C) lack of stability in international markets for CFA countries

1. Which is not a result of the use of the common CFA franc in many West and Central African countries?A) trade among the CFA countries B) general interdependence among CFA countrie C) lack of stability in international markets for CFA countries D) travel between the different CFA countries C) lack of stability in international markets for CFA countries

2. What role do West African women play in the region’s economy?A) Tradition will not allow women to work outside the home. B) Women make most of the economic decisions in West Africa’s matriarchal society. C) Women help grow crops and run local markets. D) Women own and run most of the small businesses. C) Women help grow crops and run local markets.

3. Why have the people of West Africa started to work at the local level to help their economies?A) They have learned that their governments alone can do little to improve economic conditions. B) Foreign countries have stopped all economic aid to West Africa. C) One-man rule in West Africa has been replaced by democratic governments. D) West Africans are beginning to resist colonial rule of their countries. A) They have learned that their governments alone can do little to improve economic conditions.

4. What kind of city was Tombouctou, the capital of the Mali empire, during the reign of Mansa Musa?A) a major center of Islamic learning and culture B) a British colonial capital C) a major port city for the European slave trade D) a manufacturing center for bauxite and iron ore A) a major center of Islamic learning and culture

5. What factor explains why Zaire has been economically unsuccessful?A) corrupt national leadership and inefficient use of resource B) a lack of natural resources C) a lack of rivers that could be used for transportation D) poor soil and a dry climate A) corrupt national leadership and inefficient use of resource

6. Which of the following is not a physical characteristic of Nigeria?A) rain forest B) mountains C) savanna D) swamp B) mountains

7. Which sentence below is a cause-effect statement?A) Nigerian students and workers often protested during the structural adjustment period. B) One of the surprising facts about West Africa is that the Sahara was not always a desert. C) Because of their location, the coastal countries of West Africa have many advantages. D) The continent of Africa consists of a group of basins set in a vast plateau. C) Because of their location, the coastal countries of West Africa have many advantages.

8. Why did the military stage a coup in Nigeria in 1983?A) Regional conflicts had brought the country to civil war. B) Foreign investors had gained control of the country’s industry. C) The existing government was corrupt and ineffective. D) The economy had broken down due to the sudden fall of oil prices on the world market. D) The economy had broken down due to the sudden fall of oil prices on the world market.

9. Which of the following was not part of Nigeria’s structural adjustment program?A) selling state-run businesses to private companies B) firing some government workers C) ceasing to sell oil on the world market D) stabilizing wages and prices C) ceasing to sell oil on the world market

10. What two advantages do the coastal countries of West Africa have over the Sahel countries?A) better soil and more mineral resources B) wetter climate and access to the sea C) cooler temperatures and flatter terrain D) large reserves of uranium and tin B) wetter climate and access to the sea

11. Why is there little movement through the Congo River basin?A) The center of the basin is a dense rain forest. B) The terrain in the basin is too rugged for easy passage. C) Wildlife on the savanna makes it too dangerous to travel. D) The basin is covered by a desert. A) The center of the basin is a dense rain forest.

12. What was one result of Nigeria’s dependence on its oil profits?A) Its production of gold declined. B) Since most nations depend on Southwest Asia for their oil supply, there was no market for Nigerian oil. C) Enormous oil profits resulted in the corruption and destabilization of the Nigerian government. D) Nigeria suffered serious economic problems when the price of oil fell on the world market. D) Nigeria suffered serious economic problems when the price of oil fell on the world market.

13. Why was the Sahel’s location important to the early empire of Ghana?A) Its location in the Sahara made it difficult to attack. B) Its coastal location gave it vast fishing resources. C) The Sahel was the trade link between the Mediterranean coast and the rest of Africa. D) Its location between rain forest and desert gave it an ideal climate. C) The Sahel was the trade link between the Mediterranean coast and the rest of Africa.

14. What are the cause and the effect in the following statement? Famine relief does not reach some parts of landlocked Africa because the transportation system is so poor.A) The cause is starving people; the result is famine relief. B) The cause is the poor transportation system; the effect is that relief can’t reach the people. C) The cause is landlocked Africa; the effect is that relief can’t reach the people. D) The cause is famine relief; the result is the poor transportation system. B) The cause is the poor transportation system; the effect is that relief can’t reach the people.

15. What two rivers and their tributaries provide transportation and water for irrigation in the Sahel?A) Congo and Zaire B) Ubangi and Niger C) Zaire and Benue D) Niger and Senegal D) Niger and Senegal

16. What effect has the herding of animals had on the Sahel?A) Grazing has removed the forage, allowing larger plants to grow. B) Herding has helped to reverse the desertification of the Sahel. C) Overgrazing has destroyed the plants that hold the soil in place. D) The Sahel has become the center of western Africa’s cattle industry. C) Overgrazing has destroyed the plants that hold the soil in place.

17. What is a major reason for the failure of West Africa’s coastal countries to create successful economies?A) The region has been unable to borrow money for development. B) The cost of the region’s imports exceeds the value of its exports. C) Most European nations avoid trading with West Africa. D) The region exports only manufactured goods and not raw materials. B) The cost of the region’s imports exceeds the value of its exports.

18. Which of the following has not contributed to the environmental destruction of the Sahel?A) overgrazing by animals B) damming of rivers C) deforestation D) desertification caused by drought B) damming of rivers

19. When overharvested land is stripped of its trees, the process is called ____. deforestation

20. An area of lakes, creeks, and swamps away from the ocean is a(n) ____. inland delta

21. Food for grazing animals is called ____. forage

22. A(n) ____ flees his or her country to escape danger. refugee

23. A(n) ____ is designed to change the structure of an economy to make it work better. structural adjustment program

24. Belief in the spirits of the dead is known as ____. ancestor worship

25. The loss of all vegetation in an area following a drought is called ____. desertification

26. A(n) ____ is a soldier who is hired to fight. mercenary

27. A(n) ____ is a sudden, violent takeover of a government. coup

28. A farmer practices ____ when he prepares new farmland to replace fields in which soil has been exhausted. shifting agriculture

29. Most of the Sahel countries are ____, or cut off from the sea. landlocked