AP Human Geography
Unit 3 FRQ (Pop Culture Terms) with Feedback
12 min read•july 11, 2024
Harrison Burnside
Harrison Burnside
AP Human Geography Free Response Question on Pop Culture Terms
This was the 2018 AP Human Geography FRQ. Use exam-like conditions. Time yourself at 15 minutes for this prompt since there is one stimulus.
Click here to review the AP rubric. (Question 3 starts on Page 6)
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Sample Answers and Feedback
Student Sample 1
(A) One mean is social media since this spreads information all around the world in a fast manner and the other mean is through a chain of people who constantly say it and the other person gets it attached on so this is how the word spreads around.
(B)
- These terms spread by relocation diffusion since in the 1940s the colonialism period was happening so people from Europe through voyages spread the word in the same continent to others and in other continents such in America and overall due to transportation these popular culture words are spread in a relocation manner.
- These terms diffused in a contagious way since people say it around their circle a lot and the term can be easily caught and used by another person from that same group on another social group.
- These terms diffused in a hierarchical way since if a worldwide known person uses it today in his/her social media, his/her fans will most likely use it and spread it to other people.
(C) One barrier may be the age group using the popular word since if this word is used by a young generation, the older generations will not understand it and will not use it and the other barrier is a religious barrier since this term might be offensive towards the religion and this wouldn’t be used in one of the adherents vocabulary.
Intern Feedback:
A) Identified One Correct Means Only, but the second one is NOT a SPECIFIC means for GLOBAL diffusion (it’s too general for the ap rubric page 6) 0/1 pts; this was an all or nothing question B) 1st: The idea is fine but the explanation and reasoning does not make sense America was colonized by Europe up until 1700s so not good reasoning for the exam 2nd: Reason and Explanation are good. 3rd: Good reason and explanation. 3/3 pts but I would have liked to see another sentence attached to each reason. Also, I like historically correct facts and data. C) Good First and Second Reasons 2/2 pts but I would have again like to see more sentences
TOTAL) 5/6 pts
Student Sample 2
(A) One way in which expressions such as these diffuse is through movies and television. The use of these terms in movies and TV shows influences many people to use them and share them with friends and family. Another way that terms like these diffuse around the world is through social media platforms. In this day and age, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can spread an expression or trend with unbelievable speed. In fact, the primary reason the term “selfie” diffused was because of people posting “selfies” on their social media.
(B) Relocation diffusion is when one migrates and takes an expression, idea, or piece of their culture from their place of origin to their new destination. This can result in the spread of popular culture. For example, if an important or famous person were to visit a new place and use a term like “groovy”, it is highly likely that the people there who idolize or are influenced by that person will use that term. Contagious diffusion can result in the diffusion of popular terms as well. Contagious diffusion is the form of diffusion when something diffuses from one person to the next much like a contagious disease. This is especially prevalent in social media and the Internet. When a trend “goes viral” and is shared across the world, it is shared from one person to the next. Hierarchical diffusion can play a large role in the diffusion of popular culture when a person of high importance or influence uses an expression or creates a trend and his/her “followers” start using that expression or following that trend.
(C) In some cases, countries may prevent certain expressions or forms of popular culture from diffusing. For example, in China, the government censors certain parts of the internet. This could create barrier in the diffusion a expression. Another barrier that could prevent the diffusion of certain terms is age. Many times, elderly people are less accepting of new trends or phrase, and they prefer to stick to their own ways of speaking and carrying out their life. When a trend forms amongst a younger generation, older people may not want to accept it, and this age gap could be a barrier to diffusion.
Intern Feedback:
A) Identified Two Correct Means! 1/1 pts ; this was an all or nothing question B) 1st : Good Reason and good explanation 2nd : Reason and Explanation are good. 3rd : Good reason and explanation. 3/3 pts C) Good First and Second Reasons 2/2 pts and again I loved the length of your responses!!
TOTAL) 6/6 pts
Student Sample 3
(A) New popular expressions can be diffused via hierarchical diffusion, if a celebrity says a word often, others may copy the celebrity. They can also be diffused via contagious diffusion, a term can continuously become popular and spread over a wide area, from place to place.
(B)
- Popular terms can diffuse through relocation diffusion. Someone from an urbanized US state could internally migrate to a rural US state, and spread any “lingo” that was popularly used in the urbanized area.
- Contagious diffusion can spatially spread popular terms. As terms start in urban areas they can keep continually moving outward and make an impact on more areas.
