AP Human Geography Full Course Review

Sustainability

The use of Earth's land and natural resources in ways that ensure they will continue to be available

Scale

The size of the area of the world being studied

Region

An area of Earth's surface with certain characteristics that make it distinct from other areas

Formal Region

An area that has one or more shared traits

Functional Region

An area organized by its function around a focal point

Node

The focal point of a functional region

Perceptual/Vernacular Region

A type of region that reflects people's feelings and attitudes about a place

Globalization

The expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale

Theory

A system of ideas intended to explain certain phenomena

World System Theory

Theory by Immanuel Wallerstein that categorizes countries as part of a hierarchy consisting of the core, periphery, and semi-periphery

Site

A place's absolute location as well as its physical characteristics

Situation

A place's location in relation to other places or its surrounding features. Also a place's relationship with other places

Space

The area between two or more things on Earth's surface

Distributed

Arranged within a given space

Density

The number of things in a specific area

Pattern

How things are arranged in a specific area

Flow

Movement of people, goods, or information that has economic, social, political, or cultural effects on societies

Environmental Determinism

A theory that argues that human behavior is largely controlled by the physical environment

Possibilism

Theory of human-environment interaction that states that humans have the ability to adapt the physical environment to their needs

Distance Decay

A geographic principle that states the farther away one thing is from another, the less interaction the two things will have

Time-Space Compression

A geographic principle that describes how modern transportation and communication technology have allowed humans to travel and communicate more quickly and easily

Physical Geography

The study of natural processes and the distribution of features in the environment

Human Geography

The study of the events and processes that have shaped how humans understand, use, and alter the Earth

Spatial Perspective

Geographic perspective that focuses on how people live on Earth, how they organize themselves, and why events in human societies occur where they do

Ecological Perspective

A perspective that focuses on the relationships between living things and their environments

Location

The position that a point or object occupies on Earth

Absolute Location

THe exact location of an object (Often expressed in coordinates of latitude and longitude)

Place

A location on Earth that is distinguished by its physical and human characteristics

Mental Map

Internalized representations of portions of Earth's surface (Internal map that is based on one's perspective of the Earth)

Core

Classification of a country or region that has wealth, higher education levels, more advanced technologies, many resources, strong militaries, and powerful allies

Periphery

Classification of a country or region that has less wealth, lower education levels, and less sophisticated technologies and also tends to have an unstable government and poor healthcare systems

Semi-Periphery

Classification of a country or region that has qualities of core and periphery areas and is often in the process of industrializing

Sustainable Development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Quantitative

A type of data measured by numbers

Qualitative

A type of data made by interpretations of data sources (Field observations, media reports, travler narratives, art, etc.)

Census

An official count of the number of people in a defined area

Geograpic Information System (GIS)

Mapping software systems that capture, store, organize, and display geographic data that can be used to configure both simple and complex maps

Topography

The shape and features of land surfaces

Remote Sensing

The method by which geospatial technologies collect data remotely

Global Positioning System (GPS)

An integrated network of at least 31 satellites i the U.S. system that orbit Earth and transmit location data to handheld receivers

Cartographer

A person who makes maps

Absolute Distance

Distance that can be measured with a standard unit length (Independent of human developments or changes)

Relative Distance

Distance that is measured in terms of other criteria such as time or money (Dependent on human development or changes)

Absolute Direction

The cardinal directions (North, south, east, west)

Relative Direction

Right, left, up, down, in front of, behind

Map Scale

The mathematical relationship between the size of a map and the part of the real world it shows

Reference Maps

Generalized sources of geographic data (Focus on location)

Thematic Maps

Maps that have a theme or specific purpose and focus on the relationship among geographic data (Population maps, weather maps, biome maps)

Population Distribution

Where people live within a geographic area

Dispersed

A population that is spread out (Possibly random)

Climate

Long-term patterns of weather in a given area (Affects population distribution)

Temperate Climate

Climate with mild temperatures and adequate precipitation amounts (Usually densely populated)

Landforms

Natural features of Earth's surface

Human Migration

When people permanently move from one place to another

Population Density

The number of people occupying a unit of (Like scientific density, but with people instead of mass; per capita)

