AP HUG Unit 1: Geographic Thinking

cartography

the process of map making

scale

relationship between the portion of earth being studied and earth as a whole

spatial analysis

the study through observation and/or a scientific technique of hoe people/structures/ items are arranged within a space

environmental determinism

a philosophy of geography that stated that human behaviors are a direct result of the surrounding environment

possibilism

the theory that they physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives

cultural landscape

a combination of cultural features such as language and religion, economic features such as agriculture and industry and physical features like climate and vegetation. the effect humans have in the environment

region

an area of earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics

geographic information system (GIS)

captures, stores, queries, and displays geographic data

global positioning system (GPS)

a system that determines the precise position of something on earth

human-environment interaction

the effect that humans have on their environment and the effect that the environment has on humans

land ordinance of 1785

how ownership of the vast lands in the Northwest Territory would legally transfer from the federal government to states individual landowners

Mercator projection

a projection of the globe with more accurate shapes and directions but not accurate continent sizes

census data

specific information about people

Robinson projection

a projection of the globe that has accurate size but less accurate shape

time zones

an area which observes a uniform time for commercial and social reasons

toponym

the name given to a certain point on earth

longitude

the system to identify the location of each meridian on the earths surface

latitude

the numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel

formal/uniform region

area in which (nearly) everyone shares one or more distinctive characteristics

vernacular/perceptual region

area that people believe exists as a part of their cultural identity

functional/nodal region

area organized around a node or focal point

site

the physical characteristics of a place

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

cultural ecology

a geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships

prime meridian

the meridian with 0 degrees in longitude

polder

land that the Dutch have created by draining water from an area

LDC’s

a country that is at a relatively early stage in the process of economic development

MDC’s

a relatively developed country that is advanced socially and economically

hearth

a place where innovation originates

distribution

the arrangement of a feature in space

density

the frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area

space-time compression

the reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place as a result of improved communication and transport systems

distance decay

the diminished importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

gravity model

a model which holds that the potential use of a service at a particular location is directly related to the number of people in a location and inversely related to the distance people must travel to reach the service

diffusion

the process of which one feature is spread from one place to another

relocation diffusion

the spread of an idea through the movement of people from one place to another

expansion diffusion

the spread of a feature from one place to another in an additive process

hierarchical diffusion

spread of ideas from authority

contagious diffusion

rapid widespread of ideas in a population

stimulus diffusion

the spread of a underlying principle even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse

friction of distance

the notion that distance usually requires some amount of effort, money and/or energy to overcome

globalization

the process of making something worldwide in scope