AP AP Environmental History & Human-Nature Interactions 3

Question 1

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s in the United States was primarily caused by:

Accepted Answer

Decades of deep plowing that destroyed drought-resistant prairie grasses, combined with severe drought

Answer

Settlers had plowed under the deep-rooted native grasses that held soil in place; when drought hit, topsoil with no root structure blew away in massive dust storms.

Question 2

The British colonization of Australia is associated with which environmental concept?

Accepted Answer

Ecological imperialism—introduced sheep, rabbits, and weeds transformed Australian ecosystems

Answer

European settlers introduced sheep, rabbits, foxes, and invasive plants that devastated native Australian species and transformed grassland and forest ecosystems.

Question 3

In AP World History, the deforestation of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is often cited as an example of:

Accepted Answer

Environmental collapse caused by overexploitation of resources, contributing to societal decline

Answer

Easter Islanders gradually cleared all forest cover, leading to soil erosion, food shortages, and societal collapse—a cautionary tale of resource overexploitation.

Question 4

The construction of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt (completed 1970) illustrates which trade-off in development history?

Accepted Answer

How large infrastructure projects generate electricity and irrigation but displace people, alter river ecology, and reduce downstream soil fertility

Answer

The Aswan Dam provided power and irrigation but blocked the Nile's annual flood that had deposited nutrients, displaced 100,000 Nubians, and disrupted Mediterranean fisheries.

Question 5

Which event is considered the beginning of the modern environmental movement in the United States?

Accepted Answer

Rachel Carson's publication of Silent Spring in 1962

Answer

Carson's Silent Spring documented how DDT and other pesticides were devastating bird populations and ecosystems, galvanizing public environmental consciousness and leading to the EPA.

AP Practice Test

AP Practice Test

AP AP Environmental History & Human-Nature Interactions 3