Question. 22. a.
A population pyramid is a representation of the population breakdown in terms of age and gender at a particular point in time. Population pyramid represents how many males and females are there in different age groups in the population. The numbers by age and by gender depend on the interactions between migrations, mortality, and fertility. Above all, the pyramid shape and its variations depend on the variations in the fertility. Population pyramids help in understanding several aspects of the population, such as the history of a particular group in the population, and project the future of the same group. The most important inference that can be drawn from population pyramid is the potential of growth in the population (Columbia University).
Question. 22. b.
Young people between 15-29 years of age comprises of the highest percentage of the population. In addition, the majority of population in the Middle Eastern countries is under the age of 29 years. Also, migration of men to work in the oil fields has also increased the population of males in many of these countries.
Question. 22. c.
Having a younger population works as an advantage and a disadvantage in terms of economic and political terms. The Arab Spring is an example of the disadvantage caused by having a younger population as instability is caused due to their lack of representation in the government and their incapability to find jobs. The economic implications can be unemployment that is increased sharply in the Middle East.
Question 23.
In Yemen and Oman, the influence of monsoon leads to the development of humid subtropical climate that is defined by dry winter as the air starts diverging from the anticyclone of Siberian, and cyclone paths and the polar front are deflected in the region. In the summers, Yemen and Oman remain largely influenced by moist maritime airflow coming from the west. The subtropical anti-cyclonic cells reach the low-latitude ocean waters and helps in developing CW climate. Temperature in CW climate is high with a mean temperature reaching from 30-38 °C. The nights are oppressive and warm, whereas summers are slightly wetter than winters. Most of the rainfall comes from conventional thunder storms and tropical cyclones enhance the warm season precipitation. Precipitation in winter is derived from frontal cyclones coming from the polar front. Average precipitation reaches between 760 mm to 1,500 mm.
Question 24.
Egyptian civilization placed strong emphasis on a central authority, whereas in Mesopotamia politics used to shift more frequently as there were regional city-states.
Art in Mesopotamian focused less on monumental structures and embraced literary elements, whereas Egyptian art lacked literary elements and had several monumental structures. The best way to understand cultural differences is through geography as the Mesopotamians lacked large stones to build great structures and Egyptians has them in large numbers. Therefore, the Egyptians were able to build pyramids, Sphinx, etc., whereas the Mesopotamian civilization had mostly brick made structures. The differences in the geography of Egypt and Mesopotamia played a major role in the way of living in these civilizations. Ancient Egypt was located in the south-east of the earlier established Mesopotamia and Egyptian civilization was touched by the Nile River on both sides, whereas Mesopotamian civilization was located between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers.
Question. 25.
The geographical location of the Saudi Arabian peninsula placed it between the trade route from different powerful kingdoms in the Europe and North Africa in the west and the India and China in the East. Throughout history, the great desert in the peninsula formed a barrier that has helped in protecting the Saudi Arabian peninsula from foreign invasion by its powerful neighbors. The harsh climate of the desert provided the geographic cause of relative independence of the peninsula throughout the history of the Middle East.
Question. 26. a.
The facts explain that there is a cause and effect relationship between rate of natural increase in population and the growth rate of population. Increasing numbers of people are moving to Middle Eastern countries, especially to major cities for employment opportunities. Within Middle Eastern countries more people are moving to major cities within their country as these cities have better economic opportunities. These factors contribute to the natural increase of population in Middle Eastern countries. The natural increase in population is leading to an increase in the growth rate of population and the end result is a doubling of the population in 37 years.
Question. 26. b.
The doubling of population in the Middle East would mean the resources available to each person would be limited. There will be an increase in unemployment among locals and low paid jobs will be filled by immigrants. Also, people arriving from different parts of the world would mean there would be a decrease in percentage of the religious majority (Islam) and other languages would be spoken such as English, Hindi, Chinese, Urdu, etc.
Question. 27. a.
On 2 November, 1917, the Balfour Declaration was a 67-word statement that was part of a short letter addressing Lord Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary. The declaration is acknowledged as the official call for establishing a Jewish home in Historic Palestine. The letter was written to Lionel W. Rothschild, a Zionist activist and a powerful British banker, who helped in drafting the declaration along with fellow Zionists Nahum Sokolow and Chaim Weizmann. The declaration was aligned with the hope of Zionist leaders who had hoped to establish a Jewish homeland and designed the mass Jewish immigration from all corners of the world to Historic Palestine.
Question. 27. b.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a secretive agreement, which was drafted by two French and British diplomats, Georges Picot and Sir Mark Sykes. The Sykes-Picot Agreement finalized the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after the completion of the First World War One. The Sykes-Picot Agreement was used to hand over the control of Lebanon, Turkish Cilicia, and Syria to the French and Jordan, Palestine, Baghdad and other areas surrounding the Persian Gulf to the British. Neither Britain nor France owned these territories rather they effectively controlled them at administrative and governmental level.
Question 28.
Building on the existing frameworks and institutions of the Israeli Government and the Authority of Palestine, two parallel states of Palestine and Israel would be established. The jurisdictions of these states would be extended to the citizens of Israel and Palestine, whether they live in the state of Israel, Gaza or the West Bank. State’s citizenship would follow citizens wherever they may live in the territories of Israel/Palestine and outside its territory itself. By recognizing a parallel state structure, the core Israeli concerns will be addressed, while allowing the majority of the settlers to retain their homes. Also, it will address the Palestinian concern of implementing a return for Palestinians across the historic Palestine region and secure their land. Moreover, developing a parallel state would allow Palestinians and Israelis to retain their pride and symbols, have their own legislative and political bodies that would be responsible for their own electorate, and develop a high level of political independence (LeVine & Mossberg).
Works Cited
Columbia University. Population Pyramids. Columbia University. columbia.edu. n.d. Web. 4 June 2016.
LeVine., Mark. & Mossberg., Mathias. Parallel states: A new vision for peace. Al Jazeera. aljazeera.com. 28 May 2011. Web. 4 June 2016.
