AP Human Geography
Unit 4 FRQs
1. Political systems are often organized geographically.
a. What is the difference between territorial organization, federal organization, and electoral voting?
b. What are the advantages of organizing political systems by geographic areas?
2. Many factors contribute to a state’s political stability.
a. What are some of the forces that bind a state together? Explain using specific examples.
b. What are some of the forces that cause disunity within a state? Explain using specific examples.
3. The European Union and North American Free Trade agreement are two common examples of supranational
organizations.
a. Describe each of these two organizations and their purposes.
b. What do each of these two organization have in common? How are they different?
4. Explain the unitary government structure. Give an example of a unitary state and explain one advantage of
having a unitary structure in this example.
5. Explain the federal government structure. Give an example of a federal state, and explain one advantage of
having a federal structure in this example.
6. Define devolution. Choose a state from either Europe or Asia that has recently experienced devolution and
explain the causes that led the state to devolve.
7. Most nation-states have grown over time from core areas.
a. Define a core area and describe one way to identify a core area on a map.
b. Identify one multicore state and explain one reason why having more than one core area has been
problematic for that state.
c. Identify a second multicore state and explain one reason why having more than one core area has been
beneficial for that state.
8.
In the redistricting that occurred in 2012, voters in Maryland approved a redrawn Third Congressional
District, as shown in the map above. A geospatial analysis firm named it the least compact district in the
nation. A. Identify the political phenomenon represented on the map.
B. Explain the relationship between redistricting and the census.
C. Identify and discuss TWO political consequences that could result from redistricting.
9. A. Define separatism.
B. Identify a separatist movement and explain the reason for this group’s activity.
C. Discuss why this separatist movement operates on the periphery of the state and not within its national core.
10. Introduce three different geopolitical theories and explain how each has impacted the history of the 20th or 21st
century. (Heartland Theory, Rimland Theory, Domino Theory, Containment Theory, Lebensraum)