All AP Human Geography Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #98 : Cities & Urban Land Use
Which of these best describes the priorities of the American City Beautiful movement?
To impose order on the chaotic urban sprawl
To improve sanitation and educational facilities
To provide a higher standard of living to the working class
To provide a higher standard of living to the middle class
To better integrate agricultural regions with urban centers
To impose order on the chaotic urban sprawl
The American City Beautiful movement, which took off in the second-half of the nineteenth century was primarily concerned with imposing order on the chaotic urban sprawl. The population of American cities had grown dramatically in recent years and many urban planners wanted to rectify the problems they identified with urban layout. The primary motivation was to make cities more orderly.
Example Question #11 : Urban Planning & Design
This American city is well known for its attempts to incorporate “new urbanism” into its urban design?
Little Rock, Arkansas
Houston, Texas
Sacramento, California
Bangor, Maine
Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
“New urbanism” emphasizes sustainable urban growth and community development in urban areas. Proponents of “new urbanism” decry the negative effects of suburbanization on the environment and on human society and seek to create urban environments that are more friendlier to pedestrians, less dependent on cars, and that promote greater community interaction.
Example Question #1 : Census Data On Urban Areas
In order to be considered a metropolitan statistical area, an area needs to have a population of at least how many people?
50,000
25,000
80,000
10,000
100,000
50,000
A metropolitan statistical area has a population of at least 50,000. If the population of an area is between 10,000 and 50,000, then the area is technically a micropolitan statistical area instead of a metropolitan statistical area.
Example Question #21 : Social Spaces
Cities that exist on the fringes of larger cities, that act as regional hubs for recreation, business, or other commercial activity are known as __________.
dot cities
edge cities
border cities
fringe cities
node cities
edge cities
The term “edge city” is a relatively new term in the parlance of American urban geography. It refers to a type of city that has arisen very recently in a comparatively short space of time. The city exists on the fringes of a larger city and acts as a regional hub for recreation, business, or other commercial activity for the suburban population of the larger city.
Example Question #1 : Subsistence
Swidden agriculture is a form of subsistence agriculture that is defined by which of the following activities?
Planting multiple crops in one plot of land
Growing one crop exclusively in all fields
Flooding a piece of land to stimulate growth
Cutting down trees and lighting the remaining plants on fire
Rotating crops between different fields depending on the season
Cutting down trees and lighting the remaining plants on fire
"Swidden" or "slash-and-burn" agriculture is a form of subsistence farming practiced all over the world, although it is most widely found in tropical regions such as Amazonia. One of the oldest forms of agriculture, swidden involves clearing the forestation and growth in a desired field with axes, then burning the stumps to eliminate obstructions and enhance the soil. This practice has harmful effects of rainforests in which it is practiced and does not produce high yield for its farmers, causing ecological and economic problems.
Example Question #2 : Subsistence
Which of the following is a subsistence crop?
Tobacco
Rubber
Cotton
Papyrus
Corn
Corn
Corn is the only subsistence crop of the presented options. Tobacco, cotton, and rice are all high intensive plantation crops. Tobacco, cotton, rubber, and papyrus are also not edible, therefore disqualifying them from being considered subsistence crops.
Example Question #1 : Agriculture, Food Production, & Rural Land Use
Which of these most accurately describes subsistence agriculture?
A farmer has only one cow; he trades some of the cow's milk for vegetables at the market.
A small family tends an herb garden, and all of the herbs are used to flavor their home-cooked meals.
A small farm is run solely by the family and most (or all) crops produced are consumed by the family.
A local farmer only grows corn; his family consumes some of the corn, but he sells more than half of his crop of corn in a farmer's market.
An extensive farm with many outside workers produces crops for the entire town.
A small farm is run solely by the family and most (or all) crops produced are consumed by the family.
Subsistence agriculture involves food production mainly for the family. A farmer will grow most everything that the family would consume, and anything leftover will go to the local community rather than to a big market.
Example Question #1 : Agriculture, Food Production, & Rural Land Use
Which of the following crops is a subsistence crop?
Acai berries
Ginger
Rice
Cocoa
Cotton
Rice
By definition, a subsistence crop is a crop that is grown primarily for the purpose of feeding/sustaining farmers and their families, with any surplus going towards trade. Of the following answer choices, rice is the only one that can be characterized as a subsistence crop, as rice is a staple food in many agricultural regions.
Example Question #1 : Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns
Which of the following is not a feature of an agricultural cash crop?
Only kept by the producer and never distributed
Not suitable for subsistence farming
Produced according to market trends
Frequently grown as a monoculture
Grown for maximum efficiency
Only kept by the producer and never distributed
A "cash crop" is an agricultural crop that is purposely made strictly to be sold in a market environment for as much money as possible. Most cash crops, which include cotton, opium, grains, and many other products, are grown in a monoculture environment, where they are the only product grown on a piece of land. By their nature, cash crops are not a form of subsistence farming, as they are always produced to be used beyond a grower's own home and family.
Example Question #2 : Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns
Which of the following terms best describes the practices of a group of farmers who rely on one or two economically lucrative crops?
Ranching
Pastoralism
Aquaculture
Cash Cropping
Cash Cropping
When farmers grow a few lucrative crops, they cash cropping. Cash cropping involves growing one or a few crops that can be sold for a relatively high price.