Aim for FiveHuman Geography

Two-stimulus question

A global chain goes local

  • Units 3, 6 and 7
  • 7 points
  • About 25 minutes

Seven short parts (A–G) built around two sources (data, images and/or maps), drawing on ideas from at least two units. You read each source, compare or connect them, and explain them with course ideas, often across different scales. On the exam: Question 3 of 3 in the 1-hour-15-minute free-response section (Section II). The three questions together are 50% of your exam score, so each is worth about 16.7%; 7 points, one for each part A–G. College Board suggests about 25 minutes per question, including up to 5 minutes to plan. No calculator.

The question and its sources

Chain X is a fast-food company headquartered in the United States. Use the two sources below to answer all seven parts, (a) through (g). Write in complete sentences.

Source 1: Restaurants operated by Chain X, by world region, 2005 and 2025

RegionRestaurants, 2005Restaurants, 2025
North America14,20015,100
Europe6,3008,900
Asia and the Pacific3,90013,600
Latin America1,7003,200
Middle East and Africa6002,700

Source: Hypothetical data

Source 2: A Chain X restaurant in India (photograph described in words)

The photograph shows a Chain X restaurant on the ground floor of a modern shopping mall in a large city in India.

The menu board, written in English and Hindi, advertises a potato-and-pea burger, a paneer (cheese) burger and several chicken burgers. No beef or pork items are listed.

A sign beside the counter explains that the kitchen prepares vegetarian and non-vegetarian food in separate areas.

Source: Hypothetical scene, described in words

Suggested time: 25 minutes

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Part (a)

1 point

Using Source 1, identify the region with the largest increase in the number of Chain X restaurants between 2005 and 2025.

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Part (b)

1 point

Explain ONE reason a global fast-food chain might expand rapidly in the region identified in part (a).

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (c)

1 point

Using Source 2, identify the type of diffusion shown and explain how the source illustrates it.

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Part (d)

1 point

Explain how Chain X's expansion within a country could follow the urban hierarchy.

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Part (e)

1 point

Explain how the spread of global chains such as Chain X can contribute to cultural convergence.

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Part (f)

1 point

Explain ONE way a local group might respond to global fast-food chains with cultural divergence.

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Part (g)

1 point

Using BOTH sources, explain how Chain X's growth shows that globalization involves interaction between global and local scales.

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