- Hierarchical diffusion can diffuse popular terms from the core to the periphery. A higher power in society (i.e. celebrity) could say/use a term, and others would also say it, hoping to be like the celebrity.
(C) One barrier of diffusion includes an environmental barrier. If an area is completely isolated by mountains or oceans, it may not encounter any of the popularly diffused terms. Individuals cannot travel to the area, and, if rural, the area may not have good technological communications, in further limiting interaction. Another barrier that can be faced is a communist/governmental barrier. The governmental system in an area may not allow popular media/technology diffuse into an area. They have regulations on what can and cannot enter a country/state.
Intern Feedback:
A) Identified Two Correct Ideas but didn’t give the specific means for diffusion 0/1 pts ; this was an all or nothing question B) 1st : Good Reason and good explanation 2nd : Reason and Explanation are good. 3rd : Good reason and explanation. 3/3 pts C) Good First and Second Reasons 2/2 pts and again I loved the length of your responses!!
TOTAL) 5/6 pts not bad! just make sure when it says “specific” in part A you back it up with ideas (social media, phones, Netflix, etc.) like you did in parts B & C
Student Sample 4
(A) The first way by which new expressions in popular culture are diffused globally is by hierarchical diffusion, which could have happened by a celebrity starting to use a new word and people catching on from that person saying that. A second way by which new expressions in popular culture are diffused is by contagious diffusion. A word could be made popular by a popular YouTube video, or through conversations between people.
(B)
- Relocation diffusion can happen when someone who lives in one place moves to another, therefore spreading their ideas, language, etc. For example, if someone who lived in the South says the word y’all in their daily vernacular, then they moved up North, then people around them may start saying y’all also.
- Contagious diffusion can happen when something gains popularity and is spread throughout a group of people. For example, if someone started saying the word Selfie and it gained popularity, then it would be spread rapidly and a lot of people would start saying it.
- Hierarchical diffusion happens when a celebrity or popular figure starts doing or saying something. For example, if the word rad was said on the Ellen Show, it would be likely that people would start saying the word rad.
(C) A barrier to diffusion that could be encountered even as new terms become more popular is language. It could prevent the spread of something such as a new word, or another version of that popular word could be created for that different language. Another barrier to diffusion could simply be the physical barriers separating places that could prevent the spread of something new and popular from spreading. Other barriers could be religious barriers, where people have different beliefs from each other and a word could be seen as not appropriate for a certain group to use, which would create a stigma around that word, and it would therefore not be used as much.
Intern Feedback:
A) Identified Two Correct Means! 1/1 pts ; this was an all or nothing question B) 1st : Good Reason and good explanation 2nd : Reason and Explanation are good. 3rd : Good reason and explanation. 3/3 pts C) Good First and Second Reasons 2/2 pts and again I loved the length of your responses!!
TOTAL) 6/6 pts
Student Sample 5
(A) Two specific means by which new expressions in popular culture are diffused globally is through social media and through person-to-person interaction as people travel.
(B)
- Terms diffuse spatially through relocation diffusion as people migrate and take their phrases and culture with them. A phrase popular in one area is spread when someone from that area moves to another area. They introduce their phrase, and the people around them start using it too.
- Terms diffuse spatially through contagious diffusion through social media and the internet. Hashtags with new terms become popular and become used by people globally.
- Terms diffuse spatially through hierarchical diffusion when countries with cultural influence, such as the U.S, use new terms. As culture becomes more westernized through globalization, other countries pick up the new terms. Terms can also diffuse by hierarchical diffusion when celebrities that are known globally start using a new term. Celebrities may have followers from many different places around the world, and therefore influence people around the globe.
(C) One barrier to diffusion even as new terms become popular often encountered is government control. Some governments limit western shows and media on TV channels to block their citizens from being influenced by western culture. Another barrier to diffusion is lack of access to technology. Distribution and access to technology is not equal everywhere, and since this is a primary way of diffusing new words, this is a major barrier to diffusion.
Intern Feedback:
A) Identified Two Correct Means! 1/1 pts ; this was an all or nothing question B) 1st : Good Reason and good explanation 2nd : Reason and Explanation are good. 3rd : Good reason and explanation. 3/3 pts C) Good First and Second Reasons 2/2 pts Liked the lack of technology example since it is very relevant in the society of the 21st century but it’s also very relevant during the COVID pandemic!!
TOTAL) 6/6 pts KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!
Student Sample 6
(A) New expressions can be spread through social media like instagram, twitter, etc. and television.
