GED — All Questions

Which body of water borders the United States on the west coast?

• a.The Indian Ocean
• b.The Atlantic Ocean
• c.The Pacific Ocean✓
• d.The Gulf of Mexico

The Pacific Ocean lies along the western coast of the United States, bordering states like California and Oregon. The Atlantic Ocean is on the east coast. Basic map knowledge helps interpret geography questions.

In the United States, how often are presidential elections held?

• a.Every four years✓
• b.Every six years
• c.Every year
• d.Every two years

Presidential elections occur every four years, as set by the Constitution. Members of the House serve two-year terms and senators serve six-year terms. Regular elections are a key feature of representative democracy.

What was the main goal of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s?

• a.To end legal racial segregation✓
• b.To lower federal taxes
• c.To end U.S. involvement in wars
• d.To expand the railroad system

The movement of the 1950s and 1960s set out to dismantle legally enforced racial segregation and the disfranchisement that went with it, producing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lowering federal taxes belongs to a different political tradition altogether. Ending U.S. involvement in wars describes the antiwar movement, which overlapped in time but not in aim. And expanding the railroad system was a nineteenth-century project, roughly a century early.

A map's scale is used to—

• a.label the capital cities
• b.show real distances✓
• c.show the direction of north
• d.indicate elevation with color

A scale tells you what a distance on the page is worth on the ground, which is what lets you turn two inches of map into miles. Direction is the compass rose's job, not the scale's. Capital cities are marked by symbols in the legend. And elevation shown through color is a feature of a relief or topographic map, again read from the legend rather than the scale.

Which economic system is based on private ownership and market competition?

• a.Communism
• b.Feudalism
• c.Monarchy
• d.Capitalism✓

Capitalism is an economic system in which individuals and businesses privately own property and compete in markets. Prices are largely set by supply and demand. This contrasts with communism, where the state controls production.

The Declaration of Independence (1776) was written primarily to—

• a.establish the three branches of government
• b.justify separation from Britain✓
• c.abolish slavery
• d.create the Supreme Court

The Declaration set out the colonies' reasons for breaking with British rule, resting them on natural rights and government by consent. It established no institutions: the three branches were created by the Constitution eleven years later, and the Supreme Court with them. And it did not abolish slavery — that came with the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, nearly ninety years afterward.

What is the role of the U.S. Supreme Court?

• a.To command the armed forces
• b.To collect federal taxes
• c.To interpret the Constitution✓
• d.To write new laws

The Court interprets the Constitution and decides whether laws square with it, the power known as judicial review. Writing new laws is Congress's job, and a court that wrote them would collapse the separation of powers the Constitution sets up. Commanding the armed forces belongs to the President as commander in chief. And collecting federal taxes is an executive function carried out by the Treasury.

Which term describes goods a country sells to other countries?

• a.Exports✓
• b.Subsidies
• c.Imports
• d.Tariffs

Exports are goods and services a country sells to other nations. Imports are what a country buys from abroad. The balance between exports and imports affects a nation's trade relationships.

The idea that government power comes from the consent of the people is called—

• a.isolationism
• b.nationalism
• c.popular sovereignty✓
• d.federal supremacy

Popular sovereignty is the principle that a government's authority comes from the people it governs, which is why the Constitution opens 'We the People.' Federal supremacy is about which level of government prevails in a conflict, not about where authority originates. Nationalism concerns loyalty to a nation, which says nothing about who authorizes the government. And isolationism is a foreign-policy stance about staying out of other nations' affairs.

Which invention of the Industrial Revolution most changed how goods were manufactured?

• a.The steam engine✓
• b.The compass
• c.The printing press
• d.The telescope

The steam engine powered factories and machines, greatly increasing production during the Industrial Revolution. It also transformed transportation through trains and steamships. This shift moved economies from handmade goods to mass production.

A tax placed on imported goods is called a—

• a.dividend
• b.surplus
• c.subsidy
• d.tariff✓

A tariff is a tax on imported goods, often used to protect domestic industries or raise revenue. Tariffs raise the price of foreign products. A subsidy, by contrast, is government support given to producers.

Which of these is a responsibility of U.S. citizens?

• a.Joining a political party
• b.Owning a business
• c.Traveling abroad
• d.Serving on a jury✓

Jury service is a duty: when you are summoned you must appear, and that obligation is what makes it a responsibility rather than a choice. Joining a political party, traveling abroad and owning a business are all things a citizen may do and none that a citizen must do. The test is whether the law can require it of you.

