Pre-AP World History and Geography

Physical Geography

the branch of geography dealing with natural features and processes.

Human Geography

the branch of geography which studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment.

Cartography

the science or practice of drawing maps.

Climate

the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period.

Population Density

Population density is the number of people per unit of area.

Perspective/Bias

the tendency to perceive ourselves and our environment subjectively.

Globalization

the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.

Map Projection

The method used to portray a part of the spherical Earth on a flat surface.

Hearth

a place of origin for a widespread cultural trend.

4 Oceans

1. Atlantic 2. Pacific 3. Indian Ocean 4. Arctic

7 Continents

1. Australia 2. Asia 3. North America 4. South America 5. Europe 6. Africa 7. Antarctica

5 Themes of Geography

location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region.

Latitude and Longitude

a system of lines used to describe the location of any place on Earth.

Tropic of Capricorn

the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice.

Tropic of Cancer

the area from the equator, which circles the Earth, to the invisible line 23° north of the equator.

Prime Meridian/International Date Line

located halfway around the world from the prime meridian — the 0-degree longitude line in Greenwich, England.

Equator

an imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°.

Map Scale

the relationship (or ratio) between distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground.

Cardinal/Intermediate Directions

NE, SE, NW, SW.

Compass Rose

a circle showing the principal directions printed on a map or chart.

Scale

The scale on a map shows the size of the area represented by the map.

Environmental Determinism

the theory that the physical environment determines society.

Possibilism

The concept that the natural environment places constraints on human activity, but humans can adapt to some environmental limits while modifying others using technology.

Cultural Ecology

the study of human adaptations to social and physical environments.

Current World Population

8,045,311,447.

Current USA Population

339,996,563.

Current Colorado Population

5,913,324.

Birth Rate

the ratio between the number of live-born births in the year and the average total population of that year.

Death Rate

the ratio of the number of deaths yearly per 1,000 people in a given population.

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

the difference between the number of live births and the number of deaths occurring in a year, divided by the mid-year population of that year, multiplied by a factor (usually 1,000).

Urban (Urbanization)

the process through which cities grow, and higher and higher percentages of the population come to live in the city.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years an individual can be expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions.

Literacy Rate

The percentage of people ages 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life.

Total Fertility Rate

An estimate of the average number of children born to each female in her childbearing years.

Carrying Capacity

The number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total of all value added created in an economy.

Natural Increase Rate

The difference between the number of live births and the number of deaths occurring in a year, divided by the mid-year population of that year, multiplied by a factor (usually 1,000).

Demographic Transition Model (DTM) Stages

Pre-industrial, urbanizing/industrializing, mature industrial, and post-industrial.

Migration (Push & Pull Factors)

Push factors describe the reasons that individuals might emigrate from their homes, including poverty, lack of social mobility, violence, or persecution. Pull factors describe the reasons that an individual might settle in a particular country.

Pro Natalist

Policies which are designed with the purpose of increasing the birth rate/fertility rate of an area.

Anti Natalist

The policy of the government to slow the population growth by attempting to limit the number of births.

Forced & Voluntary Migration

Voluntary migration occurs when someone chooses to leave home. Forced migrations usually involve people who have been expelled by governments or who have been transported as slaves or prisoners.

Intervening Obstacle

An environmental or cultural feature that hinders migration.

Refugees

People who must leave their home area for their own safety or survival.

Development

A specified state of advancement or growth.

Modernization (Rostow) Theory

Through increased investment, increased exposure to modernized, Western society, and changes in traditional culture and values, societies will become more highly developed.

Dependency Theory

Focused on individual nations, their role as suppliers of raw materials, cheap labor, and markets for expensive manufactured goods from industrialized countries.

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Sectors

The three-sector model in economics divides economies into three sectors of activity: extraction of raw materials (primary), manufacturing (secondary), and service industries which exist to facilitate the transport, distribution and sale of goods produced in the secondary sector (tertiary).

The Brandt Line (Global South & Global North)

An artifact from the 1980s dividing the world into the wealthy north and the poor south Countries' average latitude.

Jared Diamond (Guns Germs & Steel) Theory

Some countries developed more rapidly than others and were able to expand and conquer much of the world because of geographic luck.

HDI (Human Development Index)

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, which is used to rank countries into four tiers of human development.

GNI (Gross National Income)

The total amount of money earned by a nation's people and businesses.

BRICS

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

MINT

Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey.

Natural Resources

Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

Renewable Resources

A resource of which there is an endless supply because it can be replenished.

Non-renewable Resources

A natural substance that is not replenished with the speed at which it is consumed.

Sustainable Development

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

Culture

The traditions and beliefs of a specific group of people.

Ethnocentrism

The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture.

Cultural Relativism

Not judging a culture to our own standards of what is right or wrong, strange or normal.

Material Culture

The physical aspects of a society.

Artifacts

An object made by a human being.

Non-Material Culture

Thoughts or ideas that make up a culture.

Mentifacts

The shared ideas, values, and beliefs of a culture.

Sociofacts

The structures and organizations of a culture which influence social behaviour.

Agnosticism

Belief that nothing can be known about whether God exists.

Atheism

Disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

Branch

A large and fundamental division within a religion.

Denomination

A religious group that has slightly different beliefs from other groups that share the same religion.

Sect

A religious group that exists inside of a larger religion.

Ethnic religion

Relate closely to culture, ethnic heritage, and to the physical geography of a particular place.

Fundamentalism

A form of a religion, especially Islam or Protestant Christianity, that upholds belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture.

Missionary

A person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country.

Monotheism

A belief in one god.

Polytheism

A belief in multiple gods or deities.

Pilgrimage

When a group of travelers moves from their homeplace to another area with a religious sacred goal in mind.

Secularism

The separation of religion from civil affairs and the state.

Universalizing religion

A religion that tries to appeal to all cultures and people all over the world.

Theocracy

A government that is divinely ordained by God.

Heretic

A belief that is against the beliefs of the church.

Apostate

A person who leaves the church.

Animists

A belief that living things possess a soul and personality.

Islam

Islam teaches that Allah's word was revealed to the prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.

Judaism

Jewish people believe there's only one God who has established a covenant—or special agreement—with them.

Christianity

Believe that God made a covenant with Abraham, believe in the afterlife, and that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected.

Hinduism

Views the entire universe as God's and everything in the universe as God.

Hindu belief

Non-exclusive and accepts all other faiths and religious paths.

Buddhism

Human life is one of suffering, and meditation, spiritual and physical labor, and good behavior are the ways to achieve enlightenment or nirvana.

Sikhism

Essential message is spiritual devotion and reverence of God at all times while practicing the ideals of honesty, compassion, humility, and generosity in everyday life.

Number of followers (Islam)

1.9 billion

Number of followers (Judaism)

14 million

Number of followers (Christianity)

2.4 billion

Number of followers (Hinduism)

1.161 billion

Number of followers (Buddhism)

500 million

Number of followers (Sikhism)

1.6 billion

Major divisions (Islam)

Sunnis and Shias

Major divisions (Judaism)

Orthodox, Conservative and Reform

Major divisions (Christianity)

Catholicism, Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Assyrians.

Major divisions (Hinduism)

Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism