AP HuGe Chapter 1 Vocabulary Terms

Abotic

composed of nonliving or inorganic matter

Acculturation

The Process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups each of which retains distinct culture features

Assimilation

The process by which a groups cultural features are altered to resemble those of another more dominant group

Atmosphere

the thin layer of gases surrounding Earth

Behavioral geography

the study of the psychological basis for individual basis for individual human actions in space

Biosphere

all living organisms on earth including plants and animals as well as microorganisms

biotic

composed of living organisms

cartography

the science of making maps

Citzen Science

scientific research by amateur scientists

Climate

the long term average weather condition at a particular location

concentration

the spread of something over a given area

connection

the relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

conservation

the sustainable management of a natural resource

contagious diffusion

the rapid widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population

cultural ecology

a geographic approach that emphasizes human environment relationships

cultural landscape

an approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phenomena in a particular study area

culture

the body of customary beliefs social forms and material traits that together constitute a groups distinct tradition

density

the frequency which something exists within a given unit of area

diffusion

the process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time

distance decay

the diminished importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

distribution

the arrangement of something across earths surface

ecology

the scientific study of ecosystems

ecosystems

a group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres with which they interact

Environmental determinism

a nineteenth and early twentieth century approach to the study of geography which argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities

expansion diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a additive process

Formal Region (Uniform Region)

an area in which everyone share in common one or more distinctive characteristics

Functional Region (Nodal Region)

an area organized around a node or focal point

Geographic Information Science (GIScience)

the development and analysis of data about earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technologies

Geotagging

identification and storage of a piece of information by its precise latitude and longitude coordinates

Global Positioning System (GPS)

a system that determines the precise position of something on earth through a series of satellites tracking stations and receivers

Globalization

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

Greenwich meantime (GMT)

the time in the zone encompassing the prime meridian or 0 degrees longitude

Hearth

The region from which innovative ideas originate

Hierarchical diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend form one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places

Humanistic Geography

the study of different ways that individuals form ideas about place and give those places symbolic meanings

Hydrosphere

all the water on and near earths surface

International Date line

an arc that for the most part follows 180 degrees longitude although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas.

latitude

the numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator

lithosphere

earths crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust

location

the position of anything on earths surface

longitude

the numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian

map

a 2D or flat representation of earths surface or a portion of it

map scale

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

mashup

a map that overlays data from one source on top of a map provided by a mapping service

mental map

a representation of a portion of earths surface based on what an individual knows about a place that contains personal impressions of what is in the place and where the place is located

meridian

an arc drawn on a map between the north and south poles

Network

a chain of communication that connects places

nonrenewable resource

something produced in nature more slowly than it is consumed by humans

parallel

a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians

participatory GIS (PGIS)

community based mapping representing local knowledge and information

pattern

the geometric or regular arrangement of something in a particular area

place

a specific point of earth distinguished by a particular characteristic

possibilism

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

Poststructuralist Geography

the study of space as the product of ideologies or value systems of ruling elites

preservation

the maintenance of resources in their present condition with as little human impact as possible

prime meridian

the meridian designated as 0 degrees longitude that passes through the royal observatory as Greenwich England

projection

a system used to transfer locations from earths surface to a flat map

region

an area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features

relocation diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another

remote sensing

the acquisition of data about earths surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from other long-distance methods

renewable resource

something produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans

resource

a substance in the environment that is useful to people is economically and technologically feasible to access and is socially acceptable to use

scale

generally the relationship between the portion of earth being studied and earth as a whole

site

the physical characteristic of a place

situation

the location of a place relative to another place

space

the physical gap or interval between two objects

space time compression

the reduction in time the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place as a result of improved communications and transportation systems

spatial association

the relationship between the distribution of one feature and the distribution of another feature

stimulus diffusion

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

sustanibilty

the use of earths renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the feature

syncrtism

the combining of elements of two groups into a new cultural feature

toponym

the name given to a portion of earths surface

transnational corporation

a company that conducts research operates factories and sells products in many countries not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located

uneven development

the increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy

vernacular region (perceptual region)

an area that people believe exists as a part of their cultural identity

volunteered geographic information (VGI)

creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily and for free by individuals