The Great Depression of the 1930s was mainly a period of—

• a.westward pioneer settlement
• b.mass unemployment and poverty✓
• c.military expansion abroad
• d.rapid economic growth

The 1930s brought bank failures, collapsing output and unemployment that reached roughly a quarter of the workforce at its worst, which is what the New Deal programs were built to answer. Rapid economic growth is the exact opposite and describes the 1920s that preceded it. Westward pioneer settlement had largely ended decades earlier. And large-scale military expansion abroad came afterward, with the Second World War.

On a political map, boundary lines usually show—

• a.population density
• b.political borders✓
• c.ocean currents
• d.mountain ranges

A political map's job is to show how territory is divided among governments, so its lines mark the borders of countries, states and provinces. Mountain ranges and other natural features belong to a physical map, which is the contrast worth holding onto. Population density is shown by a thematic map, usually through shading. And ocean currents appear on specialized maps with arrows, not as boundary lines.

Which document divides government power between the national and state governments, a system called federalism?

• a.The Monroe Doctrine
• b.The Gettysburg Address
• c.The U.S. Constitution✓
• d.The Mayflower Compact

The U.S. Constitution establishes federalism by dividing powers between the national and state governments. Some powers are shared, while others belong to one level. This balance prevents overly concentrated authority.

What generally happens to the price of a good when demand rises but supply stays the same?

• a.The price stays exactly the same
• b.The price tends to fall
• c.The price tends to rise✓
• d.The good becomes free

When demand increases while supply is unchanged, competition among buyers usually pushes the price up. This reflects the basic law of supply and demand. Higher demand with limited supply raises prices.

The right of citizens to vote is known as—

• a.suffrage✓
• b.taxation
• c.federalism
• d.immigration

Suffrage is the right to vote in elections. Over U.S. history, suffrage expanded to include women in 1920 and was strengthened for racial minorities in the 1960s. Voting is a fundamental way citizens influence government.

Which level of government is primarily responsible for public schools and local police?

• a.State and local✓
• b.Federal government
• c.Foreign governments
• d.The Supreme Court

Schools and municipal police are funded and run at the state and local level, which is why school policy and policing differ so sharply from one town to the next. The federal government takes the matters that have to be uniform across the country, such as defense and foreign policy. The Supreme Court decides cases and administers no public service at all. And foreign governments have no role in either.

A primary source in the study of history is best described as—

• a.a textbook written today about the past
• b.an encyclopedia summary
• c.a firsthand record from the time studied✓
• d.a modern documentary film

A primary source was created during the period under study by someone who was there — a letter, a diary, a photograph, a law as enacted. A textbook written today, an encyclopedia entry and a modern documentary are all secondary: they interpret the period afterward, using primary sources as their raw material. The question is always when the source was made and by whom, not how reliable it is.

The system in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf is called—

• a.an absolute monarchy
• b.a representative democracy✓
• c.a military dictatorship
• d.a direct democracy

In a representative democracy the people choose officials who then make decisions for them, which is how the U.S. Congress and state legislatures work. A direct democracy is the close comparison and the one to keep separate: there the citizens vote on the measures themselves rather than electing anyone to do it. An absolute monarchy vests power in a hereditary ruler, and a military dictatorship in the armed forces — in neither case does an election decide who governs.

Read: 'City buses ran every ten minutes during the strike. Ridership rose by a third. When normal service returned, the buses came every twenty minutes again and ridership fell back.' The main idea of this passage is that—

• a.the city should hire more bus drivers
• b.strikes are good for public transit
• c.more frequent service attracts more riders✓
• d.bus riders dislike waiting in the cold

Every sentence links how often buses came to how many people rode them, and the passage rises and falls with that one relationship, which is what makes it the main idea. Nothing here praises strikes; the strike is only the occasion that changed the schedule. Cold weather is never mentioned. And hiring more drivers is a recommendation the passage does not make.

Read: 'The new library opened in March. Within a month, card applications had tripled.' The second sentence functions mainly to—

• a.give a result of what the first sentence describes✓
• b.offer an opinion about the new library
• c.flatly contradict the claim made in the first sentence
• d.define a technical term that the first sentence used

The tripling is presented as what followed from the opening, so the second sentence supplies the outcome. It does not contradict anything; the two sit comfortably together. No term in the first sentence is defined. And the sentence gives a number rather than a judgment, which is what keeps it out of the realm of opinion.

Read: 'Sleep researchers once treated naps as a sign of laziness. Recent studies suggest a short afternoon nap improves alertness and memory.' The organizational pattern here is—

• a.a description of how a physical process unfolds
• b.a list of the steps in a standard research method
• c.contrast between an older view and a newer one✓
• d.a story told in the order it happened

The passage sets an earlier belief against later findings, and the word 'once' against 'recent' is the hinge. No procedure is laid out step by step. Nothing describes how a process physically unfolds. And there is no narrative here, only two positions placed side by side.

