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Study Guide for AP Human Geography
Background: Advanced Placement Human Geography introduces students to the systematic study of
patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface.
Students in this course learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their research &
applications.
Exam Information:
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Exam Timing: 2hrs 15mins
Questions/Timing: Multiple choice - 60 Questions - 1hr - 50% of Score
Free Response - 3 Questions - 1hr 15mins - 50% of Score
The College Board expects that students should develop skills in five categories during the APHG
course. The five Skill Categories are as follows:
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1. Concepts & Processes – explain the strengths and weaknesses of different geographic models;
describe geographic concepts in a specified context; explain geographic concepts and theories.
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2. Spatial Relationships – describe and predict spatial patterns; explain spatial relationships for a given
world region; explain geographic similarities/differences among different locations, or at different times.
3. Data Analysis – identify the types of data shown in maps; describe patterns shown in maps or tables;
draw conclusions from data provided; explain what data imply about geographic principles & outcomes.
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4. Source Analysis – identify the type of information presented in visual sources; describe spatial
patterns in visuals; be able to draw conclusions from sources; explain limitations of visual sources
given.
5. Scale Analysis – identify the scales of maps; explain relationships across several geographic scales;
compare processes at various scales; explain how a concept applies across different scales.
There are three “Big Ideas” which serve as the foundation of the APHG course (and thus, the exam):
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1. Patterns & Spatial Organization – both spatial patterns and human society itself is according to
political, cultural & economic factors. Make sure you have a firm grasp on these patterns to succeed on
the exam!
2. Impacts & Interactions – this is essentially the idea that complex cause and effect relationships exist
among people, the environments in which they live, and their actions throughout history.
3. Spatial Process & Societal Change – having a spatial perspective allows a student to understand how
various factors interact differently in different places. We can study how society organizes itself, and
what the consequences of this are on the environment.
COURSE CONTENT:
Unit 1: Thinking Geographically (answer the following questions thoroughly on separate paper)
Introduction to Maps –
What types of data are represented in maps?
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What are the most common tools that geographers use?
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What is the difference between a thematic map and a reference map?
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What is the difference between absolute and relative distance?
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What are the major types of map projections, and what are the advantages of each?
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Geographic Data –
What are the two major types of geographic data collection?
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What were the major turning points in the history of cartography?
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How can maps be constructed from field observations?
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Define GIS, and explain how it helps geographers construct maps.
The Power of Geographic Data –
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What is the census, and how is it useful to geographers?
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How do geographers look at the world differently from other scientists?
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How can satellite imagery be used for businesses? For governments?
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Spatial Concepts –
Explain the difference between absolute and relative location.
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Why are lines of latitude and longitude useful for understanding the concept of place?
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What is distance decay? Give some real-world examples.
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Explain the concept of time-space compression.
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Describe the difference between place, region, and situation.
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What is a toponym? Give examples.
Human/Environmental Interaction –
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What does sustainability mean when it comes to one’s environment?
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What is environmental determinism, and when was it a widespread theory?
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Explain the concept of possibilism.
Scales of Analysis –
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What are the four principal scales of analysis in geography?
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Come up with three examples of information best analyzed at a national scale. Explain your choices.
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Come up with three examples of information best analyzed at a local scale. Explain your choices.
How can regional analysis be applied at a global scale?
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What does it mean for regional boundaries to be transitional?
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What is a formal region? Give examples.
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What is a vernacular region? Give examples.
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What is a functional region? Give examples.
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Regional Analysis –
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Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes
Population Distribution and Its Consequences –
What types of physical features most influence the distribution of population? Give examples.
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How do human factors (culture, politics, economics) impact the distribution of population?
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Describe the differences between arithmetic, physiological, and agricultural density.
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How does population density affect medical care and social services?
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What tools do geographers use to understand and identify population composition?
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Explain the concept of carrying capacity and how it applies to regional populations.
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Population Composition & Dynamics –
How can population pyramids predict needs for goods and services?
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What types of symmetry are common in population pyramids, and what do they tell us about a
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place?
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In what ways do patterns of age and gender distribution vary from place to place?
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Define the NIR, and state how it can be used to predict population growth.
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What role does migration play in determining population dynamics?
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What factors most influence fertility rates? Mortality rates?
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What is the dependency ratio, and why is it so important in estimating expenditures for social
services?
The Demographic Transition Model –
What trends are most apparent in each of the five stages of the demographic transition model?
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What factors most influence birth and death rates in the demographic transition model?
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Choose one nation in Stages II, III, IV, and V of the demographic model, and defend your choices.
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What is Malthusian Theory, and why did it fall out of favor?
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Why was the epidemiological transition model developed, and why is it so important today?
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Population Policies –
What are the most significant policies that promoted population growth?
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What are the most significant policies that discouraged population growth?
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Choose three effective immigration or anti-immigration policies and explain their effects.
Women and Demographic Change –
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How does the changing role of females worldwide have demographic consequences?
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What factors have been most effective in reducing fertility rates in the last century?
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In what ways have changing social roles for women impacted migration?
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Aging Populations –
What are the economic and social consequences of an aging population?
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Compare states in Stage IV and Stage V of the demographic transition regarding aging populations.
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Causes & Effects of Migration –
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Select four causal factors that encourage migration and explain the role of each.
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How can environmental issues act as both “push” and “pull” factors when it comes to migration?
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Explain several differences between forced and voluntary migration.
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What are the most common types of voluntary migrants?
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Choose five areas of the world with large numbers of refugees, and state why each has them.
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Are the cultural or the political effects of migration usually more significant? Explain your answer.
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What are the most important of Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration? Defend your answer.
Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes
Introduction to Culture –
Define culture, and give examples of common cultural traits in disparate societies.
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What is cultural relativism, and how can it be harmful in analyzing large groups?
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Choose two ethnic islands in North America and explain why they tend to exist in rural areas.
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Cultural Landscapes and Patterns –
How is architecture part of the cultural landscape? Offer specific examples.
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How do indigenous societies shape their landscapes differently than non-native populations?
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Select one Asian and one American nation, and explain their most common land use patterns.
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Explain how patterns of language and those of religion both contribute to a sense of place.
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Types of Diffusion and Their Causes –
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Define and distinguish the following types of diffusion: relocation, contagious, stimulus,
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hierarchical.
How did colonialism help shape patterns of culture?
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What is a lingua franca, and how might it form?
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How do communications technologies impact cultural diffusion today?
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Relate contemporary diffusion of English to the loss of indigenous languages.
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Diffusion of Religion and Language –
Explain the factors which lead to the diffusion of universalizing religions.
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Choose two ethnic religions, and explain how they diffused over time.
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How do languages diffuse from cultural hearths? Give examples.
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Select five Indo-European languages, and draw their relationship to one another in a language tree.
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Has expansion or relocation diffusion been more important in the spread of Hinduism? Of Islam?
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Explain how the process of diffusion can result in changes to the cultural landscape.
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Define the following words as they relate to culture: assimilation, folk culture, ethnic enclaves,
taboos.
Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes
Introduction to Political Geography –
How are the following entities distinct? Nations, nation-states, multistate nations, stateless nations.
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In what ways has the concept of sovereignty shaped the contemporary political world?
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How has imperialism influenced political boundaries in Africa and Asia? Give specific examples.
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What are the five most common types of state morphology? Give an example of each.
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Political Power and Territoriality –
Describe the concept of territoriality as used by geographers.
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Is nationalism usually considered a centripetal or a centrifugal force? Why?
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Give examples of European satellite states which have formed in the last thirty years.
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Choose either the Heartland Theory or the Rimland Theory and explain its significance and origin.
Defining Political Boundaries –
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Why do some regions become shatterbelts while others do not?
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Define the following types of boundaries: relic, superimposed, antecedent, geometric, and
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consequent.
What are the main functions of an international boundary? What about of an internal boundary?
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Why are boundaries so often contested? Give several modern-day examples.
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How does gerrymandering affect election results at local and national scales?
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Forms of Governance –
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What are four main differences between federal and unitary states?
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Give examples of how federal internal boundaries affect spatial organization.
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What factors most often lead to the devolution of states?
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How are ethnic cleansing, terrorism, and irredentism similar to one another? How are they different?
Challenges to Sovereignty –
How can technology challenge state sovereignty?
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Where can devolution of states be seen today? Why there?
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In what ways can supranational organizations like the UN or the EU challenge state sovereignty?
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Explain one negative and one positive consequence of centrifugal and centripetal forces in the U. S.
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Why does supranationalism often have a negative impact on the environment? Be specific.
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How is subnationalism related to the existence of autonomous regions?
Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes
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Introduction to Agriculture –
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Explain the connection between physical geography and agricultural practices.
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Compare and contrast shifting cultivation and nomadic herding.
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What are the most typical features of market gardening and plantation agriculture?
