🌍 AP Human Geography – Unit Review Flashcards

A complete set of simplified AP Human Geography flashcards covering maps, population, migration, culture, political patterns, agriculture, urbanization, economics, and key vocabulary. Perfect for quick review and exam prep with easy-to-understand explanations.

Map Projection Distortions

Every map projection has distortions including shape, area, distance, or direction.

GIS

GIS is a computer system that provides a map of layers of data of Earth, allowing us to see spatial relationships.

GPS

GPS is a satellite-system based navigation system that provides exact locations on Earth's surface.

Quantitative Data

Quantitative data focuses on numbers, for example: population density, migration rates.

Qualitative Data

Qualitative data focuses on non-numerical aspects, for example: experiences, opinions, behavior.

Environmental Determinism

Environmental determinism looks at how the environment sets restrictions on society and culture, which can't be changed.

Environmental Possibilism

Environmental possibilism looks at how society can shape and modify the environment to suit its needs.

Scales of Analysis

Scales of analysis looks at how data is organized.

Scale

Scale is how much of the Earth's surface we're viewing.

Small Scale Map

A small scale map shows a large geographic area with very little detail.

Large Scale Map

A large scale map shows a small geographic area with a lot more detail.

Functional/Nodal Regions

Functional/Nodal regions are organized around a node, which means they have a center point.

Vernacular/Perceptual Regions

Vernacular/Perceptual regions are geographic regions that don't have a perfect definition and exist because of people's perceptions.

Formal/Uniform Regions

Formal/Uniform regions are geographic areas with common attributes.

Population Distribution

Population distribution focuses on where people are living on the world and where they are not living.

Urban Areas

Urban areas will offer economic and social opportunities for residents, attracting migrants.

Small Rural Settlements

Small rural settlements will offer less economic and social opportunities, but will also offer more dispersed homes and buildings.

Population Density

Population density is the measurement number of people in a given area.

Arithmetic Density

Arithmetic Density is calculated as population divided by the amount of land.

Physiological Density

Physiological Density is calculated as population divided by arable land.

Agricultural Density

Agricultural Density is calculated as the number of farmers divided by the amount of land.

Crude Birth Rate

Crude birth rate is the total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive.

Crude Death Rate

Crude death rate is the total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive.

Natural Increase Rate

Natural increase rate is the percentage by which a population grows in a year.

Total Fertility Rate

Total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman will have.

Dependency Ratio

Dependency ratio is the number of working people in a country who support those who cannot work.

Sex Ratio

Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population.

Doubling Time

Doubling time is the amount of time it takes for a population to double in size.

Demographic Transition Model Stage 1

Stage 1 - High stationary: categorized by low growth, crude birth and death rates.

Demographic Transition Model Stage 2

Stage 2 - Early expanding: industrial/medical revolution occurs, allowing crude death rate to fall.

Demographic Transition Model Stage 3

Stage 3 - Late expanding: births slowly come down, growth rate becomes more moderate.

Demographic Transition Model Stage 4

Stage 4 - Low stationary: women gain more economic and social opportunities, leading to zero population growth.

Demographic Transition Model Stage 5

Stage 5 - Declining: death rises over births and population starts to decline.

Pull Factors

Pull factors are things that make people want to come to an area.

Push Factors

Push factors are things that make people leave an area.

Forced Migration

Forced migration happens due to events that put migrants' lives in danger.

Voluntary Migration

Voluntary migration is where the migrant chooses where to migrate without the fear of persecution.

Transhumance migration

seasonal movement of livestock

Intraregional migration

a permanent move within one region of a country

Interregional migration

a permanent move from one region of a country to another

Chain migration

a process in which legal immigrants sponsor a family member for migration

Step migration

migration occurs in stages

Guest worker

a migrant is given a temporary legal status to work

Transnational migration

migration that happens over international borders

Cultural relativism

is when we view a culture through their perspective. This means no cultural standards or bias.

Ethnocentrism

is where we view another culture and judge that culture based on our own social norms and cultural standards.

