A Mongol ortogh let several merchants pool their resources to send one caravan. Which problem of long-distance trade did that solve?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Merchant Associations Alleviate the Perils of Caravan Trade"; course topic 2.1
Around 900 CE Chinese merchants began to trade receipts issued by deposit shops holding their money or goods. Why?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "From Copper Coins to Paper Notes"; course topic 2.1
Ibn Battuta, crossing from Egypt toward Syria in 1326: "At each of these there was a hostelry which they call a khan, where travellers alight with their beasts." Which feature of the trade routes of Afro-Eurasia is he describing?Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.1
Iron output in Song China reached about 125,000 tons a year in 1078, six times the output of 800. Which change of fuel, largely complete by the end of the 11th century, went with that growth?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "Iron and Steel"; course topic 2.1
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Topic 2.1: The Silk Roads, continued
Kashgar and Samarkand appear in this unit as examples of the same development. Which one?College Board, AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description, topic 2.1, illustrative examples; course topic 2.1
Marco Polo on the notes issued by Khubilai Khan: he "makes them to pass current universally over all his kingdoms and provinces and territories." What is Polo describing?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "From Copper Coins to Paper Notes"; course topic 2.1
Song porcelain shards turn up all over Asia, and some Song kilns could turn out up to 20,000 objects a day. What does this evidence best support?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "Ceramics"; course topic 2.1
Under Mongol rule, stations stocked with food, horses and lodging stood about every 20 miles on the main trade routes. What had they first been set up to do?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "The Status of Merchants: Improved under Mongol Rule"; course topic 2.1
Which goods reached Song China after traveling across the Silk Roads?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "International Trade, Overland"; course topic 2.1
Topic 2.2: The Mongol Empire 11
The Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, writing of the Mongol advance of 1220 to 1221, called it "the greatest catastrophe and the most dire calamity" to befall "all men generally, and the Muslims in particular." What best explains his point of view?Ibn al-Athir, "On the Tatars, 1220-1221 CE", Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.2
How did Mongol rulers differ from the Confucian officials of China in their view of merchants?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Mongols Support Trade, Facilitating East-West Contacts"; course topic 2.2
In 1204 Chinggis Khan had one of his retainers create the first written language for the Mongols. On which script was it based?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Chinggis Khan's Four Great Legacies"; course topic 2.2
In 1258 Hulegu, a brother of Khubilai Khan, occupied Baghdad. Which state did that bring to an end?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "The Collapse of the Empire"; course topic 2.2
Khubilai Khan's expedition landed on Java in 1292 but withdrew within a year. What forced it out?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Beginnings of Mongol Collapse: Military Successes & Failures"; course topic 2.2
Marco Polo reports Khubilai Khan saying of the prophets of the Christians, Saracens, Jews and idolaters: "I do honor and reverence to all four." Which Mongol policy does the remark reflect?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "A Tactic of Religious Tolerance"; course topic 2.2
The Mongol domains had by 1260 split into four parts. Which one ruled Russia?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "The Collapse of the Empire"; course topic 2.2
Mongol rulers brought the Persian astronomer Jamal al-Din to China, where he helped set up an observatory and work out a more accurate calendar. This is an example ofAsia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "The Mongols and Islam"; course topic 2.2
Mongol troops had reached Hungary by 1241 but soon withdrew. Why?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "How a Small Group of Mongols Conquered Such a Vast Domain"; course topic 2.2
Persian art first shows Chinese dragon and phoenix motifs in the Mongol era. What best explains this?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Artistic and Cultural Exchange under Mongol Rule"; course topic 2.2
What does the term Pax Mongolica describe?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Pax Mongolica: The Mongolian Peace"; course topic 2.2
Topic 2.3: Exchange in the Indian Ocean 11
After 1433 the Ming court sent out no more treasure fleets. Which reason does the record support?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, "The Ming Voyages", "The Fateful Decision"; course topic 2.3
