Question

questions for concepts for comparison
multiple - choice questions:

1. which of the following is a normative statement?

a) the presidents of mexico and russia are both directly elected by the people.
b) the head of government in iran is the president.
c) the chinese judicial system would serve the country better if it were more independent.
d) the european union expanded rapidly during the first few years of the 21st century.
e) iran’s head of state is not directly elected by iran’s citizens.

1. “falling oil prices have had a serious negative impact on russia’s economy.”

in the statement above, falling oil prices may be identified as a(n)
a) independent variable
b) correlation
c) causation
d) dependent variable
e) hypothesis

1. a system in which citizens vote for legislative representatives, who in turn select the leaders of the executive branch is called a

a) corporatist system
b) presidential system
c) parliamentary system
d) unitary system
e) confederal system

Explanation:

Question 1

A normative statement involves value judgments (what should be), while positive statements are factual (what is). Option C makes a judgment about what would make the Chinese judicial system better, so it's normative. Options A, B, D, E are factual (positive) statements.

In a causal relationship, the independent variable is the one that causes a change. Here, falling oil prices (independent variable) impact Russia’s economy (dependent variable). Correlation is a relationship without causation, causation is the relationship itself, dependent variable is affected, hypothesis is a testable statement. So falling oil prices are the independent variable.

In a parliamentary system, citizens vote for legislators, who then select the executive (e.g., Prime Minister). A presidential system has direct election of executive, corporatist relates to interest groups, unitary/confederal are about government structure (not executive selection). So the system described is parliamentary.

Answer:

C. The Chinese judicial system would serve the country better if it were more independent.

Question 2