Midterm Exam Sample Questions

Attention: The midterm will be a multiple choice exam, but the following (past years’) essay or fill-
in-the-blanks questions might be (and will be) the basis for multiple choice questions, so I
recommend you to study the answers:

1- Ancient civilizations (for example Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamian, Sumer and Babylonian
civilizations) are relatively large and complex societies when compared to previous (prehistoric)
Neolithic societies and Paleolithic communities. (a) Please describe the differences between the
Ancient Civilizations and Prehistoric communities in the first paragraph.

(b)Explain the techno-economic reasons that make this difference (or progress) possible, in the
remaining paragraphs.

2- Why was the development of agriculture so crucial for the establishment of civilization? What
advantages do food producers have over food gatherers?

3- Ancient Civilizations before Ancient Greeks had a unified state religion and had state controlled
bureaucratic institutions of higher learning; but the Ancient Greeks had several competing schools of
thought (private philosophy schools) and diversity in their teachings. Considering the fact that these
diversity created Greek science (natural philosophy): What is the (social-economic and political)
source of this diversity in Greek civilization?

4- For the Ancient Greek civilization, summarize the process of science and philosophy becoming a
distinct activity of pure and high thought, unrelated to the practical needs of the society
(technology) or the people performing it.

5- What were the contributions of Islamic civilization to science and philosophy, and the contribution
of preserving and developing the scientific and technical heritage of ancient civilizations (including
Greek science and philosophy)? Please provide examples from both of the scientific and techno-
economic (technology and production of goods etc.) areas.

6- What is the role of domestication of plants and animals after agricultural revolution throughout
Neolithic Ages? What is the relation of domestication and sedentary life?

7- Why social inequality, social stratification, social and political complexity increases as a result of
the progress (increase) in the efficiency of food production?

8- Give three examples of Babylonian (a Mesopotamian ancient civilization) scientific heritage that is
currently in use in modern life, education, science and technique. (Hint: It may be about calendars,
numbers or mathematical units of measurement)

9- What was the advantage of writing system of Arab/Islamic civilization over writing systems of the
previous ancient civilizations (like the Hieroglyph of Ancient Egypt)?

10- Why all ancient civilizations like Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and India are called as
hydraulic civilizations?

11- What are the main steps/elements of scientific method?

12- Why the foraging life style (or techno-economic paradigm) of Paleolithic people was less
effective with respect to agriculture and livestock raising life style of Neolithic people?

YRD. DOÇ. DR. MURAT ULUBAY 1

13- What did invention of fire provided to Paleolithic people?

14- What does selective breeding mean for agriculture and livestock raising?

15- What is the definition of science? And what is its relation to laws, principles and regularities in
the universe?

16- What is the difference between the central (and state) control of agricultural production in
ancient hydraulic civilizations and the Manorial system of Medieval Europe? Define, describe and
compare the economy politics of the systems.

17- Give a brief history of emergence of medieval universities of Europe. What was the difference
between these universities and previous institutions of higher learning existed in the Ancient
Civilizations?

18- How did Medieval Europe become the first great civilization not to be run primarily by human (or
animal) muscle power?

Sample Multiple Choice Questions:

1- During the Paleolithic Era, how did most early humans acquire food?
A-) By following animal migrations
B-) From domesticated animals
C-) By planting crops
D-) From nearby settlements

2- Which characteristic was most common in ancient river valley civilizations?

A-) Social equality
B-) Limited population growth
C-) Hereditary rule
D-) Limited economic growth

3- According to Plato, we can gain knowledge only by seeing beyond this world of flawed, imperfect,
changing objects, and this “seeing” is by means of reasoning about the true essences or Forms/Ideas
of things, in terms of which this world is understandable. For example, we know what a geometric
object, a "triangle" is, not by experiencing the imperfect triangles of this world but by thinking of the
abstract idea of "triangle", and then recognizing some figures as triangles. From this, Plato concludes
that all true knowledge can only be about the world of ideas.
Which of the following is NOT in conflict with Platonic idealism?
A) from the moment we are born, we know about things in the world, in terms of ideas that we get
through our senses (observation and experience).
B) since we are born with senses (that is, our senses are innate), we can know things about the
sensible/physical world with certainty as long as we rely on the perception alone.
C) our knowledge of the world is not really of this physical world itself but of the world that is
grasped by pure thought.
D) since our absolutely certain knowledge of things cannot be based on the changing things in
sensible/perceived experience, it can only be triggered by sensory experience.

YRD. DOÇ. DR. MURAT ULUBAY 2

4- Which of the following developments happened last?
A-) People made stone tools.
B-) People lived together in villages.
C-) People developed a spoken language.
D-) People learned to grow food.

5- In Islamic tradition Farabi is respected as “second teacher” (muallim-i sani) after the great Greek
philosopher ____________ who was called as “first teacher” (muallim-I evvel).

6- The writing system of Babylonian civilization is called ________________________.

7- In Aristotelian theory of causality, some later outcome that causes an action or existence of an
object is called: ____________________ cause.

YRD. DOÇ. DR. MURAT ULUBAY 3