AP HuG Unit 1 Vocabulary

AP Human Geography Unit 1 (Thinking Geographically) Vocabulary Test

Map

A two-dimensional representation of Earth’s surface or a portion of it.

Cartography

The science of making maps.

Scale

The relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole.

Projection

A system used to transfer locations from Earth’s surface to a flat map.

Mercator Projection

A projecton where longitutde and latitude is shown at right angles. It preserves the shape of the map but distorts the size massively.

Peters Projection

A projection that preserves size but distorts shape.

Robinson Projection

A projection that preserves the size and shape of continents but distorts polar areas. Often used in atlases.

Goode Projection

An interrupted projection that removes much of the oceans to preserve size and shape of continents; used in thematic maps.

Meridians

Arcs drawn on a map between North and South poles.

Parallels

Circles drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians.

Longitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian.

Latitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator.

Prime Meridian

The meridian designated as 0 degrees longitude that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwhich, England.

Equator

An imaginary line dividing Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

International Date Line

An arc that mostly follows 180 degrees longitude, affecting time zones.

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

The time in the zone encompassing the prime meridian.

GPS

Geographic Positioning System that determines precise positions on Earth.

GIS

Geographic Information System that stores and analyzes geographic data.

Remote sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from satellites or long-distance methods.

Place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by particular characteristics.

Sense of Place

Emotional connections individuals form with specific locations.

Placelessness

The loss of a place’s unique identity due to popular culture and globalization.

Absolute Location

A point defined using coordinates like latitude and longitude.

Relative Location

The location of a place compared to a known place or feature.

Toponym

The name given to a portion of Earth’s surface.

Site

The physical character of a place.

Situation

The location of a place relative to another place.

Formal Region

An area where everyone shares one or more distinctive characteristics.

Functional Region

An area organized around a node or focal point.

Vernacular Region

An area believed to exist as part of cultural identity.

Mental Map

A representation of Earth’s surface based on personal knowledge and impressions.

Spatial Association

The relationship between the distribution of one feature and another.

Globalization

Actions that involve the entire world, making something worldwide in scope.

Distribution

The arrangement of something across Earth’s surface.

Density

The frequency of something within a given unit of area.

Concentration

The spread of something over a given area.

Clustered Spatial Pattern

When things are grouped together on Earth’s surface.

Dispersed Spatial Pattern

When things are spread out on Earth’s surface.

Hearth

The region from which innovative ideas originate.

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of a feature through bodily movement of people from one place to another.

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of a feature from one key person of authority or node to others.

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid spread of a feature throughout a population.

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle while rejecting specific characteristics.

Distance decay

The diminished importance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.

Time-space compression

The decrease in time and relative distance between places.

Koppen System

A system categorizing climate zones based on local vegetation.

Sustainability

The use of resources in ways that do not constrain future resource use.

Environmental Determinism

The study of how the physical environment influences human activities.

Possibilism

The theory that the physical environment sets limits (environment in control), but humans can adjust and choose actions.

Probabilism

The idea that the environment sets limits, but humans have choices within those limits.

Poststructuralist Geography

The study of space influenced by ideologies of ruling elites.

Humanistic Geography

The study of how individuals form ideas about place and assign symbolic meanings.

Behavioral Geography

The study of the psychological basis for individual human actions in space.

Conservation

The sustainable management of a natural resource.

Preservation

The maintenance of resources in their present condition with minimal human impact.

Quantitative

Involving numbers and data.

Qualitative data

Involving words and descriptive characteristics.

Accessibility

The ease of reaching certain locations from others.

Connectivity

The relationships among people and objects across space.