AP Human Geo Unit 1 Study Guide

Absolute Direction

Indicates cardinal directions (North, South, East, West).

Absolute Distance

Measured in standard units like inches, feet, miles, or kilometers.

Absolute Location

The precise geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) of a place on Earth.

Aggregation

The process of organizing data into different scales (e.g., by census tract, city, county, or country) for easier mapping and analysis.

Aerial Photography

Professional images captured from planes within the atmosphere to gather data about geographic locations.

Built Environment

Physical artifacts that humans have created and that form part of the landscape (e.g., roads, buildings, farms).

Cartogram

A thematic map that distorts the size of geographic shapes to display differences in data, with larger areas representing greater values.

Cartographic Scale

Refers to the way a map communicates the ratio of its size to the size of what it represents (words, ratio, line).

Choropleth Map

A thematic map that visualizes data using different colors or shades of color to show quantities or rates within defined areas.

Circular Pattern

Phenomena equally spaced from a central point, forming a circle.

Clustering (Agglomerated)

A spatial pattern where phenomena are close together or concentrated in an area.

Connectivity

How well two locations are tied together by roads or other links.

Contested Boundaries

Boundaries of regions that are subjects of disputes or disagreements, often leading to conflict.

Cultural Landscape

How the built environment reflects the values and culture of the people who built it.

Distance Decay

The principle that the further apart two things are, the less connected or related they will be; the inverse relationship between distance and connection.

Dispersal (Dispersed)

A spatial pattern where phenomena are spread out with more space between them.

Distribution

The way a phenomenon is spread out or arranged over an area.

Dot Distribution Map

A thematic map that uses dots or other symbols to visualize the location of certain data points, showing specific location and distribution.

Elevation

Measures the height of geographic features relative to sea level.

Environmental Determinism

(Discredited theory) The belief that the physical environment exclusively determined how a people's culture developed and limited their societal progress.

Field Observation

When a researcher or geographer physically visits a location and makes firsthand written observations, takes photographs, or conducts interviews.

Flowline Map

A thematic map that shows the movement of different goods, people, animals, services, or ideas between different places.

Flows

Patterns of spatial interaction between different locations, illustrating the movement of ideas, people, products, and other phenomena.

Formal Region (Uniform Region or Homogeneous Region)

A geographical unit united by one or more common, shared traits (e.g., language, religion, political boundaries, climate).

Friction of Distance

The idea that when things are farther apart, they tend to be less connected, causing the "decay" or weakening of interaction.

Functional Region (Nodal Region)

A geographical unit organized around a focal point or node, defined by an activity that occurs across the region (e.g., a city and its commuting zone, a pizza delivery area).

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A software system that can collect, analyze, and display layered geographic data for research and problem-solving.

Geographic Scale (Relative Scale)

Refers to the area of the world being studied (e.g., local, regional, national, global).

Geometric Pattern

A distribution pattern in a regular arrangement, such as squares or blocks formed by roads.

Geospatial Data

Quantitative and spatial information that has a geographic location component to it (e.g., country, city, zip code, latitude, longitude).

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A satellite navigation system that uses satellites to determine and record a receiver's exact absolute location on Earth.

Global Scale

Analyzing geographic data or phenomena at the worldwide level.

Goode Homolosine Projection

An interrupted map projection that preserves the true size and shape of landmasses but distorts distances near the edges.

Graduated Symbol Map (Proportional Symbol Map)

A thematic map that uses symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of something, with larger sizes representing more data.

Human-Environmental Interaction

The study of how humans interact with and influence their environment, and vice versa.

Isoline Map (Isometric Map)

A thematic map that uses lines to connect points of equal value to depict variations in data across space (e.g., topographic maps showing elevation).

Land Use

Describes how human beings use and modify the land on which they live.

Landscape Analysis

The process of defining and describing landscapes through careful observation and interpretation.

Large Scale Map

A map that is "zoomed in," showing a smaller amount of area with a greater amount of detail (e.g., a city map).

Latitude

Horizontal lines that run parallel to the equator, measuring locations north or south of the equator.

Linear Pattern

A distribution pattern where phenomena are arranged in a straight line.

Local Scale

Analyzing geographic data or phenomena at the state, city, or even neighborhood level.

Longitude

Vertical lines that run from pole to pole, measuring locations east or west of the prime meridian.

