Practice Test 21 - AP Human Geography

20 questions. Answer them in any order, then submit to see your score and every explanation.

A historian argues that modernization theory is limited because it assumes Western industrialization is the "normal" endpoint, downplays colonial histories, and overlooks how unequal trade and investment can constrain poorer regions. Which option best captures this critique?
A policy report on the Green Revolution notes that HYVs performed best under controlled water conditions. As a result, regions with canals, tube wells, or reliable rainfall could intensify production, while rain-fed smallholders in marginal areas often saw fewer gains. The report links this to spatially uneven development within countries. Which of the following best explains the Green Revolution pattern described in the excerpt?
When farmland shifts from food to cash crops, what happens to women?
Secondary source excerpt (about 100 words): Electoral district boundaries can be manipulated in ways that are difficult to detect without comparing votes to seats. A party may win a legislative majority even when it receives fewer total votes statewide if opponents are either concentrated into a small number of districts or split among many. Because the manipulation occurs through boundary design rather than changes to voting rules, it can appear procedurally legitimate. Analysts often evaluate such maps by measuring wasted votes, partisan bias, and how many competitive districts exist. Which term best describes the boundary strategy of concentrating an opponent's voters into a few districts to reduce their influence elsewhere?
A secondary-source excerpt describes a river basin where a large dam was built to generate hydropower and provide irrigation water for export-oriented agriculture. The author notes that the dam altered seasonal flooding, reduced downstream sediment deposition, and required new governance rules for water allocation. Which option best characterizes the interaction described?
Secondary-source excerpt (practice: concentrated animal feeding operations, CAFOs): In a rapidly urbanizing region, planners note that large confined hog facilities can lower per-unit production costs through standardized feed and veterinary control. Environmental assessments, however, identify manure lagoons and land application as potential sources of nutrient runoff and ammonia emissions, with episodic contamination risks during heavy rainfall. The report emphasizes that consequences vary with stocking density, waste treatment technology, siting relative to waterways, and enforcement capacity. Which of the following is the most significant environmental consequence of the agricultural practice described?
Secondary source excerpt (about 105 words): The United Nations Security Council can authorize sanctions or military action that affects how states exercise sovereignty. Although states are legally equal in principle, collective security decisions may restrict a targeted state's access to markets, finance, or weapons, and can legitimize external intervention. Supporters argue that these measures deter aggression and protect human rights; critics contend they undermine noninterference by allowing international bodies to shape domestic outcomes. The tension highlights how participation in global governance can create obligations that limit independent state action. Which option best identifies the sovereignty challenge described?
A secondary source on deviations from urban models notes that rank-size and central place theory are simplified frameworks; real-world city-size distributions can be shaped by physical barriers, uneven transportation, resource booms, conflict, and state policies. A country has rugged mountains splitting east and west, two large port cities on opposite coasts, and a smaller interior capital. The city-size distribution does not fit rank-size well. Which explanation best accounts for the deviation?
A secondary source explains that Green Revolution programs often paired new seeds with government procurement and pricing policies to incentivize production. The author notes that guaranteed purchase prices reduced some farmers' risk and stimulated surplus production, but also sometimes encouraged overuse of water and fertilizer to maximize output. Which of the following best explains the Green Revolution pattern described in the excerpt?
The town's coordinates stay fixed, but rail time to the capital falls from 3 hours to 45 min. What changed?
Secondary source excerpt: A state is defined by four elements—territory, population, government, and sovereignty—rather than by whether its borders match a single cultural identity. Political geographers use this to analyze how authority is organized spatially. A teacher asks students to identify which case is least likely to qualify as a state under this definition. Which choice is best?
A secondary-source summary of the von Thünen model emphasizes assumptions: it describes an "isolated state" with one central market city, a flat and featureless plain, uniform soil fertility, and farmers who behave rationally to maximize profit. Transportation is equally available in all directions, and there are no political boundaries or trade barriers. According to the von Thünen model, which of the following best explains the agricultural pattern described?
In a stage 4 country, CDR rises slightly as the population ages. Why?
Secondary-source excerpt (internal city structure): The Latin American city model emphasizes a CBD connected to an elite commercial and residential spine extending outward, often terminating in a mall or upper-income district. Surrounding this spine is a sector of mature, well-serviced housing, while farther out conditions typically shift to zones of in-situ accretion and peripheral squatter settlements with fewer services. The model highlights how colonial legacies, inequality, and uneven infrastructure investment shape internal patterns. Which feature is most characteristic of the Latin American city model?
A 90-word secondary-source excerpt on the Sahel describes farmers adopting drought-tolerant millet, shifting planting dates, and using zai pits to concentrate moisture. The author emphasizes that rainfall variability constrains options, but local knowledge and selective innovations allow communities to maintain livelihoods without assuming climate alone dictates culture. Which perspective is most consistent with the excerpt?
Secondary-source excerpt (Diffusion from hearths; Columbian Exchange as later diffusion): After 1492, crops such as maize and cassava entered West and Central Africa through Atlantic trade networks. Adoption was uneven: some communities integrated new staples to buffer drought risk or support urban provisioning, while others retained established grains and yams due to taste, labor requirements, or political control over fields. The resulting agricultural landscapes reflected selective incorporation of introduced crops into existing systems rather than wholesale replacement. The diffusion pattern described most directly resulted from which of the following?
A 85-word excerpt compares Egypt and the Netherlands. It describes Cairo as overwhelmingly dominant in population and national decision-making, while the Netherlands has multiple important cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht) whose sizes and functions are more evenly distributed. The author emphasizes how dominance by the largest city shapes national commuting and service provision. Which option correctly matches each country to the most likely urban hierarchy pattern?
A secondary source excerpt distinguishes antecedent, subsequent, and superimposed boundaries: antecedent boundaries are established before significant settlement; subsequent boundaries develop after settlement and often reflect existing cultural patterns; superimposed boundaries are imposed by external powers and disregard local cultural divisions. Which choice correctly matches the excerpt's definitions?
Secondary-source excerpt: Anti-natalist programs seek to slow rapid population growth by reducing fertility through tools such as contraceptive access, sterilization campaigns, or legal limits on births. Analysts note that while these policies can reduce TFR, they may also contribute to unintended outcomes such as skewed sex ratios or accelerated population aging. Which statement best reflects the excerpt's main idea about anti-natalist policy outcomes?
A secondary source explains that in a multilingual country, leaders may promote a single national language in schools, require a shared civic curriculum, and expand a centralized bureaucracy to encourage loyalty to the state. The author notes that these policies can increase political stability and reduce separatist movements, but may also pressure minority groups to assimilate and weaken regional identities. Which consequence of strong centripetal forces is the author emphasizing?

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