AP® Human Geography Practice Tests & Question Bank (QBank)
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Question
The maps above could be used to illustrate what concept?
| A. Time-space compression | |
| B. Globalization | |
| C. Distance decay | |
| D. Hierarchical diffusion | |
| E. Relic boundaries |
Explanation
In 1800, horse-drawn carriages traveled on dirt roads and ships sailed along the coastlines at approximately 10 miles per hour. By these means, it took nearly four weeks to travel from New York to New Orleans.
In 1807, the first steamship greatly accelerated travel by water, especially along rivers. By the 1830s, steam powered locomotives moved people and goods along newly built railroads. By 1840, the travel time from New York to New Orleans was two weeks faster than in 1800.
The maps above could be used to illustrate time-space compression. Time-space compression occurs when technological developments in transportation increase the speed at which people, goods, and information travel.
(Choice B) Globalization is the process that expands and spread systems and institutions internationally. This isn't illustrated by the maps.
(Choice C) Distance decay explains why greater distance between locations means they are likely to have less interaction. In contrast, the maps above illustrate how distances can be overcome.
(Choice D) Hierarchical diffusion refers to the spread of an idea or innovation from an authority figure to other people or areas. It isn't illustrated by the travel times in the maps above.
(Choice E) Relic boundaries are historical borders that are no longer recognized. The maps above show changes in travel times between locations.
Things to remember:
Time-space compression occurs when technological developments in transportation increase the speed at which people, goods, and information travel. For example, by 1840, steam-powered transportation and newly built railroads had reduced travel times between New York and New Orleans by half.
Passage:
Question
If the map were reproduced as a Mercator projection or cylindrical map, what changes in size or relative position of the landmasses would be expected?
| A. The size of Africa would show as larger than its actual size | |
| B. The map would show only the countries in the southern hemisphere | |
| C. Antarctica and Greenland would not show on the map | |
| D. The size of the landmasses would show a greater degree of distortion | |
| E. Longitude and latitude lines would show curvature near the edges of the map |
Explanation
The Fuller, or Dymaxion, map projection maximizes the contact between the globe and the developable surface, which is the area that will become the two-dimensional map. Although this projection minimizes size and shape distortion, it doesn't preserve direction.
A Mercator map is based on a cylindrical projection, which wraps around the globe, centered on the equator. However, the northernmost and southernmost portions of the globe do not make contact with the developable surface. When the cylinder is unwrapped, the map is rectangular with straight lines of longitude and latitude.
Mercator maps have more size distortion than Fuller projection maps. Landmasses in the northernmost and southernmost portions look far bigger than they really are. For example, Mercator projections show Greenland and Africa as being similar sizes, when Africa is actually about 15 times larger than Greenland.
(Choice A) Mercator projections show Africa as smaller, not larger than it is.
(Choices B and C) Mercator projections show the entire world, not just portions of it.
(Choice E) Lines of latitude and longitude on Mercator projections have continuously straight, not curved, lines.
Things to remember:
As cylindrical maps, Mercator projections have a high degree of size distortion. Landmasses in the northernmost and southernmost portions look far bigger than they are.
Passage:
Question
Which of the following types of diffusion best describes the popularization of rap music in the United States from the 1980s to the 2000s?
| A. Reverse hierarchical | |
| B. Hierarchical | |
| C. Stimulus | |
| D. Relocation | |
| E. Contagious |
Explanation
In the 1980s, rap music originated at urban block parties in predominately African American neighborhoods in major cities. By the 2000s, rap music was a significant part of American popular culture due to its commercialization, which is best described as hierarchical diffusion.
Hierarchical diffusion describes the spread of cultural traits through some type of authority. In hierarchical diffusion, cultural traits are innovated in large urban areas, then spread to smaller metropolitical areas and, eventually, rural areas.
In the case of rap music, authority is represented by the entertainment industry and celebrity artists that popularized the music. Radio DJs, event promoters, record labels, and entertainment media commercialized the genre, spreading it to larger and larger audiences.
(Choice A) Reverse hierarchical diffusion spreads culture from rural to urban areas, opposite of how the rap industry grew.
(Choice C) Stimulus diffusion occurs when culture spreads to new regions but doesn't include elements considered objectionable by the adopting culture. This doesn't describe the growth of the rap music industry.
(Choice D) Relocation diffusion describes the spread of cultural traits through migration, which doesn't describe the growth of the rap music industry between the 1980s and 2009.
(Choice E) Although contagious diffusion could describe the genre's origins, it does not accurately describe how commercialization popularized rap music throughout the US.
Things to remember:
The popularization of rap music in the US is a good example of hierarchical diffusion.
Question
| Region | Population in 2021 |
Yearly Percent of Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 1.3 billion | 2.49 |
| Asia | 4.6 billion | 0.86 |
| Europe | 748 million | 0.06 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 654 million | 0.9 |
| Northern America | 369 million | 0.62 |
| Oceania | 42 million | 1.31 |
| Source: United Nations Population Division | ||
According to the table, which of the following regions has the shortest population-doubling time?
| A. Africa | |
| B. Europe | |
| C. Latin America and the Caribbean | |
| D. Northern America | |
| E. Oceania |
Explanation
Doubling time is the number of years needed for a population to double in size. Geographers use doubling time to illustrate exponential population growth. In the chart, Africa has the highest growth rate and therefore has the shortest doubling time. Geographers use the Rule of 70 to calculate doubling times:
70 is divided by the annual population growth rate. Africa's doubling time is calculated as follows: 70/2.49= ~28 years.
