Unit 1 Flashcards - AP Human Geography

Vocabulary and concepts flashcards for Unit 1 Ap Human Geo

Relative location

Where a place is related to other places or features

Physical geography

Study of natural processes and distribution of features in the environment, including landforms, plants, animals, and climate

Human geography

Study of the events and processes that have shaped how humans understand, use, and alter Earth; how people organize socially, economically, politically, and culturally; and how humans impact the environment

Spatial perspective

Where something occurs, where things are located and why they are located there, how people live on Earth, how they organize, and why events occur where they do

Ecological perspective

Relationship between living things and their environments; interactions and interdependent relationships among living things, ecosystems, and human societies

Location

Position that a point or object occupies on Earth, in absolute or relative terms

Absolute location

Exact location of an object

Relative location

Similar to situation; description of where a place is in relation to other places or features

Place

Similar to site; location on Earth distinguished by its physical and human characteristics

Mental maps

Internalized representations of portions of Earth's surface; influenced by experiences, age, and where you live

Site

Similar to place; a place's absolute location as well as its physical characteristics, such as landforms, climate, and resources

Situation

Similar to relative location; a place's location in relation to other places, such as transportation routes, political associations, and economic ties

Space

Area between two or more things on Earth's surface

Distribution

The way in which things are arranged within a given space; can help describe and analyze organization

Density

Number of things, such as people, animals, or objects, in a specific area

Pattern

How things are arranged in a particular space, either in a neat/geometric pattern or more randomly

Flow (movement)

Study of the flow of people, goods, and information and the social, economic, political, and cultural effects of these movements on society

Contiguity

Whether two objects share a border (touching) or do not share a border (separated by something)

Environmental determinism

Argues that human behavior is largely controlled by the physical environment; later discredited

Possibilism

Argues that humans have more agency, or ability to produce a result, than environmental determinism would suggest

Sustainability

The use of Earth's land and natural resources in ways that ensure they remain available

Scale (large vs. small)

Area of the world being studied; how much you can see on a map

Scale of Analysis

How data is presented and grouped, such as globally, regionally, nationally, or locally

Region

Area that has common characteristics that make it distinct from other areas

Formal region

Area that has one or more shared traits, whether physical, cultural, or a combination

Functional region

Area organized by its function around a focal point

Node

Focal point of a functional region that serves a particular social, economic, or political function

Perceptual/vernacular region

Type of region that reflects people's feelings and attitudes about a place

Globalization

Expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale

Sustainable development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Human-environment interaction

Two-way relationship and mutual influence between human societies and the natural world

Gravity model

Mathematical model designed to represent the relative strength of a connection between two places

Distance-decay

The farther away two things are, the less interaction they tend to have

Time-space compression

Principle related to friction of distance that describes processes causing the relative distance between places to shrink

Friction of distance

Distance requires time, effort, and cost to overcome

World systems theory

Theory that interdependence between countries has created a world system with a single global economy and division of labor

Core

Wealthier countries with high levels of education and advanced technology; highly interconnected, with good networks, stable governments, and strong alliances; economically and politically dominant

Periphery

Countries with low wealth, lower levels of education, and less advanced technology; less stable governments, poorer services, less connectivity, and weaker networks and infrastructure for economic activity

Semi-periphery

Countries where both core and periphery processes occur; generally industrializing, active in manufacturing and exports, and better developed than the periphery with potential to become core

Quantitative data

Information measured using numbers

Qualitative data

Interpretations or descriptions derived from data sources

Census

Official count of the number of people in a defined area

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Mapping software systems that capture, store, organize, and display geographic data

Topography

Shape and features of Earth's land surfaces

Remote sensing

Use of technology to gather data remotely, without physical contact

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Integrated network of at least 31 satellites in the U.S. system that orbit Earth and transmit location data to receivers

Cartographers

People who create maps; historically, cartographers made maps for explorers to follow routes and estimate travel times

Absolute distance

Distance that can be measured using a standard unit of length

Relative distance

Distance measured using other criteria, such as time, cost, or effort

Absolute direction

Cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west

Relative direction

Left, right, up, down, front, and behind, based on people's perceptions

Map scale

Mathematical relationship between the size of a map and the part of the real world it represents

Map projections

Different methods of representing Earth's three-dimensional surface on a two-dimensional map; all projections distort some spatial relationships

Mercator

• True direction; good for navigation. − Distorts area, with greater size distortion near the poles

Gall-Peters

• Preserves area relatively accurately. − Distorts and elongates shapes

Robinson

• Globe-like appearance; balances distortions of size and shape. − Imprecise for measurements; greater distortion near the poles

Azimuthal

• Preserves direction and does not place a particular country at the center. − Distorts shape and area and typically shows only half of Earth

Reference maps

Generalized sources of geographic data that focus on location and illustrate names, boundaries, and unique identifiers of places and regions

Thematic maps

Maps with a specific theme or purpose that focus on relationships among geographic data; can show distribution, flow, or connections

Isoline map

Map that uses lines to connect points with equal values of a particular characteristic

Graduated symbols map

Uses differently sized symbols to indicate quantitative data

Cartogram

Shows the relative size of an area based on a particular attribute

Dot maps

Use dots to show locations of specific observations or events for statistical purposes

Choropleth

Uses colors or shading to represent categories or quantities of data

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

Total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country's borders in a given year

GNP (Gross National Product)

Total monetary value of all goods and services produced by a country's citizens or corporations, no matter where in the world the production takes place