AP geography unit 1:

Absolute location

The precise point where a place is located on Earth.

Geographic information system (GIS)

A computer system which stores, organizes, and displays geographic data

Latitude

Distance north or south of the equator (line drawn around the earth)

Longitude

Distance east or west of prime meridian

Measured in degrees

Prime medium

Imaginary line drawn from, North Pole through Greenwich England, to the South Pole.

Place

Specific human and physical characteristics of a location

Site

The characteristics of a place (climate, soil type, human structures.)

Situation

The location of a place relative to other places and its surroundings

Toponym

Place name

Time-space compression

The shrinking of time distance between locations because of improved methods of transportation

Distance decay

Decline of activity or function with increasing distance from its point of origin

Density

Number of something in a specifically defined area. (Population density is a number of people per square miles)

Scale

The ratio between sizing of things in the real world and the size of those same things on a map

Projection

The system used to transfer locations from earths surface to a flat map

Diffusion

The process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time

Formal region

An area which everybody shares in one or more distinctive characteristics

GPS

A system which determines accurately the precise position of something on Earth through satellite through tracking stations

Remote sensing

Process of gathering data about earth, from instruments far above the planets surface

Spatial analysis

The analysis of geographic data about a certain place

Reference map

Maps designed for people to refer to for general information about place

Choropleth map (thematic)

Uses various colors and shades of one color, to the show the location and distribution of data

Thematic map

A map that shows a particular theme (ex: choropleth, dot distribution, symbols)

Dot distribution map

A map where dots are used to demonstrate the intensity of a particular phenomenon

Isoline map

A thematic map with lines, that connect points of equal value

Cartogram (thematic)

The sizes of countries are shown in some specific statistic

Mercator projection

A projection of a map of the world into a cylinder in such a way that all the parallels of latitude have the same length (ex: used for marine charts

Petars projection

Focuses on keeping landmasses equal in area. As a result shapes are distorted and the map looks unfamiliar to viewers

Robison projection

Projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors. It does not maintain completely accurate area, shape or distance but it minimizes errors in each

Mental map

Maps that people create in their minds based on experiences or knowledge

Topographic map

A map that shows the surface features of earth

Possibilism

Viewpoint that people, not environments, are dynamic forces of cultural development

Environmental determinism

The belief that physical environment determines potential for societal development

Sustainability

The use of earths renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future

Natural resources

Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature that can be used for economic gain

Large-scale

Depicts a small area (such as downtown Iowa) with great detail

Small scale map

A map that shows a larger area without much detail

Clustered

Gathered closely together in a group

Land use

Various ways humans use the land, such as agricultural, industrial residential, or recreational