Barron's AP Human Geography - Unit 2 Vocab

Age-Sex Distribution

A model used in population geography that describes the ages and number of males and females within a given population; also called a population pyramid.

Arithmetic Density

The number of people living in a given unit area.

ex. United States, we can divide the population (approximately 290 million people) by the land area (approximately 9.0 million square kilometers, or 3.0 million square miles). The result shows that the Untied States has an arithmetic density of 30 person per square kilometer (78 person per square mile).

Baby Boom

A cohort of individuals born in the United States between 1946 and 1964, which was just after World War II in a time of relative peace and prosperity. These conditions allowed for better education and job opportunities, encouraging high rates of both marriage and fertility.

Baby Bust

Period of time during the 1960s and 1970s when fertility rates in the United States dropped as large numbers of women from the baby boom generation sought higher levels of education and more competitive jobs, causing them to marry later in life. As such, the fertility rate dropped considerably, in contrast to the baby boom, in which fertility rates were quite high.

Carrying Capacity

The largest number of people that the environment of a particular area can sustainably support.

ex. The number of people who could survive in a lifeboat after a shipwreck. Their survival depends on how much food and water they have, how much each person eats and drinks each day, and how many days they are afloat.

Census Tract

Small country subdivisions, usually containing between 2,500 and 8,000 persons, delineated by the U.S. Census Bureau as areas of relatively uniform population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions.

Chain Migration

The migration event in which individuals follow the migratory path of preceding friends or family members to an existing community.

ex. A family moves to America. His brother and his family moves to America next.

Child Mortality Rate

Number of deaths per thousand children within the first five years of life.

ex. America's child mortality rate is beneath 5 (per 1000)

Cohort

A population group unified by a specific common characteristic, such as age, and subsequently treated as a statistical unit.

ex. baby boom generation

Cotton Belt

The term by which the American South used to be known, as cotton historically dominated the agricultural economy of the region. The same area is now known as the New South or Sun Belt because people have migrated here from older cities in the industrial north for a better climate and new job opportunities.

Crude Birth Rate

The number of live births per year per 1,000 people.

ex. united states- 13.2 per 1000

Crude Death Rate

The number of deaths per year per 1,000 people.

ex. united states- 8.4 per 1000

Demographic Accounting Equation

An equation that summarizes the amount of growth or decline in a population within a country during a particular time period taking into account both natural increase and net migration.

ex. you add people coming in and subtract people leaving

Demographic Transition Model

A sequence of demographic changes in which a country moves from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates through time.

ex. The united states is a stage 4 country in the demographic transition model.

Demography

The study of human populatios, including their temporal and spatial dynamics.

Dependency Ratio

The ratio of the number of people who are either too old or young to provide for themselves to the number of people who must support them through their own labor. This is usually expressed in the form n:100, where n equals the number of dependents.

ex. America (2013)- 29.40%

Doubling Time

Time period required for a population experiencing exponential growth to double in size completely.

ex. at a 3% growth rate, the time t will take for a population to double, is less than 25 years.

Emigration

The process of moving out of a particular country, usually the individual person's country of origin.

ex. We emigrated from India.

Exponential Growth

Growth that occurs when a fixed percentage of new people is added to a population each year. Exponential growth is compound because the fixed growth rate applies to an ever-increasing population.

ex. population

Forced Migration

The migration event in which individuals are forced to leave a country against their will.

ex. africans were forced to leave africa during the north atlantic slave trade.

Generation X

A term coined by artist and author Douglas Coupland to describe people born in the United States between the years 1965 and 1980. This post-baby-boom generation will have to support the baby boom cohort as they head into their retirement years.

Geodemography

A division of human geography concerned with spatial variations in distribution, composition, growth, and movements of population; also known as population geography.

Immigration

The process of individuals moving into a new country with the intentions of remaining there.

ex. We immigrated to America.

infant mortality rate

the percentage of children who die before their first birthday within a particular country

ex. Infant mortality rate exceeds 10% in some less-developed countries

internal migration

the permanent or semi permanent movement of individuals within a particular country

ex. If we moved from Texas to New York.

intervening obstacles

any forces or factors that may limit human migration

ex. nation immigration policies

involuntary migration

(another word for forced migration, the migration event in which individuals are forced to leave a country against their will)

ex. africans forced to leave Africa during the north atlantic slave trade

life expectancy

the average age individuals are expected to live, which varies across space, between genders, and even between races

ex. america- 79 years old

Thomas Malthus

Author of Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) who claimed that population grows at an exponential rate while food production increases arithmetically, and thereby that, eventually, population growth would outpace food production.

maternal mortality rate

number of deaths per thousand of women giving birth

ex. America- In 2011, that number more than doubled, jumping to 17.8 deaths per 100,000 births

migration

a long term move of a person from one political jurisdiction to another

ex. moving to america

natural increase rate

the difference between the number of births and number of deaths within a particular country

ex. In more developed region of the world, which include North America, Japan, Europe, and Australia, the natural increase rate has decreased drastically.

neo-Malthusian

advocacy of population-control programs to ensure enough resources for current and future populations

overpopulation

a value judgement based on the notion that the resources of a particular area are not great enough to support that area's current population

ex. China and India

physiologic density

a ratio of human population to the area of cropland, used in less-developed countries dominated by subsistence agriculture

ex. The greatest population densities currently occur in eastern China, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Western Europe, and the northeastern United States.

population density

a measurement of the number of persons per unit of land area

ex. United States the physiological density is 156 persons per square kilometer (404 per square mile) or arable land.

population geography

a division of human geography concerned with spatial variations in distribution, composition, growth, and movements of population

population pyramid

a model used in population geography to show the age and sex distribution of a particular population

pull factors

attractions that draw migrants to a certain place

ex. a pleasant climate and employment or educational opportunities

push factors

incentives for potential migrants to leave a place

ex. harsh climate, economic recession, or political turmoil

refugees

people who leave their home because they are forced out, but not because they are being officially relocated or enslaved

ex. Syrian refugees

Rust Belt

The northern industrial states of the U.S., including Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, in which heavy industry was once the dominant economic activity. In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, these states lost much of their economic base to economically attractive regions of the U.S. and to countries where labor was cheaper, leaving old machinery to rust in the moist northern climate.

Sun Belt

U.S. region, mostly comprised of southeastern and southwestern states, which has grown most dramatically since World War II.

total fertility rate

the average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years

ex. America (2012)- 1.88 births

voluntary migration

movement of an individual who consciously and voluntarily decides to locate to a new area; the opposite of forced migration

ex. Us moving to America

zero population growth

proposal to end population growth through a variety of official and nongovernmental family-planning programs