AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
UNIT 2 PRACTICE TEST
Population and Migration Patterns and Processes
25 questions — modeled on official AP question styles and stimulus formats.
Give yourself 30 minutes. Answers and explanations begin on a separate page after the questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A country has a total population of 90 million people spread across 1.8 million square kilometers of land, of which
only 300,000 square kilometers are arable. What is this country's physiological density?
A) 50 people per square kilometer
B) 300 people per square kilometer
C) 30 people per square kilometer
D) 150 people per square kilometer
E) 600 people per square kilometer
2. Using the same data as Question 1, what is this country's arithmetic density?
A) 300 people per square kilometer
B) 50 people per square kilometer
C) 150 people per square kilometer
D) 90 people per square kilometer
E) 18 people per square kilometer
3. Which of the following best explains why physiological density is generally considered a more meaningful measure
of population pressure on food-producing land than arithmetic density?
A) Physiological density is always a smaller number than arithmetic density
B) Physiological density divides population only by ARABLE land, better reflecting real pressure on land capable of
producing food
C) Arithmetic density is more precise because it accounts for all land uses
D) Physiological density measures the number of farmers rather than total population
E) There is no meaningful difference between the two measures
4. A population pyramid for a given country shows a wide base that narrows sharply toward the top. This shape most
directly indicates:
A) Low birth rates and an aging population
B) High birth rates and a rapidly growing, youthful population
C) A population in overall decline
D) Zero population growth with a stable age structure
E) A population with more elderly than young people
5. Which stage of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM) is characterized by high birth rates combined with
RAPIDLY falling death rates, producing the fastest population growth of any stage?
A) Stage 1: High Stationary
B) Stage 2: Early Expanding
C) Stage 3: Late Expanding
D) Stage 4: Low Stationary
, E) Stage 5: Declining
6. A country's death rate exceeds its birth rate, producing negative natural population change. This country most
likely occupies which stage of the DTM?
A) Stage 1
B) Stage 2
C) Stage 3
D) Stage 4
E) Stage 5
7. Which of the following best explains why death rates typically fall BEFORE birth rates as a country progresses
through the DTM?
A) Improvements in medicine, sanitation, and food supply reduce deaths relatively quickly, while the cultural and
economic shifts (urbanization, education, contraception access) that reduce birth rates spread more gradually
B) Birth rates always fall before death rates, in every country without exception
C) Governments universally mandate lower birth rates before investing in healthcare
D) Death rates and birth rates always fall at precisely the same pace
E) There is no consistent pattern connecting death rates and birth rates across countries
8. A national government offers generous financial subsidies, extended parental leave, and tax incentives specifically
to encourage citizens to have more children. This is an example of a(n):
A) Anti-natalist policy
B) Pro-natalist policy
C) Guest worker program
D) Push factor
E) Zero population growth initiative
9. China's former One-Child Policy, which financially penalized most families for having more than one child, is a
historical example of a(n):
A) Pro-natalist policy
B) Anti-natalist policy
C) Guest worker program
D) Pull factor
E) Refugee resettlement program
10. In a country's dependency ratio calculation, the young dependent (under 15) population is 20 million, the elderly
dependent (65+) population is 10 million, and the working-age (15–64) population is 60 million. What is the
dependency ratio?
A) 30%
B) 50%
C) 33%
D) 20%
E) 100%
11. A country has a very HIGH dependency ratio, driven primarily by a large elderly population. Which of the following
is a likely economic consequence?
A) A shrinking working-age population must support a disproportionately large number of dependents through taxes
and social services
B) The country will automatically experience a demographic dividend
C) The dependency ratio has no meaningful economic implications
D) The country's birth rate will necessarily increase in response
UNIT 2 PRACTICE TEST
Population and Migration Patterns and Processes
25 questions — modeled on official AP question styles and stimulus formats.
Give yourself 30 minutes. Answers and explanations begin on a separate page after the questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A country has a total population of 90 million people spread across 1.8 million square kilometers of land, of which
only 300,000 square kilometers are arable. What is this country's physiological density?
A) 50 people per square kilometer
B) 300 people per square kilometer
C) 30 people per square kilometer
D) 150 people per square kilometer
E) 600 people per square kilometer
2. Using the same data as Question 1, what is this country's arithmetic density?
A) 300 people per square kilometer
B) 50 people per square kilometer
C) 150 people per square kilometer
D) 90 people per square kilometer
E) 18 people per square kilometer
3. Which of the following best explains why physiological density is generally considered a more meaningful measure
of population pressure on food-producing land than arithmetic density?
A) Physiological density is always a smaller number than arithmetic density
B) Physiological density divides population only by ARABLE land, better reflecting real pressure on land capable of
producing food
C) Arithmetic density is more precise because it accounts for all land uses
D) Physiological density measures the number of farmers rather than total population
E) There is no meaningful difference between the two measures
4. A population pyramid for a given country shows a wide base that narrows sharply toward the top. This shape most
directly indicates:
A) Low birth rates and an aging population
B) High birth rates and a rapidly growing, youthful population
C) A population in overall decline
D) Zero population growth with a stable age structure
E) A population with more elderly than young people
5. Which stage of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM) is characterized by high birth rates combined with
RAPIDLY falling death rates, producing the fastest population growth of any stage?
A) Stage 1: High Stationary
B) Stage 2: Early Expanding
C) Stage 3: Late Expanding
D) Stage 4: Low Stationary
, E) Stage 5: Declining
6. A country's death rate exceeds its birth rate, producing negative natural population change. This country most
likely occupies which stage of the DTM?
A) Stage 1
B) Stage 2
C) Stage 3
D) Stage 4
E) Stage 5
7. Which of the following best explains why death rates typically fall BEFORE birth rates as a country progresses
through the DTM?
A) Improvements in medicine, sanitation, and food supply reduce deaths relatively quickly, while the cultural and
economic shifts (urbanization, education, contraception access) that reduce birth rates spread more gradually
B) Birth rates always fall before death rates, in every country without exception
C) Governments universally mandate lower birth rates before investing in healthcare
D) Death rates and birth rates always fall at precisely the same pace
E) There is no consistent pattern connecting death rates and birth rates across countries
8. A national government offers generous financial subsidies, extended parental leave, and tax incentives specifically
to encourage citizens to have more children. This is an example of a(n):
A) Anti-natalist policy
B) Pro-natalist policy
C) Guest worker program
D) Push factor
E) Zero population growth initiative
9. China's former One-Child Policy, which financially penalized most families for having more than one child, is a
historical example of a(n):
A) Pro-natalist policy
B) Anti-natalist policy
C) Guest worker program
D) Pull factor
E) Refugee resettlement program
10. In a country's dependency ratio calculation, the young dependent (under 15) population is 20 million, the elderly
dependent (65+) population is 10 million, and the working-age (15–64) population is 60 million. What is the
dependency ratio?
A) 30%
B) 50%
C) 33%
D) 20%
E) 100%
11. A country has a very HIGH dependency ratio, driven primarily by a large elderly population. Which of the following
is a likely economic consequence?
A) A shrinking working-age population must support a disproportionately large number of dependents through taxes
and social services
B) The country will automatically experience a demographic dividend
C) The dependency ratio has no meaningful economic implications
D) The country's birth rate will necessarily increase in response
