Practice Test 77 - AP Human Geography

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

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1. Secondary source excerpt (trade patterns and world economy): Colonial trade patterns frequently encouraged monoculture plantations and extractive mining oriented toward export markets. Even after independence, many countries retained export profiles dominated by a few commodities, making them sensitive to global demand and price volatility. Attempts to diversify can be constrained by infrastructure designed for export corridors, limited domestic industrial capacity, and continued reliance on foreign capital and technology. Which policy would most directly address the vulnerability described in the excerpt?
2. Secondary source excerpt (about 95 words): Multinational corporations (MNCs) can challenge state sovereignty by leveraging mobility and investment decisions. When a firm can shift production among countries, it may pressure governments to lower taxes, relax labor rules, or reduce environmental regulations to remain competitive. Even without formal political authority, MNCs influence policy through lobbying and by threatening to relocate jobs and capital. Smaller or developing states may feel these pressures more strongly, as a single large investor can significantly affect employment and revenue. Which choice best identifies the sovereignty challenge emphasized?
3. A 115-word secondary-source excerpt describes how globalization can reinforce uneven sector geographies: routine manufacturing may relocate to lower-cost regions, while corporate headquarters, finance, and specialized R&D remain concentrated in a few global cities. The author notes that this can create a core-periphery pattern within and between countries, with high-wage knowledge work in cores and more vulnerable employment in peripheral regions. Which option best summarizes the spatial pattern described?
4. Secondary source excerpt (transportation congestion, 102 words): In Metrovale, a ring of suburbs has expanded rapidly while most high-paying jobs remain concentrated in a few central districts. Transportation researchers report that average commute times increased even after the city widened two highways, because new lanes induced additional driving and encouraged farther residential development. Bus service exists but runs infrequently across suburb-to-suburb routes, and many households lack a convenient alternative to driving. The report concludes that congestion is increasingly a land-use and mode-choice problem rather than only a road-capacity problem. Which policy would most directly address the challenge described?
5. A city planning office creates two maps for a public meeting: one shows only streets, rivers, and municipal boundaries for navigation, and the other shades neighborhoods by percentage of residents over age 65. Which statement correctly distinguishes these products using map fundamentals?
6. A contemporary anthropology article notes that fans worldwide learn cooking techniques from creators on video platforms, then adapt recipes to local ingredients. The article emphasizes that platform owners and advertisers can privilege certain languages and creators, shaping which cuisines become "global" and which remain less visible. Which statement best identifies the contemporary cause of cultural diffusion described?
7. In a 100-word secondary-source excerpt on spatial patterns, a geographer explains that clustered patterns group features close together, dispersed patterns spread them evenly apart, linear patterns align along a corridor, and random patterns show no clear order. A county map of wells shows most wells concentrated in two tight areas near separate aquifers, with few wells elsewhere. Which pattern best describes the well distribution?
8. A secondary-source excerpt on political geography notes that modern states convert space into territory by actively enforcing borders through checkpoints, patrols, and legal rules about who and what may cross. The excerpt adds that these practices can shift over time (e.g., tightening inspections during conflict), showing that territorial control is produced by institutions rather than by nature. Which concept best captures the excerpt's main point about political power and territoriality?
9. Secondary-source excerpt (about 100 words): Some countries rely heavily on imported wheat, rice, or cooking oil because domestic production is limited by climate, land availability, or past policy choices. When shipping costs spike, a major exporter restricts sales, or a conflict disrupts trade routes, import-dependent countries can face sudden shortages and price inflation. Even if global harvests are strong, disruptions in finance, ports, or insurance can delay deliveries. This dependence can make food security vulnerable to external shocks. Which of the following best explains the global agricultural pattern described in the excerpt?
10. Secondary source excerpt: Commodity dependence can create a "resource curse" dynamic when a boom in one export (like oil) strengthens the currency and draws labor and investment away from other sectors. This can weaken manufacturing and agriculture, making the economy less diversified. When the boom ends, unemployment rises and public spending becomes difficult to sustain. Which development challenge is most directly associated with the resource curse dynamic described?
