought plus heavy grazing and intensive cropping have left soil bare and sandy where grass used to hold it. What process is this?

93.A concrete dam on China's Yangtze River holds back a reservoir hundreds of kilometers long, produces huge amounts of electricity, and forced many towns to move uphill. Which project is this?

94.A poster mixes two environmental problems: it says a hole in the ozone layer is what makes the planet warmer, and that carbon dioxide is the gas that blocks ultraviolet light. Which correction separates the two problems?

95.In a country, death rates have fallen because of cleaner water, vaccines, and more reliable food, but birth rates are still high. The population pyramid has a very wide base. Which stage of the demographic transition is this?

96.Two families flee the same war. One crosses into a neighboring country and asks for protection. The other moves to a safer city but stays inside the home country. Which label fits only the family that crossed the border?

97.After several failed harvests, families leave a dry farming region because wells are empty and there is no local work. In migration studies, what kind of factor is the drought?

98.In Mexico, the capital's metropolitan area is far larger than Guadalajara or Monterrey and holds a huge share of the country's business, government, and culture. What term describes a city with that kind of lead?

99.Norfolk's deep harbor is a physical feature of the place itself. Its position on Atlantic shipping lanes, near the Chesapeake and the Midwest by rail, is a different kind of fact. Which pairing names those two ideas?

100.A worker plants soybeans, another crews a fishing boat, and a third cuts timber on a managed tract. Before any of those goods are processed in a factory, which sector of the economy are these jobs in?

101.A household in a highland village grows maize, beans, and squash, eats nearly all of it, and sells only a little in a nearby market. What kind of agriculture is this?

102.Two countries have similar gross domestic product per person. One has a much higher life expectancy and many more years of schooling. Which measure is built to show that broader difference?

103.A coastal county in Virginia debates new wind turbines, a solar field, and a plan to keep burning coal. Which energy sources in that debate can be replaced on a human timescale?

104.A government charges a fee on steel brought in from another country. Domestic mills welcome the fee, and builders say it raises the cost of beams. What is that fee?

105.Cars, produce, and machinery cross the borders among the United States, Mexico, and Canada under a trade agreement that took the place of an older pact. What is the current agreement?

106.A country is strained by a sharp conflict among ethnic groups, unequal spending among regions, and a coastal province that wants to break away. In political geography, what kind of forces are these?

107.The Kurdish people share a language and identity and live mainly across Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, without a fully independent country of their own. Which term fits that situation?

108.West of the Great Lakes, the land boundary between the United States and Canada follows a straight line of latitude for a very long distance. What kind of boundary is that line, and which parallel is it?