AP Human Geography - Study Guides, Flashcards, AP-style Practice & Mock Exams
This complete AP Human Geography course offers comprehensive exam prep, systematically breaking down all official units and topics. Explore detailed study guides, engaging video lessons, and extensive practice materials to solidify your understanding of key geographical concepts and patterns, ensuring you are thoroughly prepared for test day.
Course Overview
AP Human Geography explores the systematic study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with the Earth's surface. The course delves into major themes including population and migration, cultural landscapes, political organization of space, agriculture, and urban land use. You will develop critical geographic skills, focusing on the contextualization of spatial data to understand places and regions. The curriculum emphasizes comparison across different locations and scales, analyzing causation to explain geographic outcomes, and evaluating continuity and change in human activities over time. These skills are essential for interpreting maps, graphs, and other sources to build geographic arguments.
This course is structured to guide your preparation methodically. Begin by working through each of the 7 units and their 67 topics, using the provided materials to build foundational knowledge. After completing the topics within a unit, test your understanding with AP-style quizzes and a comprehensive Unit Exam. These regular progress checks are designed to identify areas needing targeted review before you move on. This cyclical process of learning, assessing, and reviewing culminates in a full-length mock exam that simulates the official testing experience, allowing you to synthesize all concepts and skills.
Units & Topics
Unit 1: Thinking Geographically
expand_more
We will explore how geographers use data and different analytical scales for the contextualization of spatial patterns and human-environment relationships across various regions.
- 1.0Unit Overview
- 1.1Introduction to Maps
- 1.2Geographic Data
- 1.3The Power of Geographic Data
- 1.4Spatial Concepts
- 1.5Human-Environmental Interaction
- 1.6Scales of Analysis
- 1.7Regional Analysis
- 1.8Unit Exam
Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes
expand_more
We will investigate the causation behind population dynamics, analyzing how demographic structures, settlement patterns, and migration flows shape societies across the globe.
- 2.0Unit Overview
- 2.1Population Distribution
- 2.2Consequences of Population Distribution
- 2.3Population Composition
- 2.4Population Dynamics
- 2.5The Demographic Transition Model
- 2.6Malthusian Theory
- 2.7Population Policies
- 2.8Women and Demographic Change
- 2.9Aging Populations
- 2.10Causes of Migration
- 2.11Forced and Voluntary Migration
- 2.12Effects of Migration
- 2.13Unit Exam
Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes
expand_more
This unit analyzes the complex causation behind the global spread of cultural elements, exploring how this movement shapes landscapes and creates new societal patterns.
- 3.0Unit Overview
- 3.1Introduction to Culture
- 3.2Cultural Landscapes
- 3.3Cultural Patterns
- 3.4Types of Diffusion
- 3.5Historical Causes of Diffusion
- 3.6Contemporary Causes of Diffusion
- 3.7Diffusion of Religion and Language
- 3.8Effects of Diffusion
- 3.9Unit Exam
Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes
expand_more
This unit involves a comparison of how political power is expressed territorially, from the drawing of boundaries to the various forces that challenge state sovereignty.
- 4.0Unit Overview
- 4.1Introduction to Political Geography
- 4.2Political Processes
- 4.3Political Power and Territoriality
- 4.4Defining Political Boundaries
- 4.5The Function of Political Boundaries
- 4.6Internal Boundaries
- 4.7Forms of Governance
- 4.8Defining Devolutionary Factors
- 4.9Challenges to Sovereignty
- 4.10Consequences of Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces
- 4.11Unit Exam
Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes
expand_more
We will examine the continuity and change in food production, from early hearths and historic revolutions to the complex spatial organization of today's global food systems.
- 5.0Unit Overview
- 5.1Introduction to Agriculture
- 5.2Settlement Patterns and Survey Methods
- 5.3Agricultural Origins and Diffusions
- 5.4The Second Agricultural Revolution
- 5.5The Green Revolution
- 5.6Agricultural Production Regions
- 5.7Spatial Organization of Agriculture
- 5.8Von Thünen Model
- 5.9The Global System of Agriculture
- 5.10Consequences of Agricultural Practices
- 5.11Challenges of Contemporary Agriculture
- 5.12Women in Agriculture
- 5.13Unit Exam
Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes
expand_more
This unit involves a global comparison of urban areas, from their initial development and internal layouts to the contemporary infrastructure and sustainability problems they face.
