Thinking Geographically and Spatial Concepts Study Guide

Absolute Location: A precise location on Earth defined in a way that never changes.
Relative Location: Where a place is located in relation to other places.
Site: The physical character of a place.
Situation: The location of a place relative to another place.
Toponym: The name given to a place on Earth.
Hearth: A place where an innovation originates.

Cartography: The science and art of making maps.
Projection: The transfer of a location on Earth's surface onto a flat map.
Latitude: Horizontal lines that run parallel around the globe.
- Equator: The parallel of $0^\text{o}$ latitude that circles the Earth midway between the poles.
Longitude: Vertical lines that run between the North and South Poles.
- Prime Meridian: Defined at $0^\text{o}$ longitude, running from north to south.
Map Projections:
- Mercator Projection: A map projection used primarily for navigation; landmasses near the poles are distorted.
- Peters Projection (1.1): A map projection with very accurate relative size representations; shapes appear small at the poles.

Dot Map: A map type where each dot represents a quantitative value.
- Clustered Dots: Indicate a higher concentration or more of the feature.
- Dispersed Dots: Indicate a lower concentration or less of the feature.
Choropleth Map: A thematic map using shades of color to represent quantitative data.
- Darker Shades: Indicate higher values or more of a feature.
- Lighter Shades: Indicate lower values or less of a feature.
Cartogram Map: A map in which the geographic size of an area is distorted to show more or less of a variable.
Qualitative Map: A map that displays a high variety of colors and symbols to show categorical data, such as culture themes or regional characteristics.

Geographic Information System (GIS): A computer system that captures, stores, queries, and displays geographic data.
Global Positioning System (GPS): A system that determines precise positions of something on Earth.
Remote Sensing: The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite.
Spatial Analysis: The study of how data is spread, clustered, dispersed, or random.
Distribution: The arrangement of something across Earth's surface.
- Clustered: Grouped closely together in one or more places.
- Dispersed: Spread out or separated.
Interaction and Spatial Models:
- Gravity Model: Mathematical logic that proves distance decay; describes how two locations interact based on the number of people in a location and how far they must travel.
- Distance-Decay: A principle stating that the further someone or something is from another, the less interaction there is. Demonstrates past versus present changes.
- Time-Space Compression: The reduction in time it takes to reach another place because of technology.

Scale of Analysis: Indicates how much of Earth is being shown or studied.
Scales of Information:
- Global Scale: Analysis involving the entire world.
- Regional Scale: Analysis focused on specific sub-national or multi-national regions.
- National Scale: Analysis focused on individual countries.
- Local Scale: Analysis focused on small areas or communities.
Region Types:
- Formal Region: An area sharing uniform physical or cultural characteristics.
- Functional Region: An area organized around a node or focal point.
- Perceptual (Vernacular) Region: An area defined by subjective perceptions or cultural identity.

Cultural Ecology (Landscape): The geographic study of human-environment relationships.
Environmental Determinism: The philosophy that the physical environment shapes social and cultural development.
Possibilism: The concept that the physical environment may limit human actions, but people can adjust.
Sustainability: The use of Earth's resources that ensure their availability in the future.

Renewable Resources: Resources that naturally replenish themselves so that they can be used continuously.
- Examples: Water (including frozen water, lakes, rivers, and water from desalination), solar energy (sunlight), geothermal energy, wind, and trees.
Nonrenewable Resources: Resources that take too long to naturally replenish relative to their consumption.
- Examples: Oil (petroleum), coal, uranium (nuclear energy), natural gas, and fossil fuels.
Resource Usage: The United States uses petroleum and natural gas the most.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- Zero hunger
- Affordable and clean energy
- Life on land

Globalization: Actions or processes that involve the whole world in making something worldwide in scope.
Uniform Landscape: A condition where places look and feel similar because spatial features spread widely.
Uneven Development: The condition where economic development is not spread equally across space or among people.

Culture: The body of material possessions, customary beliefs, and social norms that together form the distinct tradition of a group of people.
Acculturation: The process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups (blending).
Assimilation: The process in which cultural features are altered to fully resemble those of another group.
Syncretism: Combining two groups into a new cultural feature or new belief.
Diffusion: The process by which a feature spreads from one place to another over time.
- Relocation Diffusion: The spread of an feature through physical movement or migration of people (e.g., language).
- Expansion Diffusion: The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in an additive process. Includes:
- Hierarchical Diffusion: The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority to other people or places.
- Contagious Diffusion: The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.
- Stimulus Diffusion: The spread of an underlying principle or idea even though the specific trait is altered.