AP Human Geography : Agriculture, Food Production, & Rural Land Use

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Human Geography

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Agriculture, Food Production, & Rural Land Use

For which of these purposes is a combine used?

Possible Answers:

Protecting crops

Planting crops

Modifying crops

Destroying crops

Harvesting crops

Correct answer:

Harvesting crops

Explanation:

A “combine,” also commonly called a “combine harvester,” is used to harvest crops such as wheat, corn, oats, and barley. Its name is derived from the fact that it “combines” the three steps of harvesting in one machine - reaping, threshing, and winnowing. Combine harvesters are commonly used in the developed world, but remain uncommon in the developing world.

Example Question #11 : Rural Land Use & Settlement Patterns

Which of these animals is most likely to be raised in a “feedlot?”

Possible Answers:

Horses

Chickens

Cows

Sheep

Goats

Correct answer:

Chickens

Explanation:

A “feedlot” is the name given to livestock farming that has been concentrated into a relatively small area. Animals in feedlots are fed hormones to accelerate their growth and are generally kept in extremely close proximity to other animals of their kind. This has numerous benefits for the farmer, but of course raises moral and environmental questions. Chickens are most likely to be raised in feedlots because they can survive without any space and respond dramatically to hormone treatments.

Example Question #2 : Mixed Farming

Which of these statements about intensive farming is false?

Possible Answers:

None of these

It is carried out in relatively densely populated areas

It is common in countries like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands

Land holdings are smaller than in extensive farming

It requires a large amount of labor

Correct answer:

None of these

Explanation:

Intensive farming is distinct from extensive farming. Intensive farming is carried out in relatively densely populated areas, like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It involves smaller land holdings than in extensive farming and requires a relatively large amount of manual labor. Thus none of these answer choices are false.

Example Question #11 : Agriculture, Food Production, & Rural Land Use

What name is given to husks of grain and corn that have been separated from the seed of the plant?

Possible Answers:

Hull

Soft

Fallow

Cleavage

Chaff

Correct answer:

Chaff

Explanation:

“Chaff” is the name given to the thin outer protective casing in which husks of corn, grain, or rice are encased. The process of separating the chaff from the crop that can be consumed is called “winnowing.” Fallow describes land that is left unsown in order to restore its fertility. The hull is the exterior of a fruit or seed. 

Example Question #11 : Settlement Patterns Of Major Agriculture

The process of removing chaff by allowing it to be blown away by the wind is called __________.

Possible Answers:

Winnowing

Mollification

Monoculture

Salinization

Threshing

Correct answer:

Winnowing

Explanation:

The process of removing the chaff from a crop like grain, wheat, or rice by allowing it to be blown away by the wind is called “winnowing.” Mollification refers to the softening of a substance like soil. Threshing involves the separation of grains or seeds from their plant by mechanical means, such as with a threshing machine. Salinization is the process by which solutes accumulate in soil as a result of water evaporation, which leaves the soil unfavorable for agriculture. Monoculture involves the growth of a single crop within a given area.

Example Question #13 : Agriculture, Food Production, & Rural Land Use

In the developed world the majority of commercial grain farming is used to __________.

Possible Answers:

accelerate scientific progress

None of these answers are accurate.

feed livestock

feed the developed world

feed the developing world

Correct answer:

feed livestock

Explanation:

In the developed world, particularly in Western Europe, the majority of commercial grain farming is used to feed livestock. This is because it is more profitable to raise meat products than it is to grow grain; so grain is grown and fed to livestock, which is in turn culled and sold on the market.

Example Question #1 : Monoculture

Which of the following is an example of a monoculture?

Possible Answers:

Biotech giant Monsanto grows one variety of corn over thousands of acres.

An organic farm must pick the crops by hand, because they grow many different species together.

A fruit orchard contains apple, pear, and orange trees.

A single coastal redwood tree has over fifty species of plants and fungi growing on it.

Correct answer:

Biotech giant Monsanto grows one variety of corn over thousands of acres.

Explanation:

Monoculture refers to the practice of growing one species or variety of plant within a given area. The prefix "mono" means "one."

Eliminate options about the orchard, the redwood, and the organic farm. All you have left is Monsanto.

Example Question #1 : Monoculture

What term is given to the deliberate cultivation of only one crop in a large land area?

Possible Answers:

Aquaculture

Agribusiness

Monoculture

Husbandry

Pastoralism

Correct answer:

Monoculture

Explanation:

The term “monoculture” is used to describe the deliberate cultivation of only one single crop in a large land area. Monoculture has increased in practice in recent years as it allows for easier mechanized harvesting and more efficient large-scale farming.

Example Question #12 : Settlement Patterns Of Major Agriculture

Which of these terms best matches the following description: An agricultural process that involves nomadic animal husbandry?

Possible Answers:

Pastoralism

Biotechnology

Crop rotation

Livestock ranching

Domestication

Correct answer:

Pastoralism

Explanation:

“Pastoralism” is used to describe a certain type of animal husbandry. It generally involves a nomadic lifestyle, where the people move with their flocks to take advantage of seasonal changes, favorable climates, and so on. It has been practiced extensively throughout human history, but in the modern age is primarily practiced in sparsely populated parts of the world where more common agriculture is unsustainable.

Example Question #13 : Settlement Patterns Of Major Agriculture

Which of the following options best exemplifies pastoralism?

Possible Answers:

A small, organic farm grows corn, soybeans and squash together in rows.

A tribe in Brazil gets most of its subsistence by fishing, hunting and gathering.

A large farm grows a couple of profitable crops.

A group of nomadic shepherds tends flocks of goats and sheep in Eastern Africa.

Correct answer:

A group of nomadic shepherds tends flocks of goats and sheep in Eastern Africa.

Explanation:

Pastoralism refers to a strategy involving herding and tending to flocks of animals. It is often, but not always associated with a nomadic lifestyle.

The option referring to tending flocks of goats and sheep best exemplifies this idea.

Option: A tribe in Brazil gets most of its subsistence by fishing, hunting and gathering. Sounds more like subsistence. No mention of herding.

Option: A large farm grows a couple of profitable crops. Sounds more like plantation or cash cropping, but no mention of herding.

Option: A small, organic farm grows corn, soybeans and squash together in rows. Sounds more like mixed farming,  no herding.

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