Be sure to read the suggestions on this page. They were written for the first exam, but certainly apply to this one as well.
This exam covers Chapter 5, 8 and 9. Remember, however, that you should not forget the information from Chapters 1 and 2, as many of the things you learned from those chapters apply here. Not everything on the exam is necessarily covered on this study guide. Not everything in this study guide is directly covered on the exam. This is meant to help you focus your efforts, not tell you what the questions will be.
Know all the key words found on page 207 in the section under "Key Terms." You should know the definition of these words, but you should also know how they fit into the context of the chapter. For example, you should understand if there is a geographic component to them (where are they). Most of these key words do not necessarily do not have a regional aspect to them, but rather refer to Caribbean in general, but if a term does have one, you should be familiar with it. You should not only know the definition of the word, but why it is important to your study of the Caribbean. I repeat, understand the issue involved, not just the definition.
You should more specifically understand the following terms and their context with regard to the chapter and the region (this list is not entirely the same as that on page 207):
Look at each map and try to understand the main idea. Look for general geographic patterns. Try not to get lost in details.
Figure 5.3. What plate are most of the islands of the Caribbean on? What happens as the North American and South American plates are subducted under the Caribbean plate? Read the text on page 174 to find out.
Figure 5.6. First, consider the Greater and Lesser Antilles. What is the general pattern East-to-west of the Tropical Wet (Af) and Tropical Savanna (Aw) climates? In general, which climate dominates in the rimland states of South America? What do you notice about the monthly rainfall pattern in Cayenne and Paramaribo compared to the rest of the Caribbean (see text on top right of p. 175)? Where are the desert climates (BWh)?
Figure 5.7. Simply recognize that the Caribbean is the pathway of many hurricanes. Read the caption. When is hurricane season? How does hurricane season relate to the periods when it is rainiest in the Antilles (compare those months in Barbados, Belize City, and Havana, in Figure 5.6 for example)?
Figure 5.8. Where is the tropical forest generally destroyed--compare the Antilles to the rimland states? Where most of the coastal pollution? Read the text that goes with the arrows. Where is road building a threat to forests?
Figure 5.11. Where are the people generally in the Dominican Republic? What do you notice about the population dots near the border with Haiti? Notice how the dots seem to cluster around the major cities which are generally along the coast.
5.13. Note the location of the oven. What might this imply about the way things are often cooked in the Caribbean, including the fuels used (see the text on "Environmental Degradation," pp. 177-179 for some clues)? Notice how the houses are labeled. Besides Miss Joy's family, what else is going on here in terms of housing? What types of foods and plants are grown in this representation of a typical houseyard garden?
Figure 5.18. Where is the largest flow of the slave trade (widest arrow)? What if you combine all the arrows that flow into the Caribbean? How does that compare to the arrow pointing to what would become the United States? What region is covered by "Plantation America"? Where are the major source areas for slaves?
Figure 5.20. Concentrate primarily on the Caribbean, but recognize that there are other regions of the Western Hemisphere where syncretic religions are common. Which country is associated with Santeria? Vodoun? Obeah?
Figure 5.22. Spanish is the most common language of the Caribbean, but notice where people speak it. Is Spanish common in the Lesser Antilles? The rimland states?
Figure 5.25. Simply recognize that many of the countries of the Lesser Antilles changed colonial hands relatively frequently. Which countries are the primary colonial powers in the region?
Figure 5.26. During what time period does most U.S. involvement in the region take place? Where are most of the border disputes?
Figure 5.29. What do you notice (geographically) about the different pattern of the already operational FTZs versus the planned FTZs?
Figure 5.30. Which are the three largest countries in terms of offshore banking? What do you notice about the largest countries of the Greater Antilles? What about the rimland states of northern South America?
Figure 5.31. Which regions are the top two trading partners with the Caribbean? What do you notice about imports versus exports?
Figure 5.34. Which are the four top destination countries for Caribbean migrants? (Read the caption.) Some internal migration occurs. What are the two major destinations? (Read the caption.)
Be familiar with the following cities of Caribbean. Where are they? Find them on the map. Know where they are. Find them on maps such as the climate map in Figure 5.6. Are they mentioned in the chapter or notes? What is important about each of these cities? In some cases you may find these cities mentioned several times in the notes and the text. In other cases, you might not find them at all. If not, ask yourself questions as you flip through the maps of the chapter, such as "What's the climate like in Havana?" and "What environmental challenges in Figure 5.8 apply to San Juan?" "What language do they speak in Paramaribo?" and "What country is Cayenne in?" You should be able to answer most of these questions. Particularly, focus in on regions and conditions mentioned in the textbook and in lecture, even when these cities weren't mentioned.
Table 5.1: Which countries are large? Which are small? Where are they on the map? What is the general range of TFRs in the Caribbean? Find those that have low TFR, say less than 1.7. Where are they? Find those that have higher TFRs, say more than 3.4. Where are they? What do you notice about those that have high TFRs when you consider their %Urban? And those that have low TFRs, and their percent urban? Is this pattern similar to that of Latin America?
Table 5.2: Which countries have the largest PPP, say more than $8000? Which have the lowest, say less than $3000? What do you notice about two of the three countries with PPPs less than $3000 when it comes to real annual growth? What's striking about the third?
Table 5.3: Which countries have relatively low life expectancy (say, less than 65 for males and less than 70 for females)? Although not many countries show the data, what is the overall trend from 1960 to 1995 in terms of child mortality? Which countries have secondary school enrollment rates less than 30% for males and 45% for females? What do you notice about the trend of rates for females versus males attending secondary school?
You need to read the book and go over your notes. You cannot rely merely on this study guide. It is no replacement for good note-taking and good reading. Not every question on the exam is directly found in this guide. Not everything in this guide is on the exam.
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