AP Human Geography Vocabulary Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards derived from Units 1 through 7 of the AP Human Geography lecture notes, covering geographic themes, population, culture, political geography, agriculture, economics, and urban patterns.

Absolute Location

A location defined by its exact mathematical coordinates, consisting of the latitude and longitude.

Place

The distinctive physical and human characteristics that define an area.

Movement

The mobility of individuals, goods, and ideas, including patterns of human spatial interactions, accessibility, and connectivity.

Isoline Maps

Thematic maps that use lines of equal value to represent data such as elevation, barometric pressure, or temperature.

Choropleth Maps

A thematic map that uses shading, patterns, or colors to represent data for different areas.

Graduated Symbol Map

A thematic map where the size of a symbol is proportionate to the intensity of the variable being mapped.

Dot Map

A thematic map where the amount of dots represents the frequency of a certain data point or variable.

Cartogram

A thematic map that distorts the size of a political unit to display the value of a specific piece of data.

Elevation (Vertical Climate Formula)

Temperature decreases by $3.5^{\circ}$ for every $1,000\,ft$ increase in elevation.

Goode’s Interrupted Projection

A map projection that minimizes distortion by being interrupted and remains proportional, though it interrupts oceans and Antarctica.

Mercator Projection

A map projection used for sea travel that maintains distance and direction but distorts the shape and size of land masses.

Robinson Projection

A map projection that spreads distortion across shape, size, and direction; landforms are shown correctly, but the poles appear flat and too large.

Cartography

The science of mapmaking, with the first map made by Eratosthenes ($276-194\,\text{BC}$).

Scale of Analysis

How data is organized and presented on a map, such as global, national, regional, or local scales.

Absolute Distance

Distance expressed in quantitative terms, such as miles or kilometers.

Relative Distance

Distance expressed in qualitative terms, such as "$20\,\text{min}$ south."

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

The master reference time for all points on Earth, located at the prime meridian in Greenwich, England.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A system that determines an absolute mathematical position using satellites in orbit, tracking stations, and receivers.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer system used for layering and analyzing spatial data.

Formal Region

A uniform or homogeneous region where everyone shares one or more common traits and has distinct boundaries.

Functional Region

A nodal region organized around a center or node where characteristics diffuse outward, such as a newspaper circulation area.

Perceptual Region

A vernacular region that exists based on people's cultural identity and feelings about an area, such as the American Midwest.

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of a feature through the physical movement of people from one locale to another.

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of a feature from nodes of authority or power to other people or places.

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle even though the specific characteristic itself fails to diffuse or is changed by the adopting culture.

Distance Decay

The decrease in the intensity of an effect or interaction as the distance from the source increases.

Space Time Compression

The reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place, which increases connectivity and reduces distance decay.

Environmental Determinism

The theory that the physical environment is the primary cause of social and cultural development.

Possibilism

The theory that while the environment sets limits, people have the ability to adjust to or control the environment to a high extent.

Agricultural Density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land.

Physiological Density

The number of people supported by a unit of arable land, which indicates the pressure on land for food production.

Arithmetic Density

The total number of objects in an area, calculated as the total population divided by the total land area.

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

The percentage growth of a population in a year, calculated as $\text{CBR} - \text{CDR} = \text{NIR}$ per $100\,\text{people}$.

Malthusian Theory

The theory that population grows exponentially (geometrically) while food supply only increases arithmetically (linearly).

Step Migration

A migration process that occurs little by little, where migrants stop at several places along the way to their final destination.

Chain Migration

A process where legal immigrants sponsor family members for immigration.

Acculturation

The adoption of cultural traits from a larger group while still maintaining elements of the original culture.

Assimilation

The process by which a person's original culture is replaced by a new, dominant culture.

Lingua Franca

A language used for international communication across different cultures, such as English, Swahili, or Hindi.

Devolution

The movement of power from a central government to regional governments within a state.

Sovereignty

The independence of a region's inner affairs from control by other states.

EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)

A zone extending $200\,\text{nautical miles}$ from a coast where a state has the right to explore and manage natural resources.

Gerrymandering

The redrawing of legislative boundaries to favor a specific political party in power.

Supranationalism

The formation of unions by three or more countries for economic, political, or cultural reasons.

Columbian Exchange

The historical diffusion of plants, animals, and diseases between the New World and the Old World.

Green Revolution

A period starting in the 1940s involving the use of tropical plant and animal hybrids and chemical fertilizers to increase food production.

Aquaculture

The practice of fish farming in bays, estuaries, or land-based tanks.

Slash and Burn Agriculture

A farming technique where land is cleared by cutting and burning vegetation and then shifted to a new plot after a few years.

Primary Production

Economic activities involving the extraction of natural resources, such as mining, forestry, or agriculture.

Secondary Production

Economic activities involving the processing of raw materials into finished products or manufacturing.

Tertiary Production

Economic activities involving services, transportation, and retailing.

Wallerstein’s World System Theory

A model that divides the world into Core, Periphery, and Semi-periphery to explain uneven development and capitalism.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

The total dollar value of all goods and services produced within a country in a year.

GNI (Gross National Income)

The total value of goods and services produced by a country, including exports minus imports ($\text{GNI} = \text{goods} + \text{services} + (\text{exports} - \text{imports})$).

Central Place Theory

The theory that all market areas are focused on a central settlement that serves as a place of exchange and service.

Threshold

The minimum number of people required to support a business or service.

Range

The maximum distance people are willing to travel to obtain a specific service.

Primate City

A city that is at least twice as large as the next largest city in the country and is a center of economic and political power.

Redlining

A discriminatory practice where banks or insurance companies automatically deny applications for homes in specific neighborhoods identified on a map.

Racial Steering

The practice of real estate agents advising customers to purchase homes in specific neighborhoods based on their race.