AP Human Geography Vocab

Absolute direction

Based on the cardinal points of north

Absolute distance

Exact measurement of the physical space between two places.

Absolute location

The exact position of an object or place

Cartographers

a person who makes maps

Census

the official count of a population

Core

A country that is well-developed

Density

the number of people who live in a defined land area

Distance decay

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

Distribution

The arrangement of something across Earth's surface.

Ecological perspective

considers how the relationships between organisms and their physical environment may be affected by something.

Environmental determinism

the view that the natural environment has a controlling influence over various aspects of human life including cultural development

Flow

movements of people

Formal region

an area within which everyone shares distinctive characteristics

Friction of distance

the increase in time and cost that usually comes with increasing distance

Functional region

An area organized around a node or focal point

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer system that stores

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Satellite-based system for determining the absolute location of places or geographic features.

Globalization

The expansion of economic

Human geography

The study of the spatial variation in the patterns and processes related to human activity.

Location

a place or position

Map scale

The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface.

Mental maps

Maps that people create in their minds

Node

the focal point of a region

Pattern

the arrangement of objects on Earth's surface in relation to other objects

Perceptual (Vernacular) region

a region defined by popular feelings and images rather than by objective data

Periphery

a less-developed country

Physical geography

the study of physical features of the earth's surface

Place

a specific point on earth with human and physical characteristics that distinguish it from other places

Possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions

Qualitative data

descriptive data

Quantitative data

numerical data

Reference maps

Regular maps showing cities

Region

an area defined by one or more natural or cultural characteristics that set it apart from other areas

Relative direction

Directions such as left, right, up, and down

Relative distance

Approximate measurement of the physical space between two places.

Relative location

The position of a place in relation to another place

Remote sensing

A method of collecting data or information through the use of satellites and other instruments

Scale

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

Semi-periphery

Countries that are currently developing

Site

physical characteristics of a place

Situation

the location of a place relative to other places

Space

The physical gap or interval between two objects

Spatial perspective

a way of looking at the human and physical patterns on Earth and their relationships to one another

Sustainability

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Sustainable development

development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations

Theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

Time-space compression

the rapid innovation of communication and transportation technologies associated with globalization that transforms the way people think about space and time

Topography

the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area.

World systems theory

Theory developed by Immanuel Wallerstein that explains the emergence of a core

Agricultural density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land

Antinatalist

Policies that discourage people from having children (China's One Child Policy)

Arable land

land suitable for growing crops

Arithmetic density

The total number of people divided by the total land area.

Asylum

A place that takes in refugees

Brain drain

the loss of highly educated and skilled workers to other countries

Carrying capacity

The largest population that an area can support

Chain migration

migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there

Circular migration

The temporary movement of a migrant worker between home and host countries to seek employment.

Circulation

the movement of people, goods, money, and ideas within a specific area over a short period of time

Climate

Overall weather in an area over a long period of time

Crude birth rate (CBR)

The total number of live births in a year for every 1

Crude death rate (CDR)

The total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people in the population.

What is the Demographic Transition Model (DTM)?

The process of change in a society's population from high crude birth and death rates to low rates

What are the stages of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM)?

The stages include high birth and death rates (Stage 1)

Demographics

the characteristics of a population with respect to age

Dependency ratio

the number of people who are too young or too old to work divided by the number of people who are of working age

Dispersed

distributed or spread over a considerable extent

Doubling time

the time required for a population to double in size

Emigration

movement of individuals out of an area

Epidemiological Transition Model (ETM)

A model that describes changes in fertility

Fertility

The production of offspring within a population

Forced migration

Human migration flows in which the movers have no choice but to relocate.

Gravity model

uses two variables to predict or estimate the volume of spatial interaction between or among places

Guest workers

Workers who migrate to more developed countries in search of higher-paying jobs.

Human migration

movement of people from one place to another

Human trafficking

the illegal movement of people

Immigration

Movement of individuals into a population

Infant mortality rate (IMR)

describes the number of babies that die within the first year of their lives in a given population.

Internal migration

Migration within a country

Internally displaced persons

Someone who has been forced to migrate for similar political reasons to a refugee but has not migrated across an international border

Interregional migration

Permanent movement from one region of a country to another.

Intervening obstacle

an environmental or cultural feature that hinders migration

Intervening opportunity

The presence of a nearer opportunity that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther away.

Intraregional migration

Permanent movement within one region of a country.

Kinship links

types of push or pull factors that influence a migrant's decision to go where family or friends have already found success

Land degradation

reduction in the productive potential of the land

Landforms

natural features of the earth's surface

Life expectancy

A figure indicating how long

Mobility

the ability of something or someone to move from one place or region to another

Mortality

death

Neo-Malthusian

Advocacy of population control programs to ensure enough resources for current and future populations.

Net migration

the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants

Overpopulation

too many people in one place for the resources available

Physiological density

The number of people per unit of arable land

Population density

Number of individuals per unit area

Population distribution

how population is spread out in an area

Population pyramids

A bar graph representing the distribution of population by age and sex.

Pronatalist

Policies that encourage people to have children

Pull factor

A factor that draws or attracts people to another location

Push factor

A factor that induces people to move out of their present location