Unit 1 Vocab Quiz 2

Absolute Distance

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit of length.

Accessibility

The relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some other place.

Cartographic scale

Refers to the way the map communicates the ratio of its size to the size of what it represents.

Census

An official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals.

Clustered

Clustered together but not coherent.

Complementarity

The actual or potential relationship between two places, usually referring to economic interactions.

Connectivity

The degree of economic, social, cultural or political connection between two places.

Coordinate system

A standard grid, composed of lines of latitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object, place or feature on the earth’s surface.

Dispersed

When a phenomenon is relatively far apart.

Elevation

Height above a given level, especially sea level.

Field Observation

The act of physically visiting a location, place, or region and recording firsthand information there.

Friction of Distance

The measure of how much absolute distance affects the interaction between two places.

Geoid

The actual shape of the earth, which is rough and oblate, or slightly squashed.

Global Scale

Set of digital maps that cover the whole globe to express the status of global environment.

Intervening Opportunities

The idea that the closer supplier to a buyer will likely block the further supplier from sharing its goods or services.

Landscape Analysis

The process of describing and interpreting the landscape ecology of an area.

Large-Scale

Relatively small ratio between map units and ground units, usually covering smaller regions with higher resolution.

Local Scale

Spatial region equivalent to that of a community.

Media Reports

Various means of communication, such as television, radio, and newspapers.

National Scale

Spatial region equivalent to that of a country.

Natural Landscape

The physical landscape or environment that has not been affected by human activities.

Natural Resources

Materials or substances that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

Online Visualization

Use of sophisticated software to create dynamic computer maps.

Photographic Interpretation

Examining photographic images for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their significance.

Policy Document

Specifies the rules, guidelines, and regulations required for compliance.

Qualitative Data

Data associated with a humanistic approach to geography, collected through interviews and empirical observations.

Quantitative Data

Data in the form of counts or numbers, collected for statistical analysis.

Regional Scale

Interaction occurring within a region in a regional setting.

Relative Distance

A measure of distance that includes the social, cultural, or economic connectivity between two places.

Sense of place

Feelings evoked by experiences and memories associated with a particular place.

Small-scale

Map scale ratio where units on the map to units on the earth is quite small, usually depicting large areas.

Spatial Perspective

An intellectual framework analyzing the locations of phenomena and their relationships.

Sustainability

The concept of using resources to meet present needs without compromising future generations.

Transferability

The costs involved in moving goods from one place to another.

Cartograms

Thematic maps that transform space such that the political unit with the greatest value is represented by the largest relative unit.

Choropleth map

Thematic map that uses tones or colors to represent spatial data as average values per unit area.

Cognitive map

An image of a portion of the earth’s surface created in an individual's mind.

Conic projection

Type of map projection where direction is not constant and longitude lines converge at only one pole.

Distortion

Misrepresentation of shape, area, distance, or direction of geographic features compared to true measurements.

Dot maps

Thematic maps showing precise locations of specific observations or occurrences.

Isoline

Map line that connects points of equal or very similar values.

Preference map

Map that displays individual preferences for certain places.

Proportional / graduated symbol map

Thematic map where size of a symbol indicates the magnitude of a statistical value.

Reference Map

A map that provides reference information for navigation and landmarks.

Thematic Map

A type of map that displays one or more variables within a particular area.

Thematic Layers

Individual maps of specific features overlaid in a GIS for spatial analysis.

Topographic map

Maps using isolines to represent constant elevations.

Good-Homolosine

A composite map projection used for world maps with equal-area properties.

Mercator Projection

A cylindrical map projection useful for navigation but distorts landmasses at the poles.

Peters Projection

World map projection showing areas in correct proportion at the expense of distorted shape.

Robinson Projection

Projection that minimizes errors in area, shape, distance, or direction.