2016 AP Human Geography released exam multiple choice answers

1. Substinence agriculture is most common in which of the following regions?

(A) Great Plains

(B) Pampas of Argentina

(C) Amazon Basin

(D) The Outback of Australia

(E) The Ruhr Valley of Germany

C) Amazon Basin

2. Historically, Iceland had only one period of human migration. The country has never been invaded and possesses a common culture and language. As a result, Iceland is regarded as a good example of which of the following concepts?

(A) Absolute monarchy

(B) Theocracy

(C) Constitutional monarchy

(D) Nation-state

(E) Exclave

D) Nation-state

3. Which of the following defines Chicago's position in relation to the infrastructure of the United States?

(A) Site

(B) Situation

(C) Absolute location

(D) Vernacular region

(E) Transition zone

B) Situation

4. An ethnic neighborhood is best described as which of the following?

(A) An involuntary community where people with similar values reside

(B) A rural community where people with similar backgrounds are required to live

(C) A voluntary urban community where people of similar origin reside

(D) An area in the inner city where certain groups are forced to live

(E) A city neighborhood that is undergoing population change due to immigration

C) A voluntary urban community where people of similar origin reside

5. Toponyms in southern California reflect which of the following?

(A) Cultural heritage of the settlers

(B) Importance of time-space convergence

(C) Growing influence of globalization

(D) Significance of locational theory

(E) Role of popular culture in American society

A) Cultural heritage of the settlers

6. The township and range land survey system in the United States contributed to which of the following?

(A) A dispersed rural settlement pattern

(B) A clustered rural settlement pattern

(C) A rural long-lot pattern

(D) An urban agglomeration pattern

(E) An urban daily system pattern

A) A dispersed rural settlement pattern

7. Transnational migrants often send money back to their home countries to support nonmigrant family members. What is the term used to describe their international financial transactions?

(A) Reparations

(B) Quotas

(C) Foreign aid

(D) Foreign direct investment (E) Remittances

E) Remittances

8. Which of the following countries has experienced an economic boom as a result of the reclassification of tar sands from potential reserves to proven reserves of energy?

(A) Saudi Arabia

(B) Nigeria

(C) Canada

(D) China

(E) Venezuela

C) Canada

9. The Gullah language is spoken in African- American communities of the coastal southeastern United States, particularly in South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida. It is a combination of Elizabethan English and African dialects. One can describe Gullah as a

(A) creolized language

(B) lingua franca

(C) Sino-Tibetan dialect

(D) language family

(E) linguistic branch of the Niger-Congo family

A) creolized language

10. A primate city such as Mexico City is

(A) always located in the center of its country for maximum accessibility

(B) more than twice the size of any other city in its country and dominant economically and culturally

(C) most likely to share its rank size with at least one other city in the country

(D) always a national capital serving as the seat of government and industrial center of the country

(E) much larger than the cities in any neighboring country and serves as the region's financial capital

B) more than twice the size of any other city in its country and dominant economically and culturally

11. Traditional labor-intensive agriculture often involves which of the following?

(A) Field terracing

(B) Mechanical plowing

(C) Hybrid seeds

(D) Use of pesticides

(E) High levels of debt

A) Field terracing

12. Which of the following has brought significant numbers of foreign visitors and currency to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, and Belize?

(A) Casino gambling

(B) Vacation cruising

(C) Offshore banking

(D) Factory outlet shopping

(E) Ecotourism

E) Ecotourism

13. What is the source of dispute between Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark, and the United States over political boundaries in the Arctic Ocean and ownership of the North Pole?

(A) They all claim the right to extract natural resources out to the edge of the continental shelf, beyond their exclusive economic zones.

(B) They all claim to have had indigenous residents from their countries living on the polar ice pack at sometime in the past.

(C) Each claims the first explorer to reach the North Pole came from their country and planted their flag, signifying ownership.

(D) The northern polar region has the same international treaties that govern land use and resources in Antarctica.

