AP Human Geography Chapter 11: Industry (Practice MCQ Exam)
1. (AP Exam) Why are most South American population
centers located at or near the coast?
a. The colonial economies were export-oriented.
b. The wars of independence damaged many inland
cities.
c. Few Amerindian population centers were located on
the coast.
d. Latin American armed forces have extensive plans for
the defense of coastal sites.
e. The climate is generally warmer on the coast and
cooler in the highlands.
2. The Industrial Revolution
a. began in Germany in. the 16th century.
b. was initiated by Henry Ford.
c. began in the English Midlands in the 18th century.
reached its peak in the 1970s.
d. began in the United States in the early 20th century.
3. Britain's Industrial Revolution diffused to locations in
mainland Europe that were __________
a. near capital cities.
b. near old growth forests and major canal networks.
c. near coal fields and connected to major road
networks.
d. near coal fields and connected via water to ports.
e. near major electrical power stations.
4. All of the following descriptions explain in part the
diffusion of the Industrial Revolution except
a. Hierarchical diffusion - The British Empire spread
industrial concepts throughout many world cities and
regions.
b. Contagious diffusion – manufacturing ideas and
concepts spread from England to nearby European
countries.
c. Stimulus diffusion – Many American and European
companies modified ideas and concepts from England
and created new ways of manufacturing.
d. Reverse hierarchical – manufacturing ideas and
concepts from the outlying rural areas of the British
Empire spread back to England and stimulated the
Industrial Revolution.
e. Diffused to areas with common locational factors
including the availability of coal, access to a water
port, proximity to a labor supply and available capital.
5. The cottage industry system involved dispersed
manufacturing of hand-made luxury items
a. in the home
b. of steam engines
c. in small factories
d. by slave labor
6. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which of the following
best describes manufacturing?
a. Large factories located in cities were owned by
corporations.
b. Multinational corporations create a global assembly
line of production.
c. Individual families produced goods by hand or on
individual spinning wheels.
d. Mechanized assembly line with workers monitoring
the quality of the product.
e. Manufacturing did not exist prior to the Industrial
Revolution.
7. Early steel industries were greatly influenced by the need
to have local availability of large amounts of
a. coal
b. tin
c. copper
d. wood
e. dross
8. Railroads and canals became very important early on in
the Industrial Revolution as they were needed to
a. transport large numbers of workers
b. move large amounts of raw materials
c. move finished products to market
d. develop other sectors of the economy along with
manufacturing
e. none of the above, they were not important
9. How did steam power revolutionize the textile industry?
a. it allowed all parts of manufacturing to take place
under one roof
b. it allowed for safer spinning and weaving processes
c. it decreased the required amount of wool and cotton
d. it required less workers
e. it allowed employers to provide higher wages
10. The diffusion of ideas from the Industrial Revolution was
slow, especially the railway system, because
a. people were waiting on patents
b. people would not share their inventions
c. there was not formal system to spread new
technology
d. government policies forbid the sharing of technology
e. there was very little cooperation among the small,
politically unstable countries of Europe
11. The Ruhr Valley is to __________ as the Rust Belt is
to__________
a. Russia, the United States
b. Germany, the United States
c. France, the United States
d. California, Pennsylvania
e. Texas, Ohio
18. Which of the following regions experienced rapid
industrial growth during the early 20th century, followed
by a severe decline and difficult period of economic
readjustment?
a. The mid-Atlantic
b. The Great Plains
c. South Florida
d. The Great Lakes
e. The Great Plains
12. The shaded area on the map would be best described as
the
a. European culture hearth
b. European industrial core region
c. European Union
d. Mackinder's Heartland
e. European population periphery
19. Approximately three-fourths of the world’s industrial
production is concentrated in four regions. Which of the
following is NOT one of these regions?
a. eastern North America
b. western (European) Russia
c. the Middle East
d. Japan
e. northwestern Europe
13. The Rust Belt is to the United States as the ___________
is to China.
a. Kanto Plain
b. Shanghai Basin
c. Northeast District
d. Nanchang Region
20. Situation issues are critical to a firm which wishes to
a. avoid labor unions
b. minimize production costs inside the plant
c. minimize transportation costs
d. identify unique characteristics of a region
e. attract highly skilled labor
14. Steel production is growing the fastest in which of the
following world regions?
a. North America
b. Western Europe
c. Australia/Pacific
d. East Asia
e. Eastern Europe
21. Eastern North America was the continent's manufacturing
center in part because it had access to the continent's
a. best-maintained transportation systems.
b. largest markets.
c. most advantageous climate.
d. most extensive sources of essential raw materials.
e. all of the above
15. Which of the following is NOT one of the world regions
where industry is concentrated?
a. Europe
b. North America
c. Latin America
d. East Asia
22. Today, the most significant industrial asset of the
Western Great Lakes region is its
a. cheap migrant labor.
b. skilled but expensive labor force.
c. access to the nation's transportation network.
d. large market area.
e. proximity to essential raw materials.
