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Quiz about Southeast Asia Grouped and Ordered

Southeast Asia, Grouped and Ordered Quiz

This one's fairly tough. I group and order the Southeast Asian nations; you tell me what each grouping means. If you have a middling understanding of the physical and social geography of the region, you should be able to puzzle it out.

A multiple-choice quiz by ecohansen. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
ecohansen

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
378,408

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
206

Question 1 of 10

1. Here are some groups of countries in and near Southeast Asia. What factor explains the grouping?

I: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar/Burma
II: Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Brunei
III: Philippines
IV: Vietnam, China Hint

Language family (Tai-Kadai, Austro-asiatic, Hmong-Mien, Austronesian)

Governance style (one-party state, constitutional monarchy, democracy, junta)

Watersheds (Mekong, Irawaddy, Mahakam, Ciliwung)

Majority religions (Theravada Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Mahayana Budhism)

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Question 2 of 10

2. Here are some countries in and near Southeast Asia, grouped *and placed in order*.

What factor explains this ordering?

1. China
2. Laos, Myanmar/Burma
3. Laos, Thailand
4. Laos
5. Cambodia
6. Vietnam Hint

The course of the Irawaddy from the mountains to the sea

The order in which countries adopted Buddhism

The course of the Mekong from the mountains to the sea

The route of the Ho Chi Minh Trail from north to south

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Question 3 of 10

3. In 2015, the Southeast Asian nations could be ordered as follows. What factor justifies the ordering (for 2015)?

1. Singapore
2. Brunei
3. Malaysia
4. Thailand
5. Indonesia
6. East Timor
7. Philippines
8. Vietnam
9. Laos
10. Myanmar/Burma
11. Cambodia Hint

Richest to poorest, in nominal GDP per capita, 2015

Most densely-populated to least densely-populated per 2015 Census data

Smallest to largest, in square kilometers

Most corrupt to least corrupt, according to Transparency International 2015

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Question 4 of 10

4. Here are some countries in and near Southeast Asia, put in groups. What factor explains the groups?

I. Vietnam, Cambodia
II. Thailand, Laos
III. Myanmar/Burma, China, Bhutan
IV. Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines
Hint

Language family of majority language (Tai-Kadai, Austronesian, etc.)

The colonial power from which the countries gained independence (France, Britain, etc)

Watersheds (Mekong, Irawaddy, etc)

Trade-bloc affiliations within ASEAN

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Question 5 of 10

5. Here is a list of the southeast Asian nations, placed in order. What factor justifies the ordering?

1. Indonesia
2. Myanmar/Burma
3. Thailand
4. Malaysia
5. Vietnam
6. Philippines
7. Laos
8. Cambodia
9. East Timor
10. Brunei
11. Singapore Hint

Area, from smallest to largest

Date at which the country became independent, from earliest to latest

Area, from largest to smallest

Number of ships in fishing fleet, from highest to lowest

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Question 6 of 10

6. Here are some Southeast Asian nations, placed in groups. What factor justifies the grouping?

I. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
II. Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar/Burma
III. Indonesia
IV. The Philippines
V. East Timor Hint

System of government (monarchy, junta, democracy, etc)

Colonial power from which the country gained independence (France, Britain, the Netherlands, etc)

Writing system (quoc ngu, arabic script, latin alphabet, etc)

Dominant ecosystem (rainforest, atoll faunistic regime, etc)

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Question 7 of 10

7. In 1859, Alfred Russell Wallace famously divided Southeast Asia into two groups, as follows:

I. The eastern half of Indonesia, including what is now East Timor and Papua New Guinea
II. Everywhere else

Huxley later redrew the line to include the Philippines in Group I.

What justified this grouping? Hint

Differences in flora, fauna, and geology

The presence or absence of an epicanthic fold ("double eyelid") in the majority population

The extent of a cultural taboo against eating fish

The extent of the monsoon climate

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Question 8 of 10

8. Here are the Southeast Asian nations, listed in order. What factor justifies the ordering?

1. Myanmar/Burma
2. Indonesia
3. Malaysia
4. Vietnam
5. East Timor
6. Philippines
7. Laos
8. Thailand
9. Brunei
10. Cambodia
11. Singapore
Hint

Area, from largest to smallest

The elevation of their highest point, from highest to lowest

The order in which they were encountered by Zheng He's treasure fleet

Date (year) of independence

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Question 9 of 10

9. Southeast Asia can be divided into two groups, as follows:

I. Indonesia, Brunei, eastern Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Singapore.
II. Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma/Myanmar, Western Malaysia.

