Practice Test 5 - AP World History

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

In the 1980s and 1990s, some post-Soviet states faced rapid privatization and market reforms, leading to unemployment and rising inequality. In response, certain political groups advocated renationalizing industries and limiting foreign ownership. Which of the following best explains this reaction as resistance to globalization?
In the 1997 Asian financial crisis, rapid capital flight caused currency collapses and recessions. Some governments responded by imposing temporary capital controls to limit outflows, despite criticism from international investors. Which of the following best explains why capital controls can be viewed as resistance to globalization?
In the late nineteenth century, global demand for ivory expanded, and hunters in East and Central Africa killed elephants at increasing rates to supply European and American markets. As elephant populations declined, some savanna landscapes experienced changes in tree cover and grazing patterns because elephants had previously shaped vegetation. Which of the following best explains the environmental consequence of this trade?
Between 600 and 1450, social hierarchies remained prominent in many societies: China maintained scholar-gentry ideals and peasant labor; India's caste practices shaped social relations; and feudal relationships structured parts of Europe and Japan. Over time, commercialization and urban growth created new opportunities for some merchants and artisans, even while elites defended traditional status systems. Which option best reflects continuity and change in social structures during 600–1450?
A survivor of a 1942 ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe recalls forced segregation, starvation rations, deportations "to the East," and the use of rail transport to move entire communities. The testimony notes that victims were targeted primarily by ancestry rather than political activity. Which factor most directly enabled the scale of this atrocity?
In the decades after 1945, the Cold War shaped global politics through competing U.S. and Soviet alliances, proxy wars, and ideological campaigns. Many newly independent states in Asia and Africa received military aid, development loans, and advisers, but also faced coups, civil conflicts, and pressure to align with one bloc. Nuclear weapons and the doctrine of deterrence encouraged caution between superpowers while intensifying espionage and propaganda. Which development best illustrates an effect of Cold War rivalry on decolonizing regions?
In the western Indian Ocean, merchants traded Arabian horses to Indian rulers, who valued them for cavalry and prestige. In return, Indian textiles and spices moved westward. Which explanation best accounts for this exchange pattern?
In 1999, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered near a major meeting of the World Trade Organization. Protesters included labor unions, environmental groups, and advocates for developing countries who argued that trade rules favored wealthy states and multinational corporations, undermined environmental regulation, and weakened national sovereignty. Police responses and media coverage turned the event into a global symbol of "anti-globalization." Which of the following best describes the protesters' central critique?
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Jesuit missionaries in China studied Confucian classics and presented Christianity using familiar concepts, while also sending reports about Chinese governance and philosophy back to Europe. European readers debated Chinese meritocracy and ethics, and some Enlightenment thinkers used these accounts to critique European institutions. Which of the following best describes a cultural consequence of this exchange?
In the Andes, Inca rulers expanded rapidly in the 1400s by building roads, storehouses, and administrative centers. Communities were organized into labor units, and households owed rotating service to the state, including work on terraces, roads, and military campaigns. The state redistributed stored goods during shortages and rewarded loyal elites, while also relocating some populations to reduce resistance. Which practice best describes the labor system central to Inca state building?
A British economist in the 1840s argues that industrial machines increase output but also create periodic unemployment when demand falls, because factories can lay off workers quickly. He describes cycles of boom and bust tied to credit and overproduction. Which feature of industrial capitalism is he most directly describing?
In the Pacific theater, U.S. forces combined naval power, air superiority, and amphibious assaults to advance toward Japan. Rather than retake every occupied territory, planners selected strategically valuable islands to build airfields and cut Japanese supply lines, while bypassed garrisons were isolated. This approach sought to reduce casualties and accelerate victory across vast distances. Which term best describes this Allied operational strategy in the Pacific?
In the early twentieth century, Mexican reformers criticized the concentration of land in haciendas, the political dominance of Porfirio Díaz, and the exploitation of rural workers. Revolutionary leaders promised land redistribution and greater state responsibility for social welfare, later reflected in constitutional provisions. Which outcome best exemplifies these post-1900 reforms in Mexico?
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, reforms and political upheaval contributed to the end of the Cold War. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced policies that encouraged restructuring and greater openness, while Eastern European communist governments faced mass protests. The collapse of communist rule in several states led to new democracies and market reforms, while also creating economic dislocation and ethnic tensions in some areas. Which event is most commonly used to symbolize the end of communist control in Eastern Europe and the weakening of the Soviet bloc?
In an 1890 speech, a British politician argues that acquiring colonies will provide "new markets for our manufactures," secure coaling stations for the navy, and prevent rival European powers from "closing the world" to British trade. Which rationale for imperialism is most directly reflected in the speaker's argument?
A 1950s historian argues that antibiotics and improved childbirth practices reduced maternal and infant mortality worldwide. Which evidence would best support this claim?
In 1956, Egypt's government nationalized the Suez Canal after Western powers withdrew financing for the Aswan High Dam. Britain, France, and Israel invaded, but the United States and the Soviet Union both pressured them to withdraw, fearing escalation and loss of influence in the decolonizing Middle East. Which broader change was most directly caused by the Suez Crisis in the context of Cold War and decolonization?
Spanish officials in the Philippines relied on the annual Manila galleons to connect American silver from Mexico and Peru with Asian luxury goods such as silk and porcelain. Chinese merchants supplied many of the goods, while Spanish authorities taxed the trade and used silver to pay for imports. The system tied the Americas, East Asia, and Europe into a single commercial circuit. Which broader economic pattern is most directly illustrated by the Manila galleon trade?
In the late 1940s through the 1960s, European colonial empires weakened rapidly. In Africa, independence movements drew on wartime service, urbanization, and new political parties. Some transitions were negotiated, while others involved prolonged conflict, as colonial powers attempted to retain strategic resources and prestige. Which example best represents a violent struggle that accelerated the decline of European imperial power after 1900?
A researcher compares the role of diasporic merchant communities in the Indian Ocean (e.g., Gujaratis, Arabs) with Chinese merchant networks in Southeast Asia (1800s–1900s), which often organized credit, labor recruitment, and distribution of goods. Both operated across political boundaries. Which comparison best explains why diasporic networks were effective in facilitating economic exchange?

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