The astrolabe measured the altitude of the sun and stars. How did knowledge of it reach medieval Europe?World History Encyclopedia, "Astrolabe"; course topic 2.3
Compared with a caravan on the Silk Roads or across the Sahara, a ship in the Indian OceanWorld History Encyclopedia, "Swahili Coast"; course topic 2.7 (comparison), practiced with topic 2.3
From 1405 to 1433 Zheng He led seven expeditions for the Ming emperor, reaching India, the Persian Gulf and East Africa. What was the main aim?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, "The Ming Voyages"; course topic 2.3
Kilwa, an independent city-state, prospered from the 12th to the 15th century. What was the chief source of its wealth?World History Encyclopedia, "Kilwa"; course topic 2.3
Malacca, founded about 1400, held an international community of some 15,000 traders by the end of the century. What explains its growth?World History Encyclopedia, "Portuguese Malacca", "Geography & Early History"; course topic 2.3
Ming porcelain and pottery from Muslim states were among the goods that Swahili towns imported. What is this best evidence of?World History Encyclopedia, "Swahili Coast"; course topic 2.3
Song shipbuilders fitted watertight bulkheads and stern-post rudders. What did the two features do?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "Shipbuilding" and "The Compass"; course topic 2.3
Swahili, the common language of the East African coast, is a Bantu language into which many Arabic terms were mixed. What does the language itself show?World History Encyclopedia, "Swahili Coast"; course topic 2.3
What made long sea voyages between East Africa, Arabia and India practical for sailing ships in this period?World History Encyclopedia, "Swahili Coast"; course topic 2.3
Which aid to navigation, first reported in use at sea in 1119, came out of Song China?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "Shipbuilding" and "The Compass"; course topic 2.3
Topic 2.4: Trans-Saharan trade routes 9
A map made in Spain about 1375, part of the Catalan Atlas, shows Mansa Musa on a throne with a gold crown. What does the map show about the networks of exchange?World History Encyclopedia, "Mansa Musa I"; course topic 2.4
Before crossing the Sahara in 1352, Ibn Battuta bought camels and four months of forage at Sijilmasa and set out with the town's merchants. What does this show about trans-Saharan trade?Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.4
How did the rulers of Mali profit from the trade that crossed the Sahara?World History Encyclopedia, "Mali Empire"; course topic 2.4
Ibn Battuta reports that a load of salt brought eight to ten mithqals at Walata but twenty to thirty, sometimes forty, in the city of Mali farther south. What best explains the difference?Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.4
Ibn Battuta wrote of Mali: "There is complete security in their country. Neither traveller nor inhabitant in it has anything to fear from robbers or men of violence." What would such conditions mean for trade?Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.4
Ibn Battuta, 1352, on Taghaza in the Sahara: "its houses and mosques are built of blocks of salt, roofed with camel skins." Why did caravans stop at so bleak a place?Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.4
In the towns of Mali, Ibn Battuta found that buying and selling "is done with cowry-shells," while salt was cut into pieces and used in the same way. This is evidence thatIbn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.4
Mansa Musa of Mali stopped in Cairo in 1324 on his pilgrimage to Mecca. What followed from the gold he gave away and spent there?World History Encyclopedia, "Mansa Musa I"; course topic 2.4
Which pairing describes the main flow of goods through Timbuktu in the 14th century?World History Encyclopedia, "Timbuktu"; course topic 2.4
Topic 2.5: Cultural consequences of connectivity 9
The Franciscans John of Plano Carpini and William of Rubruck traveled to the Mongol courts between 1245 and 1255. What did their journeys achieve?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Missionaries from Rome: Bridging East and West"; course topic 2.5
Gunpowder weapons were used by both Chinese and Mongol forces in the 13th century. How did the Mongols often come by the technology?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "Gunpowder"; course topic 2.5
How did Islam chiefly reach the rulers of Mali?World History Encyclopedia, "Mali Empire"; course topic 2.5
Ibn Battuta left Tangier in 1325 at the age of twenty-two; the dictation of his travels was finished in 1355. His book is most useful to historians asIbn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.5
In Mali, Ibn Battuta praised the people's "zeal for learning the Koran by heart" and their habit of wearing clean white garments to the Friday service. The passage is evidence ofIbn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. H. A. R. Gibb, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.5
Marco Polo on Kinsay (Hangzhou): "there were in this city twelve guilds of the different crafts," and its people, "since they were conquered by the Great Kaan," use paper-money. The description best illustratesMarco Polo, "The Glories of Kinsay [Hangchow]", Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.5
Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant, spent 1275 to 1291 in China. Which condition made such a journey possible?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Marco Polo" and "Support for Foreign Contact and Exchange"; course topic 2.5
Margery Kempe of Lynn, England, went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1413 and later dictated the story of her life. Why does the course name her beside Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo?World History Encyclopedia, "Margery Kempe"; course topic 2.5
Rabban Sauma, a Nestorian Christian from near Beijing, got to Europe and was received by the pope and the kings of France and England. His journey is a reminder thatAsia for Educators, Columbia University, The Mongols in World History, "Support for Foreign Contact and Exchange"; course topic 2.5
Topic 2.6: Environmental consequences of connectivity 6
Between 30% and 50% of the people in places struck by the Black Death are estimated to have died. What was one result for the farm workers of Europe who survived?World History Encyclopedia, "Black Death"; course topic 2.6
By what route did the Black Death enter Europe in 1347?World History Encyclopedia, "Black Death"; course topic 2.6
Giovanni Boccaccio wrote that the pestilence which reached Florence in 1348 "had had its origin some years before in the East" and "had spread into the West." His account best supports which claim?Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron, Introduction, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University; course topic 2.6
New strains of rice reached Song China from what is now Vietnam. What was the effect?Asia for Educators, Columbia University, China in 1000 CE, "Rice Cultivation"; course topic 2.6
Which of these is an example the course gives of a crop spread by the networks of exchange between 1200 and 1450?College Board, AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description, topic 2.6, illustrative examples; course topic 2.6
Which statement is true of the Silk Roads, the Indian Ocean routes and the trans-Saharan routes alike between 1200 and 1450?College Board, AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description, topic 2.7, key concepts; course topic 2.7 (comparison)
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 2 (Networks of Exchange, c. 1200 to c. 1450) of the College Board's AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description, effective fall 2026, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-world-history-modern-course-and-exam-description.pdf, read 2026-10-09. Each fact was read on 2026-10-09 in the public page named under its question: the Internet History Sourcebooks Project at Fordham University (Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Ibn al-Athir, Boccaccio), Asia for Educators at Columbia University (The Mongols in World History, China in 1000 CE, The Ming Voyages) and the World History Encyclopedia. Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.
How it works
This AP World History Unit 2 practice test has 55 questions of our own on Networks of Exchange, about 1200 to 1450. It is unofficial and is not affiliated with the College Board, which owns AP.
Read the full guide
What Unit 2 covers
The College Board's course description, read October 9, 2026, gives Unit 2 seven topics. Six have a set here: the Silk Roads (9 questions), the Mongol Empire (11), the Indian Ocean (11), the trans-Saharan routes (9), cultural effects (9) and environmental effects (6). The seventh, comparing the networks, is practiced inside those sets. No topic is weighted in the description, so the counts are ours.
Where the answers come from
Each answer names the public page where its fact was read: Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo and Boccaccio at Fordham University, Columbia University's Asia for Educators, or the World History Encyclopedia.
Learn each network by three things: what moved on it, what carried it, and which cities grew rich from it.
The unit closes on comparison. For any fact about one route, ask whether it holds for the other two.
Questions and answers
What is Unit 2 in AP World History?
Networks of Exchange, about 1200 to 1450: the Silk Roads, the Mongol Empire, Indian Ocean and trans-Saharan trade, and what traveled with the goods, from paper money and Islam to new crops and the plague.
Is this an AP World History Period 2 practice test?
It is the Unit 2 test. The course description numbers nine units inside four date ranges. Unit 2 shares the first, about 1200 to 1450, with Unit 1; the second, about 1450 to 1750, is Units 3 and 4, each with a practice test here.
How much of the AP World History exam is Unit 2?
Between 8 and 10%, by the College Board's course page. Units 1, 7, 8 and 9 are weighted the same, and Units 3 to 6 at 12 to 15% each.
Is this the real AP World History Unit 2 test?
No. Teachers assign the College Board's own Progress Check for Unit 2 in AP Classroom; the description puts it at about 15 multiple-choice questions. Every question here was written for this site from the published outline and public sources.