(E) The North Pole is the focal point of all the intersecting boundaries on the map. However, it floats on a constantly moving ice sheet.

A) They all claim the right to extract natural resources out to the edge of the continental shelf, beyond their exclusive economic zones.

14. Which of the following resources is used to produce the largest amount of electricity in the United States?

(A) Coal mined and transported within the United States by railroads

(B) Coal imported from foreign countries by ships

(C) Natural gas drilled and imported from foreign countries by pipelines

(D) Oil (petroleum) drilled and transported within the United States via pipelines

(E) Oil (petroleum) imported from foreign

countries by ships

A) Coal mined and transported within the United States by railroads

15. Which of the following best describes urban planning in the United States?

(A) It is imposed by the federal government through national standards.

(B) It is accomplished, for the most part, through local ordinances governing land use.

(C) It follows rules and standards established by international organizations.

(D) It is imposed by state governments through regional standards.

(E) It is conducted cooperatively by public-private partnerships.

B) It is accomplished, for the most part, through local ordinances governing land use.

16. Specialty agriculture and timber production have increased the level of development and gross national income (GNI) of Chile's economy through which of the following?

(A) Export sales to consumers in the

United States, Japan, and other foreign markets

(B) Creation of a trade alliance with Brazil and Argentina

(C) Provision of basic staple foods and building materials to Chilean consumers

(D) An increase in shipping trade from ports along the Strait of Magellan

(E) A focus on plant-based produce that has a long shelf life and does not require preservatives

A) Export sales to consumers in the

United States, Japan, and other foreign markets

17. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, which of the following countries had the lowest fertility rate?

(A) Somalia

(B) Niger

(C) Angola

(D) Democratic Republic of Congo

(E) South Africa

E) South Africa

18. Cities in India have a competitive advantage over cities in China as locations for international consumer services, such as call centers and bill processing. This advantage has its origins in which of the following?

(A) Low levels of primary-level education in China

(B) The Indian government's status as a neutral state in global political affairs

(C) The English language legacy of British colonialism in India

(D) Large amounts of mineral resources found in China used to manufacture goods for export

(E) Chinese emigration to Southeast Asia in the 1800s and 1900s

C) The English language legacy of British colonialism in India

19. Which of the following was a consequence of blockbusting in North American cities?

(A) European immigrants moved into housing vacated by upwardly mobile Americans.

(B) Poor residents were unable to acquire mortgages.

(C) Real estate agents lost sellers.

(D) Neighborhoods were razed for commercial

establishments.

(E) The ethnic composition of neighborhoods

changed.

E) The ethnic composition of neighborhoods

changed.

20. In which of the following countries has the diffusion of Christianity met the most resistance?

(A) China

(B) Brazil

(C) Italy

(D) Mexico

(E) South Africa

A) China

21. The measure of the average number of children who are born to women of childbearing age in the population is called the

(A) actual birth rate

(B) crude birth rate

(C) total fertility rate

(D) adjusted birth rate

(E) net reproduction ratio

C) total fertility rate

22. Sometimes a diffusion process encounters barriers that slow or stop the spread of an innovation. Which of the following is an example of such

a barrier?

(A) A lack of infrastructure to support a new technology

(B) A change in the price of energy

(C) A jump from contagious to hierarchical

diffusion

(D) A transition from stimulus to contagious

diffusion

(E) A new form of media to broadcast information

A) A lack of infrastructure to support a new technology

23. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Hinduism?

(A) It uses human and animal images in its sacred spaces.

(B) Pilgrims bathe in holy rivers.

(C) Religious functions most likely take place at

home within the family.

(D) It is a universalizing religion.

(E) Sacred places are established by tradition.

