AP Exam Prep · AP World History: Modern
AP World History Unit 8 Practice Test: Cold War and Decolonization
Unit 8 covers the decades after 1945, when the United States and the Soviet Union competed for global influence and dozens of colonies in Asia and Africa won independence. You need to explain the causes and effects of the Cold War, how independence was won, and the challenges new states faced.
- Exam weighting:
- 8–10%
- Questions:
- 16 multiple choice
- Time:
- about 16 minutes
- Cost:
- Free, no sign-up
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What AP World History Unit 8 covers
Unit 8, Cold War and Decolonization, makes up 8–10% of the multiple-choice section and usually takes ~14–17 class periods. These are the topics in the current course framework, and every question in the test above is tagged with one of them.
- 8.1Setting the Stage for the Cold War and Decolonization
- 8.2The Cold War
- 8.3Effects of the Cold War
- 8.4Spread of Communism After 1900
- 8.5Decolonization After 1900
- 8.6Newly Independent States
- 8.7Global Resistance to Established Order After 1900
- 8.8End of the Cold War
- 8.9Causation in the Age of the Cold War and Decolonization
Unit 8 key ideas
Two superpowers competed
The United States and the Soviet Union competed through alliances (NATO and the Warsaw Pact), an arms race, the space race and proxy wars in Korea, Vietnam and Angola, without fighting each other directly.
Communism spread and changed
Communist revolutions succeeded in China in 1949, Vietnam and Cuba. Mao's Great Leap Forward caused a devastating famine, and land reform movements reshaped rural life.
Colonies won independence in different ways
India won independence through mostly nonviolent mass movements led by Gandhi, while Algeria and Kenya fought armed struggles. Partition of India and Pakistan caused mass migration and violence.
New states and the end of the Cold War
Many new states joined the Non-Aligned Movement. Some governments, such as Nasser's Egypt, took control of key industries. The Cold War ended after Soviet economic weakness, Gorbachev's reforms and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.
Common Unit 8 mistakes
- Calling the Cold War a direct war between the superpowers; it was fought through proxy wars, alliances and an arms race.
- Saying all decolonisation was violent or all peaceful; it varied by colony.
- Forgetting the Non-Aligned Movement, which rejected both blocs.
How to study this unit
- Compare one nonviolent and one armed independence movement: methods, leaders and results.
- List three causes of the end of the Cold War, one political, one economic and one social.
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More AP World History: Modern practice tests
- Unit 1 · 8–10%The Global Tapestry
- Unit 2 · 8–10%Networks of Exchange
- Unit 3 · 12–15%Land-Based Empires
- Unit 4 · 12–15%Transoceanic Interconnections
- Unit 5 · 12–15%Revolutions
- Unit 6 · 12–15%Consequences of Industrialization
- Unit 7 · 8–10%Global Conflict
- Unit 8 · 8–10%Cold War and Decolonization
- Unit 9 · 8–10%Globalization
About these questions
StudyCoach wrote these questions for this test. Each one is mapped to a topic in the College Board's current AP World History: Modern course framework. Every answer key was also checked by a separate AI review, and any disagreement was rechecked by hand. They have not yet been reviewed by an AP World History: Modern teacher. If you think an answer is wrong, email support@studycoach.io.
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