Tips for the AP Human Geography Exam

With the 2025 AP Human Geography exam fast approaching, now is the time to start prepping! There are only a few months left, so organizing your study materials and establishing a study plan is crucial to earning a top score. We sat down with expert tutor Sarah Newport to learn more about what it takes to earn a 5 on the AP Human Geography Exam. Test Day: Tuesday, May 6th, 2025Time: 8 a.m. local time

Exam Format and Content

The AP Human Geography exam is divided into two sections, each designed to assess your understanding of geographic concepts and their application to real-world scenarios.Section I: Multiple Choice

• Number of Questions: 60
• Duration: 1 hour
• Percentage of Total Score: 50%

The multiple-choice section includes questions that feature maps, graphs, images, infographics, landscapes, charts, and tables. These questions are evenly divided between quantitative and qualitative sources, but you’ll need to be able to analyze these sources and apply your knowledge of various geography concepts. Section II: Free Response

• Number of Questions: 3 
• Duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes 
• Percentage of Total Score: 50%

The free-response section requires you to apply your knowledge in more depth. Each question presents authentic geographic scenarios and judges your ability to describe, explain, and analyze geographic concepts, processes, or models as they analyze geographic patterns, relationships, and outcomes in applied contexts. Questions may include maps, images, or data.There is also at least one free-response question that assesses a student’s ability to analyze across geographic scales to explain spatial relationships. The Exam is Based on Seven Key Units of Study:Unit 1: Thinking Geographically 8-10%Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes 12-17%Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes 12-17%Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes 12-17%Unit 5: Agricultural and Rural Land Use Patterns and Processes 12-17%Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land Use Patterns and Processes 12-17%Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes 12-17%

Tips for Preparing for the 2025 AP Human Geography Exam

1. Start Studying 6 Weeks in AdvanceOne common issue students face when studying for any AP exam is not budgeting enough time to prepare. To ensure you have enough time to review every unit, we recommend that you start preparing at least six weeks in advance. Break up the content into manageable chunks rather than trying to cram it all in the last week.  Below, we suggest how to cover the material in six weeks. You’ll notice that we’ve recommended that you address the first two units of the AP Human Geography Exam in the first week. Why? Units 1 and 2 are both focused on vocabulary and foundational concepts. Most students can easily cover these units in the first week of studying; however, everyone is different! Feel free to devote one week to each unit, but we recommend starting 7 weeks before the exam if that sounds like you!Here is how you might structure your 6-week study plan…Week 1: Unit 1  & Unit 2: (Thinking Geographically) & (Population and Migration Patterns and Processes)Week 2: Unit 3 Cultural Patterns and ProcessesWeek 3: Unit 4 Political Patterns and ProcessesWeek 4: Unit 5 Agricultural and Rural Land Use Patterns and ProcessesWeek 5: Unit 6 Cities and Urban Land Use Patterns and ProcessesWeek 6: Unit 7 Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes 2. Practice Actively, Not PassivelyIt’s important to study actively. Simply reading your textbook or passively reviewing your notes without quizzing yourself isn’t enough to reinforce your understanding. You’ll likely just be wasting precious time. Instead, actively quiz yourself as you encounter the terms and models in the text. Turn textbook headings into questions and then answer the questions.  Take the time to practice describing the models out loud, or, if possible, explain the model or concept to a friend or family member. Teaching someone else is a great way for you to learn the material yourself. Use flashcards to test yourself on key terms.  Make sure that for each term or model you learn, you can describe a real life example. Check out more of our blogs on active learning strategies:How to be a More Effective ReaderTime Management Tips for Busy StudentsHow to be a Better Test TakerTest Taking Tips for Peak PerformanceI Can’t Believe That Happened During My Test3. Master Geographic Models and ConceptsOne of the most important aspects of the AP Human Geography exam is your understanding of the geographic models. Several models are central to the course, and you must be able to describe, apply, and analyze them on the exam to get a good score.Here are a few key models to focus on:Population Models: You should be able to explain the demographic transition model and how it illustrates the transition of a country’s population from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates. Understand population pyramids and how they represent population structure. You can view a sample of a Demographic Transition Model here.Urban Models: You should familiarize yourself with the concentric zone model, sector model, and multiple nuclei model. These models describe how urban areas grow and the spatial patterns that emerge in cities. You should be able to describe how these urban areas grow and the spatial patterns that emerge in cities. It’s important that you know how to apply these models to real-world examples.Concentric Zone/Burgess Model available here.Sector Model: Multiple Nuclei Model: Agricultural Models: Make sure you understand von Thünen’s agricultural model and how it explains land use patterns around a city based on transportation costs and agricultural goods.But perhaps most importantly, make sure you’re comfortable applying these models in free-response questions, where you may need to explain their relevance in specific geographic scenarios. It’s not enough to explain these graphs and models; you need to understand how to apply them and communicate them intelligently. 4. Practice Past Free Response QuestionsThe College Board provides past AP Geography free response questions, which you should use to supplement your studying.  Plan to complete at least two free response question sets before the exam, e.g. a full question set from both 2024 and 2023.  But don’t hold yourself back. If you can do an extra question set, that’s great!5. Use Multiple ResourcesSometimes, just using your textbook or class notes isn’t enough– but luckily, we live in the 21st century where there are treasure troves of valuable online resources out there to help you prepare.  If you would like to supplement your textbook reading, consider online resources such as  Heimler’s History, a YouTube series offering AP Human Geography review. These videos break down complex concepts into easy-to-understand segments that can be listened to on the go! We also recommend that students take advantage of the College Board’s official resources, such as the AP Daily videos, specifically designed to help you prepare for the exam. These resources guide you through content and question formats, helping you understand exactly what to expect. This is a great way to make use of your social media time!6. Incorporate Practice Exams into Your RoutineAs exam day inches closer, it’s important to incorporate practice exams into your study routine. This not only helps you get accustomed to the exam’s timing but also helps to reinforce the concepts that you’ve studied, identify room for improvement, and help you test different strategies to see what works best for you.As previously mentioned, the College Board doesn’t provide a complete multiple-choice practice exam, but there are many reliable test prep books that include sample multiple-choice questions. 

Conclusion

The AP Human Geography exam is a challenging test worthy of ample time and preparation. We encourage students interested in doing well on this exam to use active study methods, practice their flashcards, and review the necessary models and graphs regularly, all while taking the time to master the content and gain the necessary confidence to succeed on the exam.But don’t forget– you shouldn’t have to struggle alone! Marks Education offers AP Tutoring packages for AP Human Geography and most other tests! Check out our AP resources page or read the bios of our AP Tutors to learn more about the expert tutors ready to coach you or your student to success on the test. Contact us to schedule a FREE consultation to learn more about how our team can help.