11. Secondary source excerpt: Fiscal devolution is often strongest where regional economies diverge sharply in productivity and tax base. When one region consistently generates a disproportionate share of national revenue—through finance, manufacturing, or energy—local leaders may argue that centralized redistribution is unfair and inefficient. They frame autonomy as a way to retain more revenue for regional infrastructure, schools, and social services, and to tailor development policy to local needs. In response, central governments sometimes concede budgetary powers or asymmetric arrangements to reduce secessionist pressure and manage recurring disputes over transfers. Which devolutionary factor is the excerpt primarily describing?
12. A secondary source explains that two countries can have similar arithmetic density (total population divided by total land area) but very different physiological density (total population divided by arable land). It notes that Country X has extensive deserts and mountains but a small, highly productive agricultural core, while Country Y has widespread arable land. If both countries have the same arithmetic density, which claim is most consistent with the source?
13. A secondary-source description of a large country notes: "Small dairies, roadside produce stands, and u-pick orchards cluster within an hour's drive of dense suburbs, but their numbers drop sharply beyond that, even though soils remain suitable." Which of the following best explains the spatial pattern of agriculture described in the excerpt?
14. Secondary source excerpt (about 100 words): New states often face the challenge of turning a legal territory into a functioning polity. Governments may expand taxation, create national infrastructure, standardize laws, and build a professional bureaucracy to extend authority across the entire state. At the same time, leaders may promote shared symbols and narratives to foster loyalty, sometimes clashing with regional identities. These efforts can strengthen sovereignty and territorial integrity, but they can also provoke resistance if groups perceive exclusion. Which political process is most clearly illustrated?
15. A secondary-source excerpt on development measures explains that GDP per capita and GNI per capita both estimate average economic output or income per person, but GNI includes income earned by a country's residents from abroad (such as remittances and profits from overseas investments) and excludes income generated domestically by foreign-owned firms. The excerpt notes that these indicators can suggest material living standards but do not directly measure health, education, or inequality. Based on this excerpt, which statement best distinguishes GNI per capita from GDP per capita when comparing countries' development?
16. A labor geography chapter describes how many women in cities combine informal self-employment (such as food vending) with unpaid household labor. The author argues that time poverty—caused by cooking, cleaning, and caregiving—reduces women's ability to expand businesses, attend training, or shift into formal employment, even when they have skills and demand exists. Which choice best reflects the chapter's claim about time poverty and women's economic development?
17. A secondary-source excerpt defines threshold and range: threshold is the minimum market size needed to support a service, and range is the maximum distance consumers will travel for that service. In a region, a small grocery store needs a threshold of 1,000 customers and has a range of 5 km, while a specialized cardiac surgery center needs a threshold of 250,000 and has a range of 200 km. Which inference best matches the excerpt's logic about city size and distribution?
18. Secondary source excerpt (regional analysis): City planners frequently use the idea of functional regions to coordinate services that operate through networks. A hospital's service area, a TV station's broadcast market, and a port's hinterland are all nodal regions because they depend on flows to and from a central place. Importantly, the same location can belong to multiple functional regions simultaneously depending on which flow is measured (health care trips, media consumption, freight movement). This is why functional regions are defined by the analyst's purpose and data. Which example is the clearest functional (nodal) region?
19. A secondary-source overview of rural livelihoods explains that "subsistence" and "commercial" agriculture describe a continuum rather than a strict split. Some households prioritize food for their own consumption yet sell surplus when prices are favorable; others grow cash crops but still maintain small plots or animals for household security. The text argues that market access, risk, and labor availability often shape where a farm falls on this spectrum. The excerpt best illustrates which of the following concepts in agriculture?
20. Secondary source excerpt: Strong centripetal forces—such as a dominant national identity, centralized security, and uniform laws—often produce political stability and efficient policy implementation. However, when the state equates unity with cultural sameness, minorities may experience restrictions on language use, religious practice, or regional autonomy. In such cases, stability can coexist with repression, and dissent may be framed as disloyalty. Which situation best reflects a consequence of strong centripetal forces described in the excerpt?

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