Section I — Multiple Choice

Section II — Free Response

Section I — Multiple Choice

Section II — Free Response

AP European History — Full Practice Exam

Section I: Multiple-Choice Questions (55 minutes, 55 questions)

Questions 1–15: Period 1 (c. 1450–1648)

1. The Renaissance concept of humanism is best defined as (A) the worship of human beings instead of God
(B) the study of classical texts to understand the human experience and promote civic virtue
(C) the rejection of all religious belief
(D) the scientific study of human anatomy only

2. Which Italian city-state is most closely associated with the patronage of the Medici family? (A) Venice
(B) Milan
(C) Florence
(D) Naples

3. The printing press developed by Johannes Gutenberg was most significant because it (A) was immediately accepted by the Catholic Church
(B) made books affordable and allowed ideas to spread rapidly across Europe
(C) was invented in China and brought to Europe
(D) replaced all handwritten manuscripts within a decade

4. Which of the following was a primary motivation for Portuguese and Spanish exploration? (A) The desire to spread democracy
(B) The search for new trade routes to Asia and access to luxury goods
(C) The need to escape religious persecution
(D) Population pressure on limited farmland

5. Martin Luther's doctrine of sola scriptura held that (A) the Pope was the supreme interpreter of Scripture
(B) Church tradition was equal in authority to the Bible
(C) the Bible was the sole source of religious authority
(D) only the clergy could read the Bible

6. The Council of Trent (1545–1563) responded to the Protestant Reformation by (A) accepting all Protestant demands for reform
(B) reaffirming Catholic doctrine while addressing internal abuses
(C) abolishing the papacy and establishing a council-led church
(D) unifying Protestant and Catholic churches

7. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) resulted in (A) the unification of Germany under a single Protestant ruler
(B) the recognition of Dutch independence and the weakening of the Holy Roman Empire
(C) the establishment of Catholicism as the sole religion of Europe
(D) the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire

8. Which of the following best characterizes the art of the Northern Renaissance compared to the Italian Renaissance? (A) Greater emphasis on classical mythology
(B) More detailed realism and religious piety
(C) Wider use of fresco painting
(D) Focus on mathematical perspective

9. The Columbian Exchange involved the transfer of (A) diplomatic envoys between European courts
(B) silver and gold between European banks
(C) plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old and New Worlds
(D) Protestant ideas between Germany and England

10. The Edict of Nantes (1598) was significant because it (A) expelled all Protestants from France
(B) granted limited religious toleration to French Huguenots
(C) established Catholicism as the only legal religion in France
(D) ended the Thirty Years' War

11. Machiavelli's The Prince is best understood as (A) a defense of medieval Christian political theory
(B) a practical guide to political power that separated politics from morality
(C) a call for democratic government
(D) a religious treatise on the duties of Christian rulers

12. Calvin's doctrine of predestination differed from Luther's theology primarily in its (A) emphasis on faith alone for salvation
(B) assertion that God had eternally chosen the elect and the reprobate
(C) rejection of all sacraments
(D) support for papal authority

13. The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) (A) ended the Hundred Years' War
(B) divided the non-European world between Spain and Portugal
(C) established the Holy Roman Empire
(D) created the Dutch Republic

14. Which of the following contributed most to the Price Revolution of the 16th century? (A) The adoption of paper money
(B) The influx of silver from the Americas
(C) The decline of European agriculture
(D) The rise of mercantilism

15. The Jesuits contributed to the Catholic Reformation by (A) advocating the dissolution of the papacy
(B) serving as educators, missionaries, and defenders of Catholic orthodoxy
(C) translating the Bible into vernacular languages
(D) leading the Protestant movement in Germany

Questions 16–30: Period 2 (c. 1648–1815)

16. The English Bill of Rights (1689) established that (A) the king had absolute authority over Parliament
(B) Parliament controlled taxation and the king could not suspend laws
(C) England should return to Catholicism
(D) the monarchy was abolished permanently

17. Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles served the political purpose of (A) demonstrating the king's humility and piety
(B) weakening the nobility by requiring their presence at court
(C) housing the French parliament
(D) serving as a public museum for the arts

18. Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica (1687) demonstrated that (A) the Earth was the center of the universe
(B) the same mathematical laws governed motion on Earth and in the heavens
(C) light was composed of particles
(D) the atom was the smallest unit of matter

19. John Locke's Second Treatise of Government argued that (A) people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property that government must protect
(B) absolute monarchy is the ideal form of government
(C) the state of nature is a state of war
(D) property should be abolished

