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Practice Test 40 - AP Human Geography

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

  1. Secondary-source excerpt: In the country of Lydora, demographers report that the crude birth rate (CBR) fell from 32 births per 1,000 people in 2000 to 18 per 1,000 in 2020, while the crude death rate (CDR) stayed near 8 per 1,000. Researchers argue that the widening gap between births and deaths in the early 2000s produced rapid growth, but the later decline in births slowed growth even without major changes in mortality. Which statement best applies the concept of the natural increase rate (NIR) to Lydora in 2020?
  2. Which outcome best shows assimilation, not acculturation?
  3. A 85–115 word secondary-source excerpt on a tropical forest frontier states that road building and cattle ranching increase deforestation, which reduces evapotranspiration and can lower local rainfall. The author notes that drier conditions then raise wildfire risk, further accelerating forest loss and impacting nearby farming. Which choice best captures the excerpt's central theme?​
  4. In a secondary-source summary of 19th-century urban growth, an author notes that industrialization created factory jobs, higher urban wages, and new services, while rural areas faced mechanization and land consolidation that reduced farm employment. Which paired set of forces best describes these influences on urbanization?
  5. Secondary-source excerpt (Commercial agriculture regions—plantation): In a humid tropical lowland integrated into global trade, large estates cultivate a single high-value crop such as bananas, sugarcane, or oil palm. Production depends on coordinated harvesting, on-site or nearby processing, and standardized quality controls demanded by multinational buyers. Labor is often organized through wage contracts and labor contractors, while infrastructure investments in roads, ports, and irrigation channels are frequently supported by state incentives. Price volatility, certification schemes, and land-rights disputes can reshape cropping decisions and corporate strategies over time. The agricultural pattern described is most characteristic of which of the following regions?
  6. Secondary source excerpt (about 110 words): Cultural diffusion can lead to syncretism, in which elements from different belief systems blend into new practices rather than simply replacing older ones. Historians note that in parts of Latin America, Catholic saints were sometimes associated with preexisting Indigenous deities, producing hybrid rituals, iconography, and festival calendars. This blending occurred under colonial rule, where Indigenous communities faced pressure to adopt Christianity but also found ways to maintain meanings and identities through adaptation. The resulting traditions are neither purely European nor purely Indigenous; they are new cultural forms created through contact and unequal power. Which term best matches the effect described?
  7. Secondary source excerpt (18th–19th c.): Rising agricultural productivity in parts of northwestern Europe came from combining enclosure, selective breeding, and diversified crop rotations. Higher yields lowered food prices and reduced the risk of famine, while also freeing labor and capital for nonfarm enterprises. However, gains were uneven: tenant farmers and landless laborers often faced precarious wages despite overall growth. Which choice best captures the excerpt's emphasis on increased productivity?
  8. A landscape historian describes linear rural settlements in which houses align along a road, levee, or riverbank, creating a ribbon-like built form. The author emphasizes the pattern is not simply a response to waterways; it is also shaped by land allocation strategies that prioritize frontage, by transport regimes that reward accessibility, and by political decisions about levees and rights-of-way. The excerpt adds that contemporary commercial strips and utility corridors frequently intensify the original linearity rather than erase it. The excerpt best illustrates which of the following types of rural settlement?
  9. A secondary source on urban land use notes that land values and rent tend to be highest in the CBD because accessibility and competition for space are greatest there, leading to more intensive, vertical development. In City B, average monthly commercial rent is $95/m² in the CBD, $55/m² in the inner ring, and $25/m² on the urban fringe. Which conclusion best aligns with this land use intensity pattern?
  10. A secondary-source excerpt from an urban studies journal describes a coastal city where rezoning for tourism and high-end condos has reduced the number of long-term rental units. The article notes vacancy rates under 2%, rising rents faster than wages, and longer commutes as workers move to distant suburbs. The author argues that market demand and limited construction of affordable units have created a persistent mismatch between housing supply and need. Which challenge of urban change is most directly described?
  11. A secondary-source excerpt explains that analysts sometimes confuse map scale (ratio like 1:50,000) with scale of analysis (the level of aggregation, such as neighborhood vs. country). A student says, "To study income inequality at a national scale, I should use a larger-scale map (like 1:5,000)." What is the best correction?
  12. A secondary source on gender and development explains that microcredit programs often target women borrowers, citing higher repayment rates and the potential for women to invest in small enterprises. However, the author cautions that loans can increase pressure on women's time, may be diverted to household consumption, and can create debt burdens when markets are saturated or when women lack control over profits. Which option best captures this balanced assessment of microcredit's role in women's economic development?
  13. Refrigerated trucks make dairy shipping as cheap as grain. In Von Thünen's model, the dairy zone will
  14. A 110-word secondary-source excerpt emphasizes that environmental stress can blur categories: slow-onset drought may undermine livelihoods and increase pressure to move, but people may still exercise some choice about timing, destination, and whether to cross a border; legal refugee protections may not automatically apply. Which interpretation best matches this explanation?
  15. A 2024 secondary-source excerpt on "transnational families" describes Mexican and Salvadoran migrants in Los Angeles sending remittances that fund hometown festivals, new house styles, and imported U.S. consumer goods in their origin communities. The author argues that culture diffuses in both directions: traditions persist in diaspora enclaves while origin places adopt new practices tied to migration. Which contemporary cause of cultural diffusion is being described?
  16. Secondary source excerpt (about 120 words): In the late twentieth century, constitutional crises and economic restructuring weakened central authority in a large union of republics. As political elites competed for legitimacy, several republics asserted sovereignty, held votes, and established independent armed forces and currencies. International recognition followed unevenly, and internal administrative boundaries became international borders, leaving sizable minority populations on the "wrong" side of new frontiers. Some successor states pursued rapid market reforms, while others retained authoritarian governance, but all faced the challenge of building new diplomatic relations and redefining citizenship. Which political process best explains the map changes described?
  17. A journal excerpt notes that regions can change over time as economies, migration, and technology reshape connections and characteristics. A former manufacturing belt now has growing health-care and tech employment, and the label used in media shifts from "Industrial Belt" to "Innovation Corridor." Which statement best matches the excerpt's argument?
  18. A city resilience memo on green infrastructure explains that distributed features—street trees, bioswales, and pocket parks—can complement gray infrastructure by absorbing rainfall and lowering surface temperatures. The memo warns that maintenance funding is essential; otherwise, installations can fail and benefits decline. Which plan best matches the memo's emphasis on performance and long-term viability?
  19. Secondary-source excerpt (comparison across hearths; Latin America focus): Scholars comparing early Mesoamerican food production with Southwest Asian sequences emphasize differing domesticates and pathways. In Mesoamerica, domestication of maize and companion crops unfolded over long periods alongside persistent foraging, with farming expanding through social networks and localized field adaptations. In Southwest Asia, a broader suite of cereals, pulses, and herd animals supported earlier mixed agro-pastoral systems in certain ecotones, though adoption still varied across communities. These contrasts caution against treating agricultural origins as a single model; diffusion and intensification were contingent on ecology and social organization. The agricultural origin described was most similar to which of the following?
  20. A 112-word secondary-source excerpt explains that unitary states may still use devolution, delegating responsibilities to regions, but ultimate authority remains with the central government, which can legally retract delegated powers. In contrast, in a federal system, subnational powers are constitutionally protected and cannot be removed unilaterally by the center. Which scenario best illustrates devolution within a unitary state (not federalism)?

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