Map Projection

The process of showing a curved surface (Earth) on a flat surface (map), which inevitably introduces distortion.

Maps

Fundamental tools for geographers used to analyze and interpret spatial patterns.

Mercator Projection

A map projection whose latitude and longitude lines meet at right angles, representing true direction, but distorting landmass size near the poles.

Natural Resources

Materials that occur in the natural environment that people can use (e.g., air, water, oil).

National Scale

Analyzing geographic data or phenomena within a particular country.

Non-renewable Resources

Natural resources that are limited in supply and can be exhausted by human uses (e.g., oil, natural gas).

Patterns

The general arrangement of things being studied on the landscape.

Perceptual Region (Vernacular Region)

A geographical unit defined by people's shared beliefs, feelings, and opinions about themselves and their area; borders are vague and subjective.

Peters Projection

A map projection that challenges the Mercator by depicting continents according to the true size of their landmasses, but with significant distortion in shapes and direction.

Place

Refers to the meaning people attribute to the locations in which they live; includes human and physical characteristics and cannot be measured mathematically.

Placelessness

When a location inspires no strong emotional ties in people or lacks uniqueness.

Polar Projection

A map projection that views the world from the North or South Pole, where directions are true, but distortion occurs at the edges.

Possibilism

The modern geographical theory that acknowledges environmental limits but emphasizes the human ability to adapt, innovate, and shape their own culture within those limits using technology and ingenuity.

Qualitative Data

Descriptive and language-based information, often subjective and open to interpretation (e.g., interviews, field observations).

Quantitative Data

Numbers-based information that can be measured and recorded, objective (e.g., census counts, income figures).

Random Pattern

A distribution pattern where phenomena appear to have no order to their position.

Reference Map

A map designed for general information, displaying specific geographic locations (e.g., political, physical, road maps).

Region

A geographical unit that shares some unifying principle or one or more unique characteristics or patterns of activity.

Regional Scale

Analyzing geographic data or phenomena across large regions, often to draw comparisons between two or more regions.

Relative Direction

Describes the location of one thing in relation to another (e.g., "north of Atlanta").

Relative Distance

A measure of social, cultural, or political differences or similarities between two locations, or the approximate measurement based on time or cost.

Relative Location

Describes one place in reference to another, usually measured in distance or time, or by its relation to surrounding features and connectivity.

Remote Sensing

A method of data collection that gathers information about geographic locations through satellite imagery or aerial photography.

Renewable Resources

Natural resources that can be used in unlimited measure or replenished naturally (e.g., sun, wind, biomass).

Robinson Projection

A compromise map projection that distributes all kinds of distortion equally across the entire map, rather than concentrating it in one area.

Scale

The ratio between the size of things in the real world and the size of those same things on the map.

Scales of Analysis

Refers to drawing conclusions based on different sizes of data sets (global, regional, national, local), revealing different patterns and processes.

Sense of Place

An emotional response that helps form a person's perception of a place, often tied to unique features or memories.

Site

The characteristics at the immediate location of a place (e.g., soil type, climate, labor force).

Situation

The location of a place relative to its surroundings and its connectivity to other places.

Small Scale Map

A map that is "zoomed out," showing a larger amount of area with less detail (e.g., a world map).

Space

Refers to the physical characteristics of a location that can be measured mathematically (e.g., distance, area).

Spatial Analysis

The process of examining the locations, attributes, and relationships of features in spatial data to identify patterns and relationships.

Spatial Association

Occurs when two or more phenomena may be related or associated with one another due to similar distribution patterns.

Spatial Patterns

Describe where things are located on the Earth, encompassing everything from mountains to people groups.

Sustainability

The study of how humans use resources (especially non-renewable ones) and develop policies for preserving them for future use, minimizing environmental impact.

Thematic Map

A map whose purpose is to display geographic information or depict geographic data/phenomena spatially.

Time-Space Compression

Refers to the decreased relative distance between places measured by the time or cost it takes to travel between them, due to advancements in transportation and communication.

Topographic Map

A type of reference map and a common isoline map that uses contour lines to display the terrain and elevation changes in an area.

Toponym

A place name.

Transitional Boundaries

Regional boundaries that are not hard lines but rather fuzzy areas where one region gradually changes into another.