20. The Enlightenment's Encyclopédie was significant because it (A) defended Catholic doctrine against Protestantism
(B) compiled and disseminated Enlightenment knowledge while criticizing tradition
(C) was the first book printed in Europe
(D) argued for absolute monarchy

21. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) was most directly influenced by (A) Hobbes's theory of absolute sovereignty
(B) the Enlightenment ideas of Locke and Rousseau
(C) the Catholic Church's social teaching
(D) Metternich's conservative principles

22. Napoleon's Civil Code (1804) (A) established full gender equality
(B) codified legal equality while restricting women's rights
(C) restored feudal obligations
(D) was based entirely on Roman law

23. The Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) was guided by all of the following principles EXCEPT (A) legitimacy
(B) balance of power
(C) popular sovereignty
(D) compensation

24. Which of the following best describes the outcome of the revolutions of 1848? (A) They achieved all their goals of liberal democracy and national unification
(B) They largely failed in the short term but set the stage for future change
(C) They resulted in the immediate unification of Germany and Italy
(D) They were entirely peaceful and had no lasting impact

25. Peter the Great's westernization of Russia included (A) establishing a constitutional monarchy
(B) converting Russia to Protestantism
(C) building St. Petersburg and requiring Western dress and customs
(D) abolishing the Russian Orthodox Church

26. The Scientific Revolution challenged medieval thinking primarily by (A) rejecting all ancient knowledge
(B) demonstrating that the natural world could be understood through reason and observation
(C) proving the existence of God through scientific methods
(D) establishing the Catholic Church as the center of learning

27. Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations (1776) argued that (A) governments should control all economic activity
(B) free-market competition and self-interest create prosperity
(C) mercantilism was the ideal economic system
(D) workers should own the means of production

28. The Reign of Terror (1793–1794) was led by (A) Louis XVI
(B) Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety
(C) Napoleon Bonaparte
(D) Lafayette

29. Baron de Montesquieu's contribution to Enlightenment political thought was the concept of (A) the social contract
(B) the general will
(C) the separation of powers
(D) the invisible hand

30. Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) argued that (A) women were naturally inferior to men
(B) women's apparent inferiority resulted from lack of education, not nature
(C) women should be excluded from all public life
(D) men and women have no natural differences

Questions 31–45: Period 3 (c. 1815–1914)

31. The Industrial Revolution began in Britain primarily due to (A) the absence of any natural resources
(B) a combination of coal, iron, capital, markets, political stability, and innovation
(C) government direction of all industry
(D) the influence of Marxist theory

32. Karl Marx argued in The Communist Manifesto (1848) that (A) capitalism would gradually improve everyone's living standards
(B) history is driven by class struggle and capitalism would be overthrown by the proletariat
(C) the bourgeoisie and proletariat had no fundamental conflict
(D) religion was the solution to social inequality

33. The Chartist movement in Britain demanded (A) the abolition of private property
(B) universal male suffrage and parliamentary reform
(C) the restoration of the monarchy
(D) immediate communist revolution

34. The Factory Acts of the 1830s–1840s in Britain (A) eliminated all child labor immediately
(B) gradually restricted child labor and limited working hours for women and children
(C) had no effect on working conditions
(D) were vetoed by Parliament

35. Which of the following was a major social consequence of industrialization? (A) A return to rural life
(B) Rapid urbanization and the growth of industrial cities
(C) The elimination of all social classes
(D) A decline in total European population

36. Romanticism as a movement was primarily a reaction against (A) the Catholic Church
(B) the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and the Industrial Revolution's mechanization
(C) the Renaissance
(D) feudalism

37. James Watt's improved steam engine (1770s) freed industry from dependence on (A) coal
(B) iron
(C) water power
(D) human labor

38. The Bessemer process (1856) was significant because it (A) made steel production cheap and abundant
(B) ended the need for coal
(C) was developed in the United States
(D) had no impact on European industry

39. Utopian socialists like Robert Owen differed from Marx in that they (A) sought violent revolution
(B) believed in building ideal communities through example
(C) rejected all social reform
(D) supported laissez-faire economics

40. The Reform Act of 1832 in Britain (A) established universal suffrage
(B) expanded the franchise to include the middle class
(C) abolished Parliament
(D) gave women the right to vote

