Comprehensive World Geography Study Guide: Units 1 and 2

A comprehensive vocabulary review of Units 1 and 2 World Geography, covering cartography, map interpretation, regional structures, economic geography, resources, trade networks, developmental indicators, climate systems, and physical geography.

Cartography

The practice and process of mapmaking.

Relative Location

A description of where a place is located by comparing it to another place.

Absolute Location

A specific, fixed location on Earth, commonly identified using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Compass Rose

A map component that shows cardinal and intermediate directions.

Map Scale

A feature on a map that shows distance relationships and how far places are from one another.

Map Key (Legend)

A section of a map that explains the meaning of symbols used across the map.

Mental Map

A person's internal, mental picture or personal representation of a place.

Map Distortion

The inevitable visual inaccuracy found on all flat maps caused by projecting the round Earth onto a flat surface.

Mercator Map

A world map projection showing the entire globe, used mostly by Europe and the Americas.

Robinson Map

A whole-world map projection used mostly by Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Australia.

Polar Map

A map projection centered on and showing the North and South Poles.

East Sea and Sea of Japan

Two different names used internationally to refer to the exact same body of water.

Ways Maps Change Over Time

Three principal modifications that alter maps over history: changes in borders, place names, and roads.

Latitude

Imaginary lines that run east and west around the Earth; the starting line at $0^\circ$ latitude is the Equator.

Longitude

Imaginary lines running north and south on the Earth; the baseline at $0^\circ$ longitude is the Prime Meridian.

Functions of Towns and Cities

Seven primary purposes that urban areas serve: security, religion, trade, government, manufacturing, services, and education.

Site

The physical location and exact land characteristics of a place (similar to absolute location), such as flat land, hills, rivers, or coasts.

Situation

The location of a place relative to surrounding landmarks or areas (similar to relative location), such as being near a school or behind a store.

Site and Situation of Newport News

A city whose site is characterized as flat land near water, and whose situation is described as being near Hampton.

Region

An area or place grouped together because it shares similar characteristics, such as weather, land, or people.

Regional Divisions of Newport News

Newport News is located in the Southeastern USA region, within Virginia's Coastal Plain and Hampton Roads demographic region, and is divided locally into the North End, Central Newport, and South End.

Regional Landscape

A geographic setting reflecting land, buildings, and people, with common examples being mountains, farms, and cities.

Resources

Things that people use, classified into three main types: natural, human, and capital.

Economic Activities

The methods by which people make money, divided into three stages: getting things from nature, making things in factories, and helping people.

Consolidation of Newport News (1958)

The historical union in $1958$ when Newport News consolidated with Warwick County into a unified city, driven largely by its deepwater harbor and maritime trade.

Coal (Energy Resource)

A natural energy resource valued because it generates electricity, but negatively recognized for causing dirty air and coal dust pollution (specifically affecting the South End of Newport News).

Population

The total count of individuals living within a specific area (for example, about $185{,}000$ people in Newport News).

Demographic Characteristics

Statistical traits of a population, including age, gender, race, birth rate, and death rate.

Cultural Characteristics

Learned traits shared among human groups, such as language, religions, foods, clothing styles, and traditions.

Population Density

A measurement indicating how many people live within a given unit of land area.

Population Distribution

The geographic pattern showing where people choose to settle and live across an area.

Population Growth Rate

The metric tracking how rapidly a human population increases or decreases over time.

Push Factors

Negative conditions that drive people away from their home country, such as war, unemployment, or natural disasters like major floods and earthquakes.

Pull Factors

Positive conditions that attract migrants to a new destination, prominently including jobs, safety, and schools.

Refugee

A person forced to leave their country because conditions there are unsafe.

Immigrant

A person who permanently relocates and moves into another country.

Migrant

A person who moves from one geographic place or region to another.

Cultural Diffusion

The spread and sharing of culture, traditions, food, and language that takes place when people migrate across the globe.

Natural Resources

Raw materials supplied by nature (such as sunlight, wind, and trees) split into renewable (can grow back) and nonrenewable (eventually run out).

Human Resources

The workforce of people who perform labor, spanning skilled workers with specialized training (e.g., doctors) and unskilled workers needing minimal training (e.g., cleaners).

Capital Resources

Man-made goods used to produce other items and assist labor, including tools, machines, and physical buildings.

Infrastructure

Foundational public physical systems such as roads and bridges; well-maintained infrastructure demonstrates good capital resources, whereas broken systems signal poor capital resources.

Unequal Distribution of Resources

The uneven global spread of resources that results in wealthy nations, impoverished regions, migration for employment, and international trade.

Specialization

An economic strategy where countries concentrate on efficiently producing specific goods and services based on their abundant resources, trading for items they cannot produce profitably.

Landlocked Country

A nation entirely bordered by land without access to oceans, making commercial shipping and international trade significantly harder than for coastal states.

Economic Union

An international partnership offering benefits (easier commerce, job creation, lower prices, higher revenue) along with drawbacks (domestic competition, job losses, loss of sovereignty, disagreements).

Interdependence

A global condition in which distinct countries depend upon one another for critical goods, services, and raw materials.

Supply Chain

The interconnected system of operations showing how raw items are manufactured into finished products and delivered to consumers.

Developed Economy

A high-income nation characterized by diverse employment opportunities, high living standards, quality education, and advanced healthcare systems.