What justifies this grouping? Hint

maritime vs mainland (does it have a land connection to mainland Asia?)

developed vs developing

members vs non-members of the ASEAN trade bloc

countries that have had American troop deployments vs countries that have not prior to 2015

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Question 10 of 10

10. Finally, I'll divide Southeast Asia into two last groups, as follows:

I. Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar/Burma
II. Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, the Philippines

What factor justifies this grouping? Hint

Countries where rice is a staple vs. countries where wheat is a staple

Countries that are included in the Ring of Fire vs countries that are not

Countries that do not have native populations of orangutans vs. countries that do

Countries that have a land-border with a non-Southeast Asian nation vs. countries that do not

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Here are some groups of countries in and near Southeast Asia. What factor explains the grouping? I: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar/Burma II: Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Brunei III: Philippines IV: Vietnam, China

Answer: Majority religions (Theravada Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Mahayana Budhism)

In 2015, Indonesia was by far the most populous Muslim nation on Earth, and the population of Muslims in Southeast Asia was only slightly smaller than the total population of Muslims in the Arab world. Both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism entered Southeast Asia from India in the first few centuries AD.

The Mahayana tradition mostly died out during the height of the Khmer empire, but Mahayana Buddhism was re-introduced to Vietnam during its period of Chinese domination. Catholicism was introduced to the Philippines by the Spaniards. Singapore does not have a single religion with majority support.

2. Here are some countries in and near Southeast Asia, grouped *and placed in order*. What factor explains this ordering? 1. China 2. Laos, Myanmar/Burma 3. Laos, Thailand 4. Laos 5. Cambodia 6. Vietnam

Answer: The course of the Mekong from the mountains to the sea

The Mekong is one of the world's great rivers. It is the twelfth-longest in the world, and only the Amazon has been confirmed to have higher biodiversity than the Mekong, although the Congo River is also in the same class (Mekong River Commission: http://www.mrcmekong.org/assets/Publications/basin-reports/MRC-SOB-report-2010full-report.pdf).

3. In 2015, the Southeast Asian nations could be ordered as follows. What factor justifies the ordering (for 2015)? 1. Singapore 2. Brunei 3. Malaysia 4. Thailand 5. Indonesia 6. East Timor 7. Philippines 8. Vietnam 9. Laos 10. Myanmar/Burma 11. Cambodia

Answer: Richest to poorest, in nominal GDP per capita, 2015

The Southeast Asian nations have very different living standards. In 2015, Singapore was similar to the United States, while Cambodia was poorer than several sub-Saharan African languages. Here's the 2015 data:

Country Nominal GDP per Capita, 2015
Singapore 53224
Brunei 27759
Malaysia 10073
Thailand 5426
Indonesia 3415
East Timor 3330
Philippines 2951
Vietnam 2170
Laos 1785
Myanmar/Burma 1268
Cambodia 1139

source: Wikipedia.org

4. Here are some countries in and near Southeast Asia, put in groups. What factor explains the groups? I. Vietnam, Cambodia II. Thailand, Laos III. Myanmar/Burma, China, Bhutan IV. Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines

Answer: Language family of majority language (Tai-Kadai, Austronesian, etc.)

Southeast Asia has the highest diversity in national languages of any of the major world regions. Most language families that have developed literary languages cover pretty vast regions: The Indo-European language family covers most of Europe, Iran and India; the Niger-Congo languages cover almost all of sub-Saharan Africa.

However, there are four apparently unrelated major language families within the small confines of Southeast Asia. Thailand and Laos speak Tai-Kadai languages; Vietnam and Cambodia speak Austro-Asiatic languages; Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines speak Austronesian languages, and Myanmar speaks a language in the Tibeto-Burman branch of Sino-Tibetan.

In addition, minority groups spread across northern Southeast Asia speak a fifth family of languages, Hmong-Mien.

