Ultimate AP Human Geography Vocabulary cards

All vocab from all 7 units

Physical Geography

the study of natural processes and the distribution of features in the environment

Human Geography

the study of the events and processes that have shaped how humans understand, use, and alter Earth (the why of where)

Spatial Perspective

where something occurs and why it is located there

Ecological Perspective

the relationship between living beings and their environments

Location

the position that a point or object occupies on Earth. It can be expressed in absolute or relative terms

Place

a location on Earth that is distinguished by its physical and human characteristics

Site

a place’s absolute location as well as its physical characteristics

Situation

a place’s location in relation to other places or its surrounding features

Space

the area between two or more things on Earth’s surface

Distributed

how things are arranged in a given space

Density

the number of things in a specific area

Pattern

how things are arranged in a particular space

Environmental Determinism

a theory that argues that human behavior is largely controlled by the physical environment

Possibilism

a theory that humans have more agency, or ability, to produce a result that is able to conflict with or make the best of environmental factors

Distance Decay

a principle that states that the farther away one thing is from another, the less interaction the two things will have

Time-Space Compression

a principle that says that, as technology, travel, and communication improves, the relative distance between places shrink

Sustainability

the use of Earth’s land and natural resources in ways that ensure they will continue to be available in the future

Scale

the area of the world being studied

Region

an area of Earth’s surface with certain characteristics that make it distinct from other areas

Formal Region

an area with distinct boundaries that has one or more shared traits

Functional Region

an area organized by its function around a focal point or the center of an interest or activity

Node

The focal point or center activity of a functional region

Suburbs

residential areas surrounding a city

Vernacular (Perceptual) Region

a type of region that is subjective and reflects people’s feelings and attitudes about a place

Globalization

the expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale

Theory

a system of ideas intended to explain certain phenomena

World System Theory

a theory invented by Immanuel Wallerstein to describe the spatial and functional relationships between countries in the world economy. Wallerstein divided countries into 3 categories; core, semi-periphery, and periphery

Periphery

countries that have less wealth, lower education levels, and less sophisticated technology

Semi-Periphery

countries where both core and periphery processes occur

Core

countries that are wealthy, have high education levels, more sophisticated technology, and are a global influence

Sustainable Development

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Quantitative Data

information measured using mathematical terms like numbers or graphs

Qualitative Data

interpretations of data sources such as field observations, media reports, travel narratives, policy documents, personal interviews, landscape analysis, and visuals such as art or photographs

Census

an official count of the number of people in a defined area

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

information systems that capture, store, organize, and display geographic data that can then be used to configure maps

Topography

the shape and features of land surfaces

Remote Sensing

geospatial technologies that gather data remotely or without physical contact

Global Positioning System (GPS)

a network of satellites that transmit location data to handheld receivers

Cartographers

people who make maps

Absolute Distance

a distance that can be measured using a standard unit of length

Relative Distance

distance that can be measured in terms of criteria other than absolute such as time or money

Absolute Direction

an established sense of direction based on the cardinal compass directions (north, east, south, and west)

Relative Direction

a sense of direction based on people’s perceptions (left, right, up, down, front, back)

Map Scale

the mathematical relationship between the size of a map and the part of the real world it shows

Map Projections

ways to flatten the 3D Earth into a 2D map or plane

Robinson Projection

a projection that has curved lines of longitude and straight lines of latitude. The shapes of the continents and direction becomes more distorted farther away from the equator

Mercator Projection

a projection where the continents’ shapes are maintained and direction is displayed accurately, but the sizes of the continents are very distorted. Often used for navigation

Gall-Peters Projection

a projection where the direction and the relative size of the continents are not distorted, but the shapes of them are

Azimuthal Projection

a projection that is a flattened, disk-shaped portion of Earth shown from a specific point

Reference Maps

generalized sources of geographic data and focus on location

Thematic Maps

maps that have a theme or specific purpose and focus on the relationship among geographic data

Isoline Map

maps where lines connect data points of the same value

Graduated Symbols Map

a type of map where differently sized symbols are used to indicate quantitative data

Cartogram

a type of map that combines statistical data and geographic location to communicate information

Dot Map

a type of map where dots are used to show locations of specific observations or events

Chloropleth Map

a type of thematic map that uses colors or shading to represent categories of data