All Free Sociology MCQs with Answers

• A. Japan
• B. USA
• C. Gambia
• D. unknown

Explanation: Japan has the highest life expectancy at birth among the listed countries, whereas the United States is lower and Gambia is substantially lower. “Unknown” is not a country and therefore cannot be the answer.

• A. risks which result from human interaction with the natural world
• B. risks associated with the activities of manufacturing industries
• C. risks that have been exaggerated by the output of the media
• D. risks that only affect advanced industrial economies

Explanation: Manufactured risks are hazards created by human social and technological activity, especially modern efforts to control or transform nature. They are not limited to manufacturing industries or advanced economies, so option b is too narrow.

• A. falls in agricultural yields
• B. the spread of disease
• C. the use of unclear energy
• D. a rise in sea levels

Explanation: Global warming is associated with lower agricultural yields, disease spread and rising sea levels. The use of nuclear energy is not itself a consequence of global warming, making option c the exception.

• A. social constructionism reminds us that all environmental issues have an important social aspect and context
• B. social constructionism remains agnostic about the scientific reality of environmental issues
• C. social constructionism tells us more about social interactions than the relationship between society and the environment
• D. social constructionism applies standard which demand new theorizing and approaches

Explanation: Critical realists may criticise constructionism for neglecting scientific reality or focusing too heavily on social interactions, but recognising the social context of environmental issues is a strength rather than a criticism. Therefore, option a is not a criticism.

• A. more resource to be directed towards economic growth
• B. more resources to be put into Third World development
• C. growth that minimizes resource depletion and pollution
• D. fewer resources to be directed towards economic growth

Explanation: Sustainable development does not reject growth; it seeks economic and social progress while reducing resource depletion and pollution. This balance distinguishes it from both unrestricted growth and opposition to growth, so c is correct.

• A. development that protects the environment for future generations even at the expense of the present generation
• B. development which meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• C. a type of development which put the interests of developing countries ahead of the interests of the rich nations
• D. development that is capable of maintaining sustainable economic growth for all countries of the worldPeople & Society

Explanation: The Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development through intergenerational equity: meeting present needs without reducing future generations’ ability to meet theirs. This is the standard 1987 definition, expressed in option b.

• A. the genes used cannot spread into the wider environment
• B. they involve transplanting genes from one organism to another
• C. we can say with certainty that they are risk-free
• D. they have been accepted by consumers in all countries

Explanation: Genetic modification directly alters an organism by transferring or inserting selected genetic material, sometimes from a different species. Earlier breeding methods generally combined existing traits through reproduction rather than directly transplanting genes, so b is correct.

• A. Global cities are major urban centers of commerce on which corporations rely.
• B. Global cities are characterized by centralized manufacturing and production activities.
• C. Global cities result from decentralized managerial and financial operations.
• D. Global cities result from changes in world population

Explanation: Global cities are key nodes in the world economy, providing concentrated financial, commercial and corporate services on which multinational firms rely. They are associated more with global managerial and financial coordination than with centralised manufacturing, so a is correct.

• A. economic development will lead to a reduction in fertility
• B. governments consider modern contraceptive measures to be a threat to the preservation and continuation of their way of life.
• C. if contraceptives are made available and if information about the value and need for birth planning is disseminated people will reduce their fertility
• D. people can be coerced into using family planning techniques

Explanation: The family planning approach assumes that fertility falls when people can obtain modern contraceptives and receive information about the benefits and need for planned births. Economic development is the central claim of the modernization approach, not the family planning approach.

• A. an economic crisis in the capitalist system would force factory owners into the ranks of the unemployed
• B. an excess of the working-class population depends on the availability of employment opportunities not on fixed supply of food.
• C. the problems associated with population growth are a function of the scarcity of wealth
• D. self-control would restrain population growth.

Explanation: Marx rejected Malthus's idea that population pressure is determined by a fixed food supply; he linked surplus population to the capitalist demand for labour. Thus, the size of the working-class surplus depends on employment opportunities.