AP Human Geography Semester 1 Final Exam

Human Geography

the study of people and their relationship to their physical surroundings

Types of Thematic Maps

tell a story by showing the density and distribution of quantitative data

ex. choropleth, dot distribution, graduated symbol, isoline, flow-line, cartogram

Hearth

place of origin

Physical Geography

focus on features of Earth’s surface like landforms, bodies of water, climate, natural resources

Map Scale

the level of detail and the amount of area covered on a map depends on map scale

Small scale of analysis

a lot of area but not much detail depicted

Large scale of analysis

less area but more detail depicted

Census

a survey conducted every 10 years on the American population to collect information about different distributions

Literacy

the ability to read and write

Density

the frequency of a feature occurring in space

Arithmetic Density

total number of people / total amount of land

Physiological Density

total number of people / total amount of arable land

Agricultural Density

total number of farmers / total amount of arable land

Distribution

the arrangement of a feature in space

GIS/GPS

technology systems that store data having to do with location

Cartography

the practice of drawing maps

Clustered

a type of concentration where something is distributed very close to each other

Dispersed

a type of concentration where something is distributed far from each other

Concentration

the extent of a feature’s spread over space

Formal/uniform region

an area of space with 1 common characteristic

Functional/nodal region

an area that has a central point/node

Vernacular/perceptual region

an area defined by a personal mental map

Graduated symbol map

map with different sized symbols

Cartogram

intentionally distorted map

Choropleth map

different colors

Dot Density map

same size dots that are clustered or disperse

Reference map

contain general information about places

Topographic/isoline map

shows similar characteristics within lines

Toponym

name of a place

Environmental determinism

theory that the physical environment controls human actions and culture

Possibilism

theory that the physical environment affects human actions, but humans can adapt

Absolute location

the exact location of something using latitude and longitude

Relative location

the location of a place relative to other places

Demographic Transition Model

a process of change in a society’s population

Example of country in stage 1 of DTM

none

Example of country in stage 2 of DTM

The Gambia

Example of country in stage 3 of DTM

Mexico

Example of country in stage 4

Denmark

Crude birth rate (CBR)

number of live births / 1000 people

Crude death rate (CDR)

total deaths (annual) / 1000 people

Total fertility rate (TFR)

the average number of children a woman will have

MDC

high-developed country

LDC

low-developed country

Carrying capacity

the maximum population size of a species that the environment can sustain indefinitely

Chain Migration

migrating somewhere to reunite with family

Step migration

Migrating to different places until they get to a wealthy place

Remittances

the transfer of money by workers to their home country

Push factor

motivates people to move out

Pull factor

motivates people to move in

Brain drain

large-scale migration of talented people to one place

Ecumene

a place with permanent human settlement

Homogeneous

a uniform population of people that share one consistent characteristic

Heterogeneous

a mixed population that contains multiple different characteristics

Creolization

a mix of Native American, African, and European influences to create a new language

Assimilation

the process by which a group’s cultural features are altered to resemble those of another group

Acculturation

the process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of 2 groups

Ethnocentrism

using one’s own culture and beliefs to judge a different culture

Cultural landscape

the combination of the physical geography of a place and the actions of humans

Cultural trait

a particular thing a group does

Folk culture

practiced by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated rural areas

Popular culture

found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in other characteristics

Relocation diffusion

when people migrate from one place to another

Stimulus Diffusion

people in a culture adopt an idea from another culture but modify it

Syncretism

when two culture form an entirely new identity

Universalizing religion

actively seeks new members and believes it has a universal importance

Ethnic religion

specific to an ethnic group and not seeking new members

Judaism

ethnic religion that was first established in the Kingdom of Israel, followers were persecuted during WWII

Christianity

universalizing religion that was first established in Judea by Jesus, biggest religion practiced in the world

Islam

universal religion that was first established in Mecca by Mohammad and his Disciples, now mostly in Pakistan and Indonesia

Buddhism

universal religion first established in Lumbini by Siddartha Gautama (Buddha), mostly in Southeast Asia

Hinduism

ethnic religion first established in Indus River Valley by unknown person, mostly in India

Lingua franca

a language of international communication

Official language

used by government to enact legislation, publish documents, and conduct other public business

Racism

belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities; out of all races, one is better

Federal state

power is with local governments as well as central government

Unitary state

power is only within central government

Centripetal force

a factor that brings people together

Centrifugal force

a factor that pushes people apart

Supranational organization

an organization of more than two countries to achieve a common goal

State

an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government

Nation

a culture group

Nation-state

a state with one homogeneous culture group

Stateless nation

a culture group with no specific state

Enclave

a country that is completely surrounded by another state

Gerrymandering

redrawing legislative boundaries to benefit a political party

Neocolonialism

practice o using economic or political influence to indirectly control another area

Choke point

a geographical area on land or sea that you have to cross through in order to get to another location

Shatterbelt

a region caught between larger external powers

Theocracy

a form of government where priests are the rulers

Heartland-Rimland Theory

theory that if one empire controlled the Heartland, then they would be able to control the rest of the world (Rimland)

Containment (Domino) Theory

theory that if one country falls to Communism, then the ones surrounding would also fall

Constitutional monarchy

form of government where one monarchy is not alone when making decisions for the country

Relict boundary

a boundary that no longer exists but still has importance

Superimposed boundary

a boundary that is drawn by outside powers and ignores existing cultural differences

Antecedent boundary

a boundary that is drawn before people start living there and leads to cultural landscapes

Geometric boundary

a boundary that is a straight line, usually following longitude and latitude

Subsequent boundary

a boundary that is drawn after people have started living there

Consequent boundary

a kind of subsequent boundary that acknowledges the different ethnic/cultural groups

Autonomous region/republic

an area of a state that has a degree of self-government

Balkanization

the breakup of a large state into several independent states