2017 AP European History Free-Response Questions - Section I, Part B

Sep 20, 2026

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2017 AP European History Free-Response Questions for Section I, Part B present four short-answer prompts requiring complete-sentence responses. Students address European family life continuity and change from 1700 to 1900, analyze causes and effects related to the geographic spread and cultural impact of printing centers between 1452 and 1789, and support and evaluate historians’ claims about welfare states and twentieth-century political-economic conditions from 1960 to 2000. The final prompt connects a Kepler passage to traditional versus challenged cosmological views and requires one additional Scientific Revolution discovery and its impact on traditional understandings of nature.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Section I, Part B

Directions and response requirements

Question 1: European family life (1700-1900)

Question 2: Printing centers (1452-1789)

Question 3: Welfare states evidence and analysis (1960-2000)

Question 4: Kepler passage and cosmology; Scientific Revolution discovery

2017 AP European History Free-Response Questions © 2017 The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. Visit [the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org](the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org). [AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org](AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org). 2017 AP® EUROPEAN HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS EUROPEAN HISTORY SECTION I, Part B Time—50 minutes 4 Questions Directions: Read each question carefully and write your response in the Section I, Part B: Short-Answer Response booklet. You must write your response to each question on the lined page designated for that response. Each response is expected to fit within its designated page. Answer all parts of every question. Use complete sentences; an outline or bulleted list alone is not acceptable. You may plan your answers in this exam booklet, but no credit will be given for notes written in this booklet. Sources have been edited for the purposes of this exercise. 1. a) Identify and explain ONE continuity in European family life from 1700 through 1900. b) Identify and explain ONE change in European family life from 1700 through 1900. c) Identify and explain a SECOND distinct change in European family life from 1700 through 1900. © 2017 The College Board. Visit [the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org](the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org). -2- GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. 2017 AP® EUROPEAN HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Use the map below to answer all parts of the question that follows. Each dot represents a city that produced at least 50 different books or book editions during the period 1452–1500. 2. a) For the period 1452–1500, identify and explain ONE cause that contributed to the geographical distribution of printing centers in Europe shown on the map. b) For the period 1500–1550, identify and explain ONE short-term cultural or political effect of the emergence of printing centers such as the ones shown on the map. c) For the period 1550–1789, identify and explain ONE long-term effect of the spread of printing on European society. © 2017 The College Board. Visit [the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org](the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org). -3- GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. 2017 AP® EUROPEAN HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows. “The welfare state, in short, was born of a cross-party twentieth-century consensus. . . . Moreover, and here the memory of war once again played an important role, the twentieth-century ‘socialist’ welfare states were constructed not as an advance guard of egalitarian revolution but to provide a barrier against the return of the past: against economic depression and its polarizing, violent political outcome in the desperate politics of Fascism and Communism alike. The welfare states were thus prophylactic [preventive] . . . . Thanks to a half century of prosperity and safety, we in the West have forgotten the political and social traumas of mass insecurity. And thus we have forgotten why we have inherited those welfare states and what brought them about.” Tony Judt, British historian, Reappraisals: Reﬂections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century, 2008 3. a) Provide ONE piece of evidence that would support Judt’s argument regarding the creation of welfare states. b) Provide ONE piece of evidence that would support Judt’s characterization of political and economic conditions in the period 1960 to 2000. c) Briefly analyze ONE way in which Judt’s argument is a response to the political and intellectual trends in late-twentieth-century Europe. © 2017 The College Board. Visit [the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org](the College Board on

FAQs

What are the response requirements for Section I, Part B?

Each response must be written in complete sentences within the designated lined space, and all parts of every question must be answered. Notes written in the exam booklet receive no credit.

How do Question 1 parts a–c differ?

Part a asks for one continuity in European family life from 1700 to 1900, while parts b and c ask for changes. Part c requires a second distinct change.

What does Question 4 require regarding the Scientific Revolution?

Students must analyze how the passage reflects traditional views and challenges them, then choose one Scientific Revolution discovery not explicitly mentioned in the passage and explain how it challenged traditional views of nature.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Terk