How it works
This AP Environmental Science Unit 5 practice test has 62 questions of our own on Land and Water Use. It is unofficial and not affiliated with the College Board, which owns AP.
Read the full guide
What Unit 5 covers
The College Board's course description, effective fall 2026 and read October 14, 2026, gives Unit 5 seventeen topics, more than any other unit. The bank groups them in order: the commons and clearcutting (6 questions); farming, irrigation and pest control (13); meat production and overfishing (10); mining (6); urbanization and ecological footprints (6); sustainability, runoff and pest management (8); and sustainable farming, aquaculture and forestry (13). The description gives topics no weights, so the spread is ours.
Sources you can open
Each answer cites an essential knowledge statement of the course description or a Wikipedia article. Two were also read against pages of the Environmental Protection Agency and NOAA.
- Learn the irrigation losses as a ladder: furrow about a third, spray a quarter or less, flood about 20%, drip about 5%.
- Keep three look-alikes apart: salinization leaves salt in soil, saltwater intrusion puts seawater in an aquifer, waterlogging drowns roots.
- For each practice, pair one benefit with one drawback. Most of the unit's skills are about judging solutions.
Questions and answers
What is Unit 5 in AP Environmental Science?
Land and Water Use. Its seventeen topics run from the tragedy of the commons, clearcutting and the Green Revolution through irrigation, meat production, overfishing, mining and urbanization to sustainable agriculture, aquaculture and forestry. It carries 10 to 15% of the multiple-choice section.
Is there math in APES Unit 5?
The description lists no mathematical skill for the unit. Three topics practice data analysis (meat production, ecological footprints and sustainability) and most of the rest practice judging solutions. One question here compares a harvest with a forest's yearly growth.
How long is Unit 5 of AP Environmental Science?
About 18 to 19 class periods, by the course description. Its Progress Check, which teachers assign in AP Classroom, has about 35 multiple-choice questions and one free-response question on analyzing quantitative data.
Are these the College Board's Unit 5 questions?
No. None of the College Board's questions is on this page. All 62 were written here from the unit's published topics and from the public pages named under each answer.