AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
PRACTICE MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
0506
Directions: Read each question carefully and choose the correct
response. If you are unsure of the correct answer, be careful of
guessing wildly-a 1/4-point penalty is given for each incorrect
answer.
1. The word "geography" literally means
(A) the study of space.
(B) earth study.
(C) people and nature.
(D) earth writing.
(E) human ground.
2. NewYork City is divided into five ___________in order to
better organize services for millions of people.
(A) counties
(B) voting precincts
(C) town councils
(D) school districts
(E) boroughs
3. In which of the following countries would you expect to find
the highest rate of population growth?
(A) Canada
(B) Nigeria
(C) Sweden
(D) Chile
(E) United States
4. In distance decay models, the slope of the decay function
illustrates
(A) the type of interaction.
(B) the nature of the network.
(C) the influence of "friction of distance."
(D) topography.
(E) net dispersion.
5. Which of the following projections places the North or South
Pole at the center of the view?
(A) Azimuthal
(B) Choropleth
(C) Pole view
(D) Fuller's
(E) Mercator
6. Rap music first appeared in New York in the 1970s. Later, it
spread to large cities with vibrant African- American
populations-such as Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, and
Detroit-without being absorbed by the smaller cities and rural
areas in-between. This type of spatial diffusion is
called_____________________.
(A) relocation diffusion.
(B) hierarchical diffusion.
(C) contagious diffusion.
(D) cultural diffusion.
(E) indeterminant diffusion.
7. Cartography is the art and science of
(A) demographics.
(B) map-making.
(C) spatial orientation.
(D) cognitive imagery.
(E) spatial decision making.
8. Which of the following is false regarding slash-and-burn
agriculture?
(A) It occurs mainly in tropical environments.
(B) It is associated with deforestation in
Brazil
(C) It is part of the Green Revolution.
(D) It was practiced sustainably by
indigenous peoples.
(E) It is uncommon in the temperate latitudes.
9. A population pyramid
(A) shows the age and sex structure of a
population.
(B) cannot be used to compare two different countries.
(C) demonstrates the demographic transition model
(D) only accurately depicts declining populations.
(E) is most useful in illustrating social upheaval.
10. The Pleistocene overkill theory argues that
(A) hearths of early agriculture resulted from
environmental conditions.
(B) geographers have overemphasized the importance of
environmental conditions in human history.
(C) poor environmental management resulted in the
ecological collapse
of the Fertile Crescent.
(D) current human geography is not a product of the distant
past.
(E) hunter-gatherers caused the extinction of many species
after the end of the last ice age.
11. In an address to the 1994 United Nations International
Conference on Population and Development, India argued
that, although population growth has placed pressure on the
world's natural resources,
_______________by
industrialized nations has also had extreme consequences
for environmental quality.
(A) fiscal policy
(B) material consumption
(C) tourism
(D) international aid
(E) racism
12. Geographical research that applies only to one place or
region is
(A) nomothetic.
(B) denominational.
(C) idiographic.
(D) nonscientific.
(E) cultural studies.
13. Approximately how long did it take for Eurasian huntergatherers to reach the tip of South America after their initial
arrival in Alaska?
(A) 500 years
(B) 2,000 years
(C) 5,000 years
(D) 20,000 years
(E) 40,000 years
14. The demographic accounting equation computes future
population as a function of current population:
(A) + births - infant mortality + cohort
(B) + births - deaths x life expectancy
(C) + births - deaths + immigration - emigration
(D) births / deaths - immigration + emigration
(E) + immigration - emigration x demographic transition
(C) Von Thunen's concentric ring theory
(D) Sector model of urban development
(E) Multinucleated model of urban development
16. Longitude is
(A) the angular distance north or south of the prime
meridian.
(B) the angular distance east or west of Greenwich,
England.
(C) the angular distance north or south of the equator.
(D) useful in determining relative location.
(E) useful in describing a place's situation.
17. The idea that our impressions and experiences of the world
around us are filtered through the lens of our culture and our
individual experiences, which critiques the sort of scientific,
universalist grand theories offered by modernists is called
(A) postmodernism.
(B) ecofeminism.
(C) consumptionism.
(D) reductionism.
(E) possitivism.
18. The religious practices of some Native American groups
combine elements both from their traditional religion and
from Christianity. This is an example of
(A) a cultural complex.
(B) a cultural confluence.
(C) a counter culture.
(D) a diametric culture.
(E) a cultural syncretism.
