Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test -
FPT8
Version: 1.0 Date: January 1, 2024 Classification: Public
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Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 2
Social Studies
Directions
Time – 35 minutes
25 Questions
This is a test of your skills in analyzing social studies information. Read each question and decide which of
the four options best answers the question. Then mark your choice on your answer sheet. Sometimes
several questions are based on the same material. You should carefully read this material and then answer
the questions.
Work as quickly as you can without becoming careless. Do not spend too much time on any question that
is difficult for you to answer. Instead, skip it and return to it later if you have time. Try to answer every
question even if you have to guess.
Mark all your answers on the answer sheet. Give only one answer to each question.
If you decide to change one of your answers, be sure to erase the first mark completely.
Be sure that the number of the question you are answering matches the number of the row of answer
choices you are marking on your answer sheet. The answer sheet may contain more rows than you need.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 3
Questions 1 through to 5 refer to the following information.
The map below shows the primary routes of the Underground Railroad, which was an informal, secret
pipeline for helping enslaved people escape from the South to the North where they could be free.
1 _______________________________________________ 2 _______________________________________________
From which state would a person be able to take Which branch of the Underground Railroad most
a boat or ship out of the South to freedom in the likely carried enslaved people to freedom in
North? Mexico?
A. Florida A. Tennessee
B. Georgia B. Florida
C. South Carolina C. Mississippi
D. North Carolina D. Texas
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 4
3 _______________________________________________ 5 _______________________________________________
From which location would an enslaved person What can be concluded about why there were
who had reached the North travel into Canada? no Underground Railroad routes that moved
enslaved people from west to east?
A. Buffalo, New York
B. Chicago, Illinois A. The west to east route was dangerous.
C. Columbus, Ohio B. The goal was to move north as quickly as
D. Montpelier, Vermont possible.
C. The goal was to move people out of the
Unites States.
4 _______________________________________________
D. There was only one shipping route from
What can be inferred from the routes shown on the east.
the map about why there were so few routes that
carried enslaved people through Alabama?
A. There were few enslaved people in this
state.
B. The terrain was too mountainous in this
state.
C. Enslaved people from Alabama escaped
via Georgia.
D. There were few places for escaping
slaves to stop to get help.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 5
Questions 6 through to 10 refer to the following information.
The graphic shows the function of each of the three branches of government.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 6
6 _______________________________________________ 8 _______________________________________
A two-thirds vote by members of both the House In several instances, the president has signed
and the Senate can override which of the international treaties binding the United States to
following? various international agreements, standards, or
A. A presidential veto actions. Which branch of government could
B. A Supreme Court ruling block the United States from formally entering
C. An unconstitutional law into some of these treaties by refusing to ratify
D. Impeachment of the president them?
A. The Supreme Court
7 _______________________________________________ B. The full Senate
What conflict is inherent in the execution of war C. The full Congress
powers between the Executive and the Legislative D. The House of Representatives
branches of government as provided by the
Constitution? 9 _______________________________________________
A. Congress cannot declare war that the Congress has the power to determine if a
president does not want. government law or program is put into effect.
B. The president can declare war only if
What constitutional power can the Legislative
Congress agrees to fund it.
C. Congress and the president may branch assert to thwart a law or program the
disagree on how to fight a particular war. Executive branch wants to enact?
D. Congress has the right to declare war,
A. The power of impeachment
but the president has control of the
armed forces. B. The power to refuse to fund the
program
C. The power to approve a treaty to
undermine the program
D. The power to have the Supreme Court
nullify the program
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Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 7
10 ______________________________________________
Which branch of government has the fewest
limitations put on it by the system of checks and
balances?
A. Executive
B. Legislative
C. Judicial
D. Military
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 8
Questions 11 through to 15 refer to the following information.
Migration
Migration occurs when people emigrate from their home country to a new country, but it can also take
place when people who are internally displaced in their native country move to different regions within the
same country. The graph shows global human migration from 2010 to 2020.
The graph shows the reasons for human migration as being caused either by conflict (civil war, persistent
terrorist attacks, violent militia activity, etc.) or disaster (natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions or
earthquakes, or climate-induced disasters such as long-term drought, extreme flooding, extensive wildfires,
or persistent dangerously high temperatures).
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Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 9
11 ______________________________________________ 14 ______________________________________________
Approximately how many people migrated as a Which year shows the greatest discrepancy
result of natural disasters that occurred in 2020? between conflict and disaster migration?