D) It is a universalizing religion

24. If a manufacturing company uses a single, weight-losing raw material to manufacture its finished product, then most likely the company will

(A) locate several manufacturing plants close to consumers

(B) use a ubiquitous raw material

(C) choose to outsource its labor component

(D) agglomerate close to similar factories

(E) locate its manufacturing plant at the raw material site

E) locate its manufacturing plant at the raw material site

25. In descriptions of interaction between people and the environment, the term "environmental determinism" implies that

(A) the physical environment exclusively shapes humans and their actions

(B) humans by their actions and technologies alter the physical environment to suit their needs

(C) determination of environmental limitations is a primary task of geographers

(D) capitalist economies do not contribute to global environmental degradation

(E) there exists no interacting relationship between people and their surrounding physical environment

A) the physical environment exclusively shapes humans and their actions

26. Which of the following is an example of a shatterbelt region?

(A) Eastern Europe

(B) Western Europe

(C) Siberia

(D) South America

(E) Southern Africa

A) Eastern Europe

27. A country in the first stage of the demographic transition demonstrates which of the following?

(A) An old population age structure

(B) High birth rates, but low death rates

(C) Low birth rates, low death rates, and

low rates of population growth

(D) High birth rates, high death rates, and low rates of population growth

(E) High birth rates, high death rates, and

high rates of population growth

D) High birth rates, high death rates, and low rates of population growth

28. The map shown above best fits which of the following map types?

(A) Choropleth

(B) Cartogram

(C) Proportional symbol

(D) Dot symbol

(E) Isoline

A) Choropleth

29. In contrast to folk culture, popular culture is typical of

(A) large heterogeneous groups

(B) indigenous groups

(C) groups that have little interaction with other

groups

(D) small homogeneous groups (E) groups living in isolated areas

A) large heterogeneous groups

30. Which of the following religions is appropriately matched with its region of origin?

(A) Islam . . Egypt

(B) Judaism . . Spain

(C) Hinduism . . China

(D) Buddhism . . India

(E) Christianity..Germany

D) Buddhism . . India

31. Which of the following is South Africa's former state-sanctioned policy of segregating the races?

(A) Redlining

(B) Gerrymandering

(C) Apartheid

(D) Secularism

(E) Gentrification

C) Apartheid

32. Which of the following variables has an inverse or negative relationship with the level of economic development of a country?

(A) Literacy rate

(B) Birth rate

(C) Percent of labor force in tertiary sector of economy

(D) Life expectancy

(E) Percent of urban population

B) Birth rate

33. A set of economic and political relationships that organizes food production from the development of seed to marketing the products is known as

(A) food processing

(B) mechanized farming

(C) mixed crop and livestock farming

(D) agribusiness

(E) commercial farming

D) agribusiness

34. The urban linguistic landscape shown in the photograph above is most likely found in a region where which of the following languages is spoken?

(A) Chinese

(B) Bahasa Indonesia

(C) Hindi

(D) Arabic

(E) Russian

D) Arabic

35. In which of the following pairs do both countries exhibit zero or negative population growth rates?

(A) Pakistan and China

(B) India and Germany

(C) Japan and Germany

(D) China and India

(E) India and Japan

C) Japan and Germany

36. The boundaries of congressional districts of the United States are

(A) set according to a process developed by the writers of the United States Constitution

(B) redrawn every ten years

(C) redrawn whenever a member of Congress

feels his or her constituency has changed

(D) redrawn after every presidential election

(E) drawn to cross over state boundaries

B) redrawn every ten years

37. Often a manufacturing company will attempt to merge with another company that possesses forward or backward links in the supply or production process. Which of the following terms best describes this type of strategy?