Read: 'The manual warns that the blade must be locked before the housing is closed. Skipping this step has caused several injuries.' The author's purpose is mainly to—

• a.compare two brands of equipment
• b.warn readers about a specific danger✓
• c.entertain readers with a workplace story
• d.persuade readers to buy a safer model

The passage names a required step and states the harm that follows from omitting it, which is the shape of a safety warning. It tells no story and is not written to amuse. No product is being recommended for purchase. And only one piece of equipment appears, so nothing is being compared.

Read: 'The proposal is ambitious, expensive, and, if the last three attempts are any guide, unlikely to survive its first winter.' The tone of this sentence is best described as—

• a.neutral
• b.enthusiastic
• c.skeptical✓
• d.apologetic

The writer grants the proposal's ambition and then undercuts it with a prediction of failure drawn from past attempts, which is doubt rather than approval. Enthusiasm would not raise the record of three failures. A neutral report would give the details without the closing verdict. And nothing here offers an apology for anything.

Read: 'The negotiations collapsed when the smaller union walked out. Its members had been promised a vote on the contract and never received one.' The second sentence mainly—

• a.explains why the walkout happened✓
• b.predicts what the union will do next
• c.summarizes the contract's main terms
• d.questions whether the walkout occurred

The broken promise is offered as the cause of the walkout announced in the first sentence, so the second supplies the reason. Nothing is predicted about the future. The walkout is treated as a fact, not doubted. And the contract's terms are never described.

Read: 'Few applicants had any formal training. Nevertheless, the shop hired eleven of them and trained them itself.' The word 'nevertheless' signals—

• a.a conclusion drawn from evidence
• b.a step following in sequence
• c.an example of what came before
• d.a contrast with what came before✓

'Nevertheless' introduces something that happens in spite of the preceding statement, so it marks contrast. An example would be signaled by a phrase such as 'for instance.' A conclusion would be signaled by 'therefore' or 'so.' And a sequence would use 'next' or 'then.'

Read: 'The report was exhaustive: four hundred pages, nine appendices, and an index that ran to thirty pages by itself.' In this sentence, 'exhaustive' means—

• a.extremely thorough✓
• b.unusually brief
• c.poorly organized
• d.physically tiring

The details after the colon are all measures of extent, and they define the word by illustrating it: the report leaves nothing out. 'Exhausting' would mean tiring, but that is a different word doing a different job. Nothing in the sentence suggests disorder; an index of that length suggests the opposite. And brevity is plainly the opposite of what is described.

Read: 'By the third week the kitchen ran like a clock: every pan in its place, every order out in six minutes.' The phrase 'ran like a clock' is—

• a.a quotation from another writer
• b.a literal statement about a timepiece
• c.a simile describing smooth operation✓
• d.an exaggeration meant to be doubted

The comparison uses 'like' to liken the kitchen's regularity to a clock's, which is a simile, and the details that follow spell out what the comparison means. The kitchen is not a clock, so the statement is not literal. It is not an exaggeration the reader is meant to reject; the six-minute detail supports it. And nothing marks the phrase as borrowed from another author.

Read: 'I had promised myself I would not look back at the house. At the corner I looked back anyway, and the porch light was still on.' The passage is told from—

• a.an omniscient point of view
• b.the second-person point of view
• c.the first-person point of view✓
• d.the third-person limited point of view

The narrator uses 'I' and reports her own promise and her own failure to keep it, which is first person. Third-person limited would use 'she' while staying inside one character's mind. Second person would address the reader as 'you.' And an omniscient narrator would move among several characters' thoughts.

Read: 'He set the cup down without drinking, straightened the napkin twice, and asked again what time the train left.' These details mainly reveal that the character is—

• a.anxious✓
• b.exhausted
• c.angry
• d.cheerful

Untouched coffee, fussing with a napkin and repeating a question are small restless acts, and together they read as nerves. Exhaustion would show as stillness or heaviness rather than fidgeting. Nothing in the behavior suggests good humor. And anger usually shows in sharper action or speech than straightening a napkin.

Read: 'The apartment was cheap because the train passed ten feet from the bedroom window. She had stopped hearing it by October.' What does the second sentence suggest?