19. The demographic transition model posits that
(A) advanced industrialized countries will have
rapid population growth.
(B) pre-industrial states will have both low birth
and death rates.
(C) countries with high levels of economic
production will have lower birth rates.
(D) underdeveloped countries cannot become
developed.
(E) time is the dominant force behind population
change.
20. One important consequence of cultural extinction is
(A) decreasing population.
(B) increased poverty in peripheral regions.
(C) loss of genetic diversity.
(D) loss of indigenous knowledge about ecosystems.
(E) increasing population.
15. Which of the following models of urban geography best
describes this map?
(A) central place theory
(B) rank-size rule
21. While space________ maps work well for locating and
navigating between places,____________
maps display one or more variables across a specific
(A) Reference. . . thematic
(B) Thematic. . . reference
(C) Spatial. . . cartographic
(D) Cartographic. . . spatial
(E) Topologic. . . choropleth
27. In the following distance decay function,
(A) the friction of distance has little effect on connectivity.
(B) connectivity is related to the position of a central place.
(C) distance imposes a significant barrier to spatial
interactions.
(D) topological space acts independently of distance.
(E) absolute decay is different than relative decay.
22. Which of the following religions originated in northern India
and then spread across central and southeast Asia, Indonesia,
and Japan?
(A) Hinduism
(B) Buddhism
(C) Islam
(D) Judaism
23. States with federal forms of government must also have
(A) territorial organization.
(B) fascist regimes.
(C) social-democracies.
(D) proportional representation.
(E) congressional oversight.
24. In the world systems model, the core nations of the world
are
(A) situated in the present-day Middle East.
(B) located in the prosperous southern
continents.
(C) located mainly in Europe and North
America.
(D) located in the former Soviet republics.
(E) located in the heartland, not the
rimland.
25. The study of the interaction between human cultures and
natural ecosystems is called
(A) cultural ecology.
(B) semiotics.
(C) cognitive science.
(D) linguistics.
(E) sociobiology.
26. Which of the following is not a potential cause of
Balkanization?
(A) Ethnic divisions
(B) Varying levels of economic development within a
country
(C) External pressures
(D) Centripetal-forces
(E) A strong central government
28. Which of the following is true about language extinctions?
(A) They happen-suddenly and without warning.
(B) They are usually the result of genocide.
(C) There could be several thousand over the next century.
(D) They are increasingly rare.
(E) They are unrelated to cultural imperialism.
29. ____________involves the economic and
political domination of one state by another,
while______________ includes official,
institutionalized government rule.
(A) Regionalism. . . sectionalism
(B) Sectionalism... regionalism
(C) Imperialism. . . colonialism
(D) Colonialism. . . imperialism
(E) Nationalism. . . isolationism
30. Sources of forced migration include
(A) complementarity and individual choice.
(B) economic opportunities and religious freedom.
(C) political unrest and ecological degradation.
(D) the draw of a pleasant climate.
(E) familial ties in another country.
31. In a 1995 plebiscite, the Canadian province of Quebec
sought which of the following?
(A) Electoral reapportionment
(B) Economic freedom
(C) Unitary standing
(D) Self-determination
(E) Membership in the United Nations
32. The disproportionate siting of power plants and waste
disposal facilities in African-American and Latino
neighborhoods-independent of other economic and historical
factors:-is an example of
(A) postmaterialism.
(B) environmental racism.
(C) deindustrialization.
(D) environmental justice.
(E) ecological inferiority.
38. In the gravity model of spatial interaction,
population and distance
(A) are inversely related.
(B) are directly related.
(C) each have multiple measures.
(D) do not affect the final solution.
(E) vary significantly.
33. Advanced economic countries, like the United States, may
produce more pollution than less economically advanced
countries because
(A) they consume more resources.
(B) they are less concerned about the environment.
(C) they desire global domination.
(D) they have more resources to begin with.
(E) they lack waste management technology.
39. Core-periphery patterns exist within countries as well as
among them. In the United States, economic peripheries
include
(A) New England and the Great Basin.
(B) southern Appalachia and the lower Mississippi Valley.
(C) the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest.
(D) the Desert Southwest and Great Lakes.
(E) the Rust Belt.
34. Latitude is
(A) the angular distance north or south of the prime
meridian.
(B) the angular distance east or west of Greenwich,
England.
(C) the angular distance north or south of the equator.
(D) useful in determining relative location.
(E) a measure of social or political freedom.
40. Agricultural techniques developed in the temperate latitudes
are frequently inappropriate for wet tropical climates
because rainforest soils tend to be
(A) poorly drained.