Culture

is a group who have shared practices, beliefs, attitudes, customs, technologies, food, etc.

Cultural landscape

is a landscape made up of cultural agriculture practices, different religious and linguistic characteristics, different architectural styles, etc.

Diffusion

is the spread of something from a point of origin (a hearth) to new locations over space and time.

Relocation diffusion

when people move to a new place and bring their culture, ideas, or traditions with them.

Expansion diffusion

when an idea spreads out from where it started, but still stays strong in the original place.

Hierarchical diffusion

when an idea spreads from people or places with power or importance down to others.

Contagious diffusion

when something spreads quickly from person to person, like catching a cold.

Stimulus diffusion

when a culture takes an idea but changes it to better fit their own way of life.

Distance decay

is the principle that the interaction between two places declines as the distance between them increases.

Acculturation

people retain their original culture while also adopting aspects of their new culture.

Assimilation

people lose their original cultural traits when they join a new culture.

Syncretism

two cultures come in contact with each other and the end result is a new culture.

Multiculturalism

when various ethnic and cultural groups coexist in a society.

Nation

is made up a group of people who have a shared history or cultural identity.

State

is a group of people, within a defined territory, with a sovereign government that makes and enforces its own rules.

Nation state

is a state made up of one nation.

Multinational state

is a state made up of multiple nations.

Multi state nation

is a nation that exists in multiple states. (Ex: South Korea, North Korea)

Stateless nation

is a nation that doesn't have an actual state. (Ex: Kurdish nation)

Shatter-belt region

is a region caught between two external fighting powers.

Neocolonialism

is a form of controlling a country without actually controlling them. (Ex: economic and political influence)

Relic boundaries

are boundaries that no longer exist but still impact the cultural landscape.

Antecedent boundaries

are boundaries that have existed before human settlement.

Subsequent boundaries

are boundaries that are based on different ethnic groups and cultures.

Consequent boundaries

are boundaries that are used to divide different cultural groups and accommodate their differences.

Superimposed boundaries

are boundaries that are created by a foreign state.

Geometric boundaries

are cultural boundaries that are straight lines and go with the parallels of latitude.

Unitary state

is a state that concentrates all their power on a national government, and no power is shared.

Federal state

is a state that concentrates their power between the nation government and regional governments, and power is shared and distributed.

Centrifugal forces

are cultural, political, environmental, and economic forces that divide a country.

Centripetal forces

are cultural, political, environmental, and economic forces that unite a country.

State sovereignty

is the right for a state to govern itself.

Intensive agricultural practices

Located near population centers and focus on maximizing agricultural production, requiring a lot of labor.

Extensive farming practices

Shifts cultivation.

Subsistence agriculture

Focuses on family needs rather than making profit or for sale in the market.

Commercial agriculture

Focuses on generating a profit, putting agricultural items for sale on the market.

Clustered settlement patterns

Have a higher population density and homes are packed together.

Dispersed settlement patterns

Have a lower population density and homes are spaced out.

Linear settlement patterns

Located along a river, road, or trains or other different ways to connect through transportation routes and built in a line.

Mono-cropping

When farmers grow the same crop each year to increase the production.

Monoculture

When farmers grow one type of crop at a period of time and switch that crop after each harvest.

Value-added speciality crops

Crops that gain in value as the productions are occurring.

Site factors

Unique things about a specific place.

Situation factors

Connections between different places (Ex: river, roads, airports).

Megacity

A settlement with over 10 million people.

Metacity

Urban area with over 20 million people.

Boomburbs

Suburban city that is rapidly growing, often as large as a city but maintains a suburban feel.

Exurb

A settlement that exists outside of a suburban area with a connection to a metro area.

Edge cities

Urban areas located on the outskirts of a city, traditionally connected to a major roadway and have their own economic focus.

Formal economies

Jobs that are regulated or monitored by the government.

Informal economies

Jobs that are not regulated or monitored by the government.

Primary sectors

Jobs that revolve around natural resources.

Secondary sectors

Jobs that revolve around manufacturing and production of items.

Tertiary sectors

Characterized by service jobs.