• a.She moved to a new apartment
• b.Her hearing had been damaged
• c.The trains stopped running
• d.She grew used to the noise✓

Ceasing to notice a constant sound is the ordinary meaning of getting used to it, and the date marks how long it took. Nothing indicates the trains stopped; the rent had already been set by them. No move is mentioned. And reading the line as hearing loss takes a common idiom far more literally than the passage invites.

Read: 'Two clerks handled every claim by hand. After the new system arrived, one clerk handled four times as many, and the backlog that had taken months cleared in three weeks.' Which detail best supports the idea that the new system was effective?

• a.The months-long backlog cleared in three weeks✓
• b.Two clerks had handled the claims by hand
• c.A new system was installed at the office
• d.Claims had to be handled one at a time

The backlog figure compares before and after directly and is the only number that measures the result. The two clerks and the manual handling describe the old arrangement, which is the problem rather than the evidence. That a system arrived is the event, not proof it worked. And handling claims one at a time is a description of method.

Read: 'Most guides say to water a fern twice a week. Ferns in dry indoor air often need more, and the surest test is the soil rather than the calendar.' The writer's attitude toward the standard advice is—

• a.that it is completely mistaken
• b.that it is a rough guide, not a rule✓
• c.that it applies mainly outdoors
• d.that it is the only safe method

The passage does not reject the twice-a-week figure; it offers a better test and says the figure often falls short, which treats it as approximate. Calling it completely mistaken is stronger than anything written. Nothing presents it as the only safe method, since an alternative is recommended. And the passage is about indoor air, not a contrast with outdoors.

Read: 'Pumice is light enough to float. It forms when frothy lava cools so fast that the gas bubbles are trapped inside the rock.' The relationship between the two sentences is that the second—

• a.restates what the first sentence says in other words
• b.explains the cause of what the first states✓
• c.questions the accuracy of the first
• d.gives a particular example of what the first states

Trapped gas bubbles are why the rock is light enough to float, so the second sentence supplies the cause of the property named in the first. An example would be a particular instance of floating pumice. A restatement would repeat the same fact differently. And nothing casts doubt on the first sentence.

Read: 'The article lists the mayor's spending on parks, on street repair, and on the new transit center, then asks where the money for schools went.' The article's structure is best described as—

• a.a set of instructions
• b.a chronological narrative
• c.a comparison of two cities
• d.details leading to a question✓

Three parallel items of spending are laid out and the piece closes by asking what was left out, so the details build toward the question. No sequence of events over time is given. Only one city appears. And nothing directs the reader to do anything.

Read: 'Applicants must submit the form by May 1. Late forms are not reviewed. Applicants who miss the date may apply again in the fall.' The passage is best described as—

• a.informational writing stating a policy✓
• b.a persuasive appeal to applicants
• c.a fictional scene about a deadline
• d.a personal account of applying

The passage states requirements and consequences plainly, which is what a policy notice does. Nothing here argues that the reader should do anything or urges a position. No narrator recounts a personal experience. And there is no scene, character or invented action.

Read: 'The committee met for six hours. It adjourned without a vote, scheduled another meeting, and issued a statement praising the discussion.' The passage implies that the committee—

• a.voted down the proposal
• b.reached a firm agreement
• c.disbanded permanently
• d.made no decision✓

Six hours with no vote and a further meeting scheduled is the picture of an unresolved matter, and the statement praising the discussion says nothing about an outcome. An agreement would have produced a vote or a decision. The new meeting shows the committee continues to exist. And voting a proposal down would itself be a vote, which the passage says did not happen.

Read: 'Every Thursday my grandmother set out three cups, though only two of us ever drank.' The detail of the third cup mainly serves to—

• a.hint at someone who is absent✓
• b.show that the family was wealthy
• c.explain how the tea was prepared
• d.describe the size of the kitchen

A place laid for someone who never comes points the reader toward an absence the narrator does not name, which is why the detail is given at all. A single extra cup says nothing about wealth. The passage describes no preparation. And no dimension of the room is mentioned.

Read: 'The first paragraph of the report defines three terms. The second applies them to last year's figures.' The first paragraph functions as—

• a.background the reader needs✓
• b.a summary of the findings
• c.evidence for a conclusion
• d.the report's main argument

Definitions laid down before the analysis begins prepare the reader to follow it, which is the work of background. The argument comes later, where the terms are applied. Definitions are not evidence, since nothing is being proved by them. And a summary would come after the findings rather than before them.

Read: 'For eleven years the plant had run three shifts. In the spring it ran two, then one, and by August the gate was chained.' The passage conveys a sense of—

• a.gradual decline✓
• b.cheerful change
• c.sudden disaster
• d.steady growth

Three shifts to two to one to none is a sequence of steps downward over months, and the pacing is the point. A sudden disaster would arrive all at once rather than by stages. Growth runs the other way. And nothing in the passage invites a cheerful reading.

