AP Human Geography Final Exam Review Flashcards

Unit 1: Chapter 1

• Latitude and Longitude Practice:

  • 25N, 30E = Egypt
  • 15S, 50W = Brazil

• Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data:

  • Qualitative data describes qualities using words, not numbers (e.g., the color of an apple is red).
  • Quantitative data uses numerical measurements (e.g., the weight of an apple is 150 grams).

• Toponym, Site, and Situation:

  • Toponym: The name of a place (e.g., Texas).
  • Site: The physical characteristics of a place (e.g., flat plains, arid climate, sandy soil in Texas).
  • Situation: The location of a place relative to other places (e.g., Texas is located next to Mexico and within the USA).

• Cultural Ecology:

  • Possibilism: The theory that humans and the environment shape each other.
  • Environmental Determinism: The theory that the environment solely controls human actions.

• Types of Regions:

  • Functional Regions: Uniform regions based on shared characteristics.

• GPS, Remote Sensing, and GIS:

  • GPS (Global Positioning System): Provides exact location data.
  • Remote Sensing: Collects images and data about Earth from satellites.
  • GIS (Geographic Information System): Stores and compiles data into a useful format (e.g., Google Maps).

• Map Projections:

  • Robinson:
    • Advantage: Shows the whole world with fairly accurate shapes and sizes.
    • Disadvantage: Distortion exists, mainly near the poles.
  • Mercator:
    • Advantage: Preserves directions well, particularly for maritime navigation.
    • Disadvantage: Distorts size; Greenland appears super large.
  • Peters:
    • Advantage: Shows land area sizes accurately (equal area).
    • Disadvantage: Distorts the shapes of continents.

Unit 2: Chapter 2

• Overpopulation:

  • A place is overpopulated when its resources cannot support the number of people living there, leading to shortages in food, water, housing, and/or jobs.

• Population Growth Over Time:

  • Population grew slowly for most of the past 1000 years but increased rapidly after the 1800s due to the Industrial Revolution and improvements in sanitation and medicine.

• Demographic Equation:

  • Population \\ change = (births - deaths) + (immigration - emigration)

• Migration Selectivity:

  • Young, male adults (18-30 years old) who are educated are the most likely to move, often seeking work.

• Step Migration and Chain Migration:

  • Step Migration: Moving in smaller stages toward a final destination.
  • Chain Migration: Following the same journey as those who moved before, using the created "steps."

• Density:

  • Arithmetic Density: How many people live in an area overall.
  • Physiological Density: How many people live per unit of arable land.
  • Agricultural Density: How many farmers work on each unit of farmable land.

• Most Populated Regions of the US:

  • The Northeast, parts of the Midwest, and California.

• Impact of the Industrial Revolution on World Population Growth:

  • Increased life expectancy and access to goods, positively impacting population growth. This mainly happened in Stage 2 of the DTM, allowing countries to move to Stage 3.

• Basic Beliefs of Thomas Malthus:

  • A Malthusian catastrophe event may occur due to food shortages because food grows linearly while population grows exponentially.

• Demographic Transition Model (DTM) Stages:

  • Stage 1 - High Stationary: High birth and death rates, slow growth.
  • Stage 2 - Early Expanding: Death rates drop, birth rate stays high, rapid growth (fastest stage).
  • Stage 3 - Late Expanding: Birth rate drops, growth slows down.
  • Stage 4 - Low Stationary: Low birth and death rates, stable population.
  • Stage 5 - Declining: Birth rates below death rates, population shrinks.

Unit 2: Chapter 3

• Immigrant vs. Emigrant:

  • Immigrant: Enters a new country.
  • Emigrant: Leaves a country.

• Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces for Migration:

  • Centrifugal Forces: War, famine, government strife.
  • Centripetal Forces: Jobs, housing, economic opportunity.

