Practice Test 97 - AP Human Geography

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

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1. A secondary-source excerpt on language change explains that in a multilingual mining region, workers from different language backgrounds developed a simplified, mixed vocabulary to coordinate tasks. The excerpt adds that this contact language had limited grammar and was used mainly in the workplace rather than at home. Which effect of cultural diffusion is most accurately identified?
2. Secondary sources discussing ethical concerns argue that even noncoercive population policies can raise equity issues. A government offers a large tax credit per child, but eligibility requires formal employment and tax filing, excluding many informal workers and recent migrants. Analysts note that the program may increase births among higher-income households while doing little for groups facing the greatest economic barriers to childrearing. Which choice best states the ethical/equity concern?
3. Secondary-source excerpt (embedded): Urban informal markets often rely on women traders who sell prepared foods, clothing, or household goods. While these activities generate vital income and provide affordable services, women vendors may face harassment, eviction during "beautification" campaigns, and limited access to secure vending space. Because women frequently combine vending with childcare and eldercare, policies that provide legal recognition, sanitation, and safe transport can improve both earnings stability and household well-being. Which policy response is most consistent with the excerpt's approach to supporting women's informal economic work?
4. A secondary source contrasts two development projects: Project 1 converts a mangrove wetland into luxury waterfront housing; Project 2 restores mangroves while supporting local fisheries and storm-surge protection. The author uses the comparison to illustrate sustainable versus unsustainable development. Which option best aligns with the author's likely classification?
5. A secondary-source excerpt explains that in a North African port city, long-term contact among Arabic, French, and Amazigh (Berber) speakers led dockworkers and merchants to use a simplified contact language for trade. Over generations, children began speaking an expanded, stabilized version as a first language in some neighborhoods. Which diffusion-related effect on language is being described?
6. A scholarly synthesis of slash-and-burn (shifting cultivation) compares regions with long fallow cycles to areas where fallows have shortened. The author reports that longer fallows can allow secondary forest regrowth that restores some soil nutrients and reduces weed pressure, while shortened cycles may lead to more persistent grass invasion, lower soil organic matter, and expansion of clearing into remaining forest. The paper emphasizes that outcomes vary with population density, land tenure, and alternative income sources, rather than being fixed. Which of the following is the most significant environmental consequence of the agricultural practice described?
7. In a densely settled river-delta region, smallholders coordinate irrigation schedules through local water-user associations and grow two to three annual rice crops on terraced or bunded paddies. Farmers intensify labor and apply purchased fertilizer and improved seed, while seasonal off-farm work helps finance pumps and land rent. Recent road upgrades have increased sales of surplus grain, yet household consumption remains a planning priority. Land fragmentation and tenancy shape decisions about transplanting, weeding, and harvest timing. The excerpt best illustrates which of the following types of agriculture?
8. Secondary source excerpt (18th–19th centuries): The spread of improved rotations and fertilizers increased output, but intensified land use could also reduce biodiversity through hedgerow removal, expand monoculture, and increase nutrient runoff into waterways. These changes altered rural ecosystems alongside social and economic shifts. Which statement best describes an environmental impact linked to the Second Agricultural Revolution?
9. A metropolitan government installs fiber internet primarily in central districts to attract technology firms. Researchers find that outer neighborhoods remain dependent on slower mobile data, limiting access to remote work and online education. Which option best connects digital utilities to spatial inequality?
10. Secondary source excerpt (trade patterns and world economy — trade blocs and regional integration, 75–125 words): Regional trade agreements reduce tariffs and coordinate rules among member states, encouraging firms to build supply chains that cross borders within the bloc. Supporters argue that larger integrated markets can attract investment and increase trade volumes, while critics note that benefits may concentrate in more industrialized members or in border regions with strong transport links. Integration can also shift trade away from nonmembers (trade diversion) even when nonmember producers are more efficient. Which option best describes a commonly cited effect of forming a regional trade bloc?
