AP Human Geography Unit #1 Vocabulary

Scale

Scale

Generally, the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole, specifically the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface.

Remote sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers.

Satellite imagery

Images of the earth taken from orbiting satellites. Images can be taken in a variety of forms so as to detect specific information about the earth, vegetation and other types of land cover.

Geotagging

The process of adding geographical information to various media in the form of metadata. The data usually consists of coordinates like latitude and longitude, but may even include bearing, altitude, distance and place names.

Map Ratio

Map scale refers to the relationship (or ratio) between distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground. For example, on a 1:100000 scale map, 1cm on the map equals 1km on the ground. ...

Geospatial data

Information about a physical object that can be represented by numerical values in a geographic coordinate system.

Map distortion

Happens when a round surface is made flat; distortion may be in size or shape of landforms, distance between landforms, or in direction.

Map Projection

a way of representing the spherical Earth on a flat surface

Prime Meridian

The meridian, designated at 0° longitude, which passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

Longitude

Distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees.

Latitude

Distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees.

Toponym

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

Absolute location

Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates

Relative location

The position of a place in relation to another place

Place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

Site

The physical character of a place

Situation

The location of a place relative to another place

Cultural landscape

Fashioning of a natural landscape by a cultural group.

Formal/uniform region

An area in which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics

Functional/nodal region

Area organized around a node or focal point/place where there is a central focus that diminishes in importance outward. Used to display information about economic areas.

Vernacular/ perceptual region

A place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity from people's informal sense of place such as mental maps.

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

Transnational Corporation

A company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located.

Density

The degree of compactness of a substance. The amount of something in a given space. Population Density.

Distribution

The arrangement of something across Earth's surface.

Concentration / Clustered

Group of some items in a location (housing).

Dispersed

distributed or spread over a considerable extent

environmental determinism

A doctrine that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions.

Possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.