AP Human Geography Unit 1

Absolute Location

Precise spot that never changes, often in latitude and longitude

Area Distortion

The distortion of an area; inaccurate to the actual area

Cartographic Scale

a ratio between a distance on a map and its corresponding distance in the real world

Census Data

Acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population

Dispersal/Diffusion

How spread out people are in a geographic area

Distance Decay

as the distance between two people or places increases, the interaction between them decreases

Distance Distortion

when a map shows distances between places incorrectly

Elevation

The height of land above sea level or ground

Environmental Determinism

Human behaviors are a direct result of the surrounding environment

Formal Region

An area with clear boundaries defined by one or more shared characteristics

Functional Region

An area organized around a node defined by an activity

Geographic Data

Any data that is associated with a specific location on the Earth's surface

GIS (geographic information system)

A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data related to positions on Earth's surface

Geographic Scale

organizing places into levels from small ones to large ones that reflects actual levels of organization in the real world

GPS (global positioning system)

A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers

Global Scale

A map of the world, geographers identify broad patterns encompassing the entire world

Human Possibilism

physical environment may cause limitations, but people ultimately have the ability to adjust and adapt to their environment

Local Scale

A spatial scale that is essentially equivalent to a community

Map Distortion

unavoidable warping of shape, area, distance, or direction that happens when representing the three dimensional surface of Earth on a flat, two-dimensional map

National Scale

Describes the level of a specific country or nation

Perceptual Region

A region defined by popular feelings and images rather than by objective data

Place

The specific human and physical characteristics of a location

Qualitative data

Information describing color, odor, shape, or some other physical characteristic

Quantitative Data

numerical information that can be measured and analyzed to identify patterns and trends in space.

Reference Maps

People refer to them for general information about places, also show where things are

Regional Analysis

The study of a specific region or area, with the goal of understanding its characteristics and patterns

Regional Scale

Map of a specific area of the world

Relative Location

The position of a place in relation to another place

Remote Sensing

acquiring data about Earth's surface from a satellite or drone orbiting the planet

Scale

the relationship between the size of an area on a map and its actual size on Earth's surface

Space

A location with no cultural meaning

Sustainability

using Earth's resources responsibly today so they are available for people in the future

Thematic Maps

Show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon

Time-space Compression

technology makes distant places feel much closer together because we can now travel and communicate between them more quickly using it

Relocation Diffusion

When people move, or relocate, they spread ideas along with them

Expansion Diffusion

the spread of an idea or innovation through a population, growing the number of adopters over time

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of an idea or trend from influential leaders or major cities down to others

Reverse Hierarchical Diffusion

When a trait spreads from areas of little influence to larger areas

Stimulus Diffusion

Occurs when a specific trait is rejected, but the underlying idea is accepted