41. The realpolitik of Otto von Bismarck led to (A) the unification of Germany through war and diplomacy
(B) the spread of communism in Germany
(C) the abolition of the German monarchy
(D) the creation of the European Union

42. The Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852) resulted in (A) increased Irish agricultural exports to England
(B) massive death and emigration, and intensified Irish nationalism
(C) the immediate independence of Ireland
(D) no significant consequences

43. Which of the following was a key characteristic of new imperialism in the late 19th century? (A) European powers retreated from overseas territories
(B) European nations scrambled for colonies in Africa and Asia for resources and prestige
(C) Imperialism was based entirely on religious motives
(D) Colonies were granted equal status with the colonizing powers

44. The Second Industrial Revolution (c. 1870–1914) was characterized by (A) the decline of European industry
(B) the rise of new industries: steel, chemicals, electricity, and the internal combustion engine
(C) the return of artisanal production
(D) the end of urbanization

45. The social structure of industrial Europe was increasingly defined by the conflict between (A) clergy and nobility
(B) the industrial middle class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat)
(C) rural peasants and urban merchants
(D) Protestants and Catholics

Questions 46–55: Period 4 (c. 1914–present)

46. The alliance system on the eve of World War I included the (A) Triple Entente and Triple Alliance
(B) NATO and Warsaw Pact
(C) Axis and Allies
(D) Holy Alliance and Quadruple Alliance

47. The Schlieffen Plan called for (A) a naval blockade of Britain
(B) a rapid German invasion of France through Belgium, followed by a turn against Russia
(C) a German defensive strategy along the Rhine
(D) an alliance between Germany and Britain

48. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) (A) was lenient toward Germany
(B) imposed harsh terms on Germany, including war guilt, reparations, and territorial losses
(C) gave Germany additional territory in Europe
(D) established the Warsaw Pact

49. The policy of appeasement in the 1930s referred to (A) Soviet efforts to spread communism
(B) British and French concessions to Hitler to avoid war
(C) American isolationism
(D) Italian expansion in Africa

50. The Holocaust is best described as (A) the general destruction caused by World War II
(B) the systematic genocide of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany
(C) a Soviet policy of mass deportation
(D) an American military strategy

51. The Marshall Plan (1947) was designed to (A) punish Germany after World War II
(B) rebuild Western European economies and contain communism
(C) establish the United Nations
(D) create the Warsaw Pact

52. The fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) symbolized (A) the strengthening of Soviet control over Eastern Europe
(B) the end of Cold War division in Europe
(C) the beginning of World War III
(D) Germany's decision to remain divided

53. The Maastricht Treaty (1992) (A) abolished the European Union
(B) created the European Union and plans for a common currency
(C) established NATO
(D) ended the Cold War

54. Brexit refers to (A) Britain's entry into the EU
(B) Britain's vote to leave the EU in 2016
(C) Britain's adoption of the euro
(D) Britain's withdrawal from NATO

55. The 2015 European migrant crisis was primarily caused by (A) economic prosperity attracting workers
(B) conflict in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq driving refugees to Europe
(C) a deliberate EU population policy
(D) climate change

Section II: Free-Response Questions (2 hours 5 minutes)

Part A: Short-Answer Questions (40 minutes)

SAQ 1 (Units 1–2): Identify ONE way in which the Renaissance challenged medieval thinking. Explain how the printing press contributed to either the Renaissance or the Reformation. Explain ONE way the Catholic Church responded to the Protestant Reformation.

SAQ 2 (Units 3–4): Identify ONE feature of absolutism as practiced by Louis XIV. Explain how the English political system differed from French absolutism by 1689. Explain ONE way Enlightenment ideas influenced political thought.

SAQ 3 (Units 5–6): Identify ONE cause of the French Revolution. Explain how industrialization changed European society in the 19th century. Explain ONE way workers responded to industrialization.

Part B: Document-Based Question (60 minutes)

Evaluate the extent to which the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the rise of fascism in Europe. [Students would receive 7 documents covering perspectives on the treaty, the German economy, and the rise of Hitler.]

Part C: Long Essay Question (40 minutes)

Choose ONE of the following:

• Option 1 (Causation): Evaluate the extent to which the Cold War was caused by ideological differences between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• Option 2 (Comparison): Compare and contrast the political and economic effects of World War I and World War II on Europe.
• Option 3 (Continuity and Change): Analyze continuities and changes in the role of women in European society from c. 1750 to the present.

  Answers and scoring rubrics are in file 07-exam-answers-and-rubrics.md.