AP HuG - Chapter 1 Review

What is Geography?

Geography means earth writing. (Geo-earth; graphia-writing)

Location

absolute and relative location

Place

distinctive physical and human characteristics of a place

Human-Environment Interaction

How people interact with/shape the surrounding environment.

Movement

Mobility of people, goods, and ideas; patterns & changes in human spatial interactions; accessibility & connectivity of places.

Regions

Area that displays a selected criteria - one or more distinctive characteristics. (Ex: New England)

Geography

the study of where things are found on Earth's surface and the reasons for their locations.

Map

a 2-dimensional or flat-scale model of the Earth's surface

Cartography

the science and practice of mapmaking

Maps as Reference Tools

identify an object's absolute and relative location

Maps as Communications Tools

to convey the distribution of human activities or physical features

Examples of Maps as Communications tools

Illiterate women across the world, HIV prevalence, etc.

Projection

the scientific method of depicting Earth's round surface to a flat map

Types of Map Scales

ratio or fraction; written; graphic

Ways of Distortion

Shape; distance; relative size; direction

Mercator Projection

shows courses of constant bearing as straight lines

(transverse mercator projection is the same mathematically as the standard mercator but on a different axis.)

Robinson Projection

a compromise or equal-area and conformal area

Albers Projection

shows shape accurately, but distorts shapes

Miller Cylindrical Projection

maps the globe onto a cylinder

Map Scale

the level of detail and the amount of area covered on the map

Ration or Fractions Scale

Number on the left is one unit of distance on the map, while number on the right represents its equivalent on Earth's surface.

Ex: 1:24,000 or 1/24,000

Written Scale

Number on the left is a unit of measurement on the map while the number on the right represents its equivalent on the surface of the Earth.

Ex: 3 in = 10 mi

Graphic Scale

Consists of a bar marked on the map to show equivalent distance on the Earth's surface.

Small Scale (or small fraction)

maps that how a large area on the earth such as 1/1,000,000

(less detail)

Large Scale (or large fraction)

maps that show a small area on the Earth such as 1/25,000 or 1/1000

(more detail)

Meridians

lines of longitude (runs north/south from pole to pole.

Parallels

lines of latitude (runs east/west parallel to the equator

Absolute Location

exact location on earth's surface, told using coordinates

Ex: Denver is located at 40N, 105W

Relative Location

Location in relation to other nearby features

Ex: Denver is located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains on Interstate 70

How many time zones are there?

24 (each 15* longitude wide)

Space

the physical gap or interval between objects

Density

frequency with which something occurs in a specified area

(Arithmetic, Physiological, and Agricultural Density)

Concentration

extent of a feature's spread

Clustered

close together

Dispersed

Spread Apart

Pattern

Arrangements of objects in space

Isoline Map

map that uses lines of equal value to represent data

Ex: average temperature, mean annual precipitation

Choropleth Map

map where a specific variable is depicted with shading, patterns, or colors

Ex: population densities, motor vehicle theft by state, political states

Proportional (Graduated) Symbol Map

map in which the size of the symbol varies in proportion to the intensity of the mapped variable

Ex: traffic fatalities in the U.S. by state, capital population, total murders per state

Dot Map

thematic map in which a dot represents some frequency/occurrence of a variable

Ex: population

Cartogram

map using relative size of political units to convey a value

Ex: electoral votes, population,