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Settlement Patterns and Survey Methods –
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What are the differences between metes & bounds surveying and township/range surveying?
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In what ways are the following rural settlement patterns distinctive? Clustered, dispersed, and linear.
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Identify the major centers of plant and animal domestication.
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How did the Columbian Exchange result in the spread of several plants and animals? Give
examples.
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How have advances in technology changed agriculture beginning in the eighteenth century?
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The Second Agricultural & Green Revolutions –
What were the major effects of the increased food production in the second agricultural revolution?
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Explain the consequences of the Green Revolution on the environment and on human populations.
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Why have GMOs not been more widespread after their introduction in the twentieth century?
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How do economic forces influence agricultural practices?
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Spatial Organization of Agriculture –
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What are the major consequences of large-scale agricultural operations replacing family farms?
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Describe how the Von Thünen Model can be used to explain patterns of agricultural production.
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Explain the interdependence among regions of agricultural production and consumption.
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Why have many countries become so highly dependent upon a single export commodity?
Consequences and Challenges of Contemporary Agricultural Practices –
What are the three most negative environmental consequences of modern agricultural practices?
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How has pastoral nomadism changed worldwide in recent decades, and what caused this change?
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Explain the shifting role of women in agriculture over the past half-century.
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Define aquaculture, and discuss its main features.
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Why have both organic farming and community-supported agriculture grown in recent years?
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What are food deserts, and where can they often be found?
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In what ways do women’s roles in food production and distribution vary by major world region?
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Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes
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The factors that drive the growth of cities and suburbs
Explain the Central Place Theory in detail and why it is important.
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Where did settlements originate and what are the 4 independent hearths?
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Define Urbanization and Megacities.
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Globalization and cities
What are the 3 characteristics of cities and why is it important for them to vary in size?
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Explain the role of cities and define the gravity model.
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What is the rank size rule and what are some of its issues?
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Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a Primate City.
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What are the four models of cities? List them and describe them.
City infrastructure
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Why is infrastructure important in urban development? List examples that show strong
infrastructure.
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Explain New Urbanism and what is is trying to counter. Give examples of new urbanism projects.
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What is a green belt and what are some of its advantages?
Urban design initiatives and practices
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Describe the census in detail and explain what it can be used for.
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What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data? Give an example.
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List 5 modern challenges of urban changes and explain why each is an issue in detail.
The Industrial Revolution
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Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes
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What is the economy and some of its major trends?
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Define Agglomeration, Growth Pole, Post-Fordist Production, Transnational Corporations,
Economic sectors and patterns
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Maquiladoras, and Neocolonialism
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Name and describe the 5 core sectors of the economy.
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Explain the commodity chain and why it is important.
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Describe the process between core countries and periphery and semi-periphery countries.
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Define GDP and GNI while explaining the differences between the two.
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What are the differences between formal and informal economies?
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How economic development affects the roles of women
What is the Human Development Index and why is it important?
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List some of the issues that women encounter when in the workforce and how it removes the stigma
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of their “traditional role.”
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List the Millenium Development Goals and how they help women.
Trade and the world economy
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Explain Rostow’s Stages of Development and Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory
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What is the Dependency Theory and why is it important?
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Explain NAFTA and the advantages/disadvantages that are had with the associated countries.
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Explain the European Union and its benefits/drawbacks.
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What are the benefits of ecotourism and renewable energy for a country?
PRACTICE FRQs BY UNIT:
1. The international borders of African countries are a legacy of colonialism.
A. Describe the concept of a superimposed boundary.
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Unit 1:
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B. Describe three political or cultural consequences of superimposed boundaries in Africa.
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C. Identify and explain one challenge landlocked African countries face in developing viable
economies.
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2. The map and table above show the geographic location, population growth, and projected growth of
Mexico’s most populous cities.
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A. Define the following terms and describe how each relates to Mexico’s urban geography.
1. Primate city
2. Rank-size rule
B. Explain TWO positive effects of primate cities on a country’s economic development and TWO
different negative effects of primate cities on a country’s economic development.
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Unit 2:
1. Infant mortality varies widely around the world and is affected by complex real-world characteristics.
The infant mortality rate is a key demographic indicator that can be used to access social, economic,
and other conditions at multiple economic scales.
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A. Identify the predominant ranges of the infant mortality rate found in South Asia and in Western
Europe
B. Describe TWO economic reasons for the level of infant mortality rates in Western Europe
C. Identify and explain a specific way in which each of the following TWO United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals are intended to affect infant mortality rates in a rural community in South Asia:
1. Quality education
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2. Clean water and sanitation
2. Development results in a number of economic and social changes within a country.
A. Identify primary, secondary, and tertiary economic activities.
B. Explain TWO different reasons for each of the following changes that typically occur as a country
develops over time.