Read: 'Both accounts of the fire agree on the time and the address. They differ entirely on who called it in.' A reader should conclude that—

• a.both accounts are equally unreliable throughout
• b.one of the two accounts must be entirely invented
• c.the fire probably never happened
• d.the accounts overlap but conflict on one point✓

The passage says the two agree on some facts and diverge on another, which is exactly a partial overlap with one conflict. A single disagreement does not make either account wholly invented. The agreement on time and place makes the fire more credible, not less. And declaring both equally unreliable ignores everything they agree on.

Read: 'The pay was poor and the hours were worse, and I would take the job again tomorrow.' The effect of the last clause is to—

• a.repeat the earlier complaint
• b.explain how wages were set
• c.reverse the reader's expectation✓
• d.list a third drawback of the job

Two complaints set the reader up to expect a third, and the sentence turns instead to loyalty, which is what makes it land. It repeats nothing. Nothing is said about how the pay was determined. And the clause is not a drawback at all; it is the opposite.

Read: 'A heading in the manual reads TROUBLESHOOTING. Under it, each paragraph opens with a symptom in bold type.' These features help a reader mainly by—

• a.proving the manual is accurate
• b.adding the author's opinions
• c.shortening the manual overall
• d.making information easy to locate✓

A heading and bolded openers let a reader scan for the problem at hand instead of reading the section through, which is what text features are for. Formatting does not establish accuracy. Headings add words rather than removing them. And neither device carries an opinion.

Read: 'The town should repave Mill Road. It carries eight thousand cars a day, and the county logged forty-one pothole complaints there last year.' The writer's claim is—

• a.that eight thousand cars use the road
• b.that Mill Road should be repaved✓
• c.that the county logs pothole complaints
• d.that forty-one complaints were filed

A claim is the position the writer wants accepted, and everything else in the passage is offered to support it. The traffic count and the complaint total are the evidence, not the point being argued. And the fact that the county keeps such a log is background that makes the evidence available.

Read: 'Our cafeteria should stay open until eight. Nearly half of evening students finish class after six, and the nearest market is two miles away.' Which sentence states evidence rather than the claim?

• a.Nearly half of evening students finish after six✓
• b.The cafeteria should stay open until eight
• c.Students deserve a better campus experience
• d.The current closing time is unreasonable

Evidence is a checkable fact offered in support, and the proportion of students finishing late is exactly that. The sentence about staying open until eight is the claim itself. Deserving a better experience is a value judgment. And calling the current hour unreasonable restates the claim in other words.

Read: 'Three of my cousins learned to swim before they were five, so children can obviously learn to swim at any age.' The weakness in this argument is that it—

• a.relies on a definition nobody accepts
• b.quotes a source that does not exist
• c.generalizes from a very small sample✓
• d.attacks the character of an opponent

Three relatives cannot establish what children in general can do, and the word 'obviously' hides how little has been shown. Nobody's character is attacked here. No definition is in dispute. And no source is cited at all, correctly or otherwise.

Read: 'Ice cream sales and drowning deaths both rise in July. Clearly one causes the other.' The flaw in this reasoning is that—

• a.the statistics quoted are almost certainly false
• b.ice cream sales vary by region
• c.two things rising together need not be linked✓
• d.drowning deaths are notoriously hard to count accurately

Both figures rise in hot weather, so a third factor explains the pattern, and treating a correlation as a cause is the error. The passage gives no reason to doubt the figures themselves. Difficulty of counting would weaken the data but is not the flaw shown. And regional variation is beside the point being made.

Read: 'Everyone at the meeting supported the plan, so it must be the right choice.' This argument relies on—

• a.a calculation of the plan's cost
• b.a comparison with a closely similar case from the past
• c.the recorded testimony of an expert who studied the plan
• d.the popularity of a view rather than its merits✓

Agreement among those present says nothing about whether the plan will work, and substituting the count of supporters for reasons is the whole of the argument. No past case is offered. No expert is cited. And no cost appears anywhere in the sentence.

Read: 'You can dismiss her argument about the budget; she has never balanced one in her life.' The problem with this response is that it—

• a.concedes the point it means to deny
• b.depends on a statistic that is outdated
• c.offers too much detail about the budget
• d.attacks the person instead of the argument✓

Whether the speaker has balanced a budget has no bearing on whether her reasoning about this one is sound, and the reply never engages that reasoning. It offers no detail about the budget at all. It concedes nothing. And no statistic, current or stale, is used.