(A) Vertical integration

(B) Transnational corporation (C) Privatization

(D) Agglomeration

(E) Economies of scale

A) Vertical intergration

38. At some point in their recent history, all of the following countries became divided into two political entities as a result of cultural or ideological conflict EXCEPT

(A) Korea

(B) Vietnam

(C) Germany

(D) Ireland

(E) Japan

E) Japan

39. Genetic engineering of agricultural crops has primarily increased the productivity of modern farming by

(A) converting annual plants to perennials, which do not require replanting

(B) increasing the size of fruits and grains

(C) increasing plants' drought resistance and

resistance to pests

(D) cutting the cost of bulk seeds during planting

seasons

(E) changing vegetable and fruit colors to suit

consumer demands

C) increasing plants' drought resistance and

resistance to pests

40. All of the terms listed in the box above could be used to illustrate what concept?

(A) Folk cultures responding to physical geography

(B) Diffusion of cultural traits from Asia

(C) Architectural adaptations to the natural environment

(D) Elements of cultural identity (E) Innovation without diffusion

C) Architectural adaptations to the natural

environment

41. Which of the following describes the connection between land values and population density?

I. Higher population density indicates a higher demand for land and thus the price of land is bid up in densely settled regions.

II. Higher prices make land less affordable so that expensive locations generally have lower population densities.

III. Larger areas of land will cost more but will be less likely to be densely settled.

(A) I only

(B) II only

(C) III only

(D) I and II

(E) II and III

A) I only

42. The diffusion pattern of Walmart stores, which have spread from small towns to large cities throughout the United States, is an example of

(A) relocation diffusion

(B) contagious diffusion

(C) stimulus diffusion

(D) distance decay

(E) reverse hierarchical diffusion

E) reverse hierarchical diffusion

43. The industrialization and mechanization of agriculture in the United States during the past 70 years have resulted in

(A) a decrease in the number of farms and an increase in the size of farms

(B) an increase in the number of farms and a decrease in the size of farm fields

(C) an increase in the diversity of crops and animals grown on individual farms

(D) an increase in the economic viability of small towns in the agricultural regions

(E) a decrease in the tonnage of pesticides and herbicides used on cropland

A) a decrease in the number of farms and an increase in the size of farms

44. In the development of urban land, which of the following is typically built on the most accessible sites?

(A) Single-family housing

(B) Farm markets

(C) Retail complexes

(D) Industrial parks

(E) High-rise apartment buildings

C) Retail complexes

45. Which of the following is the most often cited environmental benefit of the eat-local movement?

(A) Less fossil fuel is used in transporting food to market.

(B) Fewer pesticides are used by farmers.

(C) Less topsoil is lost to wind and water erosion.

(D) There is less demand for chemical fertilizers.

(E) It helps local and regional economies.

A) Less fossil fuel is used in transporting food to market.

46. Which of the following groups would most likely engage in the gentrification of an older residential neighborhood?

(A) University students on limited incomes

(B) Double-income households without children

(C) People above age sixty-five on limited

incomes

(D) Double-income households with children

(E) Recent immigrants on limited incomes

B) Double-income households without children

47.What kind of agriculture is primarily practiced in the dark-shaded areas on the map above?

(A) Shifting cultivation

(B) Pastoral nomadism

(C) Cattle ranching

(D) Mediterranean

(E) Plantation

D) Mediterranean

48. All of the following were colonized by France EXCEPT

(A) Cuba

(B) Vietnam

(C) Algeria

(D) Louisiana

(E) Quebec

A) Cuba

49. Which of the following best describes

Alfred Weber's analysis of location decisions?

(A) It seeks to evaluate the impact of a single factor of production on location.

(B) It seeks to minimize costs among multiple inputs of production.

(C) It is applicable only in postindustrial economies with predictable spatial patterns.

(D) It depends on the availability of a single node, link, and input of production.

(E) It is applicable only in industrial economies with predictable spatial patterns.

B) It seeks to minimize costs among multiple inputs of production.

50. The above map shows von Thünen's model applied to a map of the contiguous United States. Which of the following realities would NOT be accounted for by the theoretical predictions shown on the map?

(A) Wyoming is a major cattle-ranching area.

(B) Oregon has established a Forest Resources Institute.

(C) New Jersey's nickname is the Garden State.

(D) Florida's government has a Department of Citrus.

(E) The first cheese factory in the United States was near

Rome, NewYork.

D) Florida's government has a Department of Citrus.

