AP Human Geo Ch.1 Unit 1 Vocab

Physical Geography

The study of natural processes and the distribution of features in the environment.

Human Geography

The study of how humans understand, use, and alter Earth.

Spatial Perspective

A geographical perspective focusing on how people live and organize themselves and the reasons for historical occurrences.

Ecological Perspective

The relationship between a living thing and its environment.

Location

The position that a point occupies.

Absolute Location

The location of an object expressed in coordinates of longitude and latitude.

Relative Location

A description of where a location is in relation to other places.

Place

A location on Earth identified by its people or features.

Mental Maps

Internalized maps that individuals create in their minds.

Site

A place's absolute location along with its physical attributes.

Situation

The location of a place in relation to the proximity of other places.

Space

The area between two or more things.

Distribution

The arrangement of features within a given space.

Density

The number of things (people, animals, or objects) in a specific area.

Pattern

The arrangement of things in a space.

Flow

The movement of people, goods, or information that affects societies economically, socially, politically, or culturally.

Environmental Determinism

The idea that behavior is strongly affected or determined by physical environment.

Distance Decay

The principle that the farther one thing is from another, the less interaction occurs between them.

Time-Space Compression

A geographic theory that modern transportation has made the movement of ideas faster.

Possibilism

The theory that humans can adapt their environment to meet their needs.

Sustainability

The use of Earth's natural resources to ensure their availability for future generations.

Scale

The area of the world being studied.

Region

An area on Earth with unique characteristics that differentiate it from other areas.

Formal Region

An area that has one or more shared traits.

Functional Region

An area organized around a focal point or center of interest or activity.

Node

The focal point of a functional region.

Suburbs

Less densely populated areas surrounding commercial and city areas.

Perceptual Region

A type of region that reflects people's feelings and attitudes about a place.

Vernacular Region

Another term for a perceptual region.

Globalization

The expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale.

Theory

A system of ideas designed to explain some occurrence.

World System Theory

A framework categorizing countries or regions by core, periphery, and semi-periphery.

Core

Classification of a country or region characterized by wealth, higher education levels, advanced technologies, abundant resources, strong militaries, and powerful allies.

Periphery

A classification of a country that is overall poor by any standard.

Semi-periphery

A classification of a country that has qualities of both core and periphery areas and is often in the process of industrializing.

Sustainable Development

Development that meets the needs of future generations.