omnivoroushippo

Many people seem to think its pretty easy, if not a joke ap test. my school doesn't offer this course, but is it something i could self-study on my own? I'm pretty good at geography and am currently in world history, but will that help in human geo? To those of you who took/are taking it what is it like? sorry for 3 questions in one post, just curious.

Smile614

I think it's really easy...a lot of it is common sense or stuff we've learned just throughout life or whatever. If doesn't feel like an AP class at all....just a bunch of memorization of terms.

Yeah, that'll be a really easy test to study for. We haven't gotten that far into human geo but it's doesn't cover history that much. It might help a little bit.

Our class is so pointless I'm basically self studying for the AP exam! haha. I just take really good notes but otherwise we don't do anything in class. I review my Barrons prep book and the textbook right before the tests so I'm still learning the information along the way..just on my own.

ansar

I took it in Freshman year and I got a 4.

jaimeastorga2000

It is the easiest of the humanities AP Exams. Just read The World Is Flat, study the AP Barron's book, and watch a lot of FRONTLINE videos. Apart from the memorization of vocabulary words in the Barron's book, you need to learn a few concepts like the Demographic Transition model, the Von Thunen model, etc... these are not just things you memorize, but that you understand why they are. And that's pretty much it. The exam is a joke. You should be able to pass easily. Maybe put some more effort if you want a 4 or a 5.

JSMGH

i dunno about self-studying, but the actual course is incredibly fun. it is great to have a teacher like mine who is aware of social issues and stuff like that.

Obstinate

Just requested The World is Flat at the local library! I'm totally gonna thank you guys if I get a 4 or 5 on the test!

Sligh_Anarchist

All I read was the Barron's book two weeks before the AP exam and got a five. You really do need to understand the models that jaimeastorga2000 wrote about. Those things pop up all the time on the FRQs and you need to understand them to write about them well.

Good luck.

omnivoroushippo

so memorize some terms, read the textbook and your golden? sounds nice. they ask anything about identifying/knowing countries and/or regions?

btw the author of The World is Flat sounds familiar from econ. doesnt he also write economics related books too, lol.

ansar

Well, there's Milton Friedman and then there's Thomas L. Friedman.

jaimeastorga2000

Yes, omnivoroushippo, but never by themselves. They are usually part of larger questions. Like, maybe they will show you an unlabeled map with numbers and ask "which is in the core periphery?" or for a free response question "choose any two regions and..." or stuff like that. You should know the the basic geography any child would know; if you see an outline of Japan, know its Japan, know it is east of China, and south of Korea, etc... You won't need to memorize the names of every country and their capitals, or stuff like that.

World History might be mildly helpful. It will help give context to some things, like the demographic transition (you can identify which phase shifts correspond to which event in history, for example). It might also help you know the origin and spread of major religions. But overall, don't expect it to be some killer advantage.

tan2007

Human Geo is the easiest test I've taken so far for a few reasons:

1) it's the shortest (around a 2-hour time limit, I believe?)
2) questions pretty straightforward
3) free-response questions were about basic concepts (Von Thunen's model and the growing importance of less-known languages on the Internet)

It was a fun class thanks to my teacher, but he didn't prepare us that well for the exam. I would definitely suggest all of the things people have said so far AND to practice real Free-Response Questions from the website. I know you can't really score them yourself, but at least try to get into the writing style they're asking for.

omnivoroushippo

thanks for the help. for the free response should i just address them like ap world questions? good intro/thesis, one or two examples, tie it all together (perhaps show a little insight) in conclusion. or is there some other method to answering those questions i need to follow.

MetalMeatwad

I took it last year as a Freshman and got a 3 on the Exam solely because I had the worst teacher imaginable. Not a single kid in my class of 2 Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors and Seinors got an A, NOT 1!!! She made an easy class insanely hard. She made her own test and made them really hard to pass averages were about 65%, and did a terrible job preparing us for the Exam. I regret not getting a different teacher, or if I waited until this year to take since I would got a better teacher who's been teaching the class for a long time. I would of gotten an A, and maybe even a 5 on the Exam, I feel like I could learn the material better because a lot of the stuff I learbed pertained to World History which I'm taking this year. I think in my class we had 1 5, a lot of 2's and 1's and some 3, and barely any 4's. So I would just say depends on your teacher. If you self study it you'll probably do fine.

lolilaughed

Easiest AP guaranteed.

potentenum

What might be the textbook for human geo?