International Studies Quiz

This spring quarter I am teaching “Introduction to International Studies,” and it’s fun to be able to use our textbook. The first day of class I always divide the students into groups of three to five, and give then twelve minutes to complete a brief quiz about global affairs. It’s not graded, and I make a point of including a couple of ridiculous questions so that nobody takes it too seriously. But it begins to create a sense of community in the class, and generally leads to some laughter. So here is my quiz, if you’re curious to try it yourself:

International Studies Quiz

This quiz is purely for fun. Please try to answer the following questions with the help of one or two other students.

1. What did the Maastricht Treaty create in 1992? ___________________

2. Which country has the largest number of the world’s languages? ___________ (two possible answers)

3. Which country has the largest economy in Africa? __________________

4. Pakistan and Iran are two of Afghanistan’s neighbors. Name one of the other three countries that border Afghanistan. _____________________

5. Which country exports the most oil to the United States? What are the other four major countries for U.S. oil imports? ________ ____________________

6. Which country shares an island with Haiti? _______________________

7. Which Portuguese speaking country gained its independence from Indonesia? _________

8. Which country has the largest population in Africa? _______________

9. Tomatoes originally come from Italy. True/False. _________________

10. What country has the largest economy in Latin America? Hint: its people don’t speak Spanish. _____________________

11. Which country has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world __________

12. Where in the world would you find Mauritania? _________________

13. What was the Kyoto treaty designed to do? _____________________

14. Greenland is governed by what country? ______________________

15. What country is at the epicenter of the European debt crisis: ___________________

16. In what country did the SARS epidemic likely begin? _______________

17. The national bird of one small country is called the Hoatzin (sounds like Watson). This bird eats leaves, smells like manure, and has claws on its wings. When threatened it’s young dive from the nest into the water, where they will swim away under the surface. The adults are poor flyers. Where in the world would you find it? ___________

Answers:

1) The Euro. 2) India or Papau New Guinea. Indonesia is probably third 3) South Africa 4) Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan 5) Canada exports the most oil to the U.S (students are usually surprised). Then Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria. 6) The Dominican Republic 7) East Timor 8 ) Nigeria 9) False. The tomato is a new world crop, so there was no spaghetti sauce before Columbus. 10) Brazil 11) Swaziland, with 26.1% of adults. 12) Northwest Africa (students often cannot answer this question). 13) Limit the global emissions of carbon dioxide 14) Denmark 15) Greece, for now. 16) China 17) Guyana

Shawn Smallman

 

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  1. Pingback: Introduction to International Studies Syllabus | Intro to Global Studies

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