Africa's population is currently around 1.3 billion. Given the current population-doubling time of 28 years, by 2100, the population may nearly triple to approximately 4.3 billion people.
(Choices B, C, D, and E) In all these regions, the populations have shorter doubling times than Africa's 28 years.
Things to remember:
Geographers use doubling time to illustrate exponential population growth. Doubling time is how long it takes for a population to double in size.
Passage:
Question
The agricultural practice of irrigation has been used for thousands of years and has spread worldwide. Which of the following explains a potential impact of this continued practice on global landscapes?
| A. Continued irrigation can lead to the emergence and widening of wetlands | |
| B. Continued irrigation can lead to reduced downstream river flow | |
| C. Continued irrigation can lead to reductions in coastal erosion | |
| D. Continued irrigation can decrease ocean saltwater flowing into estuaries | |
| E. Continued irrigation can improve coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves |
Explanation
In agriculture, one of the most common ways to irrigate crops and increase the carrying capacity of the land is to divert river water into fields. However, negative impacts of continued irrigation include reduced river flow and a shortage of water downstream, which can drastically alter downstream landscapes.
For example, water drawn from rivers upstream contributes to the drying of downstream ecosystems, such as marshes, bogs, and swamps. This reduces the waterflow that supports vegetation and wildlife in those wetlands.
(Choice A) Methods of irrigation include pumping water from marshes and swamps, which decreases the number and size of wetlands.
(Choice C) Upstream irrigation increases coastal erosion by reducing the water that reaches the coast. This makes the coastal soil sandier and less able to support the plant roots that hold it in place.
(Choices D and E) Ongoing irrigation causes increased volumes of saltwater to flow from the ocean into estuaries. This change in the coast's salinity (salt content) damages the ecosystems there, such as mangroves.
Things to remember:
Drawing water from rivers upstream helps irrigate crops, but the reduced water flow can drastically alter downstream habitats and landscapes.
Question
Which of the following is a likely outcome of microfinancing?
| A. Increasing a country's Gross Domestic Product through loans to corporations | |
| B. Raising the price of food and other basic necessities in the periphery | |
| C. Diverting money from government defense projects to social welfare programs | |
| D. Increasing the involvement of women in the family decision-making process | |
| E. Slowing economic growth in less developed countries |
Explanation
Microfinancing is the act of giving by providing microloans (small loans) to individuals and small businesses, particularly in developing countries. Most of these loans, ranging from $200 to $2,000, are granted to women to improve their economic status in a community. In 2015, 100 million women received roughly $80 billion in microloans.
As a result of their improved economic status, women who receive microloans are increasingly involved in family decisions. For example, they are more likely to make financial choices independent of others in the home.
(Choice A) Microfinancing is directed toward individuals or small businesses, not corporations.
(Choice B) Microfinancing loans are small; therefore, the prices of food and basic necessities in the periphery are unlikely to rise.
(Choice C) Since microfinancing is directed at individuals and small businesses rather than governments, the money cannot be diverted from the military to social programs.
(Choice E) Since microfinancing improves the economic status of individuals and small businesses in less developed countries, it is more likely that economic growth in developing countries would rise, not decline.
Things to remember:
Microfinancing provides small loans to both small businesses and individuals, particularly women in developing countries. As a result, these women experience improved economic status and greater involvement in family decisions.
Question
The cultivation of olives shown in the photograph above is most associated with which of the following?
| A. Swidden agriculture | |
| B. Extensive agriculture | |
| C. Intensive agriculture | |
| D. Subsistence farming | |
| E. Shifting cultivation |
Explanation
Olive groves have been a feature of Andalusia since the Roman occupation of Spain that began in the 200s B.C.E. By the late 1800s, Spain's olive production had increased significantly because of Andalusia's large olive plantations, which required several forms of intensive agriculture.
Andalusia's plantations may be regarded today as corporate farms. Both terms used to describe these olive-producing areas refer to agriculturally intensive systems. Cultivating olives requires high inputs of time and investments per acre, which include land development, human or animal labor, machinery, fertilization, and irrigation. Because of these varied inputs, the cultivation of olives is associated with intensive agriculture.
(Choices A and E) Swidden agriculture and shifting cultivation use slash-and-burn techniques, which are rarely used in the cultivation of olives.
(Choice B) Unlike olive cultivation, extensive agriculture requires few inputs per acre farmed.
(Choice D) Because olives are a cash crop, their cultivation wouldn't be considered subsistence farming.
Things to remember:
Because of the high number of inputs per acre on olive plantations and commercial farms, the cultivation of olives is considered intensive agriculture.
Question
Which of the following is a collection of languages that are connected through an ancient origin that existed before recorded history?
| A. Language branch | |
| B. Language family | |
| C. Language group | |
| D. Institutional language | |
| E. Language hearth |
Explanation
A language family is a collection of languages that is connected through an origin that existed before recorded history.
A language family diffuses from one hearth to many locations. Although there are more than 130 language families worldwide, the languages of 98% of the world's population come from only 14, the largest being Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan. Each language family has branches, or subfamilies, such as the Romance and Indo-Iranian branches of the Indo-European family.
(Choice A) A language branch is a subdivision of a language family. A branch contains languages that share a common origin, as verified by archaeological evidence.
(Choice C) A language group is a collection of languages within a language branch that have a common foundation in a recent period and share similar vocabulary and grammar.
(Choice D) An institutional language is a language used in professional, governmental, mass media, or educational settings.
(Choice E) A language hearth is the region from which a language originates.
Things to remember:
A language family is a collection of languages that are connected through an origin language that existed before recorded history.
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