Arithmetic Density

Measures the total number of people per unit area of land (Total population divided by total land)

Physiological Density

Measures the number of people per unit of arable and (Total population divided by arable land)

Arable Land

Land that can be used for farming (Agricultural land)

Agricultural Density

Measures the number of farmers per unit of arable land (Total number of farmers divided by arable land)

Subsistence Agriculture

The practice of a farmer only providing crops and livestock for their family and close community

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size an environment can sustain

Dependency Ratio

The number of people in a dependent age group divided by the number of people in the working-age group (Dependent group:

Sex Ration

The proportion of males to females in a population

Demographics

Data about the structures and characteristics of human populations (Race, age, gender, etc.)

Fertility

The ability to create children (High fertility --> high population)

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The number of births in a given year per 1000 people

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of a children a woman in a given country or region will have between ages 15-49

Mortality

Deaths as a component of population change

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

Number of deaths in a given population per year per 1000 people

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

The number of deaths of children under the age of 1 per 1000 live births

Life Expectancy

The average number of years a person is expected to live

Population Pyramid

Graphs that show age-sex distribution of a given population (One side is male, one is female; like a sideways bar graph or histogram)

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI)

The difference between a population's CBR and CDR (CBR - CDR = RNI)

Doubling Time (DT)

The number of years it will take for a population to double in size if it grows at a certain rate (DT = 70/RNI)

Urbanization

The growth and development of cities

Overpopulation

A population that exceeds the carrying capacity of the place it is location ( Can lead to shortages of resources)

Neo-Malthusian

A school of thought that claims the Earth's resources can only support a finite population (The world has a natural carrying capacity for sustainable development)

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

The model that represents the shift in growth that populations have undergone (Shows how certain aspects of population have decreased and increased over time)

Epidemiological Transition Model (ETM)

Model that describes changes in fertility, mortality, life expectancy, and population age distribution, largely as a result of changes in causes of death (Shows how causes of death can affect a population

Antinatalist

A government policy designed to curb a population's growth by discouraging citizens from having children (Used to reduce risk of famine and disease and ensure there are sufficient schools and jobs)

Pronatalist

A type of government policy designed to accelerate a population's growth and encourage citizens to have children (Used to address aging population concerns, a small workforce, or economic issues)

Land Degredation

Long-term damage to a soil's ability to support life (Ex: Crops using too much nitrogen)

Mobility

All types of movement by humans from one location to another (Long and short distances, temporary and permanent)

Circulation

Temporary, repetitive movements that recur on a regular basis (Can be short distance, riding a bus to school, or long, retirees traveling to warm places during the winter)

Human Migration

The permanent movement of people from one place to another

Emigration

The movement of people away from a location

Immigration

The movement of humans to a location

Net Migration

The difference between the number of emigrants and immigrants in a location (If number of emigrants is > than number of immigrants, net migration is positive; if number of emigrants is < than number of immigrants, net migration is negative)

Gravity Model

Model derived from Newton's law of universal growth that suggests that as a city's population increases, migration to the city increase, and as the distance to a city grows, migration to the city decreases (Greater population --> more migration; farther away --> less migration)

Push Factor

A negative cause that compels someone to leave a location (Political, social, economic, environmental)

Pull Factor

A positive cause that attracts someone to a new location (Political, social, economic, environmental)

Voluntary Migration

When people choose to move to a new place (They want to move, but don't need to; not extremely clear)

Forced Migration

When people are compelled to move by PSEE factors (They move for their safety, wellbeing, health, etc)

Transnational Migration

When immigrant retain cultural, emotional, and financial ties to their country of origin (May regularly visit their country of origin)

Internal Migration

The movement of people within a country's borders

Friction of Distance

A concept that states that the longer a journey is, the more time, effort, and cost it will take (Traveling farther is harder)

Transhumanance

A form of migration followed by nomads who move herds to cooler, higher elevations during the summer and lower, warmer elevations during the winter

Chain Migration

When people move to a location because others from their community have migrated there (Adds a pull factor for other fro their community as they have a path to take)

Step Migration

When people live in several places on their way to their final destination

Intervening Obstacle

An occurrence that slows down the migration process involuntarily (Ex: Having to work in a village after running out of money)