AP Hug Unit 1 Test Notes

Geography

the study of the Earth's surface, its physical features, and how people interact with the environment.

Physical Geography

the branch of natural science that studies the natural features, processes, and patterns of the Earth's surface

Human Geography

the study of how people, communities, and cultures interact with the Earth and shape the spaces where they live

Spatial Prespective

a way of looking at the world that focuses on where things are located and why they are arranged that way

Location

the position of a specific point or object on Earth's surface

Absolute Location

the exact, fixed position of a place on the Earth's surface

Relative Location

the position of a place described in relation to other human and physical features, landmarks, or regions around it

Place

a specific location on Earth defined by its unique combination of distinctive physical and human characteristics

Sense of place

the emotions attached to an area based on someone personal experience

Mental Map

a reasonably accurate map of some place you know

Site

the exact, internal physical and human-built characteristics of a specific place

Situation

the exact, internal physical and human-built characteristics of a specific place

Space

he physical gap, interval, or area between two or more objects or locations on Earth's surface

Distribution

the arrangement of a phenomenon—such as people, cities, or resources—spread out across the Earth's surface

Density

the frequency with which something (most often people) occurs in a specific unit of space

Pattern

the observable, geometric arrangement of objects, people, or phenomena across Earth's surface

Flow

the movements of people, goods, information, and ideas across space from one location to another.

Environmental Determinism

Environmental determinism is the outdated theory that the physical environment—such as climate, terrain, and resources—completely controls and dictates human culture, societal development, and behavior. [1, 2]

Possibilism

physical environment sets limits and offers constraints, but human culture, technology, and choices ultimately decide how a society develops

Sustainability / sustainable development

using earth’s resources to a point where society doesn’t need it as much so we can use it in the future

distance decay

the geographical concept that interaction between two places decreases as the distance between them increase

time space compression

he process by which modern transportation and communication technologies reduce the time and cost of interacting across distance, making far-apart places feel functionally closer.

scale and map scale

comparing distance on the map vs the grounnd

scales of analysis

the level of aggregation or the specific geographic unit (such as local, national, regional, or global) used to organize, study, and interpret spatial data

region

place on earth that is different than others

formal/uniform region

an area defined by one or more measurable, shared characteristics that are consistent throughout the entire space

functional/nodal region

region that is known for its function around a focal point

perceptual/vernacular region

an area defined by people's shared feelings, attitudes, cultural identity, and mental maps rather than by objective, measurable, or official boundaries.

geographic data

any information tied to a specific location or place on Earth's surface

quantitative vs qualitative data

quantitative data uses measurable numerical values to show what is happening, while qualitative data uses descriptive, non-numerical information to explain how people feel and experience a plac

census

count of a nations population (every 10 years)

GIS

Geographic Information System, a computer-based tool that captures, stores, analyzes, and displays spatial and geographic data.

topography

the arrangement of the natural and physical features of an area's landscape, including its relief, elevation, and landforms.

GPS

a satellite-based navigation technology that uses radio signals from orbiting satellites to pinpoint the exact absolute location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) of an object or receiver on Earth

map

to locate things on a 2d model

Cartographer

the art and science of making and studying maps

absolute distance and direction

distance: distance that can be measured by a standard unit of length (feet miles)

direction: north east south west (cardinal direction)

relative distance and direction

distance: measured in other criteria (time, cost)

direction people’s point of view, feelings

map distortion

map of glove looks weird because you are making a 3d shape into a 2d sketch

Mercator projection

continent shapes and directions are maintained

continent sizes are distorted

robinson projection

Shows true direction and area is relatively precise

continent shape distorted

gall peters projection

Globe like appearance (realer)

impercise measurements and extreme distortion of poles

azimuthal projection

preseveres direction

distorts all shape and shows only one side of earth

reference maps

generalized sources of geographic data and focus on location

can be used to pin-point exact locations (latitude longitude)

political reference map

map to show government boundaries (map of usa)

physical reference map

highlights earths features rather than man made ones

thematic map

map that shows a certain theme or specific purpose

isoline map

Lines connect data points that have the same value (temp in the us)

graduated symbol map

different sized symbols to indicate quantitative data (big dots for big population)

cartogram map

statistical data and geographic location combined to communicate info at a glance

choropleth map

Colors to show data

ecological perspective

The relationship between living things and their environments

world system theory

core (rich), semi periphery (rich and poor) and periphery (poor) countries/regions

geovisualization

a set of interactive tools and visual techniques—such as digital maps, 3D views, and dashboards—used to explore and analyze spatial dat

remote sensing

collecting geographic data using tech like satellites

dot map

dots on a map to show specific locations