The Rohingya and a few other minorities in Myanmar speak Indo-European languages, Singapore has four official languages in four different language families, parts of Indonesia and East Timor speak Papuan languages, and the lingua franca of East Timor is Dili, which is a creole or mix of Portuguese (Indo-European) and Tetum (Austronesian).

5. Here is a list of the southeast Asian nations, placed in order. What factor justifies the ordering? 1. Indonesia 2. Myanmar/Burma 3. Thailand 4. Malaysia 5. Vietnam 6. Philippines 7. Laos 8. Cambodia 9. East Timor 10. Brunei 11. Singapore

Answer: Area, from largest to smallest

By area, Indonesia is the fourteenth-largest nation in the world. Singapore is the nineteenth-smallest.

6. Here are some Southeast Asian nations, placed in groups. What factor justifies the grouping? I. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia II. Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar/Burma III. Indonesia IV. The Philippines V. East Timor

Answer: Colonial power from which the country gained independence (France, Britain, the Netherlands, etc)

Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were colonized by the French, and were collectively known as "French Indochina". The Philippines were colonized by the Spanish, and became a colony of the United States after the Spanish-American War. East Timor was a Portuguese colony. Malaysia, Singapore, and Burma were parts of the British Empire. Brunei was a British protectorate, but still technically independent. Thailand maintained its independence throughout the colonial era.

7. In 1859, Alfred Russell Wallace famously divided Southeast Asia into two groups, as follows: I. The eastern half of Indonesia, including what is now East Timor and Papua New Guinea II. Everywhere else Huxley later redrew the line to include the Philippines in Group I. What justified this grouping?

Answer: Differences in flora, fauna, and geology

Eastern Indonesia is on the same tectonic plate as Australia, and the animal species clearly share common ancestry with the Australian fauna. For instance, in New Guinea you can find tree kangaroos!

The rest of Southeast Asia has mostly Asian fauna.

The discovery of this division led Wallace to independently propose evolution by natural selection at almost exactly the same time as Darwin.

8. Here are the Southeast Asian nations, listed in order. What factor justifies the ordering? 1. Myanmar/Burma 2. Indonesia 3. Malaysia 4. Vietnam 5. East Timor 6. Philippines 7. Laos 8. Thailand 9. Brunei 10. Cambodia 11. Singapore

Answer: The elevation of their highest point, from highest to lowest

Myanmar borders the Himalayas, and contains some very high peaks: only 17 countries have a high-point higher than Myanmar's.

Indonesia's highest point is the massive volcano Puncak Jaya: since it is on the same continental plate as Australia, Puncak Jaya is often counted as the highest point on the Australian continent, and is often listed as one of the Seven Summits (the highest point on each of the seven continents).

Even tiny, coastal Singapore has a higher high-point than you might expect: Bukit Timah rises to 176 meters, higher than the high-point of 18 other nations.

Country Highest peak in meters
Myanmar/Burma Hkakabo Razi 5881
Indonesia Puncak Jaya 4884
Malaysia Kinabalu 4095
Vietnam Fan Si Pan 3142
East Timor Ramelau 2963
Philippines Mount Apo 2954
Laos Phou Bia 2830
Thailand Doi Inthanon 2580
Brunei Bukit Pagon 1850
Cambodia Phnom Aural 1813
Singapore Bukit Timah 176

(source:http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=1105)

9. Southeast Asia can be divided into two groups, as follows: I. Indonesia, Brunei, eastern Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Singapore. II. Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma/Myanmar, Western Malaysia. What justifies this grouping?

Answer: maritime vs mainland (does it have a land connection to mainland Asia?)

Singapore is the only one that might be tricky here, but it's an island. It is generally counted as part of Maritime Southeast Asia.

10. Finally, I'll divide Southeast Asia into two last groups, as follows: I. Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar/Burma II. Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, the Philippines What factor justifies this grouping?

Answer: Countries that have a land-border with a non-Southeast Asian nation vs. countries that do not

Vietnam and Laos border China. Myanmar borders China, India, and Bangladesh. Indonesia borders Papua New Guinea, which is not traditionally included in Southeast Asia.

Source: Author ecohansen

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
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