• 60 questions

AP Human Geo Unit 6 Practice Test

Unofficial practice test for Unit 6 APHG, Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes, all eleven topics.

In geography, what is the situation of a place?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the College Board. Bank checked October 14, 2026.

Next step Unit before: APHG Unit 5APHG Unit 4, political geography

All 60 questions

Topic 6.1: The origin and influences of urbanization 4

  • Households and businesses move away from the city center, and low-density areas at the edge grow. What is this called? Wikipedia, "Suburbanization"; course topic 6.1, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.2
  • In geography, what is the situation of a place? Wikipedia, "Location"; course topic 6.1, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.1
  • More and more of a country's people move from the countryside to cities and towns. What is this shift called? Wikipedia, "Urbanization"; course topic 6.1, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.2
  • Which changes brought the great spurt of suburban growth in the United States? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.4, "Urban Patterns"; course topic 6.1, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.2

Topic 6.2: Cities across the world 5

  • By the course framework, where are megacities and metacities increasingly found? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.2, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.3
  • Offices, shopping and entertainment cluster near a highway interchange in what used to be a quiet suburb. What is this place called? Wikipedia, "Edge city"; course topic 6.2, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.4
  • What is a boomburb? Wikipedia, "Boomburb"; course topic 6.2, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.4
  • What is an exurb? Wikipedia, "Exurb"; course topic 6.2, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.4
  • What population usually makes a city a megacity? Wikipedia, "Megacity"; course topic 6.2, essential knowledge PSO-6.A.3
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Topic 6.3: Cities and globalization 3

  • By the course framework, what do world cities do? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.3, essential knowledge PSO-6.B.1
  • What is a world city, also called a global city? Wikipedia, "Global city"; course topic 6.3, essential knowledge PSO-6.B.1
  • Which three world cities dominate Europe, the Americas and Asia through their financial markets and business services? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.3, "Urbanization"; course topic 6.3, essential knowledge PSO-6.B.1

Topic 6.4: The size and distribution of cities 9

  • A bakery needs at least 2,000 customers nearby to stay in business. What does central place theory call that minimum market? Wikipedia, "Central place theory"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1
  • By the rank-size rule, how large is the nth-largest city of a country? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.3, "Urbanization"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1
  • In central place theory, why do many small settlements lie close to one another? Wikipedia, "Central place theory"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1
  • Kinshasa is more than eight times larger than Lubumbashi, the second-largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. What does this show? Wikipedia, "Rank–size distribution"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1
  • The largest city of a country has 6 million people. By the rank-size rule, how many people does the third-largest city have? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.3, "Urbanization"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1
  • Shoppers will drive up to 50 miles to buy furniture, but no farther. What does central place theory call that maximum distance? Wikipedia, "Central place theory"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1
  • What does a gravity model estimate? Wikipedia, "Gravity model"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1
  • What is a primate city? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.6, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1
  • Which shape did Christaller give to the market areas of settlements in central place theory? Wikipedia, "Central place theory"; course topic 6.4, essential knowledge PSO-6.C.1

Topic 6.5: The internal structure of cities 10

  • By bid-rent theory, why will retail businesses pay the most for land at the city center? Wikipedia, "Bid rent theory"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • How do the central business districts of European cities differ from those of the United States? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.4, "Urban Patterns"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • How does the sector model arrange the social groups of a city? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.6, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • In the concentric-zone model, which zone surrounds the central business district? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.6, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • The multiple-nuclei model was formed on the idea of which change in how people move? Wikipedia, "Multiple nuclei model"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • On which city was the Burgess concentric-zone model based? Wikipedia, "Concentric zone model"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • What does the multiple-nuclei model say happens as a city grows? Wikipedia, "Multiple nuclei model"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • What is a limitation of the sector model? Wikipedia, "Sector model"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • Which model shows a city as rings of land use around a central business district? Wikipedia, "Concentric zone model"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1
  • Who proposed the sector model of urban land use, and when? Wikipedia, "Sector model"; course topic 6.5, essential knowledge PSO-6.D.1

Topic 6.6: Density and land use 3

  • A developer builds apartments on a vacant lot inside the city, not on open land at its edge. What is this called? Wikipedia, "Infill"; course topic 6.6, essential knowledge IMP-6.A.1
  • Which pattern of housing and land use marks urban sprawl? Wikipedia, "Urban sprawl"; course topic 6.6, essential knowledge IMP-6.A.1
  • Why has infill been promoted? Wikipedia, "Infill"; course topic 6.6, essential knowledge IMP-6.A.1

Topic 6.7: Infrastructure 2

  • By the course framework, what do the location and quality of the infrastructure of a city directly affect? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.7, essential knowledge IMP-6.B.1
  • Which of these is part of the infrastructure of a city? Wikipedia, "Infrastructure"; course topic 6.7, essential knowledge IMP-6.B.1

Topic 6.8: Urban sustainability 7

  • A building has shops at street level and apartments above. What kind of land use is this? Wikipedia, "Mixed-use development"; course topic 6.8, essential knowledge IMP-6.C.1
  • In urban planning, what is walkability? Wikipedia, "Walkability"; course topic 6.8, essential knowledge IMP-6.C.1
  • What does New Urbanism promote? Wikipedia, "New Urbanism"; course topic 6.8, essential knowledge IMP-6.C.1
  • What does smart growth set out to avoid? Wikipedia, "Smart growth"; course topic 6.8, essential knowledge IMP-6.C.1
  • What does transit-oriented development place within walking distance of public transport? Wikipedia, "Transit-oriented development"; course topic 6.8, essential knowledge IMP-6.C.1
  • What is a greenbelt? Wikipedia, "Green belt"; course topic 6.8, essential knowledge IMP-6.C.1
  • Which is a criticism of urban design initiatives such as New Urbanism in the course framework? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.8, essential knowledge IMP-6.D.1

