AP Human Geo Unit 1 Vocab

Absolute direction

Direction described by the directions on a compass

Absolute distance

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit of length

Absolute location

A precise position on Earth’s surface, measured using GPS coordinates

Activity space

Where a person goes and what they do on a day

Aerial photography

Remote-sensing photography that produces highly detailed images

Border zone

A region where cultural makers overlap and blend into a recognizable border culture

Cartogram

A map that distorts the geographic shape of an area in order to show the size of a specific variable

Cartographer

A person who makes maps

Census

An official count or survey of a population

Choropleth map

A thematic map that shows data aggregated for a specific geographic area, often using different colors to represent different values

Compass rose

A drawing showing the four cardinal directions and the map’s orientation

Contagious diffusion

The wavelike spread of ideas without regard for hierarchy

Contested boundaries

Boundaries that are disputed for religious, political, or cultural reasons

Cultural ecology

The study of the interactions between societies and their local environments

Cultural landscape

The built forms that cultural groups create in inhabiting Earth and the meaning, values, representations, and experiences associated with those forms

Culture

Shared practices, technologies, altitudes, and behaviors passed from one generation to the next

Data aggregation

The process of collecting and organizing large amounts of information

Diffusion

The pattern by which people, ideas, technologies, or preferences spread from a particular location over time

Dot density

A map that uses dots to represent objects or counts

Ecology

A biological science concerned with studying the complex relationships among living organisms and their physical environments

Ecosystem

A territorially bounded system consisting of the interaction between humans and their environment

Elevation

Distance above sea level

Environmental determinism

The belief that the physical environment is the dominant force shaping cultures and that humanity is a passive product of its physical surroundings

Environmental perception

The mental images that comprise human’s perception of nature

Expansion diffusion

When ideas or practices spread throughout a population, increases the total number of knowers or users

Fieldwork

Learning and doing research involving first hand experience

Formal region

A geographical area inhabited by people who have one or more traits in common

Friction of distance

The inhibiting effect of distance on the intensity and volume of most forms of human interaction

Functional region

A geographic area that has been organized to function politically, socially, culturally, or economically as one unit

Gender

A general term for the ways in which a society defines the differences between males and females

Geographic information system (GIS)

A software application for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface

Geographic processes

The physical and human forces that work together to form and transform the world

Global citizen

People who are aware of and understand the wider world

Global positioning system (GPS)

A system of 24 satellites that transmit radio signals to Earth used to provide directions from one place to another

Global scale

Geographic scale that looks at geographic phenomena across the entire world

Globalization

The process by which organizations or companies develop international influence or operate on a global scale

Global perspective

Geographic perspective that acknowledges the two-way relationship between local communities and global patterns, emphasizing that the forces of globalization need to take into account local-scale cultural, economic, and environmental conditions

Goode homolosine projection

A map projection that avoids shape distortion by creating interruptions in the map’s continuity

Greenhouse effect

The global warming trend caused by rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide

Hierarchical diffusion

When ideas pass from one important person, community, or city to another while bypassing other persons, communities, or rural areas

Human geography

The branch of geography that studies how human activity affects or is influenced by Earth’s surface

Independent invention

When a very similar innovation is developed at the same time in different places by different people working independently

Infrastructure

The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society

Interdependence

The ties established between regions and countries that overtime create a global economic system that is not necessarily based on equality

Isoline

A line on a map that connects or links two different places that share a common or equal value

Latitude

The horizontal lines circling Earth parallel to the equator

Legend

A key to the meaning of symbols and colors on a map

Local scale analysis

Geographic scale that identifies and analyzes geographic phenomena within a state, province, city, or neighborhood

Longitude

The vertical lines on Earth’s surface that connect the poles

Map

A two-dimensional representation of a geographical area

Map projection

A method for representing the surface of Earth on a two-dimensional surface

Map scale

The distance on a map in relation to distance in actual space

Map symbols

Graphic elements that help organize the information on a map

Mental map

A personal representation of a portion of Earth’s surface

Mercator projection

A map projection that distorts the size of areas, but keeps directions intact

Metropolitan area

An area composed of a heavily populated urban core and its less populated surrounding areas

National scale analysis

Geographic scale that identifies and analyzes geographic phenomena within a specific country

Natural hazard

A physical danger present in the environment

Natural resources

Materials or substances that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain

Nodes

Central points where the functions of a functional region are coordinated and directed

Nonrenewable resources

Natural resources that are available on Earth in finite quantities and will eventually be used be up

Perceptual / vernacular region

A geographic area that is perceived to exist by its inhabitants, based on the widespread acceptance and use or a unique regional name

Peters projection

A map projection that shows all landamasses with their true area but distorts their shapes

Place

How we modify space based on who we are

Polar projection

A map projection that looks down at Earth from the perspective of one of the poles

Possibilism

The belief that any physical environment offers a number of possible ways for a society to develop, allowing humans to find ways to overcome environmental challenges

Prime meridian

The zero-degree line of longitude that runs through Greenwich, England

Proportional / graduated circle map

A map that uses symbols of different sizes to represent numerical values

Reference map

A map that shows geographic locations on Earth’s surface

Region

A geographic unit based on one or more common characteristics or functions

Regional analysis

The process of examining patterns and processes within and between regions at multiple different geographic scales

Regional identity

The awareness of belonging to a group of people within a region

Regional scale analysis

Geographic scale that identifies and analyzes geographic phenomena within a particular region

Relative direction

A direction that can be described as a position relative to another

Relative distance

A measurement of the level of social, cultural, or economic similarity between places despite their absolute distance

Relative location

The position of one place in relation to the position of another place

Relocation diffusion

When individuals or groups bring particular ideas or practices with them during migration

Remote sensing

The scanning of Earth by satellites or high-flying aircraft in order to obtain information about it

Renewable resources

Natural resources that Earth will naturally replenish over time

Reverse hierarchical diffusion

When ideas leapfrog from a lower level of hierarchy to higher level

Robinson projection

A map projection that keeps all types of distortion relatively low over most of the map

Satellite imagery

Images of Earth’s surface gathered from sensors mounted on orbiting satellites

Scale

The territorial extent of an idea or object

Sense of place

How a person feels about a particular place and why it’s important to them

Space

The areas we occupy as humans

Spatial patterns

The placement or arrangement of objects on Earth’s surface, including the space between them

Spatial perspective

A geographic perspective that seeks to identify and explain the uses of space

Stimulus diffusion

The process by which a specific trait is rejected, but the underlying idea is accepted

Sustainability

The group of practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their needs

Thematic map

A map that emphasizes the spatial patterns of geographic statistics or attributes, and sometimes the relationships between them

Time - distance decay

The idea that things closer together are more similar, and interaction between places decreases the farther apart they are

Time - space compression

The decreasing distance between places measured by travel time or cost

Topographic map

A graphic representation of the three-dimensional configuration of Earth’s surface

Tsunami

A large ocean wave produced by the displacement of a large volume of water

Regionalization

The process of dividing the Earth into smaller regions or units

Formal / uniform / homogenous region

 A geographic unit based on one or more characteristics; has set borders, but fluid common characteristics

Functional / nodal region

A geographic unit that has been organized to function socially, politically, or economically