11. A secondary source excerpt explains that Christaller used hexagonal trade areas in central place theory because hexagons can cover space without gaps and minimize travel distance compared with squares, approximating circular market areas. In an ideal flat plain with evenly distributed population and no barriers, which market-area shape best matches this model's logic?
12. Secondary-source excerpt (Region/type: factors explaining regional specialization). Across many agricultural regions, specialization emerges from interacting constraints and opportunities rather than a single physical cause. Farmers weigh climate variability and soil conditions against access to roads, storage, credit, and processing facilities, while state policies and trade rules shape relative profitability. Technological change—irrigation, improved seed, refrigeration, and mechanization—can expand where particular crops are viable and reduce labor bottlenecks. Cultural preferences and land-tenure institutions influence investment horizons and risk tolerance. As a result, regional production systems often reorganize when markets shift, infrastructure improves, or environmental regulations change. Which of the following best explains the agricultural specialization in the region described?
13. A secondary-source excerpt reports that in a large country, settlement is concentrated in a humid eastern lowland, while the arid west has widely spaced towns. The author argues that this uneven distribution affects disaster vulnerability: hazards in the lowland can disrupt more people and critical systems than similar events in the west. Which consequence best matches the author's point?
14. A 2020 city planning report (secondary source) describes how a desert-edge city expanded rapidly after importing river water through canals and building reservoirs. The report notes that the same arid climate still limits outdoor water use, so the city adopted tiered pricing, xeriscaping rules, and restrictions on lawn irrigation. Which concept best captures the report's view of human–environment interaction?
15. A secondary source excerpt discusses choosing an appropriate scale for different questions. A student wants to understand how a new bus rapid transit (BRT) line affects commuting time and job access for residents living within 1 km of stations. Which scale of analysis is most appropriate?
16. A secondary source excerpt uses the push-pull framework to compare two destinations for migrants leaving an origin with high unemployment and political instability. The excerpt notes that migrants often weigh multiple pulls (wages, safety, legal status, and social networks) and that choices can differ by household resources. Which option correctly identifies a push from the origin and a pull to a destination?
17. Secondary source excerpt: In many intensively farmed regions, rising fertilizer and pesticide applications have increased yields while also elevating nutrient runoff and chemical drift into nearby waterways and settlements. Researchers note that the resulting algal blooms, declining aquatic oxygen levels, and contaminated drinking-water sources impose costs that are unevenly distributed across rural communities, downstream cities, and fisheries. Regulation and precision agriculture can reduce losses, yet adoption varies with farm size, credit access, and enforcement capacity. The problem is thus shaped by both biophysical transport processes and political-economic constraints. The excerpt best illustrates which of the following challenges to contemporary agriculture?
18. Secondary source excerpt (about 115 words): Self-determination claims argue that a distinct people should be able to choose their political status, ranging from greater autonomy to full independence. Movements often cite language, religion, historical grievances, or economic marginalization, and they may use referendums, international lobbying, or armed struggle. Central governments typically resist secession, fearing precedent and loss of territory, while external actors may support or oppose claims for strategic reasons. Even when a referendum is held, disputes can persist over who is eligible to vote and whether the process occurred under coercion. Which political process is most directly illustrated?
19. A secondary source explains that zoning can cap building heights and limit multifamily housing, reducing achievable density even in accessible locations. In City M, two neighborhoods are equally close to downtown and transit, but Neighborhood 1 allows 12-story residential buildings while Neighborhood 2 restricts construction to single-family homes. Which outcome is most likely based on the zoning difference?
20. A county land-use assessment reports that the urban edge has expanded into surrounding farmland as developers build low-density subdivisions and big-box retail along new highway interchanges. The assessment notes a 22% decline in active cropland within 15 miles of the city over 20 years and warns that food production, ecosystem services, and rural livelihoods are being reduced near the metropolitan fringe. Which challenge of urban change is most directly highlighted?

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