Social Studies
What to know
This domain spans U.S. and world history, geography, civics and government, and economics. Candidates should understand major eras and documents (the Constitution, Bill of Rights, branches of government with checks and balances), basic geographic tools (maps, latitude/longitude, regions, human-environment interaction), and core economic ideas (scarcity, supply and demand, opportunity cost, producers and consumers). Civics emphasizes rights and responsibilities of citizens, federalism, and the amendment process. History questions often test cause and effect, chronology, and the perspectives of different groups.
Traps to watch
- Mixing up the three branches' powers (e.g., declaring war is Congress, not the President).
- Confusing latitude (horizontal, measures north/south) with longitude (vertical, east/west).
- Treating opportunity cost as money spent rather than the next-best alternative given up.
- Assuming a single cause for a historical event; questions reward multi-causal reasoning.
- Confusing the Bill of Rights (first ten amendments) with later amendments.
Rule of thumb
For civics, ask "which branch, and is it making, enforcing, or interpreting law?" For economics, ask "what is scarce, and what was given up?"
Worked example
A town must choose between building a park or a library with limited funds. Choosing the park means the library is the opportunity cost-the value of the forgone alternative-not the dollar amount spent on the park.