AP HUG Unit 1 Vocabulary

Absolute Direction

Absolute Direction

Corresponds to the direction on a compass: north, south, east, west, and combinations such as northeast and southwest

Absolute Distance

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit of length, such as a foot, yard, mile, or kilometer

Absolute Location

A precise position on Earth’s surface

Census

An official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details about individuals, such as age, sex, and race

** EVERY TEN YEARS

Contagious Diffusion

The wavelike spread of ideas in the manner of a contagious disease or forest fire, moving throughout space without regard for hierarchy

Cultural Ecology

The study of the interactions between societies and their local environments

Environmental Determinism

The belief that the physical environment is the dominant force shaping cultures and that humanity is a passive product of its physical surroundings

Formal Region

A geographical area inhabited by people who have one or more traits in common

Functional Region

A geographic area that has been organized to function politically, socially, culturally, or economically as one unit

Hierarchical Diffusion

Occurs when ideas leapfrog from one important person, community, or city to another, bypassing other persons, communities, or rural areas

Infrastructure

The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (such as buildings, roads, and public utilities) needed for the operation of a society

Map Projection

A method for representing the surface of Earth or a celestial sphere on a plane (two-dimensional) surface; all map projections distort some aspect of Earth’s surface

Perceptual/Vernacular Region

A geographic area that is perceived to exist by its inhabitants, based on the widespread acceptance and use of a unique regional name

Possibilism

The belief that any physical environment offers a number of possible ways for a society to develop and that humans can find ways to overcome environmental challenges

Relative Direction

A direction that can be described as position, such as in front of or behind, to the left or to the right

Relative Distance

A measurement of the level of social, cultural, or economic similarity between places despite their absolute distance from each other

Relative Location

The position of one place (or person) in relation to the position of another place (or person)

Relocation Diffusion

Occurs when individuals or groups with a particular idea or practice migrate from one location to another, thereby bringing the idea or practice to their new homeland

Reverse Hierarchical Diffusion

Occurs when ideas leapfrog from a lower level of a hierarchy to a higher level

Scale

The territorial extent of an idea or object

Scale of Analysis

The territorial extent of an idea of an object. Can be local, regional, national, or global.

Spatial Patterns

The placement or arrangement of objects on Earth’s surface; also includes the space between those objects

Stimulus Diffusion

Occurs when a specific trait is rejected, but the underlying idea is accepted

Time-distance decay

Also known as the “first law of geography”; the idea that near things are more related than distant things, and interaction between two places decreases the farther apart they area

Time-space compression

The decreasing distance between places, as measured by travel time or cost; often summarized by the phrase “the world is shrinking”