AP Exam Review

Absolute location

Mathematical description by longitude and latitude

Accessibility

Ease of interaction between locations

Arial Photography

Professional images captured from planes

Built environment

Human-made structures and landscapes

Connectivity

Degree of connection between locations

Cultural ecology

Study of human adaptation to the environment

Density

Quantity in a defined area

Distance Decay

Inverse relationship between distance and connection

Distance

Measurement of separation between places

Distribution

Spread of a phenomenon over an area

Environmental determinism

Belief in landforms and climate shaping human behavior

Equator

Line separating earth's hemispheres

Field observation

Physical visit to a location

Friction of distance

Decreased connection with increased distance

Ghost Town

Abandoned settlement

Human geography

Study of human-made environment

Human-Environment Interaction

Exchange between humans and nature

International date line

Follows prime meridian, adjusts for boundaries

Landscape analysis

Defining and describing landscapes

Latitude

Horizontal lines on the globe

Longitude

Vertical lines on the globe

Place

Distinct characteristics of a location

Possibilism

Acknowledges environmental limits, focuses on human role

Prime Meridian

Greenwich Mean Time, separates hemispheres

Proximity

Degree of nearness

Region

Distinct areas on earth's surface

Relative Location

Description in relation to another place

Sense of place

Related to the concept of a location

Site

Immediate location characteristics

Situation

Location relative to surroundings and other places

Spatial Association

Matching distribution patterns

Spatial approach

Considers arrangement of phenomena on earth's surface

Spatial data

Information tied to specific locations

Spatial interaction

Contact and flow between locations

Time-space compression

Shrinking time distance due to better transportation

Toponyms

Place names

Physical geography

Study of the natural environment

Area

Defined by one predominant characteristic throughout an entire space

Cartogram

Sizes of units shown based on a specific statistic

Cartographic scale

How a map communicates the ratio it represents

Choropleth maps

Use colors to show spatial data distribution

Conic projection

Earth area projected onto a cone

Dot distribution maps

Show specific location and distribution across a map

Fieldwork

Data observed and recorded on location

Functional regions

Organized around a focal point and defined by activity

Geographic models

Representations to understand spatial patterns

Geographic scale

Amount of territory represented by a map

Graduated symbol maps

Use symbols of different sizes to indicate amounts

Homogenous regions

Demarcated based on internal uniformity

Isoline maps

Use lines to connect points of equal value

Locator maps

Illustrations showing specific locations

Map projection

Process of showing a curved surface on a flat surface

Mental maps

Maps created in people's minds

Mercator map projection

Cylindrical projection representing north as up

Nodal regions

Demarcated based on internal uniformity

Nonspatial models

Illustrate theories using words, graphs, or tables

Patterns

General arrangements of studied things

Perceptual regions

Defined by the informal sense of a place

Peters projection

Correct area proportions with distorted shapes

Physical maps

Shows human-created boundaries and designations

Plat maps

Shows property lines and land ownership details

Political maps

Shows human-created boundaries and designations

Process

Repeated sequences of events

Qualitative data

Not represented by numbers, focuses on quality

Quantitative data

Measured and recorded using numbers, focuses on quantity

Reference maps

Used for referencing locations and information

Regionalization

Separating regions into smaller portions

Relative scale

Geographic scale comparison

Road maps

Shows and labels roads, highways, etc.

Robinson projection

Shows the entire world at once

Scale of data

Provides more information than cartographic scale

Scale

Ratio between real-life size and map size

Spatial models

Illustrate theories about spatial distributions

Subregions

Divided smaller areas within regions

Thematic maps

Show spatial aspects of a phenomenon

Topographic maps

Contours depict surface features and elevation

Uniform regions

Area with one predominant characteristic throughout

Vernacular regions

Regions defined by people's informal sense of place

Age-sex composition

Population pyramid based on age and gender

Agricultural population density

Ratio of farmers to arable land area

Arable land

Land suitable for crop cultivation

Arithmetic population density

Population divided by total area

Baby boom

Period of high birth rates

Baby bust

Decline in births after a baby boom

Birth deficit

Reduction in birth rates

Carrying capacity

Max population sustainable without harm

Cohort

Age groups in population pyramids

Dependency ratio

Comparison of working to non-working population

Dependent workforce

Non-working population segments

Echo

Population increase after a baby boom

Midlatitudes

Regions between 30°-60° N and 30°-60° S

Overpopulation

Exceeding sustainable population levels

Physiological population density

Population divided by arable land area

Population distribution

Human settlement pattern

Population pyramid

Graph showing age-sex composition

Potential workforce

Expected working-age population

Redistricting

Change in urban and rural district sizes

Social stratification

Grouping based on status and power

Population density

A measure of the average population per square mile/kilometer of an area