Physical and Human Geography Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering topics in physical, human, and environmental geography, weather elements, climate factors, pressure systems, cartography, and graphical data representations.

Geography

The study of the Earth, its land, its features, and how people interact with the world around them.

Physical Geography

The branch of geography that enables us to learn about Earth's landforms, climate, landscapes, and scenery.

Human Geography

The study of where and how people live, population growth, and what other countries and cities are like.

Environmental Geography

The study of the surroundings in which people, plants, and animals live, focusing on the use of Earth's natural resources and living in a sustainable way.

Economic Geography

The study of how people try to earn a living, including industries, jobs, wealth, and the division into primary, secondary, and tertiary activities.

Settlement Geography

The study of where people live, why settlements grow or remain small, and how land is used and changes over time in cities.

Population Geography

The study of how people are distributed over the Earth's surface, why population numbers grow rapidly, and why people migrate.

Weather

The daily atmospheric condition of a place over a very short period of time.

Climate

The average weather condition of a place over a long period of time, usually $30\text{ to }35$ years.

Meteorology

The study of the atmosphere and elements of weather.

Meteorologists

People who study and observe elements of weather using scientific instruments.

Temperature

The degree of hotness or coldness of the air.

Precipitation

Water that falls to the ground in the form of rain, snow, or hail.

Relief

The height and shape of the land.

Aspect

The direction in which a place faces; places facing the sun are warmer than those in shadow.

Micro-climate

The local climate of a small or restricted area that differs from the surrounding area, influenced by shelter, surface color, physical features, and buildings.

Air Pressure

The weight of air pressing down on the Earth from above.

Isobars

Imaginary lines on a weather map that join places of equal atmospheric pressure.

Depression

A weather system with below-average low atmospheric pressure where warm air meets cold air, causing rising air, clouds, and rain.

Anticyclone

A large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, characterized by sinking air, clear skies, light winds, and fine, settled weather.

Relief Rainfall

Rainfall that occurs when moist air from a water body is forced to rise over mountains or increasing land height, cooling and condensing as it rises.

Convectional Rainfall

Rainfall that occurs when the sun's energy heats the Earth's surface, causing warm air to rise, expand, cool, and condense into clouds.

Frontal Rainfall

Rainfall formed along a front when a warm air mass meets a cold air mass and the warmer, lighter air is forced up over the cooler air.

Thermometer

An instrument used to measure temperature accurately.

Rain Gauge

An instrument used to measure liquid precipitation.

Anemometer

An instrument used to measure the speed and strength of the wind.

Wind Vane

An instrument used to show wind direction, indicating the direction from which the wind is blowing.

Oktas

The unit of measurement used to record cloud cover, representing the amount of sky covered by clouds.

Visibility

The distance that can be seen, measured in meters.

Graph

A diagram showing the relationship between two variables, each measured along one pair of axes at right angles.

Primary Data

Data and information collected by researchers or observers themselves.

Secondary Data

Data and facts gathered from other external sources rather than self-collected.

Bar Graph

A graph made up of several vertical bars or columns used to compare different amounts or quantities.

Line Graph

A graph that shows how data changes over a period of time.

Pie Chart

A circular diagram divided into slices showing different parts of a whole, with all sectors adding up to $100\%$ or $360^\circ$.

Atlas

A book that contains a variety of different maps compiled using different scales.

Political Map

A type of map that shows national boundaries and major urban areas such as towns and cities.

Thematic Map

A map that shows an area with a specific topic or theme, such as tea growing in Kericho.

Equator

The main line of latitude ($0^\circ$) that encircles the centre of the Earth.

Prime Meridian

The central line of longitude ($0^\circ$), also called the Greenwich Meridian, which runs from the North Pole to the South Pole through Greenwich.

Lines of Latitude

Lines that run from side to side parallel to the Equator, indicating how far north or south a place is.

Lines of Longitude

Lines drawn from the North Pole to the South Pole that indicate positions east or west.

Atmosphere

The layer of air surrounding the Earth.

River Basin

The area of land drained by a river.

Weathering

The process whereby rocks break up into smaller pieces to form soil.

Renewable Resources

Natural resources that can be used over and over again without running out, such as rainfall and water.

Non-Renewable Resources

Natural resources that can only be used once, such as coal and iron ore.