World Civilization And Economic Growth: History Quiz

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Quizzes Created: 1 | Total Attempts: 349

Questions: 10 | Attempts: 349 | Updated: Mar 22, 2023

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World Civilization And Economic Growth: History Quiz - Quiz

According to evolutionary theory, man has been evolving since the beginning of time, and this process is still in motion. The human mind is developing, and with it, innovations are being made that have led to growth in their living standards. Take the quiz and see what you know of human history and its ascension into civilization. All the best!

Questions and Answers

1.

The distribution of wealth and income in today’s world can be best approximated by what 3D shape?
- A.
  
  A
- B.
  
  B
- C.
  
  C
- D.
  
  D
Correct Answer
B. B

Explanation
The commonly used terminology ‘Base of the Pyramid’ to represent the economic landscape of poverty is highly misleading. A 3D visualization of the distribution of wealth and income looks like B.

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2.

Humans in their current form of homo sapien have existed for ___________
- A.
  
  2,000 years
- B.
  
  One million years
- C.
  
  500 years
- D.
  
  200,000 years
Correct Answer
D. 200,000 years

Explanation
Human beings or homo sapiens in our present anatomical form are estimated to have first emerged 200,000 years ago. The most well-dated and earliest fossils of homo sapiens were found near Kibish, Ethiopia.

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3.

The world population today is about 7 billion. In which year approximately did it hit 1 billion?
- A.
  
  600 BC
- B.
  
  476 AD
- C.
  
  1475 AD
- D.
  
  1810 AD
Correct Answer
D. 1810 AD

Explanation
It took approximately 199,800 years for human populations to reach one billion. Then in just 200 years, it grew by another 6 billion.

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4.

GDP per capita per day in Western Europe and the United States in 1820 was approximately (in 1990 US$)
- A.
  
  $10
- B.
  
  $100
- C.
  
  $3
- D.
  
  $2000
Correct Answer
C. $3

Explanation
In 1820 Western Europe and the United States had an annual per capita GDP of approximately $1200, which amounts to ~$3 per day. This is equivalent to that of India and many other developing countries today.

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5.

Paper money was invented approximately how many years ago?
- A.
  
  200 years
- B.
  
  1,200 years
- C.
  
  5,000 years
- D.
  
  12,000 years
Correct Answer
B. 1,200 years

Explanation
The first known paper banknotes appeared in China 1,200 years ago and were in use for approximately 500 years before 1455 AD when the use of paper money in China disappeared for several hundred years. Paper money did not appear in Europe until the 17th century.

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6.

The trajectory that completes the graph is?
- A.
  
  A
- B.
  
  B
- C.
  
  C
- D.
  
  D
Correct Answer
A. A

Explanation
Much of the wealth of the world and modern living as we know it has been created in a blink of an eye in human history, and unpredictable trajectory based on the previous thousands of years of human existence. (from historical reconstructions by economist Angus Maddison).

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7.

Electricity as a source of energy has been in use for what % of human existence?
- A.
  
  .1%
- B.
  
  1.5%
- C.
  
  7%
- D.
  
  17%
Correct Answer
A. .1%

Explanation
The discovery of electricity and its use as a source of energy to catapult human capability is hardly 200 years old and lies at the inflection point of human history.

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8.

The distribution of wealth and income tends to be long-tailed. Longtails typically arise out of __________
- A.
  
  Complex interconnected systems
- B.
  
  Systems where elements interact multiplicatively
- C.
  
  Systems where the elements are independent
- D.
  
  A and B
Correct Answer
D. A and B

Explanation
Interconnected systems tend to behave non-linearly, often with multiplicative outcomes of interaction. Longtails are the natural fallout of the dynamics of these systems. ‘Normal’ or bell curve distributions, where the elements cluster around a mean or central number, usually arise only when the elements in the system (say people) operate independently of one another.

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9.

The distribution of wealth and income for most countries tend to be described by functions that are:
- A.
  
  Binomial
- B.
  
  Log normal
- C.
  
  Normal
- D.
  
  Log normal with power-law tails
Correct Answer
D. Log normal with power-law tails

Explanation
Lognormal distributions arise when there is multiplicative interaction of the elements. However, in many countries, the distributions have power-law tails, which tend to show up in the larger interconnected systems and have interesting implications, one of them being the presence of ‘memory’ in the system.

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10.

Today per capita GDP per day aggregated across the globe is approximate.
- A.
  
  $4
- B.
  
  $18
- C.
  
  $32
- D.
  
  $102
Correct Answer
C. $32

Explanation
When we take world GDP, GDP aggregated across all countries, and divide it by the total population, per capita per day, GDP has grown 10x compared to the best of the world in 1820.

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World Civilization And Economic Growth: History Quiz

The distribution of wealth and income in today’s world can be best approximated by what 3D shape?

Humans in their current form of homo sapien have existed for ___________

The world population today is about 7 billion. In which year approximately did it hit 1 billion?

GDP per capita per day in Western Europe and the United States in 1820 was approximately (in 1990 US$)

Paper money was invented approximately how many years ago?

The trajectory that completes the graph is?

Electricity as a source of energy has been in use for what % of human existence?

The distribution of wealth and income tends to be long-tailed. Longtails typically arise out of __________

The distribution of wealth and income for most countries tend to be described by functions that are:

Today per capita GDP per day aggregated across the globe is approximate.