Ap Human Geography Semester 1 Review

5 Themes of Geography

location, space, scale, place, and pattern

spatial perspective

the common bond that causes us to notice patterns of both natural and human environment, distributions of people, and locations of all kinds of objects

spatial organization

the location of people, places, and events, and the connections among landscapes

cartography

the art and science of map-making

Mercator Projection

invented by Gerardus Mercator in 1569; intended to aid ship navigation across the Atlantic between Europe and the Americas. Makes direction accurate, but distorts size, especially near the Poles

Robinson Projection

curves the Poles inward to fix distortions of the Mercator projection, but stretches them into long lines. Attempts to balance distortions in shape, size, distance and direction

Peter's Projection

invented by Arno Peters in 1974, and focuses on making land masses equal in area, therefore distorting shape

grid pattern

rectangular system of land survey, adopted universally by the Ordinance of 1785

scale

a. size of unit studied, on a scale of small to large in terms of local, regional, or global scale
b. map scale; the mathematical relationship between size of an area on a map and its actual size on earth

GIS

Geographic Information System; a computer system that captures, stores, analyzes and displays geography data, combined in layers

GPS

Global Positioning System; technology that uses a series of satellites, tracking stations and receivers to determine precise absolute locations on earth

demography

description of people or populations

population density

the number of people that live in a given area of land

physiological density

measures the pressure people may place on the land to produce a sustainable amount of food

arithmetic density

total number of people divided by total land area

overpopulation

the circumstance of too many people for the land to support

carrying capacity

the number of people an area can support on a sustained basis

population pyramids

represent a population's age and sex composition

rate of natural increase

a percentage of population growth

Total Fertility Rate

the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime

Agricultural Revolution

the domestication of plants and animals, started in the Fertile Crescent around 1000 BCE

Industrial Revolution

a period starting in the late eighteenth century in Britain that saw the introduction of mass production

Green Revolution

the introduction of high-yielding crops and chemical fertilizers and pesticides into tradition Asian agricultural systems

doubling rate

the length of time needed to double a population

crude birth rate

the number of births in a given population per one thousand people

crude death rate

the number of deaths in a given population per one thousand people

Zero Population Growth

a stabilized population, created when an average of only two children per couple survive to adulthood

exponential growth rate

a growth rate illustrated by a series of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32

linear growth rate

a growth rate illustrated by a series of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Neo-Malthusians

Adhere to Thomas Malthus' theory that populations increase too rapidly for food supplies to sustain

infant mortality rate

the number of deaths among infants younger than one year of age in a population

life expectancy

the average number of years a child can expect to live

Demographic Transition Model; Stage 1

Low growth; high birth and death rates with a natural increase close to 0, associated with preindustrial societies

Demographic Transition Model; Stage 2

High growth; birth and death rates both increase, associated with developing societies

Demographic Transition Model; Stage 3

Moderate growth; fertility rates begin to fall, associated with a mature industrial society

Demographic Transition Model; Stage 4

Low Growth; birth rates continue to fall, accompanied by steady death rates, associated with postindustrial societies

Emigration

migration away from an area

Immigration

migration to an area

distance decay

the decline of an activity or function with increasing distance from the point of origin

intervening opportunities

the act of finding opportunities to settle before reaching an original destination

gravity model

the measure of interaction amongst places

intervening obstacles

physical features that halt or slow migration

Push factor

a motivation for emigration

Pull factor

a motivation for immigration

Types of push and pull factors

economic (employment), cultural (slavery, refugee situations, politics, government control), and environmental (climate, elevations, seacoasts and disease)

U.S. Immigration Patterns

1. Initial settlement of the colonies between 1776-1840
2. Emigration from Europe in the 19th and early 20th century
3. Immigration since 1945

activity space

area in which an individual moves about while carrying out day-to-day activities

awareness space

an individual's knowledge of opportunity locations

space-time prism

the set of all points that can be reached by an individual given a maximum possible speed from a starting point in space-time and an ending point in space-time

Environmental determinism

the belief that physical environment actively shapes culture

Possibilism

recognizes the importance of physical environment but states cultural heritage is just as important is shaping a culture/society