- 6.0Unit Overview
- 6.1The Origin and Influences of Urbanization
- 6.2Cities Across the World
- 6.3Cities and Globalization
- 6.4The Size and Distribution of Cities
- 6.5The Internal Structure of Cities
- 6.6Density and Land Use
- 6.7Infrastructure
- 6.8Urban Sustainability
- 6.9Urban Data
- 6.10Challenges of Urban Changes
- 6.11Challenges of Urban Sustainability
- 6.12Unit Exam
Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes
expand_more
This unit examines the causation of uneven global development, analyzing economic structures, trade relationships, and the ongoing challenges of achieving sustainable and equitable growth.
- 7.0Unit Overview
- 7.1The Industrial Revolution
- 7.2Economic Sectors and Patterns
- 7.3Measures of Development
- 7.4Women and Economic Development
- 7.5Theories of Development
- 7.6Trade and the World Economy
- 7.7Sustainable Development
- 7.8Unit Exam
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the structure of the AP Human Geography exam?
expand_more
The exam has two equally weighted sections: a 60-minute, 60-question Multiple-Choice section and a 75-minute, 3-question Free-Response section. Both sections require you to analyze stimuli like maps, graphs, and images to demonstrate your understanding of geographic concepts and processes.
What are the core skills for success in AP Human Geography?
expand_more
This course develops five key geographic skills, with an emphasis on analyzing spatial patterns. You will practice Data Analysis to interpret quantitative data, Source Analysis to evaluate qualitative sources like photos, and Scale Analysis to understand phenomena at different geographic scales.
How should I structure my studying on this platform?
expand_more
We recommend a sequential approach to master the material across all 7 units. Progress from foundational Topics to AP-style quizzes and Unit Exams to test your knowledge. This structured path builds the conceptual understanding needed to succeed on the final full-length mock exam.
What are the Free-Response Questions (FRQs) like?
expand_more
The FRQs require you to apply geographic models and concepts to real-world scenarios, often presented with stimulus materials. You must demonstrate skills like Comparison to analyze different regions, Causation to explain processes, and Contextualization to understand specific geographic situations.
How are the FRQs scored?
expand_more
FRQs are scored by trained readers using established rubrics, with each question typically worth 7 points. Your responses must directly answer each part of the prompt, often requiring you to define a term, explain a concept, and apply it to a given scenario using specific evidence.
How important are maps and data on the exam?
expand_more
They are extremely important, appearing in both the MCQ and FRQ sections. You must treat all visual stimuli as essential sources of information, not just illustrations. Practice active Source Analysis by identifying patterns, trends, and relationships within the provided data or image.
Is a calculator allowed on the AP Human Geography exam?
expand_more
No, calculators are not permitted or needed for the exam. The quantitative questions focus on your ability to interpret data and understand trends presented in charts and tables, a skill known as Data Analysis, rather than performing complex mathematical calculations.
How do I connect concepts from different units?
expand_more
Use the concept of scale as a framework for making connections. Scale Analysis involves understanding how a single issue, like migration or economic development, manifests differently at local, national, and global scales. This skill helps you synthesize information from across the entire course curriculum.
Why is taking the full-length mock exam important?
expand_more
The included 1 mock exam is a crucial diagnostic tool that simulates the real exam's timing and pressure. It helps you practice pacing for both the MCQ and FRQ sections and provides a final assessment of your content knowledge, allowing you to target any remaining weak areas.
What major themes does AP Human Geography cover?
expand_more
The course explores the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human use and alteration of Earth’s surface. Key units focus on population and migration, culture, political organization of space, agriculture and rural land-use, and cities and urban land-use.
Ready to study smarter for Human Geography?
Get instant access to all study materials, practice questions, and mock exams. Join thousands of students mastering AP Human Geography with PrepGo.