(B) nutrient-rich.
(C) nutrient-poor.
(D) salinized.
(E) sandy.
35. Primary economic activities involve
(A) the transformation and assembly of raw materials.
(B) the sale and exchange of goods and services.
(C) the handling and processing of information.
(D) research and development.
(E) the direct extraction or harvest of natural resources.
41. All choropleth maps use
(A) shading and coloring.
(B) isolines.
(C) dots.
(D) graphs and charts.
(E) the Mercator projection.
36. According to Thomas Malthus, _____________ grows
arithmetically, but ______________grows
geometrically.
(A) population. . . food production
(B) passion between the sexes. . . willingness to have sex
(C) food production. . . population
(D) technology. . . environmental impact
(E) population. . . technology
42. Hearths of early Eurasian agriculture were generally
located
(A) in Mediterranean climates.
(B) on the moist, windward side of mountain
ranges.
(C) in fertile river valleys.
(D) along the coast.
(E) at high latitudes and altitudes.
37. Since 1960, the difference between per capita Gross
National Products of the world's wealthiest countries and the
world's poorest countries has
(A) remained about the same.
(B) decreased somewhat.
(C) decreased dramatically.
(D) increased dramatically.
(E) increased slightly.
43. The aggregate measure of economic development that
accounts for the depreciation of capital and natural
resources is called the
(A) Gross National Product.
(B) Gross Domestic Product.
(C) Net National Product.
(D) Human Development Index.
(E) Gender Empowerment Index.
44. The Kurds are an example of an ethnic group that
(A) has a stable and prosperous nation.
(B) has recognized an antecedent boundary between Iraq
and Jordan.
(C) has historical homelands spanning many national
borders.
(D) does not want to live in an independent country.
(E) has disappeared due to cultural extinction.
45. Which of the following is an example of an edge city?
(A) Anchorage, Alaska
(B) Seattle, Washington
(C) Boston, Massachusetts
(D) Tyson's Comer, Virginia
(E) Las Vegas, Nevada
46. Hearth regions of early agriculture included present-day
(A) China, India, Turkey, and Mexico.
(B) China, India, Sudan, and Malaysia.
(C) India, Ethiopia, Greece, and Morocco.
(D) Anatolia, Peru, Borneo, and Argentina
(E) California, Illinois, New Brunswick, and Ireland.
47. Von Thunen's model of rural land use is based on which of
the following premises?
(A) Land values decrease farther from the urban center.
(B) Land values increase farther from the urban center.
(C) Perishable goods are least valuable.
(D) Railroads provide fixed transportation costs.
(E) Vegetarianism is socially beneficial.
48. Washington D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial and Mall, with their
dramatic neoclassical architecture and symbolic references
to democracy and populism, are associated with
(A) modernism.
(B) revisionism.
(C) pluralism.
(D) postmodernism.
(E) the City Beautiful movement.
49. The theory that explains the regional organization of urban
areas, based on their functions and the goods and services
they offer, is called
(A) metropolitan area theory.
(B) sector theory.
(C) central place theory.
(D) urban matrix theory.
(E) the rank-size rule.
50. The city of San Francisco is known for which of
the following?
(A) Beaux arts architecture
(B) Early 20th century modernism
(C) 19th century Victorian architecture
(D) Its balmy climate
(E) Postmodern architecture
51. The geographic differentiation between the colonizing
countries of Europe, North America, and eastern Asia and
the colonized states of Africa and South America has been
called
(A) the north/south divide.
(B) the iron curtain.
(C) the east/west divide.
(D) the thin red line.
(E) the western front.
52. Which city's dense urban core became the "birthplace of the
skyscraper"?
(A) New York
(B) Tokyo
(C) Sao Paulo
(D) Paris
(E) Chicago
53. The greatest concentration of linguistic diversity
on earth is in
(A) Amazonia.
(B) the Congo.
(C) Madagascar.
(D) New Guinea.
(E) Mexico.
54. By 2020, most of the world's biggest cities will be located in
(A) Western Europe.
(B) Russia.
(C) South America.
(D) Asia.
(E) Africa.
55. ___________ is strategically located on the
border between two continents, and at the intersection
of many cultures and religions.
(A) Istanbul, Turkey,
(B) Lagos, Nigeria,
(C) Mexico City, Mexico,
(D) Karachi, Pakistan,
(E) Berlin, Germany,
56. Cartographic scale refers to
(A) the size of an object in the real world.