(B)
- Relocation diffusion is the spread of something through physical bodily movement. A word like ‘rad’ can diffuse through relocation diffusion if let’s say from example, the word was used very widely in another country.The person who commonly uses that word, physically goes to another country and still frequently uses the term. This term can be spread through relocation diffusion through these chain of events. The original word’s speaker says the word to someone, that person says it to another person, and so on.
- Hierarchical diffusion in a way also has a connection with contagious diffusion, which is the rapid spread of something. Let’s say for example, a popular celebrity uses the term ‘groovy’ when posting something on twitter. People see the new term and then the term becomes rapidly spread and used by many.
- Most times terms like those that are shown above are spread through hierarchical diffusion which is diffusion of something from one key person. Lets take for example, a well known celebrity like Billie Ellish dyes her hair. She posts a picture of her newly dyed hair on social media, and when people see how good it looks on her, on other people start to do the same.
(C) One barrier that diffusion is often encountered is location. If someone farther away from where the term is used, it would be harder to use it. If a person is not near the node where the tem is used it would be harder to use because the people not near the node do not understand what the term means. Another barrier that a term faces is becoming old. When a term is first originally spread, it is very widely used, but as time goes by, it is used less and less because it is not current nor used widley any longer.
Intern feedback:
A) Identified Two Correct Means! 1/1 pts B) 1st : Good Reason and good explanation 2nd : Good Reason and good explanation 3rd : Good reason and good explanation (Love this example, it’s so relatable to modern-day, great job!) 3/3 pts C) Good Reasons 2/2 pts Liked the location as a barrier! Also, instead of “becoming old” you might want to say “the degradation of a term” or something along those lines!
TOTAL) 6/6 pts Great job! Woo hoo!
Student Sample 7
(A) Popular culture can be diffused in multiple ways, but one way we see in our everyday life is through social media. Social media allows users from all over the world to see and contribute to trends which can then be forwarded around to be seen by others. Another way we see the diffusion of pop culture is through hierarchical diffusion in which someone of higher descent or famous origin endorses the trend or topic.
(B) Relocation diffusion is a way of how pop culture can spread. Someone who comes from the origin of the trend or piece of culture, will take this with them, which shows others in new areas of this piece of culture. Contagious diffusion is another way in which pop culture ideas can be placed around the world through something like the internet. For instance, a selfie can be taken and placed on social media platforms which can encourage other users to participate. Hierarchical diffusion is spreading pop culture through the use of the influence of higher figures such as celebrities. Celebrities endorsing such trends or cultures can make other fans want to participate and continue to spread the idea to others.
(C) One barrier to diffusion of pop culture could be access to internet or media. Often pop culture is spread through ideas that are posted online and if a community is unable to see such things, then they will not be exposed to it. Another barrier to diffusion of pop culture is language. If some users do not speak the language of the idea being spread, they will have trouble understanding and adapting it to their own culture.
Intern Feedback:
A) Identified Two Correct Means! 1/1 pts B) 1st : Good Reason and good explanation 2nd : Good Reason and good explanation 3rd : Good reason and explanation. 3/3 pts C) Good Reasons 2/2 pts Liked the language as a barrier - as it is really important!
TOTAL) 6/6 pts Great job! Keep up the good work!
Student Sample 8
(A)Two specific means that assist global diffusion would be resources like the internet and social media services.
(B) Relocation diffusion is the spread of an idea from one place to another through migration to a new area. If a person from thee North moved to the South, they could bring Northern phrases to the region they moved too. Contagious diffusion is the diffusion of an idea or disease that spreads from one person to another. This could be a viral video on social media that can reach many people as more people are able to understand it. Hierarchical diffusion is. the diffusion of an idea from a person with authority or influence to their followers or fans.
(C) Linguistic and Political borders can serve as borders for these new phrases. Some governments, like the North Korean one, prohibit usage of the internet to their citizens. This means that North Koreans aren’t exposed to these phrases. Lingustic barriers are a diminishing problem. More people are able to understand new languages and are able to translate phrases like these.
Intern Feedback:
A) Identified Two Correct Means! 1/1 pts B) 1st : Good Reason and good explanation 2nd : Good Reason and good explanation 3rd : Good reason and explanation. 3/3 pts C) Good Reason (Linguistic) 1/2 pts I feel as if you could define the political borders a little more on your response. I was kind of on the edge for that reason!
TOTAL) 5/6 pts Great job! Keep trying, and you’ll get it!