Form 2 Geography Key Terminology

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key physical, human, economic, and practical map-work terms from the Form 2 Geography curriculum.

Geography

The study of places and the relationships between people and their environment.

Physical Geography

The scientific study of the natural features of the Earth's surface, including land formation, climate, currents, and the distribution of flora and fauna.

Human Geography

The branch of geography that examines how human activity affects or is influenced by the Earth, covering population, politics, culture, economics, and lifestyles.

Environmental Geography

The branch of geography that describes the interactions between humans and the natural world, drawing from physical and human geography to address environmental issues, resources, and management.

Site

The actual ground or physical location where a settlement is built, encompassing specific physical landscape characteristics such as landforms, climate, and soil quality.

Situation

The location of a place relative to its surroundings and human features, including accessibility, transportation links, and proximity to raw materials.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total monetary or market value of all finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period, usually one year.

Gross National Product (GNP)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) plus the income received from abroad.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A United Nations composite statistic measuring overall social and economic achievement based on health (life expectancy), educational attainment (literacy and enrolment), and standard of living (income per capita).

Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI)

An index measuring the well-being of a country by averaging basic literacy rate, infant mortality, and life expectancy at age one, all equally weighted on a $0$ to $100$ scale.

Deflation

A general decline in prices for goods and services, typically associated with a contraction in the supply of money and credit in the economy.

Inflation

A rise in prices of goods and services that often leads to an increase in the cost of living.

Brain Drain

The loss of educated, skilled workers from a country due to emigration.

Demography

The scientific study of human populations.

Population Density

The average number of people living in an area per square kilometre, calculated by dividing total population by total land area ($\text{people per km}^2$).

Optimum Population

A state in which the size of the human population balances with available resources to ensure a high standard of living for all citizens.

Population Pyramid

A diagram composed of horizontal bar graphs displaying the percentage of a population in different age cohorts divided by gender.

Rotation

The spinning of the Earth on its tilted axis from west to east, which takes $24\text{ hours}$ and produces day and night.

Revolution

The movement of the Earth around the Sun on its tilted orbit, which takes $365\frac{1}{4}\text{ days}$ and causes the seasons and varying day lengths.

Equinox

The occurrence twice a year (March $21\text{st}$ and September $23\text{rd}$) when the Sun is directly overhead at the equator, resulting in equal lengths of day and night across the globe.

Eastings

Vertical grid lines on a map whose reference numbers increase from west to east.

Northings

Horizontal grid lines on a map whose reference numbers increase from south to north.

Magnetic Variation

The angular difference between True North and Magnetic North.

Sustainable Development

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

Primary Economic Activities

The initial stage of production involving the direct extraction or harvesting of natural raw materials from the earth, such as farming, fishing, and mining.

Secondary Economic Activities

The stage of production involving the manufacturing or industrial processing of raw materials into goods of higher economic value.

Tertiary Economic Activities

The economic sector concerned with providing commercial, personal, and professional services, such as healthcare, education, retail, and tourism.

Quaternary Sector

A specialized branch of the knowledge economy focused on research and development, information technology, training, and specialized expertise.

Great Circle

An imaginary circle drawn on the Earth's surface whose plane passes through the centre of the Earth, dividing the globe into two equal hemispheres.

Prime Meridian

The reference line of longitude designated as $0^\circ$, passing through Greenwich near London, which divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Storm Surge

An abnormal rise of sea water generated by a severe storm or hurricane over and above the normal astronomical tides.

Liquefaction

A process during an earthquake in which shaking causes saturated, loosely packed soil to lose its structural strength and behave temporarily as a semi-liquid.

Bearing

The horizontal angle of direction measured in degrees clockwise from north.