AP Human Geography
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About the Course
Important: We're now offering free, live AP online classes and review lessons for AP Human Geography to help you prepare for your exam even if your school is closed due to COVID-19. See the course schedule or browse the YouTube playlist. We'll also offer at-home testing for 2020 AP Exams. Note that any related adjustments to 2020 AP Exams, such as length or content covered, may not be reflected on all AP Students pages.
Explore how humans have understood, used, and changed the surface of Earth. You’ll use the tools and thinking processes of geographers to examine patterns of human population, migration, and land use.
Skills You'll Learn
Connecting geographic concepts and processes to real-life scenarios
Understanding information shown in maps, tables, charts, graphs, infographics, images, and landscapes
Seeing patterns and trends in data and in visual sources such as maps and drawing conclusions from them
Understanding spatial relationships using geographic scales
Equivalency and Prerequisites
College Course Equivalent
An introductory college-level course in human geography
Recommended Prerequisites
None
Exam Dates
-
Tue, May 12, 2020,
4 PM ETAP Human Geography Exam
May 12 is the updated 2020 date for the AP Human Geography Exam.
About the Units
The course content outlined below is organized into commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. Your teacher may choose to organize the course content differently based on local priorities and preferences.
Course Content
Unit 1: Thinking Geographically
You’ll learn about the tools and methods geographers use in their study of places.
Topics may include:
- Different types of maps and what they tell you
- How geographers collect and use data
- Spatial relationships and patterns
- Data analysis at different scales (for example, global, national, local)
- How geographers define regions
On The Exam
8%–10% of multiple-choice score
Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes
You’ll explore the patterns associated with human populations.
Topics may include:
- Population density and how it affects society and the environment
- Theories of population growth and decline
- Population and immigration policies and their effects
- The causes and effects of migration
On The Exam
12%–17% of multiple-choice score
Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes
You’ll focus on how and why language, religion, and other cultural practices spread over space and time.
Topics may include:
- The different ways that cultural practices spread
- Historical forces, such as colonialism and trade, that affect cultural patterns
- Modern forces, such as globalization, that affect cultural patterns
- Why different religions spread in different ways
On The Exam
12%–17% of multiple-choice score
Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes
You’ll build on your knowledge of populations and cultural patterns as you learn about the political organization of the world.
Topics may include:
- Types of political entities such as nations and nation-states
- The ideas and forces that shaped the political boundaries of the modern world
- Forms of government such as unitary states and federal states
- The factors that lead to states breaking apart
On The Exam
12%–17% of multiple-choice score
Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes
You’ll learn where humans first developed agriculture and how farming practices spread throughout the world.
Topics may include:
- How physical geography influences farming practices
- The origins and spread of agriculture
- The Green Revolution
- How farming practices affect the environment and society
On The Exam
12%–17% of multiple-choice score
Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes
You’ll explore the origins and influences of urbanization, examining cities across the world and the role of those cities in globalization.
Topics may include:
- The factors that drive the growth of cities and suburbs
- Globalization and cities
- City infrastructure
- Urban design initiatives and practices
On The Exam
12%–17% of multiple-choice score
Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes
You’ll study the origins and influences of industrialization, along with the role industrialization plays in economic development.
Topics may include:
- The Industrial Revolution
- Economic sectors and patterns
- How economic development affects the roles of women
- Trade and the world economy
On The Exam
12%–17% of multiple-choice score
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See Where AP Can Take You
AP Human Geography can lead to a wide range of careers and college majors
Career Areas
71
Majors
20