AP Human Geography Test Preparation Flashcards

sequent occupance

the notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place (shown clearly in Rome)

cultural landscape

the essence of how humans interact with nature; often leaving a visible imprint on the earth's surface

arithmetic density

total population/total land area

physiological density

total population/unit of arable land

agricultural density

# of farmers/unit of arable land- highest in LDCs

hearth

the region from which ideas originate

5 Major: Mesopotamia, Indus River Valley, Nile River Valley, Huang He/Yellow River, Mesoamerica

diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend from place to place

relocation diffusion

the spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another

hierarchal diffusion

type of expansion diffusion: looks random but is not, usually related to modern technology, space time compression (if an area is connected, space/time/distance is no longer an issue)

contagious diffusion

type of expansion diffusion: RAPID, UNIFORM spread, leads to distance decay

distribution

the arrangement of something across Earth's surface

environmental determinism

the idea that physical environment causes human activity-humans must adapt to their environment/cannot change it

environmental possibilism

the idea that physical environment may limit some human activity, but generally humans are able to alter their environment to suit their needs

site

the physical character of a place; what is there, why it is significant

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

scale

representation of a real-world phenomenon at a certain level of generalization or reduction

formal region

everyone shares in common one or more distinct characteristics; clear, defined boundary lines

perceptual or vernacular region

fuzzy boundary lines- everyone's perception of the region is different

functional or nodal region

An area that has a node, such as an airport or stadium

geographic information systems

allows geographers to map, analyze, store, and model spatial data

thematic maps

maps that tell stories, typically showing the degree of some attribute

dot map

thematic map: dot on a map represents some frequency of the mapped variable

isoline map

thematic map: uses lines of equal value to represent data like elevation, barometer pressure, temperature, or migration

cartogram

thematic map: uses relative size of political units to convey a value

choropleth map

thematic map: a variable is depicted with shading patterns or colors

proportional symbol map

thematic map: size of a symbol varies in proportion to the intensity of the mapped variable

projection

transferring data from the globe to a flat surface: distortions will occur

reference maps

literal maps, tell what a place looks like

absolute distance

exact measurement of space between two places

relative distance

approximate measurement of the physical space between two places

carrying capacity

the population level that can be supported, given the quantity of food, habitat, water, and other infrastructure present

demographic transition model

shows 5 stages of population growth

dependency ratio

the number of people who are too young or old to work compared to the number of people in their productive years

ecumene

parts of earth's surface occupied by human settlement

epidemiological transition model

shows distinctive cause of death in each stage of the demographic transition model

j curve

when population projection shows exponential growth

Thomas Malthus

argued that the world's rate of population increase was far outrunning food production (determinism)

Esther Boserup

viewed population growth as a positive force driving agricultural innovations that could support more people (possibilism)

neo-malthusian

person who argues that population growth in LDCs and outstripping of resources other than food will create long term problems for the earth

population distributions

the arrangement of people according to density, concentration, and/or pattern

population pyramid

population displayed by age and gender on a bar graph- closer to rectangle shape is best

rate of natural increase

the percentage by which a population grows each year

s curve

population projection that predicts zero population growth at some point

distance decay

when contact between two groups diminishes because of distance between them

gravity model

created by Hotelling, predicts that optimal location of a service is directly related to number of people in the area and inversely related to the distance people must travel to access it

push factor

something that causes people to leave their old residence and move to new places (environmental disaster, bad economy, famine, etc)

pull factor

causes people to move into a new place (job opportunities, good weather, family)

refugee

someone forced to leave their home country, and crosses international boundary lines

displaced person

someone forced to leave home, but stays within international boundary lines

time space compression

the idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking due to technology

chain migration

people move to places where they have family or people who share their beliefs

step migration

people must go to multiple places before arriving at their final location

periodic migration

people migrate for a certain period of time, and plan to return to their home at some point. ex: migration to college or old people going to florida for the winter

cyclical migration

people migrate daily to work or school

acculturation

process of only adopting certain customs of a culture to suit one's lifestyle

assimilation

less dominant culture loses their culture to a more dominant culture

Buddhism

universalizing religion: system of beliefs that seeks to explain ultimate realities of all people- originated in N. India and Nepal

Christianity

universalizing religion: monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus, originated in SW Asia (split into three branches: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant)

Confucianism

ethnic: complex system of moral, social, political, and religious thought that has influenced Chinese civilization

ethnic religion

a religion that does not seek converts

universalizing religion

a religion that seeks converts

fundamentalism

literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion

lingua franca

universal language, used for quick and efficient communication: previously Latin, now English

secularism

belief that religion and government should be separate

Sino Tibetan language family

language area that spreads through most of SE Asia and China

geopolitics

the study of the interplay between political relations and the territorial context in which they occur

Apartheid

segregation of blacks in S. Africa from 1948 to 1994

centrifugal force

a factor that causes a country to be forced apart (religious differences, environmental disaster, bad leader)

centripetal force

a factor that pulls a country together (common enemy, good economy, charismatic leader)

city-state

a sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside

decolonization

the movement of European colonies gaining independence

devolution

decentralization of a government from a unitary to a federal system or fracturing of a government: worked in UK with Scotland, not in Yugoslavia

domino theory

the idea that political destabilization in one country can lead to collapse of political stability in neighboring countries

east/west divide

iron curtain: geographic separation between the largely democratic and free market countries of the west and communist and socialist countries of the east

enclave

a country or part of a country that is mostly or completely surrounded by the territory of another country (Lesotho)

exclave

a country which is geographically separated from the main part by a surrounding alien territory

exclusive economic zone

a sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources

federalism

opposite of unitary: system of government in which power is distributed among certain geographical territories rather than concentrated within a central government

forward capital

a symbolically relocated capital usually because of either economic or strategic reasons (ex: Brasilia)

frontier

a zone where no state exercises complete political control

gerrymandering

redrawing legislative boundary lines to benefit the political party in power

Heartland Theory

Mackinder's theory that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to dominate the world

imperialism

a country has control over a territory already occupied by an indigenous society

microstate

a state or territory that is small in both population and area

NAFTA

allows the opening of trade borders between Mexico, Canada, and the US

nation-state

country whose population possesses a substantial degree of cultural homogeneity and unity- territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality

Rimland Theory

Spykman's theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provide the base for world conquest

sovereignty

supreme or independent political power

World Systems Theory

theory developed by Immanuel Wallerstein that explains the emergence of a core, periphery, and semi-periphery in terms of economic and political connections

Balkanization

the process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities (Yugoslavia)

agribusiness

the set of economic and political relationships that organize food production for commercial purposes- companies control everything from "seed to store"

desertification

the process by which formally fertile lands become increasingly arid (happening in between the sahara and sub-saharan Africa bc of goat grazing)

extensive agriculture

an agricultural system characterized by low inputs of labor per unit land area

feedlots

places where livestock are concentrated in a very small area and raised on hormones and hearty grains to prepare them for slaughter

GMOs

foods that are mostly products of organisms that had their genes altered in a laboratory

Green Revolution

1970s-1980s: the development of higher yield and faster growing crops through increased technology and fertilizers- developed strategies in an attempt to make LDCs as productive as MDCs-created large economic gap between rich and poor

intensive cultivation

agricultural activity that involves effective and efficient use of labor on small plots of land to maximize crop yield- wet rice production

livestock ranching

extensive commercial agriculture that includes the grazing of livestock

market gardening

the small scale production of fruits, vegetable, and flowers sold directly to local consumers

mediterranean agriculture

an agricultural system in which the climate provides moist and moderate winters; ideal for grapes, olives, and nuts