ap human geography

Spatial

Relating to our occupying space (referring to the physical arrangement and distribution of objects and phenomena on the Earth’s surface)

Absolute location

The precise point where a place is located on earth

Relative location

Where a place is located in relation to another place

GIS

A computer system, that stores organizes analyzes and displayed geographic data

Place

Refers to the specific human and physical characteristics of a location

Region

A group of places on earth with similar human and or physical features

Toponym

A name given to a place located on earth

Time-space compression

The shrinking of time distance between locations because of improved methods of transportation

Distance decay

Decline of activity or function with increasing distance from its point of origin

Human environment interaction

Connection and exchange between humans and the natural world

Environmental determinism

The idea that human behavior and development is controlled by the physical environment

Possible symbolism

The theory that physical environment makes limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives

Scale

The ratio between the size of things in the real world and the size of the same things on a map

Formal region

An area in which everyone shares one or more distinctive characteristics

GPS

A system that determines accurately, the precise position of something on earth through satellites, tracking stations and receivers

Remote sensing

The process of gathering data about earth from instruments far above the planet surface

Spatial analysis

The analysis of geographic data about a certain place

Friction of distance

When things are farther apart, they tend to be less well connected

Distribution

The arrangement of something across earth surface

Spatial data

All the information that can be tied to a specific location

Relative scale (scale of analysis)

The amount of territory that a map represents

Reference maps

Maps designed for people to refer to for general information about places

Political map

A map that shows man-made features such as boundaries countries and cities

Physical map/topographical Mac

A map that shows natural features such as mountains, rivers, and deserts

Choropleth map

Uses various color, shades of one color or patterns to show the location and distribution of data

Thematic map

A map that shows a particular theme or topic

Dot distribution map

A map where dots are used to demonstrate the frequency or intensity of a particular phenomena

Isoline map

Automatic map with lines that connect points of equal value

Cartogram map

The sizes of countries are shown to some specific statistic

Mercator projection

An equal area projection preserves direction, but distorts areas of landmass is relative to each other

Peters projection

Focuses on keeping land masses equal in area as a result the shapes are distorted in the map look looks unfamiliar to viewers

Robinson projection

Projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors does not maintain completely accurate area shaped distance or direction, but minimizes errors in each

Graduated symbol map

A map with symbols that change in size according to the value of the attribute they represent

Placelessness

The loss of uniqueness of place in the cultural landscape so that one place looks like the next - example Walmart - every one of them looks the same

Absolute direction

Based on the cardinal points of north south, east and west

Absolute distance

Exact measurement of the physical space between two places

Relative distance

Approximate measurement of the physical space between two places

Satellite navigation systems

Portable device that uses GPS to plot the users position

Functional region

An area organized around a no or focal point

Map projection

A way of representing the spherical earth on a flat surface

Perceptual region/vernacular region

An area that people believe exist as part of their cultural identity example the south

Density

The number of things which could be people, animals, plants or objects in a certain area

Arithmetic density

The total number of people divided by the total land area

Concentration

The spread of something over a given area

Dispersed concentration

When the objects in an area are relatively far apart

Clustered concentration

If the objects in an area are close together

Pattern

The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area

Geo spatial technology

Refers to the equipment used in visualization, measurement and analysis of earths features typically involving such systems as GPS GIS and RS

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope

Large scale map

Maps that covers smaller areas with greater detail

Small scale map

Shows fewer details and focuses on a larger area

Map scale

The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on earths surface

Geographic scale

The scale at which a geographer analyzes are particular phenomenon for example, global national census, tract neighborhood, etc., generally the finer the scale of analysis, the richer the level of detail in the findings

Sub region

A smaller division of a geographic region

Quantitative data

Numerical data

Qualitative data

Information describing color, odor shape, and some other physical characteristic

Scale of analysis

How zoomed in or out you are when looking at geographic data (global, regional, national, local)

Spatial distribution

The arrangement of phenomenon across the earth surface