16. Which of the following is NOT one of Europe’s
industrialized regions?
a. Rhine (Mid-Rhine and Ruhr)
b. the UK (English Midlands)
c. Northern Italy (Po Valley)
d. Eastern Ukraine (Donets Basin)
e. Western France (Pyrenees Moutains)
17. Which of the following countries is not one of the Four
Asian Tigers?
a. Singapore
b. Taiwan
c. South Korea
d. Hong Kong
e. Vietnam
23. In the context of industrial location, which of the
following best describes the concept of situation?
a. The number of jobs that an industry will create in a
region.
b. The location of an industry in relation to other
industries.
c. A force that attracts industries to a specific location.
d. An area with advanced technology and culture.
e. The location of an industry in relation to resources
used in production including its market.
24. Geographers recognize that situation factors are
important to explain why a particular place is suitable for
industry. Situation factors include
a. where the markets for the product are located.
b. where the resources needed to make the product are
located.
c. where the company's headquarters were originally
located.
d. A and B
e. A and C
25. Situation costs are critical to a firm that wishes to
a. identify unique characteristics of a particular location.
b. minimize transport costs.
c. find an ideal climate.
d. avoid labor unions.
e. minimize production costs inside the plant.
26. (AP Exam) The classic model of industrial location theory
suggests that the primary consideration in the location of
an industrial site is which of the following?
a. The institutional structure of the firm
b. The cost to produce the product
c. The cost of raw materials
d. The cost of transportation
e. The location of the market
27. You are a furniture maker and use pinewood to make
tables and chairs.It costs about the same to ship the
pinewood to your factory as it does tobring your furniture
to the market as both have close to the same
weight.Where do you put your factory in relation to the
pine forest and themarket to minimize transportation
costs?
a. Closer to the market
b. Closer to the forest
c. Anywhere you want in between them
d. Closest to the nearest waste facility to minimize
transportation costsof waste
e. Farthest away from the other furniture maker to
ensure maximum market
28. Which of the following did Weber consider paramount in
his “least-cost theory” of industrial location?
a. transportation costs
b. the availability of labor
c. land costs
d. the size of the market
e. the mobility of the labor force
29. Weber’s least cost location theory uses all of the
following factors to determine optimum location of a
manufacturing facility except
a. labor cost.
b. transportation cost.
c. agglomeration effects.
d. relative location of resources and markets.
e. global division of labor.
30. Which of the factors of industrial location below is
inaccurate?
a. The periphery must sell raw materials to the core to
procure foreign capital and currency.
b. The core keeps prices of desired goods low by
switching from supplier to supplier in the periphery.
c. Low wages mean lower-priced goods and lead to
flooded markets of cheaply priced goods.
d. Highly developed industrial centers have highly
developed transport systems.
e. Transport costs tend to be a minimally important
factor that a firm considers in location.
31. The textile industry in the United States has been more
susceptible to out-sourcing than has the automobile
assembly industry for which of the following reasons?
a. Auto assembly is more of a market-oriented industry
and textiles are cheaper to transport than cars.
b. Textiles are cheaper to transport than cars and
stronger worker laws are common in less developed
countries.
c. Auto assembly is more of a market-oriented industry,
textiles are cheaper to transport than cars, and low
cost, low skill labor is often available overseas.
d. Available low cost, low skill labor overseas, stronger
worker laws in less developed countries, and lack of
workers in US willing to work in textile industry
contribute to the out-sourcing.
e. Textiles are cheaper to transport than cars, available
low cost, low skill labor overseas, and stronger worker
laws in less developed countries make it easier.
32. Which of the following economic sectors is least likely to
occur in the core area of a country?
a. Primary.
b. Secondary.
c. Quaternary.
d. Quinary.
e. Tertiary.
f.
33. A lumber mill tends to locate near the forested area being
harvested because lumber milling is
a. a bulk-reducing industry
b. a perishable product industry
c. a site sensitive industry
d. a specialized manufacture
e. not concerned with renewing its own resource
34. Which of the following industries would most likely be
resource oriented?
a. Making concrete.
b. Fresh baked bread.
c. Paper production.
d. Bottling soft drinks.
e. Airplane production.
