AP Hug Unit 1 Review simple

Absolute location

Exact spot on Earth using coordinates or an address.

Cartography

The science and art of mapmaking.

Circular pattern

Things arranged in a circle around a central point.

Cultural landscapes

A natural area modified by human culture and activity.

Daylight savings time

Setting clocks ahead one hour in summer to gain daylight.

Distortion

The unavoidable stretch or squash when flattening a 3D Earth onto a 2D map.

Environmental geography

The study of how humans and nature affect each other.

Equator

The line at 0 degrees latitude dividing Earth into North and South.

Eratosthenes

Greek scholar who first calculated Earth's size.

Formal regions

Areas with official boundaries and shared traits like states or climate zones.

Functional (nodal) regions

Areas organized around a central hub like a subway system or TV signal area.

GIS

Computer software used to layer, analyze, and map spatial data.

Globalization

The worldwide spread and connection of economies and cultures.

Greenwich Mean Time

The original baseline time measured at 0 degrees longitude.

GPS

Satellite network that pinpoints exact location.

Grid pattern

Street or land layout intersecting at right angles.

Hecataeus

Early Greek geographer who drew one of the first world maps.

Human geography

The study of human cultures, populations, and activities across Earth.

Idrisi

Medieval Arab mapmaker who created advanced world maps.

Kant, Immanuel

Philosopher who argued geography organizes facts by space, just as history does by time.

Landscapes

The visible features of an area of land.

Latitude

Lines running east

Linear pattern

Things arranged in a line along a road, river, or coastline.

Local time

Time based on the Sun's position in a specific location.

Location

Where something is on Earth.

Longitude

Lines running north

Marsh, George Perkins

Early conservationist who warned about human damage to nature.

Mercator projection

Map projection that keeps correct shapes and directions but makes polar areas look huge.

Meridian

A line of longitude from the North Pole to the South Pole.

Multi

national corporations

Parallel

A line of latitude parallel to the Equator.

Pattern

The geometric arrangement of objects in an area.

Perceptual (vernacular) regions

Areas defined by subjective popular feelings rather than hard borders, like "The Midwest."

Periphery

Poorer or developing outer regions dependent on wealthier core regions.

Peters projection

Map projection showing accurate relative sizes of landmasses but distorting their shapes.

Place

A specific location made unique by its physical and human traits.

Physical geography

The study of natural landforms, weather, and ecosystems.

Physical site characteristic

Natural features of a specific location like soil, elevation, and climate.

Prime meridian

The line at 0 degrees longitude passing through Greenwich, England.

Ptolemy

Ancient scholar who developed early grid map systems.

Random pattern

Unorganized layout with no clear design.

Regionalization

Dividing the world into smaller areas based on shared features.

Robinson projection

Compromise map projection that balances size, shape, and distance distortions.

Sauer, Carl

Geographer who taught that human culture reshapes natural landscapes.

Scale

The ratio of map distance to actual real

Site

The physical, internal traits of a place.

Situation

The location of a place relative to surrounding places and features.

Solar time

Time based directly on the Sun reaching its highest point at noon.

Space

The physical area or gap between objects.

Space time compression

Faster transport and technology making distant places feel closer.

Spatial organization

How human features and natural elements are arranged across land.

Spatial perspective

Looking at world events by analyzing where they happen and why.

Time zone

A region observing a single standard time.

Topography

The natural shapes and elevation of land surface features.

Toponym

The name given to a place on Earth.

U.S. Census Bureau

Government agency that collects population data and maps demography.

"why of where"

Core geography idea asking why things are located where they are.