AP Human Geography 2020 Big Ideas Review

Practice flashcards covering core vocabulary from the 2020 AP Human Geography Big Ideas Packet, ranging from map types and demographics to urban models and economic development.

Reference map

A map that displays the boundaries, names, and unique identifiers of standard geographic areas, as well as major cultural and physical features such as a map of Louisville or the World.

Thematic map

A map that emphasizes a particular theme or special topic, which is the primary focus of Human Geography.

Cartogram

A map that distorts land area to show changes in value; the greater the value being measured, the greater the land area appears.

Choropleth Map

A map that uses different shades of colors to show the variation of values, where darker shades typically represent higher, more dense values.

Graduated Symbol

A map that uses a symbol to represent a specific value, where the size of the symbol is proportional to the value represented.

Isoline Maps

Maps with lines drawn to link different places that share a common value.

Absolute Location

A fixed location usually reckoned by latitude and longitude, such as Louisville at $38.2527^{\circ}N, 85.7585^{\circ}W$.

Relative Location

The position of a place in respect to other places, such as defining Kentucky as north of Tennessee.

Distance Decay

The tapering off of a process, pattern, or event because of increasing distance.

Time-Space Compression

The process where advances in transportation and communication lessen the effect of distance, such as a flight between cities taking less time than driving.

Determinism

The view that natural factors and climate solely control the development of human qualities and behaviors.

Possibilism

The view that people use their creativity to adapt to, respond to, and overcome environmental conditions rather than being controlled by them.

Scale of Analysis

The level at which data is displayed, categorized into four levels: Global, Regional, National, and Local.

Formal Region

A region described by unifying cultural or physical characteristics such as religion, language, or shared governance like India.

Functional Region

A region defined by a political, social, or economic characteristic organized around a center of activity or node, such as the TARC bus system in Louisville.

Arithmetic Density

The total population divided by the total land area: $\frac{\text{total population}}{\text{total land area}}$. It does not account for land usability.

Physiological Density

The number of people per unit of arable (farmable) land: $\frac{\text{total population}}{\text{total arable land}}$, providing insight into actual pressure on resources.

Agricultural Density

The number of farmers per unit of arable land, which is typically lower in areas with commercial agriculture.

Carrying Capacity

The largest population that an area can support comfortably based on its resources.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman will have in her life.

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI)

The percentage of population growth in an area excluding migration, calculated as $RNI = \frac{CBR - CDR}{10}$.

Doubling Time

The amount of time it will take for a population to double in size: $\text{doubling time} = \frac{71}{RNI}$.

Epidemiological Transition

The shift in the main cause of death from infectious diseases (common in LDCs) to chronic diseases (common in MDCs) as a country develops.

Malthusian Theory

The theory by Thomas Malthus stating that population grows geometrically while food production grows arithmetically, eventually leading to poverty and misery.

Pronatalist Policies

Government policies designed to increase birth rates and TFR, often used in Stage 4 or 5 countries like France, Germany, or Japan.

Antinatalist Policies

Government policies designed to decrease birth rates and TFR, such as China's former policies or programs in Nigeria.

Brain Drain

The emigration of skilled workers, which often harms the economy of the source country (typically LDCs).

Transnationalism

The process of immigrants developing ties to more than one country, showing that migration involves systems of circulation and counterflows.

Remittances

The money, goods, or services sent by immigrants back to their home countries.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture is superior to others.

Cultural Relativism

The idea that a person's beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of that person's own culture.

Lingua Franca

A language used by people who do not speak the same language to communicate for trade or business, such as English today or Swahili in East Africa.

Universalizing Religion

A religion that seeks converts and has universal appeal, typically growing faster and spreading more geographically (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Buddhism).

Ethnic Religion

A religion that appeals to a particular group in a specific area and typically spreads only through relocation diffusion (e.g., Hinduism, Judaism).

Syncretism

The blending of traits from two different cultures to form a new idea, such as Voodoo or Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Acculturation

The process of adapting to another culture while keeping parts of the original culture.

Nation-State

A state where political and cultural boundaries match, characterized by a homogenous population like Iceland or Japan.

Stateless Nation

A nation that lacks control of a state, such as the Kurdish people.

Choke Point

A strategic strait or canal that can be controlled to stop or prohibit trade, such as the Strait of Hormuz.

Shatterbelt

An area of instability between regions with opposing political or cultural views, such as Kashmir or Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

Neocolonialism

The use of economic, political, or cultural means to influence other countries, especially former colonies by multinational corporations.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

A sea zone extending $200\,nautical\,miles$ ($230\,miles$) from shore over which a state has special rights regarding marine resources.

Gerrymandering

The manipulation of voting district boundaries to favor one political party over another using tactics like packing and cracking.

Supranationalism

An alliance where three or more states work together for common political, economic, military, or cultural purposes, often involving a loss of sovereignty.

Shifting Cultivation

An agricultural system also known as slash-and-burn that uses a cycle of land rotation and fallow periods to clear land for crops.

Transhumance

The practice of moving herds on a seasonal basis to new land or water sources.

Metes and Bounds

A survey method that relies on natural features like trees and streams to describe land ownership.

Township and Range

A rectangular land division system used to divide the Western United States.

Green Revolution

A period between 1965 and 1985 characterized by high-yield seeds, mechanization, and chemical use to alleviate world hunger, specifically in Asia and Latin America.

Agribusiness

The businesses involved in the production and marketing of farm products, often using global commodity chains.

Von Thünen Model

A model explaining agricultural patterns where intensive farming and dairying are closest to the market, and ranching is furthest away.

Megacity

A city with at least $10\,million$ residents.

Metacity

A city with at least $20\,million$ residents.

Primate City

A city whose population is at least twice as large as the next most populous city, common in LDCs like Mexico.

Rank-Size Rule

A rule suggesting the nth most populous city will have $\frac{1}{n}$ times the population of the largest city.

Edge City

A place outside the central city that has more jobs than beds and serves as a new downtown area with shopping and business.

Gentrification

The purchase and revitalization of old buildings in poor neighborhoods by middle-class residents, increasing property values.

Primary Sector

Economic activities based on extracting natural resources from the earth, such as mining and farming.

Secondary Sector

Economic activities involved in manufacturing and industrialization, processing raw materials into goods.

Tertiary Sector

The service sector of the economy that sells finished products or provides services like banking and transportation.

Weber’s Least Cost Theory

A theory suggesting that production points should be placed to minimize the cost of transportation based on whether industries are weight-gaining or weight-losing.

Core Countries

Capitalist countries that exploit others for labor and raw materials according to World Systems Theory, such as the United States and Japan.

Sustainability

Achieving the needs and goals of the present without compromising the resources needed for future generations.