1. Declines in primary sector employment
2. Decreases in infant mortality rate
3. Improvements in women’s social status
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Unit 3:
1. A. Identify TWO specific means by which new expressions in popular culture are diffused globally.
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B. Popular culture often spreads through a combination of different types of diffusion. Describe how
terms, such as those shown in the table, diffuse spatially through each of the following processes.
1. Relocation diffusion
3. Hierarchical diffusion
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2. Contagious diffusion
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C. When new words diffuse, they confront barriers. Identify and explain TWO barriers to diffusion
that are often encountered even as new terms become more popular.
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CANADA
2. Many countries around the world, including Canada, have more than one official language.
A. Identify the primary language spoken by most inhabitants in the shaded area on the map.
B. Explain how bilingualism can have a positive impact on a country.
C. Explain how bilingualism can have a negative impact on a country.
D. Discuss TWO reasons, other than language, why Canada does not fit the nation-state concept.
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Unit 4:
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1. The number of states in the world has grown to approximately 200. The creation of new countries has
been possible as a result of devolutionary forces. Countries such as Spain and Nigeria face
devolutionary pressures.
A. Define devolution.
B. Describe how each of the following forces contributes to devolutionary pressures within a country.
1. Cultural diversity
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2. Regional economic differences
3. Physical geography and territorial size
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C. Identify and explain ONE political impact resulting from devolutionary pressures related to cultural
differences in either Spain or Nigeria.
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2. As shown in the maps, international boundaries in Europe changed considerably from 1980 to 2013.
Nationalism and supranationalism were two geographical processes that changed the number and
function of those boundaries.
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A. Identify ONE geopolitical event that initiated change in the number of international boundaries in
Europe between 1980 and 2013.
B. Explain how nationalism can eliminate an international boundary. Describe an example from the
maps shown.
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C. Explain how nationalism can create new international boundaries. Describe an example from the
maps shown.
D. Describe TWO ways supranationalism has affected the functions of international boundaries in
Europe.
Unit 5:
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1. In the early 21st century, food security is an increasingly important issue in developed countries. Some
neighborhoods in United States cities have been characterized as food deserts. Food deserts are areas
with little or no access to healthy and affordable food or limited or no access to fresh fruits and
vegetables.
A. Describe what kinds of information geographers use to map food deserts.
B. Identify and explain TWO reasons that food deserts exist in urban areas within developed countries.
C. Identify and explain ONE impact of living in a food desert.
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2. Women compose between one-third and one-half of all agricultural laborers in developing countries,
and yet empowerment and gender equality have been difficult to achieve.
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A. Identify a country where more than 75% of women in the labor force are active in agriculture.
B. For each of the following THREE categories, describe ONE obstacle that may prevent women
working in agriculture from achieving greater equality and empowerment.
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1. Economic
2. Cultural
3. Political
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C. Identify and explain ONE impact of empowering women within the rural agricultural regions of
developing countries.
Unit 6:
Development results in a number of economic and social changes within a country.
A. Identify primary, secondary, and tertiary economic activities.
B. Explain TWO different reasons for each of the following changes that typically occur as
a country develops over time.
1. Declines in primary sector employment
2. Decreases in infant mortality rate
3. Improvements in women’s social status
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II.
1. Von Thünen’s model of land use and Burgess’ model of land use are similar in appearance but
different in their geographic setting. Analyze and discuss the two models in terms of each of the
following:
A. For each of these models, identify the type of land use the model addresses.
B. Identify two assumptions that are shared by both models.
C. For each of these models, explain how relative location affects land-use patterns.
Unit 7:
Over the past 150 years, railroad and highway systems influenced patterns of urban growth in
the United States.
A. Identify and explain one way that railroads affected the size and one way that railroads
affected the form of cities in the United States between 1870 and 1920.
B. Identify and explain two ways that the Interstate Highway System affected cities in the
United States between 1950 and today
II.
The map and table below show the geographic location, population growth, and projected
growth of Mexico’s most populous cities.
A. Define the following terms and describe how each relates to Mexico’s urban geography.
1. Primate City
2. Rank-Size Rule
B. Explain TWO possible effects of primate cities on a country’s economic development
and TWO different negative effects of primate cities on a country’s economic
development.
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