AP Human Geography Ultimate Guide (copy)

Space

The geometric surface of the Earth, defined by the location of objects and the distance separating them.

Activity space

The area where daily activities occur.

Place

An area of bounded space of human importance.

Toponym

A place-name assigned to a location when human importance is recognized.

Regions

Types of places categorized into formal, functional, and vernacular regions.

Sequent occupancy

The succession of groups and cultural influences throughout a place's history.

Scale

The relationship of an object or place to the Earth as a whole.

Map scale

Describes the ratio of distance on a map to distance in the real world.

Formal regions

Areas of bounded space that possess some homogeneous characteristics.

Functional regions

Areas with a central node that expresses some practical purpose.

Vernacular regions

Regions based on the perception or collective mental map of the region’s residents.

Absolute location

A point defined by coordinates such as latitude and longitude.

Relative location

The location of a place compared to a known place or geographical feature.

Site

The physical characteristics of a place.

Situation

A place's interrelatedness with other places.

Distance decay

The concept that interaction decreases as distance increases.

Tobler's law

States that all places are interrelated, but closer places are more related than farther ones.

Friction of distance

The idea that distance hinders interaction between two points.

Space-Time Compression

Decreased time and relative distance between places due to technology.

Central Place Theory

A theory that determines the location of human settlements based on their role in providing goods and services.

Core and Periphery relationships

Different regional phenomena and human activities that illustrate the spatial arrangement of power.

Urbanization

The process of cities developing as populations move from rural areas.

Push factors

Elements that drive people away from their current location.

Pull factors

Attractions that draw people to a new location.

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

A model that describes population change over time as a function of economic development.

Agricultural density

The number of farmers per square unit of arable land, reflecting farming efficiency.

Physiologic density

The number of people per unit of arable land, indicating the pressure on land resources.

Expansion diffusion

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

Contagious diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one to another through direct contact.

Relocation diffusion

The spread of a feature by the movement of its carriers from one place to another.

Choropleth maps

Thematic maps that use color to express the variability of specific themes.

Isoline maps

Maps that use contour lines to represent data values over a variable surface.

Dot density maps

Maps that use dots to represent the density of a particular geographic feature.