APHUG 1st Semester Final Definition Review

Abiotic

Non-living things

Absolute Location

Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates

Acculturation

the process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups, each of which retains distinct cultural features

Assimilation

the social process of absorbing one cultural group resembling those of another group

Behavioral Geography

the study of the psychological basis for individual human actions in space

Place

A specific location or position in space, often defined by its physical and cultural characteristics.

Region

An area defined by certain unifying characteristics, which can be physical, cultural, or political.

Scale

The relationship between distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground, often expressed as a ratio or fraction.

Connection

The relationships and interactions between different places, often involving the movement of people, goods, or information.

Map

A visual representation of an area, showing geographical features, political boundaries, and other relevant information.

Cartogram

A type of map in which the geometry of regions is distorted to convey information about a variable, such as population or economic data.

Reference Tool

A resource used to obtain information, often including maps, atlases, and encyclopedias.

Communication Tool

A means of conveying information and ideas, which can include maps, graphs, and other visual aids.

Geographic Information Science

The field of study that focuses on the collection, analysis, and interpretation of geographic data.

Geographic Information System

A system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data.

Remote Sensing

The acquisition of information about an object or area from a distance, typically using satellite or aerial imagery.

Global Positioning System

A satellite-based navigation system that allows a GPS receiver to determine its exact location anywhere on Earth.

Geotagging

The process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media, such as photos or videos, indicating where they were taken.

Eratosthenes

An ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer known for calculating the Earth's circumference and for his work in geography.

Ptolemy

A Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, and geographer who authored the 'Geographia', which compiled knowledge of the world in the 2nd century AD.

Meridian

An imaginary line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole, used to measure longitude.

Latitude

The measurement of distance north or south of the Equator, expressed in degrees.

Parallel

A line of latitude that runs parallel to the Equator, indicating the same latitude across different longitudes.

Coordinated Universal Time

The primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time, often abbreviated as UTC.

Prime Meridian

The meridian at 0 degrees longitude, which passes through Greenwich, England, and serves as the reference for time zones.

International Date Line

An imaginary line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole, located approximately along the 180-degree meridian, where the date changes.

Choropleth Map

A type of map that uses different shades or colors to represent statistical data for specific geographic areas.

Graduated Symbol

A map symbol that varies in size according to the value it represents, used to show quantitative data.

Isoline Map

A map that uses lines to connect points of equal value, such as elevation or temperature.

Dot Distribution Map

A map that uses dots to represent the presence of a feature or phenomenon, with each dot representing a specific quantity.

Cartogram Map

A map in which the geometry of regions is distorted to convey the information of an alternate variable, such as population.

Map Scale

The ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground, indicating how much the real world has been reduced.

Winkel Projection

A compromise map projection that minimizes distortion in area, shape, and distance, commonly used for world maps.

Location

The specific position of a place on the Earth's surface, often described in terms of coordinates.

Place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by particular characteristics, both physical and human-made.

Toponym

A name given to a place or geographical feature, often reflecting its history or characteristics.

Site

The physical characteristics of a place, including its location, terrain, and resources.

Situation

The location of a place relative to other places and its surrounding environment.

Absolute Location

The precise location of a place using a coordinate system, such as latitude and longitude.

Cultural Landscape

The visible imprint of human activity on the landscape, reflecting cultural practices and societal values.

Formal Region

An area defined by official boundaries and uniform characteristics, such as political or administrative regions.

Functional Region

An area organized around a node or focal point, where the influence of that point diminishes with distance.

Vernacular Region

An area defined by people's perceptions and cultural identity, often lacking formal boundaries.

Culture

The social behavior, norms, beliefs, and practices of a particular group of people.

Agriculture

The practice of cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising animals for food, fiber, and other products.

Post Structuralist Geography

An approach that critiques the idea of fixed meanings in geography and emphasizes the role of social constructs in spatial understanding.

Globalization

The process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or operate on an international scale.

Assimilation

The process by which individuals or groups adopt the culture of another group, often losing their original identity.

Acculturation

The process of cultural change and adaptation that occurs when individuals from one culture come into contact with another.

