AP Human Geography Unit 1 Study Guide (copy)

lamchop1 version

Meridian

A line that goes from the northern horizon to the southern horizon.

Longitude

the numbering system used to indicate each meridian line. Meridian lines go from top to bottom on the globe.

parallel

a series of circles drawn around the globe parallel to the equator.

latitude

The numbering system to indicate the location of each parallel. Parallel lines go from left to right on the globe.

prime meridian

0 degrees longitude, A meridian that passes through Greenwich england.

Greenwich Mean Time

0 degrees longitude. It is the point from which all other time zones are set.

International Date Line

180 degrees longitude. When crossing it east towards america you turn back time 24hrs and when crossing it west away from America you turn clock ahead 24 hrs

Region

An area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features.

Space

The physical gap between two objects

connection

Relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space.

map

flat scale model of earths surface or a model of it.

Cartography

The science of making maps

Projection

The system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map.

GPS (global positioning system)

Using multiple satellites in space, it can accurately determine the precise position of something on earth.

Geotagging

identification and storage of a piece of information by its precise latitude and longitude coordinates

GI Science (geographic information science)

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

GIS (geographic information system)

A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data in layers. (Each layer represents a different piece of human environmental information. Layers can be viewed individually or in a combination)

remote sensing

Involves satelites that scan earths surface from space, and transmits those images to a receiving station on earth

PGIS (Participatory Geographical Information Systems)

Community-based mapping, representing local knowledge and information.

Citizen Science

scientific research by amateur scientists

VGI (Volunteered Geographic Information)

Creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily and for free by individuals

mashup (map)

a map that overlays data from one source on top of a map provided by a mapping service

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 (cognitive) map

A representation of a portion of Earth's surface based on what an individual knows about a place, containing personal impressions of what is in a place and where places are located.

Location

The position of anything on earth

Toponym

the name given to a place on earth

Situation

The location of a place in relations to other places. (Helps us find unfamiliar by comparing its location to one that is familiar)

Cultural Landscape

An approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships between social and physical phenomena in a particular area

formal/uniform region

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

functional/nodal region

An area organized around a node or focal point

vernacular/perceptual region

A place that people believes exists as part of their cultural identity.

culture

the body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute a groups distinctive tradition

spatial association

the relationship between the distribution of one feature and the distribution of another feature

site

the physical makeup of a place including climate, water, sources, and vegetation. (what it looks physically)

Uneven Development

The increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy

assimilation

Process of less dominant cultures losing their culture to a more dominant culture

acculturation

Process of adopting only certain customs that will be to people's advantage

syncretism

The combination of different forms of belief or practice, it can borrow from the past and present

diffusion

How a characteristic, feature or trend spreads across space from one place to another over time

hearth

It is the place where an innovation originates, and then diffuses to other places

relocation diffusion

An idea is spread by the physical movement of people from one place to another

expansion diffusion

The spreading out of an idea or feature from one place to another in an additive process (hierarchical, contagious, stimulus diffusion)

Hierarchical Diffusion

Spreads from a person or node of authority or power to other places

Globalization

Actions involving a large part of the world and result in making something worldwide in scope

Transnational Corporation

Headquarters of company located in one country, but operates factories and offices in multiple countries

distribution

The arrangement of something across Earth’s surface

Concentration

Describes whether objects are clustered together, or dispersed over an area

Density

The frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area

pattern

The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a particular area

poststructuralist geography

The study of space as the product of ideologies or value systems of ruling elites

humanistic geography

The study of different ways that individuals form ideas about place and give those places symbolic meaning

behavioral geography

The study of the psychological basis for individual human actions in space

contagious diffusion

The very rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population

stimulus diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected

network

A chain of communication that connects places

distance decay

Farther away two groups are from one another, the less likely they are to interact

space-time compression

The time it takes for something to reach another place has rapidly decreased

Resource

A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically easy to access, and is socially acceptable to use

sustainability

The use of earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future

renewable resource

Something produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans

nonrenewable resource

Something produced in nature more slowly than it is consumed by humans

conservation

The sustainable management of a natural resource

preservation

The maintenance of resources and their present condition with as little human impact as possible

biotic

Composed of living organisms

Abiotic

Composed of non-living or inorganic matter

Atmosphere

The thin layer of gases surrounding the earth

hydrosphere

All of the water on or near earth’s surface

lithosphere

Earth’s crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust

biosphere

All living organisms on earth, including plants and animals, as well as microorganisms

climate

The long-term average weather conditions at a particular location

ecosystem

A group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres with which they interact

ecology

The scientific study of ecosystems

cultural ecology

The geographic study of human environmental relationships

Environmental Determinism

The belief that the environment is responsible for the development of a specific culture

possibilism

Physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment

polder

Piece of land created by draining water from it

topographic maps

shows the contour lines of elevation, as well as the urban and vegetation surface with road, building, river, and other natural landscape features

thematic maps

expresses a particular subject and does not show land forms for other features

isotherms

temperature contour lines

choropleth maps

express the geographic variability of a particular theme using color variations

isoline maps

calculate data values between points across a variable surface

dot density maps

use dots to express volume and density of a particular geographic feature

flow-line maps

use lines of varying thickness to show the direction and volume of a particular geographic movement pattern

cartograms

use simplified geometries to represent real-world places

equal-area projections

attempt to maintain the relative spatial science and the areas on a map. these can distort the actual shape of polygons

Lambert projection

an equal-area projection that bends and squishes the northern Canadian islands to keep them at the same map scale as southern Canada on a flat sheet of paper

Conformal projections

attempt to maintain the shape of polygons on the map. These can cause the distortion of the relative area from one part of the map to the other

Mercator projection

a conformal projection that preserves the shape of Greenland, but it appears to be much larger than South America, when in reality it is much smaller.

Robinson projection/Goode’s homolosine projection

tries to balance area and form, sacrificing a bit of both to create a more visually practical representation of the Earth's surface

model

an abstract generalization of real-world geographies that share a comon pattern

spatial models

attempt to show the commonalities in pattern among similar landscapes

urban models

try to show how different cities have similar spatial relationships and economic or social structures

non-spatial models

as compared to spatial models, are models that do not attempt to show the commonalities in pattern among similar landscapes

Demographic Transition Model

a non-spatial model that uses population data to construct a general model of the dynamic growth in national scale populations without reference to space

concentric zone model

an urban model that can be modified to create the bid-rent curve graph. Made by Ernest Burgess

bid-rent curve

result of the modification of the concentric zone model to create a graph showing the cost-to-distance relationship in urban real estate prices. explains why land prices are relatively low in suburban areas, but exponentially higher in the central business district (CBD)

gravity model

a mathematical model that is used in a number of different types o f spatial analysis. used to calculate transportation flow between two points, determine the area of influence of a city's business, and estimate the flow of migrants to a particular place. multiplies the quantitative size of two places and divides that by the distance between them squared. the result gives a relative score that rates the gravity, or in other words, the pull or strength of the relationship between two places

data layers

numerical, coded, or textual data that is attributed to specific geographic coordinates or areas

spatial analysis

the main capability of the GIS and a way of understanding space

Navstar satellites

utilized by the Global Positioning System (GPS) and when a measurable radio signal is available from three or more of these, a GPS receiver is able to triangulate a coordinate location and display map data for the user