51. What do the states represented above have in common?

(A) They are all federal states.

(B) They are all formerly communist states.

(C) They are all mega states.

(D) They are all unitary states.

(E) They are all ethnic states.

A) They are all federal states.

52. Which of the following types of urban land use is most common on the periphery of cities in Latin America?

(A) A plaza surrounded by a central business district

(B) Parks and recreation areas

(C) Upper-class residential developments

(D) Residential squatter settlements

(E) Rail transportation corridors

D) Residential squatter settlements

53. Which of the following is indicated on the graph above?

(A) Worldwide fertilizer use is declining with the rise of sustainable agriculture.

(B) Developed countries in the core are using greater amounts of fertilizer.

(C) Developing countries in the periphery are shifting to more sustainable agriculture and using smaller amounts of fertilizer.

(D) Worldwide fertilizer use is increasing but faster in peripheral developing countries.

(E) Worldwide fertilizer use is increasing but notably faster in core developed countries.

D) Worldwide fertilizer use is increasing but faster in peripheral developing countries.

54.The shaded areas on the map above most likely indicate regions that are affected or threatened by which of the following?

(A) Depopulation

(B) Deforestation

(C) Desertification

(D) Deindustrialization

(E) Devolution

C) Desertification

55. The map above shows the countries in Africa where private investors and foreign governments have leased farmland for large-scale commercial farming. Usually much of the food produced is bound for wealthier nations. This practice is an example of

(A) decolonization

(B) Pan-Africanism

(C) neocolonialism

(D) imperialism

(E) irredentism

C) neocolonialism

56. Crossing which of the following borders requires few, if any, formalities and thus encourages the free flow of people and products?

(A) Netherlands-Belgium

(B) India-Pakistan

(C) United States-Canada

(D) Romania-Ukraine

(E) North Korea-South Korea

A) Netherlands-Belgium

57. Which of the following is the primary reason for the rapid population growth in megacities through out the developing world?

(A) Interregional migration

(B) A decline in the death rate

(C) The natural increase rate

(D) The decline in the dependency ratio

(E) A decrease in the doubling time

A) Interregional migration

58. Even though it is a relatively clean source of energy, which of the following is a disadvantage of hydroelectric power?

(A) The water used needs to be chemically treated immediately upon leaving the powerhouse.

(B) The electricity generated has a lower voltage than electricity generated by traditional coal and natural gas plants.

(C) The generators are more complex than coal or gas generators and are expensive to purchase and maintain.

(D) It is not an effective power source in regions which traditionally experience less rainfall.

(E) It can alter the ecosystems above and below the dam site.

E) It can alter the ecosystems above and below the dam site.

59. According to the rank-size rule, which of the following is true about the second-largest city in a country?

(A) It is almost equal in population to the largest city.

(B) It has a population that is twice the size of the third-largest city.

(C) It has half the number of functions as those in the largest city.

(D) It has half the population size of the largest city.

(E) It is located half as far from the largest city as is the third-largest city.

D) It has half the population size of the largest city.

60. Many companies moved their operations from New England and the Midwest to locations in the South because

(A) the South had less expensive site factors than northern regions

(B) southern regions had better access to deep water ports

(C) the South had more advantageous relative locations

(D) the southerly climate was an environmental push factor

(E) southern culture was a social pull factor

A) the South had less expensive site factors than northern regions

61. A green space in the center of a village reflects the traditional cultural landscape of which of the following United States regions?

(A) New England

(B) The Upper Midwest

(C) The Southeast

(D) The Southwest

(E) The Tide water

A) New England

62. Which statement best describes population growth patterns in the world today?

(A) In the world as a whole, women have an average of five or more children, leading to Malthusian crises.

(B) Fertility rates in low- and middle-income countries worldwide are higher now than 25 years ago.

(C) In the world as a whole, fertility rates have fallen in the last 25 years.

(D) In sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific, fertility rates have doubled in the last 25 years.