35. Which of the following is the best example of a bulk
reducing industry?
a. Automobile assembly.
b. Copper refining.
c. Toy manufacturing.
d. Doctor.
e. Soft-drink bottling.
41. Which of the following is the best example of a bulk
gaining industry?
a. Paper production.
b. Copper mining.
c. Data-processing.
d. Medical equipment plant.
e. Automobile assembly.
36. (AP Exam) Which of the following is an advantage for
Japanese corporations that locate their manufacturing
plants in the United States?
a. Freedom from Japan’s overprotected distribution
networks
b. A wider variety of climate conditions in the United
States
c. Less competition in the United States than in most
other countries
d. Lower transportation costs and greater access to
markets
e. The better educated labor force in the United States
42. (AP Exam) The Internet is reshaping traditional economic
arrangements by
a. reinforcing the dominance of the central business
district for retail sales
b. expanding the importance of express package
delivery systems
c. increasing the importance of rail transportation as
compared to truck transportation
d. bringing consumers and producers into face-to-face
contact
e. creating more enclosed shopping malls
37. Beer bottling is an example of a
a. perishable industry
b. specialized industry
c. bulk-gaining industry
d. bulk-reducing industry
e. labor intensive industry
38. Since 1980, new automobile assembly plants have been
built in the
a. Midwest, to minimize distribution costs
b. Northeast to minimize access to the largest single
market
c. South, to minimize labor costs
d. West, to minimize access to Japan
e. Southwest, to minimize labor costs
39. Metal fabrication plants are an example of a bulk-gaining
industry because
a. parts suppliers supply components with just-in-time
management.
b. the mills are near the mines.
c. refineries import most material from other countries.
d. parts suppliers package shipments in bulk containers.
e. separate parts are combined to make more complex
and massive products.
40. Which of the following industries would most likely be
market oriented?
a. Windshields.
b. Threshing wheat.
c. Copper smelting.
d. French fry production.
e. Fish processing.
43. Over the shortest distance, which of the following modes
of transportation has the lowest cost-per-mile?
a. rail
b. truck
c. barge
d. air
e. impossible to tell
44. The lowest-cost form of transporting goods very long
distances is by
a. airplane.
b. truck.
c. ox cart.
d. boat.
e. train.
45. Which of the following modes of transportation is
characterized by low terminal cost, high line cost, and
high route flexibility?
a. Truck
b. Railroad
c. Ship
d. Pipeline
e. Airplane
46. Which of the following forms of transportation would be
most effective in delivering coal from a mine in Casper,
Wyoming to a plant creating electricity in Houston,
Texas?
a. Airplane.
b. Truck.
c. Railroad.
d. Pipeline.
e. Intermodal containers.
47. The most important transportation improvement of the
late 20th and early 21st century impacting international
trade is
a. increased speed and efficiency of airplanes.
b. improvements in intermodal containerization.
c. decreased reliance on transportation using fossil
fuels.
d. improved major highway systems in United States and
Europe.
e. faster and more efficient trains in Europe and the
United States.
48. Which of the following transportation distance/cost to
transportation mode associations is CORRECT?
a. Short - Water
b. Intermediate - Railroad
c. Long - Truck
d. Intermediate - Water
e. Short - Air
49. A company which uses more than one mode of
transportation will often locate near
a. a break-of-bulk point
b. consumers
c. raw materials
d. suburbs
e. areas with rivers and railroads
50. Los Angeles receives goods from Asia via ships. In the
ports, the goods are put on trains for distribution around
the United States. Los Angeles is a(n)
a. break-of-bulk point.
b. variable-trading partner.
c. entrepot.
d. fixed-cost provider.
e. trade alternative partner.
51. In the context of industrial location, which of the
following best describes the concept of site?
a. The unique characteristics of a location including the
factors of labor, capital and land.
b. The location of an industry in relation to other
industries.
c. A force that attracts industries to a specific location.
d. An area with advanced technology and culture.
e. The number of jobs that an industry will create in a
region.
52. Communities and governments offer which of the
following “site” incentives to industries in order to
promote their location within their areas?
a. grants
b. low-cost loans
c. tax breaks
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
53. Significant site factors include ALL BUT WHICH of the
following?
a. availability of capital
b. availability of labor
c. land costs
d. transportation costs
e. none, as all of the above are significant site factors
54. Which site factor is most responsible for the dramatic
change in industrial locations that has taken place in the
twenty-first century?
a. capital
b. land
c. labor
d. language
55. Which of the following phrases accurately represents a
disadvantage of LDCs as they seek to industrialize?
a. LDCs are too distant from labor sources.
b. LDCs lack raw materials necessary for industrialization
such as coal and iron ore.
c. Demand in MDCs is stagnant.
d. LDCs lack proper infrastructural development to
support industrialization on a large scale.
e. All of the above are accurate.