A. 8 million A. 2010
B. 10 million B. 2012
C. 25 million C. 2016
D. 31 million D. 2020
12 ______________________________________________ 15. ______________________________________________
The graph shows that in most years the disaster If migration continues to follow the trends started
to conflict ratio for migration is 3:1. This ratio in 2018, what prediction can be made about
does not apply every year. In which of the future migrations due to conflicts and disasters?
following years was the disaster to conflict ratio A. There will be a steady increase in
less than 3:1? migration due to conflict.
A. 2010 B. There will be a steady increase in
B. 2012 migration due to climate-related
C. 2016 disasters.
D. 2018 C. There will be a steady decrease in
migration due to climate-related
13 ______________________________________________ disasters.
Which year had the lowest number of disaster D. There will be an overall decrease in
and second-lowest number of conflict migration migration from all causes.
in millions?
A. 2011
B. 2014
C. 2015
D. 2016
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 10
Questions 16 through to 20 refer to the following information.
The following is an excerpt from Federalist Paper 68 (March 1788) written by Alexander Hamilton. In this
paper, Hamilton proposes that electors in today’s Electoral College be given power to overturn the popular
vote for president. Paragraphs 2 to 6 are quotes adapted from Hamilton’s ideas as expressed in Federalist
Paper 68.
Electoral College
¶1 The Founders of our nation thought long and hard about how to construct a government that would be
both well-functioning and democratic. Some Founders presented their ideas in publications known as the
Federalist Papers. One of the most important issues facing the Founders was the integrity of the voting
process. The Founders supported a process in which a president was elected by the voting citizens of the
nation, but there were some concerns about who the voters would elect as president.
¶2 It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so
important a trust as the presidency was to be confided. This end will be answered by committing the right of
making it, not to any pre-established body, but to men chosen by the people for this special purpose.
¶3 It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing
the qualities adapted to the station of the president. […] A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-
citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to
such complicated investigations.
¶4 It was also peculiarly desirable to afford as little opportunity as possible to electoral tumult and disorder.
This evil was not least to be dreaded in the election of the President of the United States. The choice of
several, to form an intermediate body of electors, will be much less apt to convulse the community with any
extraordinary or violent movements, than the choice of one who was himself to be the final object of the
public wishes. And as the electors, chosen in each State, are to assemble and vote in the State in which they
are chosen, this detached and divided situation will expose them much less to ferment.
¶5 [The electors shall be] opposed to intrigue, and corruption […] and the influence of foreign powers. […]
Also, no senator, representative, or other person holding a place of trust or profit under the United States,
can be an elector. Thus […] the [electors] will at least enter upon the task free from any sinister bias.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 11
¶6 The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any
man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and
the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will
require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish the president in the esteem and confidence of
the whole or most of the Union. [The office of the president must] be filled by characters pre-eminent for
ability and virtue. We cannot acquiesce in the political heresy that says: "For forms of government let fools
contest.”
¶7 Paragraphs 2-6 sum up Hamilton’s idea of establishing a body of electors, which today still exists in the
Electoral College. Yet, today’s concerned citizens and pro-democracy experts are disturbed by the
problems inherent in the Electoral College. A substantial number of Americans now believe that the
Electoral College should be changed or abolished.
¶8 One problem with today’s Electoral College may arise from what are called “faithless electors.” “Faithless
electors” do not cast their ballots for the candidate who wins their state’s popular vote for president.
Instead, the electors cast their votes for the presidential candidate from the political party they support,
even if that candidate loses their state’s election. When electors choose a president who has lost the
popular vote, they undermine the legitimacy of the democratic process. They also cause voters to lose
confidence in the integrity of the democratic process. Citizens may be so disgusted by this unfair process
they may decide not to vote at all because the “faithless electors” make majority rule in presidential
elections irrelevant.
¶9 A more permanent solution to the abuse of the Electoral College is to abolish it by amending the
Constitution, but this is a long and difficult process. Amending the Constitution requires the support of at
least two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It also requires that at least 38 out of
50 states approve the amendment, which is unlikely to happen in today’s highly partisan political
atmosphere.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 12
16 ______________________________________________ 19. ______________________________________________
What can be inferred from the text of this The appointment of state electors undermines
Federalist Paper about Hamilton’s view of the the electoral process and voter confidence
general U.S. electorate? through what type of corruption?
A. Hamilton views the electorate as A. The appointed electors fail to cast ballots
irrelevant. for any candidate.
B. Hamilton sees the electorate as ignorant. B. The appointed electors are “faithless”
C. Hamilton thinks the electorate is too and vote for their party’s candidates.
highly partisan. C. The “faithless” electors thwart the
D. Hamilton views the electorate as a poor counting of votes cast for the opposing
judge of character. party.
