AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY CHAPTER 1 VOCAB

Cartogram

Cartogram

"A map on which statistical information is shown in diagrammatical form"

Cartography

"The science of making maps."

Census Bureau

"The part of the commerce department responsible for taking the census; provides demographic information and analyses about the population of the United States"

choropleth

"a type of thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to a statistical variable that represents an aggregate summary of a geographic characteristic within each area"

Concentration

"The spread of something over a given area"

contagious diffusion

"The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population"

culture

"The body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute the distinction tradition of a group of people"

Cultural Ecology

"geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships"

density

"the frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area"

diffusion

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

Distance decay

"The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin"

Distribution

"The arrangement of something across earth's surface"

environmental determinism

"A nineteenth- and early twentieth-century approach to the study of geography that 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 snowballing process."

formal region

"An area in which everyone shares one or more distinctive characteristics."

friction of distance

"based on the notion that distance usually requires some amount of effort, money, and/or energy to overcome"

functional region (Nodal region)

"An area organized around a node or focal point"

Geographic Information System (GIS)

"A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data."

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."

Hearth (not like a fireplace)

"The region from which innovative ideas originate."

hierarchical diffusion

"The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places."

idiographic

"the features that are unique to a particular place or region, such as its history or ethnic composition."

intervening opportunities

"The presence of a nearer opportunity that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther away."

Isoline map

"a thematic map with lines that connect points of equal value.

Less Developed Country

"A country that is at a relatively early stage in the process of economic development."

Latitude (parallel)

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

Land Ordinance of 1785 (township/ sections)

"A law that divided much of the United States into townships to facilitate the sale of land to settlers."

Longitude (meridian)

"The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian (0)."

Mental map (vernacular region)

"A representation of a portion of Earth's surface based on what an individual knows about a place, containing personal impressions of what is in a place and where places are located."

metes and bounds survey system

"A system of land surveying east of the Appalachian mountain, relies on land descriptions of land ownership and natural features such as streams or trees."

More Developed Country

"A country that has progressed relatively far along a continuum of development."

Natural Resources

"a substance in the environment that is useful to people, economically and technologically feasible to access."

Nomothetic

"relating to the study or discovery of general scientific laws."

Pattern

"The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area."

possibilism

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

Qualitative Data

"descriptive information, usually in the form of text." - study.com

Quantitative Data

" information that can be expressed by numbers or that can be placed into specific categories." - study.com

relocation diffusion (hearth)

"The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another."

remote sensing

"The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods."

Reverse hierarchical diffusion

"ideas spread from area to area by ways of small towns, temporarily bypassing urban areas." - coursehero.com

Rural vs. urban

"in, relating to, or characteristic of the countryside rather than the town" VS. "in, relating to, or characteristic of a town or city"

scale

"Generally, the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole; specifically, the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface."

Scale of Analysis

"Geographers analyze relationships among and between places to reveal important spatial patterns." - app.oncoursesystems.com

site

"The physical character of the place."

situation

"The location of a place relative to other places."

space-time compression

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

Stimulus diffusion

"The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected."

Sustainability

"the use of Earth's resources in ways that ensure their availability in the future." - www.medford.k12.or.us

Toponym

"The name given to a portion of Earth's surface."

vernacular region

"(or perceptual region) An area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity."