AP Human Geography FULL VOCAB

cartography

science of mapmaking

projection

scientific method of transferring locations on Earth's surface to a flat map

International Date Line

on 180 degrees longitude for the most part. going east across it, turn clock 24 hours back. Going west across it turn clock 24 hours forward

remote sensing

acquisition of data about Earth's surface from orbiting of satellites or other long distance methods

Global Positioning System

A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers.

Geographic Information System

development and analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technology

toponym

name given to a place on Earth

formal region

an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristic

functional region

an area organized around a node or focal point

vernacular/perceptual region

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

culture

body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitute distinct tradition of a group of people

scale

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

globalization

a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope

space

physical gap or interval between two objects

distribution

the arrangement of a feature in space

density

the frequency with which something occurs in space

connection

relationships among people across the barrier of space

diffusion

the process by which a characteristic spreads across space over time

relocation diffusion

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

expansion diffusion

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

hierarchical diffusion

spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places

contagious diffusion

rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population

stimulus diffusion

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

distance decay

phenomenon of contact diminishing with increasing of distance and eventually disappearing

space-time compression

reduction in time it takes for something to reach another place

cultural ecology

the geographic study of human-environment relationships

environmental determinism

belief that physical environment caused social development

possibilism

belief that the physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust their environment

region

an area or division, especially part of a country or the world. Not always having fixed boundaries

Mercator Projection

is particularly useful for navigation because it maintains accurate direction. Mercator projections are famous for their distortion in area that makes landmasses at the poles appear oversized.

Robinson Projection

A projection that maintains overall shapes and relative positions without extreme distortion. Most classrooms use this projection.

absolute distance/location

measurement using a standard unit of length, actual measured distance to a location or place

connections/connectivity

relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

friction of distance

a measure of how much absolute distance affects the interaction between two places

Geospatial Technologies

technology that provides geographic data that is used for personal (navigation), business (marketing), and governmental (environment planning) purposes

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

hearth

the region from which innovative ideas originate

landscape analysis

a process of studying and describing a landscape (portion of the earth's surface), generally with the goal of assessing the impact of humans on that space. This research is used to provide physical context to concepts of human-landscape interaction and help plan for future land or use restoration.

model

an abstract representation of reality created to simplify complex systems

relative distance/location

measurement of the social, cultural, and/or economic connectivity between places (how connected or disconnected).

space-time convergence

the reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems

spatial analysis

examines places and features on Earth's surface along with their characteristics, locations, and relationships with each other to explain human behavior patterns in geographic space

Tobler's First Law

all things are related, but near things are more related than far things

age distribution

The proportion of individuals of different ages within a population.

agricultural density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture

Agricultural (Neolithic) Revolution

the time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering

anti-natalism

An attitude that asserts a negative value towards birth in order to limit population growth.

arithmetic density

the total number of people divided by the total land area

boserup theory

Esther Boserup theorizes that despite an increasing human population, humans would adapt through technological advances and through more labor intensive agriculture and be able to meet the food needs of the growing population. This is contrary to Thomas Malthus' Theory.

cairo conference

1994 conference in Cairo that recommended stabilizing world population growth. the plan calls for improved health care and family planning services for women, children, and families throughout the world, and also emphasizes the importance of education for girls as a factor in the shift to smaller families.

carrying compacity

the largest number of people that the environment of a particular area can support.

census

a complete enumeration of a population. Will include a count of the population with information in regards to age and ethnic background. In the U.S., the census is takes every 10 years.

child mortality rate

a figure that describes the number of children that die between the first and fifth years of their lives in a given population.

contraception

the deliberate use of artificial methods or other techniques to prevent pregnancy-birth control

Cornucopians

a futurist who believes that continued progress and provision of material items for mankind can be met by similarly continued advances in technology.

crude birth rate (CBR)

the total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

crude death rate (CDR)

the total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

demographic equation

summarizes the amount of growth or decline in a population during a certain period of time, also taking into account net migration and natural increase

demography

the scientific study of population characteristics

dependency ratio

the number of people under the age of 15 and over age 64, compared to the number of people active in the labor force

doubling time

the number of years it takes for an area's population to double

Ecumene

The portion of Earth's surface occupied by permanent human settlement.

epidemiological transition

distinctive causes of death in each stage of the demographic transition

Erlich Theory

Paul Ralph Erlich published "The Population Bomb," in 1968. In it he theorized that the battle to feed humanity was over (we lost) and that there would be a humanitarian disaster due to over population. Predicted that in following decades tens of millions of people would die from starvation and hundreds of millions by the end of the century.

Industrial revolution

A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods.

Infant mortality rate (IMR)

the total number of deaths in a year among infants under one year old for every 1,000 live births in society

life expectancy

The average number of years an individual can be expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions. Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live.

J-curve

projection that sows exponential growth

Malthus, Thomas

Thomas Malthus in 1789 postulated a theory that population, which grow exponentially/geometrically would outpace food production, which grew in a linear/arithmetic fashion

Medical Revolution

Medical technology invented in Europe and North America that is diffused to the poorer countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Improved medical practices have eliminated many of the traditional causes of death in poorer countries and enabled more people to live longer and healthier lives.

Natural increase rate (NIR)

The percentage growth of a population in a year, computed as the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate.

Neomalthusians

Advocates population control programs to ensure enough resources for current and future populations

overpopulation

a situation in which the number of people in an area exceeds the capacity of the environment to support life at a decent standard of living

Physiological Density

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture.

population agglomerations

A cluster of people living in the same area.

population center (of a region)

a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population

Pro-Natalism

An attitude that encourages childbearing.

replacement fertility

when the population's fertility is just high enough to maintain its current population

S-Curve

the horizontal bending, or leveling of an exponential J-curve. For our purposes, dealing with population growth. Stage two countries have high population curves creating a J shape on their population graph, but as they move to stage 3 and then stage 4, population slows and then levels out, turning the J-curve into an S-curve

sex ratio

The number of males per 100 females in the population.

total fertility rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years.

Zero Population Growth (ZPG)

condition reached when crude birth rate declines where it is equal to the crude death rate, often applied to stage 4 countries

activity space

the space within which daily activity occurs

Brain Drain

Large-scale emigration by talented people.

brain gain

immigration or gain of talented people by a region or country

chain migration (migration ladder)

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

circualtion

short-term, repetitive, or cyclical movements that recur on a regular basis

Counterurbanization

Net migration from urban to rural areas in more developed countries-more people are moving from cities to rural areas than the other way around

diaspora

the dispersion or spreading of something that was originally localized (as people or language or culture), the scattering of people who have a common background or beliefs from their homeland

Emigration

Migration from a location

Floodplain

The area subject to flooding during a given number of years according to historical trends.

forced migration

Permanent movement compelled usually by cultural factors.

guest workers

Workers who migrate to the more developed countries of Northern and Western Europe, usually from Southern of Eastern Europe or from North Africa, in search of higher-paying jobs.

Immigration

migration to a new location

internal migration

Permanent movement within a particular country.

internal displaced person

People who have been displaced within their own countries and do not cross international borders as they flee.

international migration

Permanent movement from one country to another.

interregional migration

Permanent movement from one region of a country to another.

intervening obstacle

An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that hinders migration.

intervening opportunity

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