D. The appointed electors commit their
17 ______________________________________________ votes to a candidate before the election
What words in Paragraph 4 describe what takes place.
Hamilton thinks might occur if the election of the
president is left solely to the citizens who voted in 20 ______________________________________________
the election? Why is eliminating the Electoral College through
A. peculiarly desirable a constitutional amendment unlikely in a highly
B. tumult and disorder partisan political atmosphere?
C. less apt to convulse A. It would take too long.
D. detached and divided B. It would require a simple majority vote in
Congress.
18 ______________________________________________ C. It would weaken the voting power of the
Based on Hamilton’s Federalist Paper, in what partisans in Congress and reduce their
way is the idea of using electors to determine party’s chances of winning the
who won the vote for president undemocratic? presidency.
A. Too few electors vote. D. It would deter voters from voting for and
B. State electors are often corrupt. electing candidates from the political
C. The will of the voters may be ignored. party they support.
D. It may lead to violent movements against
the electors.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 13
Questions 21 through to 25 refer to the following information.
War of 1898
The most widely and enthusiastically disseminated reason for the United States going to war with Spain was
Spain’s inhumane treatment of Cuban rebels who fought for independence. In an effort to gain power
through imperialism, Spain had taken control of Cuba and was determined to crush the rebellion and
retain control of the island. Some U.S. Congressmen called for war to relieve the suffering of Cuban rebels,
many thousands of whom died in concentration camps in Cuba. American newspapers sensationalized the
atrocities in Cuba in an effort to build popular support for a war against Spain. But neither President Grover
Cleveland nor his successor, President William McKinley, wanted to embroil the nation in a foreign war.
In late 1897, Spain tried to improve its treatment of rebel prisoners. Then, on February 15, 1898, an
explosion, likely from a torpedo, destroyed the USS Maine, a U.S. battleship anchored in Havana, Cuba. The
slogan “Remember the Maine, the hell with Spain” rang out across America. Backed by widespread popular
support, on April 25, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain.
It must also be noted that the desire to be a global imperialist power, just like many European nations, was
another important impetus for war with Spain. Senator Albert J. Beveridge (R, Indiana) admitted as much
when in a speech to the Senate in 1898, he stated, “We are a conquering race, and […] we must obey our
blood and occupy new markets, and if necessary, new lands.” Later, after the war was won, Senator Henry
M. Teller [R, Colorado], introduced an amendment to the final peace treaty that prevented the United
States from taking possession of Cuba because its production of sugar would compete with his state’s
sugar beet industry. The United States won the war because, although neither combatant had a large,
well-quipped army, the United States had a navy that was far superior to Spain’s. The terms of Spain’s
surrender and America’s new imperialist power were written into the Treaty of Paris signed on December
10, 1898.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 14
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 15
21 ______________________________________________ 24 ______________________________________________
Which U.S. acquisition in the Caribbean during What would the Cuban rebels have gained if they
the War of 1898 remains a territory of the United were, in fact, responsible for the destruction of
States today? the USS Maine?
A. Cuba A. A certain rebel defeat of Spain
B. Bermuda B. Spain declaring war on the United States
C. Guam C. The United States declaring war on and
D. Puerto Rico then defeating Spain in Cuba
D. Crippling the U.S. Navy so the rebels
22 ______________________________________________ would have to fight only one enemy, the
Which U.S. acquisition in the Pacific was Spanish
incorporated into the United States when it was
granted statehood? 25 ______________________________________________
A. Hawaii Although the rationale for imperialist conquest
B. Samoa was mostly to expand U.S. trade, what would
C. Midway Islands have caused Senator Teller to insist that Cuba
D. Philippine Islands not become a state or territory of the United
States?
23 ______________________________________________ A. A free Cuban territory would refuse to
Which Pacific islands were acquired by the United trade with the United States.
States after the War of 1898? B. A Cuban territory would have nothing to
A. Aleutian Islands trade that the United wanted.
B. Wake Islands C. A free Cuban territory could never
C. Palmyra Islands compete with giant U.S. industries.
D. Hawaiian Islands D. A Cuban territory could sell its sugar
more cheaply than sugar produced in
the USA.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 16
HiSET Answer Key and Rationales
Sequence Correct
Content Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
1 C I. History Easy
Rationale
Option C is correct because the map shows a Northern Atlantic Ocean shipping route that leaves only
from near Charleston, South Carolina.
Sequence Correct
Content Category Question Difficulty
Number Response
2 D I. History Easy
Rationale
Option D is correct because the map shows a route that runs from and through Texas and very likely
into Mexico.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
3 D I. History Medium
Rationale
Option D is correct because the west-pointing arrow from Vermont extends into southern Canada.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
4 D I. History Hard
Rationale
Option D is correct because you can infer that, as a slave state, there were likely few places where
escaping slaves could stop and rest in safety.