Topic 6.9: Urban data 3

  • A planner uses census counts to show how the population of a neighborhood changed over ten years. Which kind of data is this? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.9, essential knowledge IMP-6.E.1
  • A researcher interviews longtime residents about how they feel as their neighborhood changes. Which kind of data is this? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.9, essential knowledge IMP-6.E.2
  • Which question can census data answer best? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.9, essential knowledge IMP-6.E.1

Topic 6.10: Challenges of urban changes 9

  • A metropolitan area is split among a state, several counties, dozens of cities and many agencies. Why does the course framework call this a challenge? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.5
  • A poor community is harmed by a hazardous waste site from which it gets no benefit. Which term from the course framework fits? Wikipedia, "Environmental justice"; course topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.1
  • Lenders and insurers withhold their services from neighborhoods with many racial and ethnic minority residents. What is this practice called? Wikipedia, "Redlining"; course topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.1
  • More affluent residents and investment move into an older neighborhood and change its character. What is this process called? Wikipedia, "Gentrification"; course topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.4
  • Real estate agents frighten homeowners into selling cheaply by saying that minorities are moving in, then resell the houses at inflated prices. What is this practice called? Wikipedia, "Blockbusting"; course topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.1
  • What does urban renewal typically involve? Wikipedia, "Urban renewal"; course topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.4
  • What is a cost of gentrification? Wikipedia, "Gentrification"; course topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.4
  • What is the aim of inclusionary zoning? Wikipedia, "Inclusionary zoning"; course topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.3
  • What marks a squatter settlement, or shanty town, at least at first? Wikipedia, "Shanty town"; course topic 6.10, essential knowledge SPS-6.A.2

Topic 6.11: Challenges of urban sustainability 5

  • A report works out the quantity of nature it takes to support the people of a city and their economy. Which measure is this? Wikipedia, "Ecological footprint"; course topic 6.11, essential knowledge SPS-6.B.1
  • What does an urban growth boundary do? Wikipedia, "Urban growth boundary"; course topic 6.11, essential knowledge SPS-6.B.2
  • What is a brownfield? Wikipedia, "Brownfield land"; course topic 6.11, essential knowledge SPS-6.B.2
  • Which is a cost of suburban sprawl? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 12.4, "Urban Patterns"; course topic 6.11, essential knowledge SPS-6.B.1
  • Which is a response to the challenges of urban sustainability in the course framework? College Board, AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, topic 6.11, essential knowledge SPS-6.B.2

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 6 (Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes) of the College Board's AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, effective fall 2020, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-human-geography-course-and-exam-description.pdf, read 2026-10-14: topics 6.1 to 6.11. Each fact was read on 2026-10-14 in the page named under its question: an essential knowledge statement of the course description, a Wikipedia article or a section of an open college textbook of human geography (Dorrell and Henderson, University of North Georgia Press). Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.

How it works

This AP Human Geo Unit 6 practice test has 60 multiple-choice questions of our own on Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes. It is unofficial and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board, the owner of AP.

Read the full guide

What Unit 6 covers

The College Board's course description, effective fall 2020 and read October 14, 2026, lists eleven topics, each with a set here: origins of urbanization (4 questions), cities across the world (5), cities and globalization (3), size and distribution of cities (9), internal structure (10), density and land use (3), infrastructure (2), urban sustainability (7), urban data (3), challenges of urban changes (9) and challenges of urban sustainability (5). No topic is weighted, so the counts are ours.

What is missing

The galactic city model, the Latin American, Southeast Asian and African city models, the size of a metacity and disamenity zones have no question yet: no public source for them could be named. Learn those from your class notes.

  • Date the three classic models: Burgess rings in 1925, Hoyt sectors in 1939, Harris and Ullman multiple nuclei in 1945.
  • Threshold counts customers and range measures distance. Everyday goods have a low threshold and a short range.
  • Keep redlining (lenders refuse service) apart from blockbusting (agents scare owners into selling cheaply).

Questions and answers

What is Unit 6 in AP Human Geography?

Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes: why cities grow where they do, how they are ranked and spaced, how land is used inside them, and the challenges of housing, infrastructure and sustainability.

Is Unit 6 of AP Human Geography industrialization and development?

Not in the current course description. Unit 6 is cities and urban land use. Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes is Unit 7, so a guide to industrialization and development belongs to that unit.

What should an APHG Unit 6 study guide cover?

An AP Human Geography Unit 6 study guide needs site and situation, megacities, edge cities and boomburbs, world cities, the rank-size rule, primate cities, central place theory, the three classic city models, bid-rent, smart growth, redlining, gentrification and brownfields.

How much of the AP Human Geography exam is Unit 6?

12 to 17% of the multiple-choice section, by the College Board's course page. The course description allows about 19 to 20 class periods for the unit.

Is this the real AP Human Geography Unit 6 test?

No. The College Board's Progress Check for Unit 6 is assigned by teachers in AP Classroom. These questions are our own, each tied to a topic of the published outline and to a named public source.

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