Syncretism

The blending of different cultural or religious beliefs and practices into a new system.

Distribution

The way in which something is spread out or arranged over a geographic area.

Space

The physical gap or interval between two objects or places.

Density

The number of people or items in a given area, often expressed as a ratio.

Concentration

The extent to which a feature is concentrated in a particular area.

Pattern

The arrangement of objects in space, often revealing relationships or trends.

Transnational corporation

A company that operates in multiple countries, transcending national boundaries.

Uneven development

The unequal distribution of resources and economic growth across different regions.

Social construction

The idea that social phenomena are created through social processes and interactions.

Humanistic geography

An approach that emphasizes the subjective experiences and meanings that individuals attach to places.

Behavioral geography

A subfield that examines the psychological processes behind human spatial behavior.

Scale and culture

The relationship between the size of a geographic area and the cultural practices within it.

Hearth

The place of origin of a cultural trait or innovation.

Diffusion

The process by which a cultural trait or innovation spreads from one place to another.

Relocation diffusion

The spread of cultural traits through the physical movement of people from one location to another.

Expansion diffusion

The spread of cultural traits through a population in a way that the number of adopters increases.

Hierarchical diffusion

The spread of cultural traits from larger to smaller places or from influential individuals to others.

Contagious diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population.

Meme

An idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.

Polder

A low-lying tract of land that has been reclaimed from a body of water, typically found in the Netherlands.

Cultural ecology

The study of how human societies adapt to their environments and how culture influences ecological practices.

Environmental determinism

The theory that the physical environment, particularly the climate and terrain, shapes human culture and societal development.

Stimulus diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected.

Distance decay

The principle that the interaction between two locales declines as the distance between them increases.

Space-time compression

The reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place due to advancements in technology and transportation.

Network

A system of interconnected people or things that facilitate communication and interaction.

Spatial association

The relationship between two or more phenomena in space, often used to analyze patterns and distributions.

Environment pillar

One of the three pillars of sustainability, focusing on the ecological health and preservation of natural resources.

Economic pillar

One of the three pillars of sustainability, emphasizing economic growth and financial stability while considering environmental and social impacts.

Social pillar

One of the three pillars of sustainability, which addresses social equity, community development, and quality of life.

Climate change risks

Potential negative impacts on the environment and human societies resulting from climate change, including extreme weather, sea-level rise, and biodiversity loss.

Possibilism

The theory that the environment sets certain constraints or limitations, but human culture is determined by social conditions and choices.

Demography

The statistical study of populations, including the structure, distribution, and trends in population changes.

Carrying capacity

The maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support without degrading the habitat.

Overpopulation

A condition where the number of people exceeds the capacity of the environment to support them, leading to resource depletion and environmental degradation.

Ecumene

The inhabited or habitable areas of the Earth, where human settlement is concentrated.

Arable land

Land suitable for growing crops, characterized by fertile soil and favorable climate conditions.

Physiological density

The number of people per unit area of arable land, indicating the pressure on agricultural resources.

Agricultural density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land, reflecting the efficiency of agricultural practices.

Natural increase rate

The difference between the number of live births and the number of deaths in a population over a specific period, expressed as a percentage.

Doubling time

The period it takes for a population to double in size, often used to assess population growth rates.

Crude birth rate

The number of live births per 1,000 people in a population in a given year.

Total fertility rate

The average number of children a woman would have during her lifetime based on current birth rates.

Infant mortality rate

The number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births in a given year.

Demographic transition model

A model that describes the transition of a country from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as it develops economically.

Industrial revolution

A period of major industrialization during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that transformed economies from agrarian to industrial.

Medical revolution

The advancements in medical science and technology that have significantly reduced mortality rates and improved health outcomes.

Zero population growth

A condition where the number of births plus immigration equals the number of deaths plus emigration, resulting in a stable population size.

Population pyramid

A graphical representation of the age and sex distribution of a population, typically shown as a bar graph.

Life expectancy

The average number of years a person is expected to live based on current mortality rates.

Dependency ratio

The ratio of the non-working population (dependents) to the working-age population, indicating the economic burden on the productive population.