56. The type of manufacturing that is more likely to be
located in peripheral countries is ____________
a. technical design.
b. labor-intensive.
c. low-labor needs.
d. high-tech.
57. Computer technical support jobs are increasingly being
outsourced to India, because of improvements in
telecommunication technology. Which term best
exemplifies this trend?
a. Space-time compression.
b. Agglomeration.
c. Absolute distance.
d. Multiplier effect.
e. Non-governmental organizations (NGO).
58. (AP Exam) All of the following arguments are cited by
critics of megastores EXCEPT that megastores
a. destroy locally owned stores
b. homogenize the landscape
c. increase traffic and congestion
d. conform to the distinctiveness of a region
are outsiders with no stake in the community
59. Transnational corporations generally locate facilities
outside of national boundaries to take advantage of
a. cheaper labor.
b. proximity to local markets.
c. relaxed environmental standards.
d. A and C
e. A, B, and C
60. Maintaining control over all phases of a highly complex
production process is known as
a. convergence.
b. the new international division of labor.
c. vertical integration.
d. right-to-work.
66. Which of the following terms is LEAST well-associated
with production facilities along the US-Mexico border?
a. maquiladora
b. twin-plants
c. tertiary industry
d. international division of labor
e. global assembly line
61. (AP Exam) Which of the following is most likely to be used
by a marketing firm seeking to map patterns of lifestyle
characteristics in the United States?
a. States
b. Zip codes
c. Nonmetropolitan areas
d. Congressional districts
e. Counties
67. Mexico's maquiladoras are examples of
a. offshore financial centers.
b. brick-and-mortar businesses.
c. ancillary activities.
d. informal economic activities.
e. export processing zones.
62. (AP Exam) The establishment of maquiladoras by United
States corporations for the production of electronics
components is an example of which of the following?
a. Exploitation of union labor
b. Industrialization
c. New international division of labor
d. Tertiary economic activity
e. Colonialism
68. In northern Mexico's border region with the United
States, there is a manufacturing zone where plants,
mainly owned by U.S. companies, transform imported,
duty-free components or raw materials into finished
industrial products. These plants are called:
a. maquiladoras
b. braceros
c. pulques
d. favelas
e. bulk-reducers
63. (AP Exam) Which of the following is the primary
geographic effect of the globalization of the economy?
Countries have greater control over economic activity
within their borders.
a. More local ownership makes industries less likely to
move.
b. Production is increasingly concentrated in the
Manufacturing Belt of the United States.
c. Production is increasingly concentrated in the RhineRuhr Valley of Europe.
d. Production is shifted to low-cost locations in
developing countries
64. Which of the following industries is most likely to
outsource jobs to another country because of slight
increases in labor costs?
a. Steel manufacturing.
b. Automobile assembly plant.
c. Textile plant.
d. High-tech research facility.
e. Milk dairy.
65. Tracing the production of televisions throughout the
world over time illustrates
a. the current global distribution of raw materials.
b. the current global division of labor.
c. the current global shift to internet technology.
d. the fact that lower labor costs are found in the core.
e. the fact the higher labor costs are found in the
periphery.
69. Which country has created special economic zones (SEZs)
to attract investment?
a. Japan
b. Vietnam
c. South Korea
d. China
e. Thailand
70. Fordist production is characterized by
a. horizontal integration.
b. vertical integration.
c. the slow pace of production.
d. the use of foreign labor.
e. All of these.
71. Mass production of standardized goods using assembly
line techniques is referred to as:
a. Fordist.
b. manufacturing.
c. global production.
d. mass production.
72. Which of the following is NOT a work rule of post-Fordist
production?
a. rigidity
b. teamwork
c. problem solving
d. leveling
73. Fast, flexible production of small lots with outsourcing
around the world is referred to as:
a. Fordist.
b. post-Fordist.
c. socialist.
d. colonial production.
74. (AP Exam) The state of Florida earns greater revenues
from the export of oranges than does the state of
Georgia. This can be attributed to which of the following?
a. Florida has a comparative advantage as a producer of
oranges.
b. Georgia has a comparative advantage as a producer
of oranges.
c. Florida’s economy is primarily based on agricultural
production.
d. Georgia’s economy is focused on tourism and
manufacturing.
e. Unlike Florida, Georgia has no coastal port facilities.