Developing Economy

A lower-income nation actively working to upgrade its economic output, characterized by fewer jobs, limited funding, lower educational completion, and constrained healthcare.

Urban-Rural Ratio

A demographic comparison measuring the proportion of a population residing in urban cities versus rural countryside areas.

GDP Per Capita

The total economic output of a nation divided across its population, representing the average monetary earnings per person.

Educational Achievement

A social development indicator measuring the level of schooling and educational attainment completed by citizens.

Life Expectancy

A public health indicator estimating the average number of years a person is expected to survive.

Infant Mortality

The statistical number of infants who pass away before reaching the age of one year.

Political Divisions

Governed geographical territories (such as countries, states, cities, and counties) where residents often belong to multiple jurisdictions simultaneously and may experience conflicts over land, water, resources, or borders.

General Purpose Map

A comprehensive reference map that depicts varied landscape features simultaneously, such as transit routes, roadways, and waterways.

Thematic Map

A focused map designed around a specific topic or theme, such as climate, population, employment, language, or resource distribution.

Political Map

A map type explicitly drawn to highlight governmental boundaries, including nation borders, state lines, and city locations.

Physical Map

A map designed to display natural topography and geological features such as mountain chains, rivers, elevation changes, and plains.

Elevation

The vertical height of a landform or geographic area measured above average sea level.

Types of Regions (Formal, Functional, Perceptual)

The three geographical categories used to classify spaces: formal (defined by official boundaries or shared traits), functional (organized around a central focal node), and perceptual (defined by subjective cultural attitudes).

Impacts of Landforms

Three significant ways topography influences human activity: governing where people live, directing transit and travel paths, and dictating structural building choices.

Weather vs. Climate

Weather denotes daily atmospheric conditions outside today, while climate represents enduring weather averages recorded over many decades (shaped by heat, precipitation, and winds).

Latitude Zones

The three broad global temperature belts: Tropical (hot areas around the Equator), Temperate (moderate zones with seasonal change), and Polar (cold environments around the poles).

Physical Features of North America (Map Identification)

Major North American landforms, including the central green Great Plains, western red Sierra Nevada Mountains, brown Rocky Mountains, and eastern blue Appalachian Mountains.

Map

A drawing of a place.

Cartography

The practice or study of mapmaking.

Relative Location

The position of a place determined by comparing it to another place.

Absolute Location

The specific, exact location of an area on Earth, described using coordinates like latitude and longitude.

Map Title

The map component that tells what the map is about.

Compass Rose

A symbol on a map that shows cardinal and intermediate directions.

Map Scale

A tool on a map that shows how far distances on the map represent in reality.

Key or Legend

A section of a map that explains the symbols used.

Mental Map

A picture of a place carried in a person's mind.

Map Distortion

The inevitable warping of geographic features that occurs because the Earth is round and three-dimensional, but maps are flat.

Mercator Map

A map projection showing the whole world that is used mostly by Europe and the Americas.

Robinson Map

A map projection showing the whole world that is used mostly by Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Australia.

Polar Map

A map projection that specifically shows the north and south poles.

East Sea and Sea of Japan

Two different regional names that refer to the exact same body of water.

Three Ways Maps Change Over Time

Alterations to political borders, geographic names, and roads over time.

Latitude

Imaginary lines that run east and west across the surface of the Earth.

Equator

The imaginary line located at $0^\circ$ latitude that divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Longitude

Imaginary lines that run north and south across the surface of the Earth.

Prime Meridian

The imaginary line located at $0^\circ$ longitude that divides the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Seven Functions of Towns and Cities

The primary roles fulfilled by urban settlements: security, religion, trade, government, manufacturing, services, and education.

Site

The exact physical location and natural characteristics of a place (such as flat land, hills, rivers, or coasts), which is similar to absolute location.

Situation

Where a place is located compared to other surrounding features or settlements (such as near a school or behind a store), which is similar to relative location.

Site and Situation of Newport News

A Virginia city characterized by a site of flat land near water, and a situation located near Hampton.

Region

An area or place characterized by similar things or unifying traits, divided by characteristics such as weather, land, and people.

Regional Classifications of Newport News

Classified regionally as part of the Southeastern USA at the national level, the Coastal Plain at the state geographic level, and Hampton Roads at the demographic level.

Three Regions of Newport News

The internal geographical divisions of the city consisting of North End, Central Newport, and South End.

Regional Landscapes

Surroundings that reflect human and physical characteristics such as land, buildings, and people (with examples including mountains, farms, and cities).

Resources

Things that people use, classified into natural, human, and capital resources.

Economic Activities

Ways people make money, divided into three categories: getting things from nature, making things in factories, and helping people.

Growth and Consolidation of Newport News

Developed into a city due to its natural harbor and commercial trade, officially consolidating with Warwick County in $1958$.

Disagreements on Resource Use

Conflicts arising because different groups of people have different ideas regarding how resources should best be used.

Wind Power Trade-offs

An energy resource that generates clean electricity, but faces opposition because wind turbines can be noisy.

Coal Trade-offs

An energy resource that provides electricity, but creates environmental negatives by polluting the air and producing coal dust (notably in the South End of Newport News).

Population

The total number of people living in a specific place (such as Newport News, which has about $185{,}000$ people).