AP Human Geography (The Cultural Landscape-Rubenstein) Vocabulary

Chapter 1

Thinking Geographically

globalization

greater cultural and economic interaction among people all over the world

geography

The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life

human geography

The study of where and why human activities are located where they are

physical geography

The study where and why natural forces occur as they do

map

A two-dimension or flat scale model of something

place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic

region

an area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features

scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studies and Earth as a whole

space

the physical gap or intervals between two objects

connections

relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

cartography

the science of mapmaking

map projection

the scientific method of transferring locations on Earth's surface to a flat map

Land Ordinance of 1785

divided much of the country into a system of townships and ranges to facilitate the sale of land to settlers

GIS (geographic information system)

a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic date

remote sensing

the acquisition of data from a satellite orbiting Earth or from another long-distance method

GPS (global positioning system)

a system that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth

location

the position that something occupies on Earth

toponym

the name given to a place on Earth

site

physical character of a place

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

meridian

an arc drawn between North and South poles

parallel

a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator

longitude

numbering system for meridians (axis between

North and South poles)

prime meridian

0 degrees longitude - passes through Greenwich, England

latitude

numbering system for parallels

equator

0 degrees latitude

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

master reference time for all points on Earth

Chapter-2

Population

Age distribution

The proportion of individuals of different ages within a population. You can use an age distribution to estimat survival by calculating the difference in proportion of individuals in succeeding age classes

Agricultural revolution

the development of farming

Arithmetic Population Density

The total number of people divided by the total land area

Capacity

the amount of people an area can support

Census

A complete enumeration of a population

Child Mortality Rate

A figure that describes the number of children that die between the first and fifth years of their lives in a given population

Chronic Diseases

Generally long - lasting afflictions now more common because of higher life expectancies (<== squiggly check spell!)

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The number of live births yearly per 1,000 people in a population. (natality)

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The number of deaths yearly per 1,000 people in a population

Demographic equation

NIR = CBR - CDR

Demographic momentum

is the tendency for growing population to continue growing after a fertility decline because of their young age distribution. This is important because once this happens a country moves to a different stage in the demographic transition model

Demographic Transition

High birth rates and death rates are followed by plunging death rates, producing a huge net population gain, this is followed by the convergence of birth rates and death rates at a low overall level

Demographic Transition model:

the steps through which a society progresses

Demography

the scientific study of population characteristics

Dependency ratio

the number of people who can't work

Doubling Time

the time it takes for an area's population to double

Ecumene

the area of land occupied by humans

Epidemiological transition

The a distinctive cause of death in each stage of the demographic transition. Explains how countries' population changes

Eugenic Population Policies

Government policies designed to favor one racial

sector over others

Expansive Popluation Policies

Government policies that encourage large families

and raise the rate of population growth

Exponential growth

growth by a percentile instead of a static number

Infant Mortality Rate

The total number of deaths in a year among infants under one year old for every 1000 live births in a society

J-curve

The shape of a line graph of population graph when growth is exponential

Life Expectancy

A figure indicating how long, on average, a person may be expected to live

Malthus, Thomas (Thomas Malthus)

British economist of late 1700's. considered the first to predict a population crisis

Medical Revolution

the leap of medical knowledge in stage 2 of the demographic transition

Megalopolis

Term used to designate large coalescing supercities that are forming in diverse parts of the world.

Mortality

the rate at which people die

Natality Rate (NIR)

number of birth/ year to every 1000 people in the population

Natural Increase

Population growth measured as the excess of live births over deaths; does not reflect either emigrant or immigrant movements

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

Neo-Malthusians

group who built on Malthus' theory and suggested that people wouldn't just starve for lack of food, but would have wars about food and other scarce resources

Overpopulation

too many people in one place for the resources available

Physiological Population Density

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture

Population Composition

Structure of population in terms of age, sex and other properties such as marital status and education

Population Density

A measurement of the number of people per given unit of land

Population Distribution

Description of locations on Earth's surface where populations live

Population Explosion

The rapid growth of the world's human population during the past century, attended by ever- shorter doubling times and sccelerating rates of increase.

Population Projection

Estimation of future population growth, by extrapolating current trends and known growth factors

Population Pyramids

A bar graph representing the distribution of population by age and sex

Restrictive Popluation Policies

Government policies designed to reduce the rate of natural increase

Sex ratio

the ratio of men to women

Standard of living

The goods a services and their distribution within a population

Stationary Population Level

The level at which a national population ceases to grow

Sustainability

The level of development that can be maintained without depleting resources

Total Fertility rate

the average number of children a woman has

underpopulation (Is that even a real word??)

A drop or decrease in a region's population

Zero population growth (ZPG)

Where natural birth rate declines to equal crude birth rate and the natural rate of population approaches 0

Chapter-3

Migration

Activity Space

the space within which daily activity occurs

Brain Drain

Large-scale emigration by talented people.

Chain Migration

migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there

circulation

short-term, repetitive, or cyclical movements that recur on a regular basis

distance decay function

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

emigration

migration from a location

immigration

migration to a location

forced migration

permanent movement compelled usually by cultural factors

voluntary migration

permanent movement undertaken by choice

gravity model

A mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places, based on the size of their populations and their distance from each other

guest worker

a person with temporary permission to work in another country

internal migration

permanent movement within the same country

international migration

permanent movement from one country to another

intervening obstacle

An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that hinders migration

migration transition

change in the migration pattern in a society that results from industrialization, population growth, and other social and economic changes that also produce the demographic transition

migration stream

A constant flow of migrants from the same origin to the same destination

migration selectivity

Only people exhibiting certain characteristics in a population choosing to migrate

mobility

the quality of moving freely

net migration

the difference between the level of immigration and the level of emigration

push factors

factors that induce people to leave old residences

pull factors

factors that induce people to move to a new location

refugee

people who are forced to migrate from thier home country and cannot return for fear of persecution because of thier race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group, of political opinion