Ap human geography

All important vocab for the AP exam.

Toponym

the name by which a geographical place is known

Absolute Location

defines a place on a map using coordinates

Relative Location

refers to a place by comparing it to a known place

Site

the physical characteristics of a place (ex. NYC's harbor)

Situation

location of a place on Earth relative to other places

Place

a point in space distinguished by specific characteristics

Cartography

the art of mapmaking

Map Scale

the distance on a map vs. the distance in the real world

Longitude (meridians)

imaginary lines on the earth that form time zones

Latitude (parallels)

imaginary lines wrapping around the earth (lat is flat)

Equator latitudinal

0° mark, divides Earth into N/S hemispheres

Prime Meridian longitudinal

0° mark, divides Earth into E/W hemispheres

Time zones

24 zones marking a time difference relative to Greenwich

International Date Line 180° longitude

the date changes because of time zones

Scale

ratio between size of area on map vs. real world

Space

physical gap/interval between two objects

Distribution

process of how a characteristic spreads

Density

measurement of how many things within a certain area

Dispersed

concentration low density, things are scattered

Clustered

concentration high density, things are tightly packed together

Pattern

Its a pattern

Mercator

projection made like you wrap a piece of paper around a globe, in other words, cylindrical, maintains accurate direction and shape, distorts size, best used for navigation with lat/long, poles are huge

Equal

area projection (Goode) attempts to offer an alternative to Mercator, maintains accurate size and shape, distorts distance

Robinson projection

Intended to solve the problem of other flat projections by curving longitude, helpful for general reference but not perfectly exact, everything is a little distorted especially by the polar areas

Peters projection

Intended for size to be true and not be a Eurocentric map, accurate size, distorts shape

Polar projection

Used for navigation of airplanes, maintains distance and direction from the reference point, size and shape are accurate at the center of the map, distortion is present all along the outer edges

Distance Decay

more distance between places = less contact and diffusion

Contagious Diffusion

characteristic spreads virally to everyone

Cultural Diffusion

spread of a cultural characteristic

Expansion Diffusion

diffusion that doesn't require physical movement of people

Hierarchical Diffusion

characteristic spreads to 'important' people in hierarchy

Hearth

a place where a characteristic originates before diffusion

Relocation Diffusion

spread of characteristics from physically moving people

Stimulus Diffusion

characteristic spreads and is adapted by place

Space-time compression

new communications tech = distance decay less relevant

Movement

mobility of people, goods, and ideas

Globalization

ideas + items + communications spreading globally!

Reference Map

maps that show places/locations and their features

Political Map

show boundaries, cities, etc.

Physical Map

show physical features, usually overlay of a political map

Thematic Map

map that displays a variable in an area (tells story)

Choropleth Map

shows concentration patterns in various color shadings

Dot Map

uses dots of same value to show concentration

Graduated symbol

larger symbol = larger value

Isoline map

uses lines to divide map into regions with similar features

Cartogram

size of area = frequency of variable, "balloon continents"

Mental/Cognitive map

maps representing a person's perception of their world

Regionalism

a group's perceived identification of their region/any region

Formal (Functional) Region

a region with distinctive boundaries (example: Canada)

Functional (Nodal) Region

a region centered around a node (similar to a hearth)

Perceptual (Vernacular) Region

a region that changes based on who you're asking

Human Environment Interaction

how humans affect enviro, enviro affects humans

Cultural Ecology

study of human-environment relationship

Environmental Determinism

environment affects human actions

Cultural Determinism

only people prevent human actions

Possibilism

environment sets limits, but humans can adapt

Sustainability

use of resources to ensure future availability

Cultural Landscape

area made from natural environment + shaped by culture

Physical Geography

the earth itself, including land features, climates, etc.

Human Geography

people interacting with physical geography

GIS (Geographic Information System)

layers data

GPS(Global Positioning System)

finds lat/long location

Remote Sensing

collection of data from satellites (not the data itself)

Geospatial data

data collected by satellites about physical characteristics

Qualitative

describing the qualities of something, ex: color

Quantitative

describing a numerical value of something

Landscape Analysis

process of describing/interpreting the landscape of an area

Spatial Thinking

"thinking like geographers" you just kind of know this

Large Scale

zoomed in, a person would be very large on this map

Small Scale

zoomed out, a person would be very small on this map

Industrial Revolution

series of improvements in industry/producing goods

Industrialization

agricultural → mechanized mass production

Colonialism

effort by country to establish ideas/settle in territory

Imperialism

extending country's influence thru force/diplomacy

Primary sector

(sector) activities directly extracting materials from the earth

Secondary sector

(sector) processing/transforming materials to goods

Tertiary sector

(sector) provision of goods/services for $

Quaternary sector

(sector) industries concerned with info/capital (knowledge)

Quinary sector

(sector) high-ranking, helps economy/social decisions

Development

improving material conditions thru tech (process)

GNI

value of all $ going in/out of a country in a year

PPP

adjustment made to GNI account for diff. in cost of goods around world

GDP

same as GNI but only accounts for money made within country's borders

HDI

monitors country development thru standard of living, life expectancy, and access to knowledge

Literacy rate

% of ppl who can read/write in a country

Female labor participation rate

% of women in full time jobs outside of the home

Fertility rate

avg. number of children a woman will have

Maternal mortality rate

# of women who die giving birth per 100,000 births

GII

combines empowerment, labor, reproductive health to measure country's gender inequality (want low score)

Indices of empowerment

% of seats held by women in nat'l legislature and % of women who have completed high school

Millennium Development Goals

UN's goals to help improve world conditions

Rostow's development model

LDCs can grow own economy through stages

Wallerstein's world-systems theory

Static statuses, MDCs exploit LDCs through trade

Core (Wallerstein)

$, tech, edu - generates wealth in world economy

Periphery (wallerstein)

low $, edu, tech - is exploited, gains little wealth

Semi-Periphery (wallerstein)

has aspects of both Core and Periphery

Gender equality

state of equal rights for men and women

Microloans

small loans + $ services in LDCs (not commericial)

MNCs

transnasal corporations (HQ not near factories)

Fair trade

trade protecting LDC workers w/ product standards