75. The term “deindustrialization” is most closely associated
with
a. a move to primary industries
b. modernization of plants and factories
c. the shifts of the world’s largest markets to the EU and
China
d. the growth of tertiary industries
e. the growing scarcity of raw materials
76. Which of the following statements best describes
deindustrialization?
a. An economy's transition from primary to secondary
economic activities
b. The diffusion of the Industrial Revolution from Britain
to Western Europe and the United States
c. Effect of movement of secondary economic activities
from developed to developing countries
d. Global decrease in the amount of natural gas available
to run industrial facilities
e. Global transition from secondary economic activities
to tertiary and quaternary activities
77. What would be considered a basic industry for the city of
Pittsburgh?
a. Automobiles
b. Computer processors
c. Meat packing
d. Iron ore
e. Steel production
78. An industry which locates within a region, yet sells its
products or services outside the region is known as a
a. basic industry
b. nonbasic industry
c. productive industry
d. primary industry
e. maquiladora
79. (AP Exam) A clustering of doctor's offices and pharmacies
near hospitals is BEST explained by the benefits of
a. decentralization
b. agglomeration
c. intervening opportunity
d. balkanization
e. enfranchisement
80. (AP Exam) The high-tech firms of Silicon Valley in
California are clustered together to take advantage of
a. cheap labor
b. economies of scale
c. access to markets
d. agglomeration effects
e. high-speed transportation
81. A community is considering providing incentives to attract
new industries. Which of the following industries would
have the largest multiplier effect?
a. Call center for international company.
b. Retail mall.
c. Auto sales lot.
d. Regional soft-drink bottling facility.
e. Local medical clinic.
82. Abandoned and polluted industrial sites are a growing
problem for municipalities in the US and Europe. These
facilities are known as
a. “footloose” sites
b. “brownfields”
c. redevelopment zones
d. gentrified areas
e. “love canals”
83. An industry which can relocate almost anywhere without
significantly increasing its transportation costs is known
as
a. footloose
b. low threshold
c. no threshold
d. optimum-location
e. single-market
84. Of the following, which is the best example of a footloose
industry?
a. Wine making
b. Steel
c. Furniture
d. Computer chip
e. Tuna canning
85. The “just-in-time” manufacturing system has encouraged
the development of what practice among plants and
factories?
a. agglomeration
b. disaggregration
c. downsizing
d. outsourcing
e. maquiladora production
86. The type of manufacturing which involves the
coordinated assembly of products as supplies and parts
are received, and thus reduces production costs and
decreases inventory space is known as
a. footloose industries
b. tertiary production
c. just-in-time production
d. craft manufacturing
e. cottage industries
87. Just-in-time manufacturing has had which of the following
impacts on the locational factors of production?
a. Requires larger sites in order to store the parts before
assembly.
b. Allows companies to locate further away from other
producers thereby lowering land costs.
c. Reinforces agglomeration of related industries.
d. Encourages consumers to purchase products on-line.
e. Encourages companies to outsource production.
88. The ________ model of locational interdependence
illustrates the theoretical idea that two vendors selling ice
cream on a beach would eventually be selling back-toback to maximize the number of customers and profits.
a. Burgess
b. Weber
c. Hotelling
d. Losch
e. Hoyt
89. (AP Exam) All of the following contain major oil-producing
zones EXCEPT the
a. Caspian Sea
b. North Sea
c. Persian Gulf
d. Gulf of Mexico
e. Gulf of California
90. (AP Exam) Which of the following countries consumes the
most fossil fuels per capita?
a. China
b. India
c. Japan
d. England
e. The United States
91. The United States imports most of its petroleum from
a. Mexico and Canada.
b. Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
c. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
d. Saudi Arabia and U.A.E.
e. Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.
92. Compared to other industries, aluminum manufacturers
are more likely to locate near sources of
a. low-cost energy.
b. low-cost land.
c. low-cost labor.
d. aluminum oxide.
e. fluid capital.
93. All of the following are true of fossil fuels except
a. they are distributed unevenly around the globe.
b. the supply of fossil fuels is finite.
c. wealthy countries consume greater amounts of fossil
fuels than poorer countries.
d. the wealthiest countries have the greatest deposits of
fossil fuels.
e. the cost of fossil fuels will likely rise as global demand
increases and reserves decline.
94. In 2008, Saudi Arabia and _____________ were the
world's two largest oil producers.
a. Iran
b. Iraq
c. Mexico
d. Russia
95. Which country is almost completely dependent upon
imported oil/natural gas?
a. Netherlands
b. Russia
c. United States
d. Japan
96. The United States and many other more developed
countries rely on what natural resources for the majority
of their electricity production?
a. Petroleum
b. Coal
c. Natural gas
d. Uranium
e. Nuclear power