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Cram for AP Human Geography — Last-Minute Guide
Last-minute AP Human Geography cram guide. Must-know models, FRQ define-apply-example formula, and the three units most likely to appear on your exam.
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AP Human Geography FRQs reward students who can apply concepts to specific real-world scenarios — not just define them. If you have one hour, use it to master the models and the three-step FRQ formula.
Must-Know Models (Flash Review)
- Demographic Transition Model: Stages 1-5. High birth + high death → declining death → declining birth → low both → potential decline. Know which world regions are in each stage.
- Von Thünen: Rings around a market city. Dairy closest (perishable), grain farther, ranching outermost. Transport cost determines ring placement.
- Christaller Central Place Theory: Hexagonal hinterlands. Threshold = minimum customers. Range = max distance customers will travel. High-order goods in fewer, larger cities; low-order goods everywhere.
- Burgess / Hoyt / Multiple Nuclei: Concentric zones vs sector wedges vs multiple activity centers. Each describes a different type of city.
- Rostow's Stages: Traditional → Preconditions → Takeoff → Drive to Maturity → High Mass Consumption. Critiqued as Western-centric and ignoring colonialism's role.
- Wallerstein World-Systems Theory: Core (high wages, high-tech) → Semi-periphery → Periphery (low wages, resource extraction). Alternative to Rostow.
FRQ Formula: Define → Apply → Example
Every FRQ part answer should: (1) Define the concept precisely, (2) Apply it to the exact scenario in the question, (3) Give a specific real-world example. Never just define. Never just give an example. All three together earn full credit.
Highest-Priority Units for Last-Minute Prep
Units 4 (Political Organization), 5 (Agriculture), and 6 (Cities) appear on FRQs most consistently. For Unit 4: know sovereignty, devolution, supranationalism (EU), centripetal vs centrifugal forces, gerrymandering. For Unit 6: gentrification, suburbanization, edge cities, urban heat island effect.
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