AP Human Geography Study Guide Flashcards

THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY

  • Geography as a field of study originated with the ancient Greeks, derived from the words geo ("the earth") and graphein ("to write").
  • Cartography is defined as the art and science of map-making.
  • Early Greek geographers like Hecataeus and Ptolemy attempted to map the world, with Ptolemy estimating earth's circumference at $16,000$ miles (underestimating by approximately $9,000$ miles).
  • Modern geography emerged in 17th-century Germany. Immanuel Kant defined the discipline as the study of interrelated spatial patterns.
  • The field is divided into two major branches:
        - Physical Geography: Focuses on the natural environment (e.g., mountains, climates).
        - Human Geography: Focuses on people, their interactions, and how they change and use natural landscapes.
  • Keywords of the Spatial Perspective:
        - Location: Position on Earth's surface.
        - Space: The physical gap between two objects.
        - Scale: The relationship between map size and actual size.
        - Place: A specific point with unique human and physical characteristics.
        - Pattern: The arrangement of objects in relation to one another.
        - Regionalization: Organizing the surface into distinct areas.
        - Globalization: Expansion of activities to a world-wide impact.

GEOGRAPHICAL SKILLS AND MAPS

  • Absolute Location: The exact position on a mathematical grid.
        - Meridians: Arcs drawn between the North and South Poles measuring Longitude (distance east/west of the Prime Meridian at $0^\circ$ in Greenwich, England).
        - Parallels: Circles drawn parallel to the Equator ($0^\circ$ latitude).
  • Relative Location: Defines a spot in relation to other human or physical features. It defines a place's centrality or isolation and can change over time (e.g., Samarkand's decline after the Silk Road era).
  • Map Projections (The challenge of 3D to 2D):
        - Mercator Projection: Designed for navigation; maintains true direction (loxodromes) but grossly distorts size at the poles (e.g., Greenland looks the size of Africa).
        - Robinson Projection: Attempts to balance all distortions (shape, size, distance, direction) by curving lines of longitude; used widely in classrooms.
        - Peters Projection: Focuses on keeping land masses equal in area; distorts familiar shapes but corrects misconceptions about the relative size of Africa and Latin America.

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND GROWTH

  • Demography: The study of population.
  • Population Density:
        - Arithmetic (Crude) Density: Total number of people divided by total land area (Density=Total PopulationTotal Land AreaDensity = \frac{\text{Total Population}}{\text{Total Land Area}}).
        - Physiological Density: Number of people per unit of arable land (land suited for agriculture). This measures pressure on land to produce food (e.g., Egypt's physiological density is over $3500$, while its arithmetic is only $78$).
  • Carrying Capacity: The number of people an area can support sustained by its technology level.
  • Thomas Malthus: In 1798, predicted that population grows exponentially (geometric rate: $2, 4, 8, 16, 32…$) while food grows linearly (arithmetic rate: $2, 3, 4, 5, 6…$). He predicted famine, war, and disease as "negative checks."
  • Demographic Transition Theory:
        - Stage 1 (Low Growth): Pre-industrial; high birth/death rates.
        - Stage 2 (High Growth): Industrialization; death rates drop (Mortality Revolution), birth rates stay high.
        - Stage 3 (Moderate Growth): Mature industrial; birth rates drop as children become economic liabilities.
        - Stage 4 (Low Growth): Post-industrial; birth and death rates even out at low levels.
  • Population Policies:
        - China: Implemented the "One-Child Policy" in 1979 using incentives and penalties; resulted in a rapidly aging population and distorted male/female ratios.
        - India: Uses advertising and persuasion via state governments; struggling to coordinate due to cultural diversity; expected to surpass China in population by 2030.

CULTURAL PATTERNS AND PROCESSES

  • Cultural Landscape: The human modification of the natural landscape (the "built environment").
  • Cultural Ecology: The study of the relationship between the natural environment and culture.
  • Schools of Thought:
        - Environmental Determinism: The belief that physical environment (climate/terrain) shapes culture.
        - Possibilism: The environment sets limits, but culture is shaped by human choices and technology.
  • Cultural Diffusion: The spread of ideas/traits.
        - Expansion Diffusion: Stays strong in the core while spreading (includes Contagious, Hierarchical, and Stimulus types).
        - Relocation Diffusion: Spread via physical movement of people.
  • Language Families: The largest group is Indo-European (spoken by half the world). A Lingua Franca is a language of international communication (e.g., English, Swahili).
  • Religion:
        - Universalizing: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism (actively seek converts).
        - Ethnic: Hinduism, Judaism (usually concentrated in one place).

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF SPACE

  • Territoriality: Efforts to control pieces of the Earth's surface.
  • State: An organization maintaining a monopoly of violence over a territory. A Nation-state is a state whose territory corresponds to a distinct nation.
  • Shapes of States:
        - Compact: Distance from center to borders is even (e.g., Poland).
        - Prorupted: Compact with a projecting extension (e.g., Thailand, DR Congo).
        - Elongated: Long and narrow (e.g., Chile, Gambia).
        - Fragmented: Discontinuous pieces/islands (e.g., Indonesia).
        - Perforated: A state that completely surrounds another (e.g., South Africa surrounding Lesotho).
  • Boundaries:
        - Physical: Mountains, rivers, deserts.
        - Cultural (Consequent): Based on ethnic differences like religion (Pakistan/India).
        - Geometric: Straight lines (38th Parallel).
  • Supranational Organizations: Groups of nations (UN, NATO, EU) that cooperate, sometimes requiring a surrender of some Sovereignty.

AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  • Economic Sectors:
        - Primary: Extraction of raw materials (Agriculture, Mining).
        - Secondary: Manufacturing (Industry).
        - Tertiary: Services (Finance, Trade).
  • Von Thünen’s Model: Explains rural land use based on transport costs to a market center. Rings include:
        - 1. Market gardening/Dairy (perishable).
        - 2. Forest (heavy fuel).
        - 3. Field crops (grains).
        - 4. Animal grazing (extensive space needed).
  • Green Revolution: Mid-20th-century development of high-yield "miracle" seeds (IR8 rice) and increased use of chemical fertilizers/irrigation.
  • Industrialization Models:
        - Rostow's Stages: Traditional Society $\rightarrow$ Take-off $\rightarrow$ Drive to Maturity $\rightarrow$ High Mass Consumption.
        - Wallerstein’s World Systems: Core (exploiters), Periphery (exploited), and Semi-periphery.

CITIES AND URBAN LAND USE

  • Hierarchy of Settlements: Hamlet $\rightarrow$ Village $\rightarrow$ Town $\rightarrow$ City $\rightarrow$ Megalopolis.
  • Urban Land Use Models:
        - Concentric Zone (Burgess): City grows in rings from a Central Business District (CBD).
        - Sector Model (Hoyt): City grows in wedges or sectors along transport corridors.
        - Multiple-Nuclei (Harris/Ullman): City has multiple nodes of activity (e.g., airport, university, port).