(B) the number of different objects depicted on the map.
(C) the projection.
(D) the relation between a distance on a map and distance
on the ground.
(E) angular distance from the equator.
57. Which of the following factors is most responsible for the
dramatic demographic collapse of Native Americans during
the Colonial Period?
(A) The slave trade
(B) Eurasian diseases
(C) The hacienda system
(D) Language extinction
(E) Civil war
58. Primate cities are those that
(A) are the seats of ecclesiastical power in a
nation.
(B) are the national capitals.
(C) are disproportionately larger than other cities in a
nation.
(D) were the first to be established in a new colony.
(E) are inhabited by monkeys and apes.
59. The term________ describes a group of people with a
common ethnic identity that is spread out over a large
geographic area.
(A) "caste"
(B) "sect"
(C) "Diaspora"
(D) "race"
(E) "cultural complex"
60. The National Geographic Society uses the Robinson
projection for many of its maps because
(A) it is the only perfectly proportioned projection.
(B) it fits on the pages.
(C) it is versatile and aesthetically pleasing.
(D) it orients the United States in the center of the world.
(E) it sells at the newsstands.
61. Which of the following does not qualify as a
Protestant denomination?
(A) Presbyterianism
(B) Methodism
(C) Catholicism
(D) Southern Baptist
(E) Lutheran
62. During the 1980s and 1990s, Santa Monica, ,California,
became significantly wealthier and more expensive. This
process is referred to as
(A) escalation.
(B) gentrification.
(C) urban zonation.
(D) reallotment.
63. 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
64. Which of the following qualifies as a primate city?
(A) Toronto, Canada
(B) Cape Town, South Africa
(C) Jerusalem, Israel
(D) Mexico City, Mexico
(E) Phoenix, Arizona
65. Geographic information systems use
data sets to display multiple spatial
(A) thematic layers
(B) cartograms
(C) remotely sensed images
(D) dot maps
(E) isolines
66. Break-of-bulk points are
(A) places where natural hazards prohibit spatial
interaction.
(B) uniform throughout space and time.
(C) hindrances to global economic development.
(D) sites where goods are transferred for continued
shipping.
(E) cities that offer the largest markets for any given good
or service.
67. The process by which one ethnic group becomes integrated
into a larger culture is called
(A) articulation.
(B) ossification.
(C) assimilation.
(D) syncretism.
(E) a melting pot.
68. The______
will increase over the next decade, as baby
boomers reach old age and are no longer able to work and
provide for themselves.
(A) poverty line
(B) population pyramid
(C) arithmetic density
(D) dependency ratio
(E) doubling time
important.
(E) On average, Americans are more politically liberal than
Europeans.
7
69. When the crude birth rate is higher than the crude death rate,
the difference between the two is called the
(A) total fertility rate.
(B) replacement rate.
(C) natural increase.
(D) natural decrease.
(E) life expectancy.
70. Maps like the one shown here are referred to as
(A) perceptual regions.
(B) false maps.
(C) nodes.
(D) cognitive maps.
(E) functional regions.
71. In Rostow's stages of development model, economic
maturity is characterized by
(A) sustainability.
(B) high mass consumption.
(C) gender empowerment.
(D) high per capita incomes.
(E) gross national happiness.
72. According to public opinion polls, more than 80% of
Americans consider themselves "environmentalists." Which
of the following could you logically conclude from this
information?
(A) The American environment is on the verge of collapse.
(B) Americans are poorly informed on scientific issues.
(C) Americans are becoming increasingly liberal in their
political views.
(D) Most Americans consider environmental issues to be
73. Which of the following is true based on the map of global
voluntary migration flows shown here?
(A) Europe is experiencing significant out migration.
(B) Colombians are leaving their homeland.
(C) Climate is a significant pull factor.
(D) Asians from a variety of countries are moving to the
United States. (E) Australians are global wanderers.
74. Religious fundamentalism
(A) appears to be on the rise in many parts of the world.
(B) is limited to the Middle East.
(C) is limited to the Deep South.
(D) is decreasing globally.
(E) is a serious political issue in Western Europe.
75. Which of the following is not correct regarding the great
metropolises of the developing world?
(A) They contain both great wealth and tremendous
poverty.
(B) Many retain architectural elements of their colonial
past.
(C) Most have squatter settlements on their outskirts.
(D) Because their economies are less developed, they
rarely suffer from significant pollution.
(E) They house an increasing proportion of the worlds
population.