AP Human Geo

Absolute location

Exact position on Earth using coordinates like latitude and longitude.

Accessibility

The ease of reaching one location from another.

Alternative resources

Energy sources other than fossil fuels, like solar or wind.

Cartography

The science and practice of drawing maps.

Choropleth map

A map that uses shades or colors to represent data values.

Clustered

Objects grouped closely together in a specific area.

Complementarity

The degree to which one place has what another place wants or needs.

Concentration

The spread of a feature over a specific geographic area.

Conformal maps

Maps that preserve the correct shapes of landmasses.

Conservation

The sustainable use and management of Earth's natural resources.

Contagious diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout a population.

Coordinate system

A grid system used to determine absolute location.

Cultural

Relating to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a society.

Cultural landscape

The visible imprint of human activity on the natural landscape.

Ecology

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

Density

The frequency with which something occurs within a given unit of area.

Diffusion

The process by which a characteristic spreads across space over time.

Dispersed

Objects arranged in a relatively scattered or spread-out pattern.

Distance decay

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with distance.

Distribution

The arrangement of a feature across Earth's surface.

Environmental determinism

The belief that the physical environment causes social development.

Equal area projection

A map projection that maintains the relative sizes of landmasses.

Expansion diffusion

The spread of a feature from one place to another in an additive process.

Formal region

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

Friction of distance

A measure of how much distance inhibits interaction between two places.

Functional region

An area organized around a node or focal point.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Computer system that stores, organizes, and analyzes geographic data.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

System that determines the precise position of something on Earth.

Globalization

A set of processes that increase interactions and interdependence internationally.

Globalizing forces

Factors that drive international integration and cultural exchange.

Goode Homolosine Projection

An equal-area map projection that interrupts oceans to reduce distortion.

Hearth

The region from which innovative ideas originate.

Hierarchical diffusion

The spread of an idea from persons of authority or power to other persons.

Homogeneous region

An area with high levels of internal similarity in cultural or physical traits.

Intervening opportunities

Attractions that disrupt or discourage travel to a more distant location.

Large-scale map

A map that shows a smaller area in greater detail.

Latitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels north and south of the equator.

Location

The position of anything on Earth's surface.

Longitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians east and west of the prime meridian.

Map

A two-dimensional or flat model of Earth's surface.

Map as a communication tool

Using a map to convey geographic information to an audience.

Map as a reference tool

Using a map to find where something is and how to get there.

Map projection

The scientific method of transferring locations on Earth's surface to a flat map.

Mercator projection

A rectangular map projection that distorts land size at high latitudes.

Meridians

Arcs drawn between the North and South poles representing longitude.

Migration diffusion

The slow, physical movement of people carrying an innovation to a new location.

Nodal region

Another name for a functional region, organized around a focal point.

Nonrenewable resource

Something produced in nature more slowly than it is consumed by humans.

Parallels

Circles drawn around the globe parallel to the equator representing latitude.

Pattern

The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area.

Perceptual region

An area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.

Place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic.

Possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may limit human actions, but people can adjust.

Prime meridian

The meridian that passes through Greenwich, England, representing 0 degrees longitude.

Region

An area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features.

Relative location

The position of a place in relation to other places.

Relocation diffusion

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

Remote sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite or long-distance method.

Renewable resource

Something produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans.

Robinson projection

A map projection that displays the entire world with reasonable compromise on distortion.

Scale

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

Sense of place

Feelings evoked by a particular place based on experiences and memories.

Site

The physical character of a place.

Situation

The location of a place relative to other places.

Small-scale map

A map that shows a large area with little detail.

Soil depletion

The loss of soil fertility and nutrients due to overuse or erosion.

Space

The physical gap or interval between two objects.

Spatial association

The matching of patterns of two or more phenomena over space.

Spatial diffusion

The spread of phenomena over space and time.

Spatial interaction

The flow of goods, people, or information among places.

Spatial perspective

A way of identifying, explaining, and predicting human and physical patterns in space.

Stimulus diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected.

Sustainability

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

Thematic map

A map designed to show a particular theme connected with a specific geographic area.

Time-space compression

The reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place.

Toponyms

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

Transferability

The cost of moving a commodity relative to the ability of the good to bear that cost.

Transnational corporations

Companies that conduct research, operate factories, and sell products in multiple countries.

Uniform region

Another name for a formal region, sharing common characteristics.

Vernacular region

Another name for a perceptual region, defined by people's informal sense of place.