Geography Key Concepts: Latitude, Climate, Demographic Transition & Map Skills

What is the purpose of latitude and longitude?

They serve as a locational reference system to identify specific locations on Earth.

What are the controlling factors of climate?

Factors include latitude, altitude, proximity to water, ocean currents, and topography.

Describe the stages of the Theory of the Demographic Transition.

The stages include: 1) High birth and death rates; 2) High birth rates, declining death rates; 3) Declining birth rates, low death rates; 4) Low birth and death rates; 5) Possible decline in population.

What are the sectors of economic activities?

The sectors include primary (extraction), secondary (manufacturing), tertiary (services), and quaternary (knowledge-based services).

What measures help evaluate a country's circumstances?

Measures include GDP, literacy rates, life expectancy, and Human Development Index (HDI).

How can human population be described?

Descriptions include absolute population, population density, growth rate, and doubling time.

What is orographic lifting and its impact on climate?

Orographic lifting occurs when air is forced to rise over a mountain, leading to precipitation on the windward side and a rain shadow on the leeward side.

What are the five major themes in geography?

The themes are location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region.

What is map scale?

Map scale refers to the relationship between distance on the map and the corresponding distance on the ground.

What elements are typically found on maps?

Elements include scale, legend, compass rose, and labels.

What defines the tropics and their influence on solar radiation?

The tropics are the regions between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, where solar radiation is most direct and consistent.

What are the climate types in the Köppen classification?

Climate types include tropical, arid, temperate, continental, and polar.

What are population pyramids?

Population pyramids are graphical representations showing the distribution of various age groups in a population.

What is cultural diffusion?

Cultural diffusion is the spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group to another, with two major types being relocation diffusion and expansion diffusion.

What are general characteristics of most world religions?

Characteristics include beliefs in the supernatural, sacred texts, moral codes, and rituals.

Gegraphy

the study of the distributions of phenomena on earth

human geography

distributions of human created phenomena

physical geography

distributions of phemonema

location

where something is

relative location

where something is in relation to something else

place

spacial and non spacial characteristics of places

movement

the dispersion of people and or commodities over earth

what causes people to move

jobs/employment ,safety ,access to resources ,civil war /armed conflict

Commodities

the global economy; flow of goods where its cheapest

human environment interaction

how humans interact with and modify the natural environment

regions

areas on earth that can be identified as having shared physical and or human characteristics

maps

models of earth that depict or shows pehmonena of interest; has a scale

smaller scale

Shows more land area in less detail.

larger scale

Shows less land area in more detail

ratio scale

1: 50,000 miles mean one of any unit on the map is equivalent to 50,000 of that unit on earth

legend

A list that identifies patterns, symbols, or colors used in a chart

north arrow

a graphical device on a map used to show the orientation of the map

latitude

Distance north or south of the equator measured east and west

longitude

Distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured north and south

Geographic Information System (GIS)

geographic data base that contains tools to visualize and analyze location

remote sensing

collecting/analyzing data regarding phenomena on earth using devices not on earth

Global Positioning System (GPS)

a satellite constellation based technology system that enables near instintanious calculations of location on earth

suas

small named aircraft system

definition of small in the us

less then 55lb

lidar

Light Detection and Ranging

global patterns

earth environment (natural)

climate

Overall weather in an area over a long period of time

temperature

how warm/cool/ the air temperatures

precipitation

moisture that falls from the atmosphere

koppen climate

classification system classifies global climates based on variations in temperature and precipitation

tropical climates

warm/hot wet humid all year round

dry climates

warm to cooler and dry at least one season of the year

temperate climate

warm winter; hot to warm to cool, humid climates

latitude impacts what

the amount of time and solar radiation received

land masses and water bodies

land masses heat up and cool down faster then water bodies

high atmosphere does what

forms over cooler surfaces

lower atmosphere does what

forms over warmer surfaces

altitude/elevation

for every 1000ft air rises its temp dscreases 3-3.5 degrees

ocean currents

the location and temperature of ocean currents

mountains

areas where there is a significant increase in elevation

hills

less then 1000ft

valleys

flat areas bordered/ surrounded by by hills/mountains

platuea

a large flat area that raises around surrounded land

plains

a large area of flat land

delta

A landform made of sediment that is deposited where a river flows into an ocean or lake

tectonic plates

Large movable plates under the Earth's surface.

depositions

water and wind and glaciers and deposits material

weathering

when water or wind will wear down a form

erosion

when water and wind transports material

vegetarian

the distribution of plant life on earth

trees

require large amounts of moisture

grass lands

require less moisture

soils

important and formation

absolute population

the number of people living in a country or region

population density

number of people per 59 miles or 59km

population dynamics

population growth rate

population doubling time

how long it take a population to double based on its growth percentage

how do calculate growth rate when it doubles

70/gr

stage 1 high stationary stage

high birth/death rates offset each other

stage 2 early expanding

death rates decrease significantly while birth rates stay high

stage 3 late expanding

birth rates decrease significantly closer to death rates

stage 4 low stationary

consistently low birth and death rates offset eachother little population change

stage 5 declining

death rates are higher then birth rates

population pyramid

a graph that depicts the age/gender structure of a countries population

culture

learning behaviors that influences humans and their societies

culture trait

any single element of a culture

culture region

an area where culture traits are dominant

religion

a belief system

language

mean of communication culture