Noah Kim

Blk F

2010 AP Human Geography Free-Response Questions

2. A. 1) In South Korea, after the Korean War, the economy rapidly improved. As a result, more
jobs were created, decreasing the unemployment rate and ultimately improving people’s
quality of life. People were happy, and many of them had confidence in the government in
power and started feeling loyal to the state. These factors led to unity. Also, Korea began to
have more influence internationally as economy improved. This gave Koreans a sense of
national pride which reinforced national identity.
2) Brazil moved its capital from Rio to Brasilia in 1961. This led to rapid development in interior
Brazil where very few people originally lived. This encouraged people living in the overly
crowded Rio to move to Brasilia. This development also led to economic growth, thus
strengthening the state.
B. 1) In Canada, there are people of numerous different ethnicities who often have difference
culture and values. This may make it difficult for the government to make decisions that will
satisfy most of the people. Also, because of the variety of ethnicities in Canada, national
identity is very weak. Many people do not feel loyal to the state. Ethnic tensions may also arise
which will weaken the state.
2) Russia is the largest country in the world, but the transportation system used to be poor.
Poor transportation leads to isolation between different regions of the country because people
cannot easily travel from one part of Russia to another. This can be detrimental to the strength
of the state. Also, the isolation can reduce the sense of unity, leading to the loss of national
identity.
3. A. Country A has a large population of children and people from young age group. It has
much fewer people in the older age group. The pyramid represents Stage 2 of the demographic
transition model. It is in the early expanding stage. This indicates a high birth rate and a high
but falling death rate. This country is a developing country, likely with poor sanitation and a low
literacy rate.
Country B has a similar number of people in each age group. This pyramid represents Stage 4 of
the demographic transition modal. It is in the low stationary stage. This indicates a low birth
rate and a low death rate. This country is a developed country, with good sanitation and high
literacy rate. The abnormally high number of people in the 75+ age group for women indicates
that women statistically live longer than men.
B. Country A has many people in the young age group. Also, there are very few people in the
older age groups. Therefore, there would be a large workforce supporting a small population of
elders. In the future, as the country gets more developed, people will give birth to fewer
children which will shrink the base of the pyramid. Also, death rate would drop, leading to a
increased elderly population.
 Noah Kim
Blk F

Country B has similar number of people in each age group. However, it has much fewer children
than country A. The country therefore has a low youth dependency ratio, meaning that the
workforce has to support a relatively small number of children. If the birth rate keeps dropping,
and live expectancy increases, the older population will increase, leading to a high elder
dependency ratio.
C. Country A has few people in the older age groups and has many people in the young age
group. Therefore, the country has a high youth dependency ratio, meaning that the workforce
has to support a large number of children, possibly causing a burden on an already poor
country. As the country becomes more developed, people will give birth to fewer children and
death rate would drop. Then, the youth dependency ratio will drop.
Country B has similar number of people in each age group. However, it has much more people
in the older age group than Country A. This is because good sanitation and other factors
dropped the death rate. The country therefore has a high elder dependency rate, which means
that the workforce must support a large number of elders. . If the birth rate keeps dropping,
and live expectancy increases, the older population will increase, worsening the dependency
problem.