SOCIOLOGY 1000 FINAL EXAM PRACTICE TEST BREKHUS:
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
(2026)
According to Gans "The Functions of Poverty" how is poverty beneficial and to
whom is it beneficial for?
- answer-Poverty is beneficial to the middle class, it provides lower class jobs.
According to Martin "The Egg and the Sperm" how do biology texts subtly
reinforce stereotypes?
- answer-Sperm is active masculine and independent and egg is passive, feminine
and dependent. Egg is a "dormant bride awaiting her mates magic kiss that instills
the power to wake her up"
- mens organs are productive, womens are wasteful
According to the employment study done by Devah Pager in Milwaukee
(mentioned in lecture) how did black applicants without criminal records do
compared to white applicants without criminal records and white applicants with
criminal records?
- answer-Applicants who were black with no criminal record were only 41% likely
to get a callback, but whites with criminal records averaged a 50% callback rate.
Blacks with a criminal record averaged only a 9% call back rate.
According to the lecture , how do white and black views on racism differ on
average?
- answer-White: a clear racist motive
Black: more in depth and thought about its impact
According to the lecture , how is race a fiction? How is race a reality? What
evidence shows us that race is socially and culturally constructed?
- answer-Fiction: race is a fiction because it only matters socially, but there is only
one race- the human race, rules change from society to society
Reality: race is a reality because we divide into categories
Statistics show that there is no distinct break of white and black, but rather that
break is decided by individuals themselves.
, How do science texts portray a romance between an egg and a sperm? How is this
portrayal misleading?
- answer-Sperm actually isn't as masculine as it sounds, moves 10x faster sideways
than forward. Is said that sperm comes and "rescues'' the egg, but eggs have ligand
and sperms have proteins, so the egg play the role of the key and the sperm plays
the role of the lock
How does Gladwell's book Outliers explain success? How does Chambliss explain
excellence? How are the two related and how do they differ?
- answer-Gladwell: explains success by saying that practice and hard work is what
it takes to get you to where you are, quantity over quality
Chambliss: explains by saying that the quality of practice or work is more
important the quantity
Similar: both agree the right place and right time are beneficial, money and
location also create greater opportunity
Differ: Gladwell believe quantity over quality and Chambliss believes quality over
quantity
How does the movie Stand and Deliver demonstrate ways that education can be an
equalizer? How does it demonstrate obstacles to education as an equalizer?
- answer-It demonstrates education as an equalizer for religion, gender, rural and
suburban, etc. It is based on their meritocracy rather than who they are. It showed
children in a poor LA school who outperformed a school in Beverly Hills but their
morals were judged because of their race and social class.
How does the movie Stand and Deliver relate to the article on East St. Louis and
educational inequalities by Kozol?
- answer-In the article it compares NYC to east st. Louis as a comparison of lower
and higher end cities like the movie comparing how the tests are scored in lower
vs. higher end cities.
In what ways does our education system reinforce rather than reduce inequality?
What is tracking?
- answer-It is reinforced based on the difficulty of a school. In upper class private
schools there is more creativity and structured curriculum whereas in a lower class
school they focus more on conformity and obedience being taught as an easier
load.
Tracking is when the success of a person or school is tracked to draw in more
talented individuals to go to higher learning facilities.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
(2026)
According to Gans "The Functions of Poverty" how is poverty beneficial and to
whom is it beneficial for?
- answer-Poverty is beneficial to the middle class, it provides lower class jobs.
According to Martin "The Egg and the Sperm" how do biology texts subtly
reinforce stereotypes?
- answer-Sperm is active masculine and independent and egg is passive, feminine
and dependent. Egg is a "dormant bride awaiting her mates magic kiss that instills
the power to wake her up"
- mens organs are productive, womens are wasteful
According to the employment study done by Devah Pager in Milwaukee
(mentioned in lecture) how did black applicants without criminal records do
compared to white applicants without criminal records and white applicants with
criminal records?
- answer-Applicants who were black with no criminal record were only 41% likely
to get a callback, but whites with criminal records averaged a 50% callback rate.
Blacks with a criminal record averaged only a 9% call back rate.
According to the lecture , how do white and black views on racism differ on
average?
- answer-White: a clear racist motive
Black: more in depth and thought about its impact
According to the lecture , how is race a fiction? How is race a reality? What
evidence shows us that race is socially and culturally constructed?
- answer-Fiction: race is a fiction because it only matters socially, but there is only
one race- the human race, rules change from society to society
Reality: race is a reality because we divide into categories
Statistics show that there is no distinct break of white and black, but rather that
break is decided by individuals themselves.
, How do science texts portray a romance between an egg and a sperm? How is this
portrayal misleading?
- answer-Sperm actually isn't as masculine as it sounds, moves 10x faster sideways
than forward. Is said that sperm comes and "rescues'' the egg, but eggs have ligand
and sperms have proteins, so the egg play the role of the key and the sperm plays
the role of the lock
How does Gladwell's book Outliers explain success? How does Chambliss explain
excellence? How are the two related and how do they differ?
- answer-Gladwell: explains success by saying that practice and hard work is what
it takes to get you to where you are, quantity over quality
Chambliss: explains by saying that the quality of practice or work is more
important the quantity
Similar: both agree the right place and right time are beneficial, money and
location also create greater opportunity
Differ: Gladwell believe quantity over quality and Chambliss believes quality over
quantity
How does the movie Stand and Deliver demonstrate ways that education can be an
equalizer? How does it demonstrate obstacles to education as an equalizer?
- answer-It demonstrates education as an equalizer for religion, gender, rural and
suburban, etc. It is based on their meritocracy rather than who they are. It showed
children in a poor LA school who outperformed a school in Beverly Hills but their
morals were judged because of their race and social class.
How does the movie Stand and Deliver relate to the article on East St. Louis and
educational inequalities by Kozol?
- answer-In the article it compares NYC to east st. Louis as a comparison of lower
and higher end cities like the movie comparing how the tests are scored in lower
vs. higher end cities.
In what ways does our education system reinforce rather than reduce inequality?
What is tracking?
- answer-It is reinforced based on the difficulty of a school. In upper class private
schools there is more creativity and structured curriculum whereas in a lower class
school they focus more on conformity and obedience being taught as an easier
load.
Tracking is when the success of a person or school is tracked to draw in more
talented individuals to go to higher learning facilities.