(E) Fertility rates in most high-income countries have risen in the last 25 years.

C) In the world as a whole, fertility rates have fallen in the last 25 years.

63. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, but people in the former East and West Germany still feel its influence. Geographers would say that where the wall once stood now acts as a

(A) superimposed boundary

(B) relict boundary

(C) fortified boundary

(D) antecedent boundary

(E) natural boundary

B) relict boundary

64. Mixed-use development, pedestrian-friendly design, and the incorporation of front porches and alleys are design elements of which of the following?

(A) New urbanism

(B) Transit-oriented development

(C) Zero growth

(D) Urban growth boundaries

(E) Leap frog development

A) New urbanism

65. In which of the following world regions has the Green Revolution had the least impact on agriculture?

(A) East Asia

(B) South Asia

(C) Southeast Asia

(D) Central America

(E) Sub-Saharan Africa

E) Sub-Saharan Africa

66. According to Christaller's central place model, which of the following would most likely have the smallest range?

(A) A university

(B) An international airport

(C) A grocery store

(D) A professional football stadium

(E) A symphony orchestra hall

C) A grocery store

67. Which factor is most responsible for the increase in Japan's dependency ratio?

(A) An increase in life expectancy

(B) An increase in the death rate

(C) An increase in the rate of natural increase

(D) A decrease in the doubling time

(E) An increase in the total fertility rate

A) An increase in life expectancy

68. Which of the following best defines Carl Sauer's concept of cultural landscape?

(A) It is the way people landscape their yards in different parts of the world.

(B) It is the way houses of worship are built.

(C) It is the outcome of interactions between

humans and their natural environment.

(D) It is a shared set of meanings and symbolic

practices.

(E) It is the human adaptation to Earth's physical

environment.

C) It is the outcome of interactions between

humans and their natural environment.

69. Sri Lanka and Australia have about the same population. What data would help you determine which country has a higher physiological population density?

(A) The area of each country

(B) The number of farmers in each country

(C) The total fertility rate of each country

(D) The amount of arid land in each country

(E) The amount of arable land in each country

E) The amount of arable land in each country

70. Economic complementarities between two places tend to

(A) reflect only differences in resource base

(B) occur when each place specializes in commodities demanded by the other

(C) occur when the places specialize in the same

commodities

(D) reflect the minimization of distance

(E) reflect the maximization of scale

B) occur when each place specializes in commodities demanded by the other

71. The spread of the use of chopsticks into Southeast Asian countries with the influx of Chinese immigrants is an example of which of the following concepts?

(A) Stimulus diffusion

(B) Hierarchical diffusion

(C) Assimilation

(D) Acculturation

(E) Relocation diffusion

E) Relocation diffusion

72. Based on the population pyramid above, which of the following will pose the greatest demographic challenge to China beginning in 2029 ?

(A) Providing for the needs of its aging population

(B) Finding enough teachers to educate the young

(C) Limiting out-migration of the 60- to 64-year-old age

cohort

(D) Providing prenatal medical care

(E) Controlling population growth

A) Providing for the needs of its aging population

73. Using the diagram above, at what distance from the central business district will recreational land use begin to outbid all other land uses?

(A) About 3 miles

(B) About 6 miles

(C) About 10 miles

(D) About 12 miles

(E) About 18 miles

C) About 10 miles

74. The Malthusian view of the world argues that

(A) the contemporary problem of famine in developing countries is a result of the colonial legacy

(B) the problem of population growth is a result of economic underdevelopment

(C) one way to solve population growth in developing countries is to reduce their foreign debt

(D) famine in developing countries can be explained by examining their patterns of population growth

(E) population growth is helpful to developing countries because it provides a larger rural workforce

D) famine in developing countries can be explained by examining their patterns of population growth

75. Which of the following is NOT part of the definition of a state?

(A) A common language

(B) An organized economy and circulation system

(C) Political sovereignty

(D) A permanent resident population

(E) Defined boundaries

A) A common language