Environmental Perceptionism

emphasizes human perception of environment rather than actuality of land, and the shaping of culture by perception

Cultural determinism

states that human culture is more important than physical environment in shaping human actions

non-material culture

the abstract concept of human values, behaviors, and beliefs

material culture

culture illustrated by concrete human creations, called artifacts

culture region

an area marked by a distinguishable culture unique to its region

culture trait

a single attribute of a culture

culture complex

common values, beliefs, behaviors and artifacts that make a group distinct from others in the area

culture system

a group of interconnected culture complexes

cultural hearth

an area where a civilization first began

expansion diffusion

when an innovation or idea develops in a source area and remains strong there while spreading outward

contagious diffusion

a type of expansion diffusion wherein almost all individuals and areas outward from the source region are affected

hierarchical diffusion

a type of expansion diffusion wherein ideas and artifacts first spread between large places or prominent people and only later reach smaller groups or less prominent people

stimulus diffusion

a type of expansion diffusion wherein a basic idea, though not the trait itself, stimulates imitative behavior

relocation diffusion

diffusion that occurs when individual people or populations physically carry an innovation or idea from a source area to a new one

migrant diffusion

a type of relocation diffusion wherein the spread of outward traits is slow enough that they weaken the area of origin by the time they reach other areas

acculturation

occurs when a less dominant culture adopts traits of a more influential culture

assimilation

when a culture completely absorbs a less dominant one

transculturation

an equal exchange of cultural traits

ethnocentrism

the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture

cultural relativism

the practice of evaluating a culture by its own standards

syncretism

a fusion of old and new cultures, and an explanation of how and why cultural changes occur

language families

related tongues that share a common ancestor

dialects

variant forms of language where mutual comprehension is possible

pidgin language

characterized by a very small vocabulary derived from languages of the groups in contact

creole language

occurs when a pidgin becomes the first language of a group of speakers

slang

words and phrases not part of a standard, recognized vocabulary for a given language but are nonetheless understood and used by some or most of its speakers

lingua franca

a language of communication and commerce spoken across a wide language where it is not a mother language

language hotspots

places home to the most unique, misunderstood, or endangered languages

toponym

a place name

isogloss

indicates the spatial borders of individual words and pronunciations

proselytizing religion

also called a "universalizing religion"; a religion that attempts to be global in its appeal to all people

the Three Great Monotheistic Religions

Judaism, Islam and Christianity

Roman Catholicism

The largest branch of Chrisitanity, which includes 50% of all Christians and large concentrations of followers in Latin America, French Canada, Central African, and Southern and Eastern Europe

Protestantism

The 2nd largest branch of Christianity, constituting 25% of all Christians with concentrations in North America, Northern Europe, Britain, South Africa and Australia

Eastern Orthodoxy

Final branch of Christianity, including 10% of all Christians and concentrated mostly in Eastern Europe and Russia

Sunni

The dominant branch of Islam, with 83% of all Muslims adhering to the belief that the successor of Muhmmad should be chosen in agreement amongst religious leaders

Shi'ite

The lesser branch of Islam (16%), who believe that Muhammad's successor should be a blood relative

folk culture

traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated areas

popular culture

found in large, heterogeneous societies bonded by a common culture despite the many difference among people that share it

territoritality

efforts to control pieces of the earth's surface for political or social ends

physical boundary

often natural feautures, such as mountains, deserts, rivers, lakes and oceans that seperate nations

culture boundary

set by an ethnic difference between groups, especially in a linguistic or religious aspect

sovereignty

the ability of a state to carry out actions or policies within its boundaries independently from interface either on the outside or inside

types of boundary disputes

1. Positional: regarding location of the border
2. Territorial: regarding ownership of a region near the border
3. Allocation: regarding natural resources
4. Functional: regarding border policies

primate city

a capital city that is unrivaled in terms of size or influence by another city within a state

supranational organization

a group of independent countries joined together for purposes of mutual interest

geopolitics

the study of spatial and territorial dimensions of power relationships within the global political-territorial order

Heartland theory

states that the "pivot area" of the earth -Eurasia- holds the resources, both natural and human, to dominate the globe

Rimland theory

opposes the heartland theory by stating that the Eurasian Rim, not its heart, holds the key to global power