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Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 17
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
5 B I. History Hard
Rationale
Option B is correct because all the routes shown on the map head as directly north as possible. You can
therefore conclude that the goal was to reach the north as quickly as possible.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
6 A II Civics/Government Medium
Rationale
Option A is correct because the Congress has the authority to override a presidential veto by a two-
thirds majority vote.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
7 D II Civics/Government Medium
Rationale
Option D is correct because the graphic shows that Congress has the power to declare war, but the
president has control of the armed forces that are needed to fight a war. That is an inherent conflict
between the two branches.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
8 C II Civics/Government High
Rationale
Option C is correct because the Constitution states that Congress must ratify treaties for them to go into
effect.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 18
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
9 B II Civics/Government Medium
Rationale
Option B is correct because the Congress has “the power of the purse strings”, which means it can
refuse to allocate money to fund a program the Executive wants.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
10 C II Civics/Government Hard
Rationale
Option C is the correct answer because it’s only Congress that can check the Judicial branch of
government, mainly by refusing to approve Executive appointments to the Supreme Court. Amending
the Constitution is such a long and cumbersome process that it is very rare for it to be used to check the
Supreme Court.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
11 D IV Geography Easy
Rationale
Option D is correct because the black line extends just above 30 million on the Y-axis.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
12 D IV Geography Medium
Rationale
Option D is correct because the Y-axis shows that in 2018 there were 11 million migrants due to conflict
and about 17 million migrants due to disaster. That ratio is less than 3:1.
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Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 19
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
13 A IV Geography Easy
Rationale
Option A is correct because the black line (disaster) is the lowest in the graph and the gray line (conflict)
is the second lowest in the graph.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
14 A IV Geography Medium
Rationale
Option A is correct because, based on the Y-axis, it shows a difference of about 38 million migrants due
to conflict and disaster, and this is the greatest discrepancy shown on the graph.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
15 B IV Geography Hard
Rationale
Option B is correct because the number of climate-related disasters that result in migration are shown on
the graph to be increasing steadily beginning in 2018.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
16 D II Civics/Government Hard
Rationale
Option D is correct because Hamilton describes the chaos that may ensue when an unqualified president
is elected by the voters. He envisions the electors as men of higher quality, education, and judgment than
the average citizens who vote.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 20
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
17 B II Civics/Government Easy
Rationale
Option B is correct because Hamilton uses these words to describe what may happen if it is only the
voting public that determines who becomes president and only if they vote for someone clearly
unqualified to hold that office.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
18 C II Civics/Government Medium
Rationale
Option C is correct because the electors may vote for a candidate who was not chosen by the majority of
voters in the state. Ignoring the will of the voters undermines the democratic process.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
19 B II Civics/Government Hard
Rationale
Option B is correct because the passage describes how “faithless electors” cast their votes for the
candidate from their party and not the candidate who gets the most votes in their state.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
20 C II Civics/Government Medium
Rationale
Option C is correct because in a highly partisan nation the most important outcome is the electoral victory
of their party’s candidate. Supporting the elimination of the Electoral College would mean that the
candidate who gets the most votes nationally wins the election. This would weaken the power of less
populous states who may vote for candidates from a party that consistently loses the popular vote.
Without the Electoral College, voters in more populous states would be most likely to determine the
outcome of national elections.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 21
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
21 D I History Easy
Rationale
Option D is correct because Puerto Rico, which was annexed by the United States during the War of 1898,
remains a U.S. territory, not a state in the Caribbean.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
22 A I History Easy
Rationale
Option A is correct because the Hawaiian Islands were conquered during the War of 1898, and later Hawaii
was granted statehood as part of the United States.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
23 B I History Easy
Rationale
Option B is correct because the map shows that these islands were acquired in 1899, after the war of 1898.
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
24 C I History Hard
Rationale
Option C is correct because by sinking the USS Maine, the rebels would have drawn the United States
into the war. The United States would assume Spain had sunk the Maine and then would have declared
war on Spain. The United States’ navy would then surely defeat Spai,n and Cuba would be free.
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Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 22
Sequence Number Correct Response Content Category Question Difficulty
25 D I History Medium
Rationale
Option D is correct because a poor island like Cuba could outcompete the sugar beet growers in
Senator Teller’s state. Thus, Coloradan sugar beet growers would lose money as Americans bought the
cheaper Cuban sugar.
Social Studies
Free Half Length Practice Test – FPT8 23
