AP® European History - 2016 Free-Response Questions - Section I Part B

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

2016 AP® European History free-response questions for Section I, Part B (short answer) focus on applying historical evidence and reasoning to interpret major intellectual and social developments in Europe. The questions require complete-sentence responses explaining how scientific discovery and experimental methods reshaped knowledge in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, contrasting religious views of commerce and prosperity in the Dutch Republic, evaluating evidence for railroads as a turning point in the early 1800s, and using a France employment-sector table (1800–2012) to identify trends and effects on Western European economic and social life.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Section I, Part B

Question 1: Scientific Revolution comparisons and societal effects

Question 2: Views of commerce and prosperity in Dutch sources

Question 3: Evidence for and against railroads as a turning point

Question 4: Employment-sector trends in France (1800–2012) and impacts

AP® European History 2016 Free-Response Questions © 2016 The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks ofthe 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](apcentral.collegeboard.org). 2016 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 responses in the Section I, Part B: Short Answer booklet on the lined pages provided for that question. 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. Only your responses on the designated pages of the Section I, Part B: Short Answer booklet will be scored. Sources have been edited for the purposes of this exercise. Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows. “The best way to assess the depth and scope of the Scientific Revolution is to compare and contrast the science that came into fruition in the seventeenth century with its nearest equivalent in the late Middle Ages. . . . Traditionally, knowledge had been based on faith and insight, on reason and revelation. The new science discarded all of these as ways of understanding nature and set up experience—experiment and critical observation—as the foundation and ultimate test of knowledge. The consequences were as revolutionary as the doctrine itself. For not only did the new method found knowledge on a wholly new basis, but it implied that men and women no longer had to believe what was said by eminent authorities; they could put any statement to the test of controlled experience.” I. Bernard Cohen, historian, Revolution in Science, 1985 1. a) Identify TWO specific examples of scientific discovery that support Cohen’s argument and explain how each one supports his argument. b) Explain ONE way in which the shift in scientific inquiry described by Cohen affected European views of society or politics in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. © 2016 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. 2016 AP® EUROPEAN HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Use the passages below to answer all parts of the question that follows. “When [the Dutch burgher] goes home from Church, does he take God’s Holy Book with him to ponder the sermon? No. Instead he picks up the day’s [business] gazette and busies himself with calculations of interest and the liquidation of debts. It would be better [if] on the Lord’s Day he gave some accounting of himself and, instead of reckoning his profits, reckoned up his sins.” Simonides, minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, Four Books on God’s Judgment, 1655 “So, Amsterdam has risen through the hand of God to the peak of prosperity and greatness. . . . The whole world stands amazed at its riches and from east and west, north and south they come to behold it. The Great and Almighty Lord has raised this city above all others . . . yea He has even taken from them the [commerce] of the east and the west (for in former times Lisbon flourished) and has spilled their treasure into our bosom.” Melchior Fokkens, Dutch historian, Description of the Widely Renowned Merchant City of Amsterdam, 1662 2. a) Describe ONE important difference between the views of commerce and prosperity expressed in the two passages. b) For EACH of the passages, identify and explain ONE factor (such as a historical development, an intellectual or philosophical trend, or a religious belief) that likely informed the view of commerce and prosperit

FAQs

What are the main requirements for Section I, Part B short answers?

Read each question carefully, answer all parts using complete sentences, and ensure only responses written in the designated Section I, Part B pages are scored.

How does Question 1 connect scientific discovery to wider European change?

It asks for examples supporting the claim that experimental observation became the foundation of knowledge, and then requires explaining how that shift influenced European views of society or politics in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

How is the table in Question 4 meant to be used?

The table provides workforce shares by economic sector in France from 1800 to 2012, and the question requires identifying broader trends behind employment changes and one effect of those transformations on Western European economic and social life.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

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