AP Human Geography Cumulative Vocabulary

Derived from Barron's AP Human Geography

absolute distance

distance that can be measured with standard unit of length (mile, kilometer)

absolute location

exact position of object or place, measure within the spatial coordinates of grid system (longitude, latitude)

accessibility

relative ease with which destination may be reached from some other place

aggregation

come together into a mass, sum, or whole

azimuthal projection

map projection in which the plane is the most developable surface (polar)

breaking point

outer edge of city’s sphere of influence, used in the law of retail gravitation to describe the are of a city’s hinterlands that depend on that city for its retail supplies

cartograms

type of thematic map that transforms space so that the political unit with the greatest value for whatever data is shown by the largest relative area

cartography

theory and practice of making visual representations of Earth’s surface via maps

choropleth map

thematic map with tones or colors to show spatial data as average values per unit area

cognitive map

image of portion of Earth’s surface that individual creates in his/her mind; can include knowledge of actual locations and relationships among locations as wells personal perceptions and preferences of particular places (mental map)

complementarity

actual or potential relationship between 2 places, usually referring to economic interactions

connectivity

degree of economic, social, cultural, or political connection between 2 places

contagious diffusion

spread of disease, innovation, or cultural traits through direct contact with another person/place (proximity)

coordinate system

standard grid, composed of lines of latitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object, place, or feature on Earth’s surface

cultural ecology

also called nature-society geography; study of interactions between societies and the natural environments in which they live

cultural landscape

human-modified natural landscape specifically containing the imprint of a particular culture/society

distance decay effect

decrease in interaction between 2 phenomena, place,s or people as distance between them increases

dot maps

thematic maps that use points to show precise locations of specific observations or occurrences, such as crimes, car accidents, or births