• Alternative Names for Centrifugal & Centripetal Forces:

  • Push Factors = Centrifugal
  • Pull Factors = Centripetal

• Historic Immigration Patterns to the United States:

  • Colonial Era: European Migration with slaves from Africa.
  • 1800s: Eastern Europe and Irish (due to potato famine).
  • 1900s: Asia and Latin America due to cheaper labor.

• Presently Which World regions are most immigrants leaving for the US?:

  • Asia and Latin America

• Intervening Opportunity in Migration:

  • A job opportunity or affordable housing.

• Activity Space:

  • The area where people regularly travel as part of their daily routine.

Unit 3: Chapter 4

• Types of Diffusion:

  • Relocation Diffusion: People move and bring their culture or ideas with them.
  • Expansion Diffusion: An idea spreads outward from a source without physical movement of humans.

• Types of Expansion Diffusion:

  • Contagious Diffusion: Spreads rapidly and widely like a virus.
  • Hierarchical Diffusion: Spreads from an authority or power to others (e.g., CEO -> down the chain to workers).
  • Stimulus Diffusion: The underlying idea spreads, but the specific form changes (e.g., fast food places adapting to the region).

• Cultural Landscape:

  • The visible/physical imprint of human activity on the land, including buildings, roads, and signs that reflect a culture’s values and practices.

• Acculturation vs. Assimilation:

  • Acculturation: Adopting some traits of another culture while still keeping parts of the original culture.
  • Assimilation: Fully adopting a new culture and losing the original cultural identity.

• Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism:

  • Ethnocentrism: Criticizing local customs for being weird or wrong compared to one's own culture.
  • Cultural Relativism: Trying to understand something within that culture’s context, not one's own culture.

• Layers of Culture (Smallest to Largest Scale):

  • Cultural Trait: One specific cultural thing (food, custom).
  • Cultural Complex: A group of related cultural traits (sports, rules, equipment, fans).
  • Cultural System: A bigger combination of cultural complexes (the entire culture of a country or region).
  • Cultural Region: A geographical area where people share similar cultural systems and complexes (Middle East or Latin America).

• Folk vs. Pop Culture:

  • Folk Culture: Associated with local diversity, rooted in tradition, customs, and practices unique to specific communities.
  • Pop Culture: Associated with globalization, spreading quickly across the world, often making cultures more similar.

• Diffusion of Popular Culture vs. Folk Culture:

  • Popular culture spreads mainly through hierarchical diffusion.

Unit 3: Chapter 5

• Lingua Franca:

  • A language used as a common means of communication between people who speak different native languages (e.g., Swahili, Arabic, English).

• Major Language Families:

  • Europe: Indo-European
  • The Americas: Indo-European
  • East Asia: Sino-Tibetan
  • SW Asia: Afro-Asiatic
  • Africa: Niger-Congo

• Diagram Showing the Difference Between a Language Family, Language Branch, and Language Group:

  • (Diagram not provided in the original text)

• Dialect vs. Accent:

  • A Dialect is a variation of a language that includes differences in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, usually based on region or social groups

• Isogloss:

  • A geographic boundary that separates areas with different linguistic features, such as word usage, pronunciation, or grammar.

Unit 3: Chapter 6

• Universalizing Religions:

  • Religions that seek to appeal to people worldwide, not just those in a specific culture or ethnic group. (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Buddhism).

• Ethnic Religions:

  • Religions closely tied to a specific cultural group or geographic area that generally do not seek new followers outside that group (e.g., Hinduism, Judaism).

• Religion Origin and Distribution:

  • Islam:
    • Point of Origin: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
    • Current Distribution: Middle East, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, parts of Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Buddhism:
    • Point of Origin: Northern India/Nepal
    • Current Distribution: East Asia, Southeast Asia, parts of South Asia and the West
  • Hinduism:
    • Point of Origin: Indus River Valley
    • Current Distribution: India, and parts of Southeast Asia and the global Indian diaspora

• Major Branches:

  • Christianity:
    • Roman Catholic
    • Protestant
    • Eastern Orthodox
  • Islam:
    • Sunni
    • Shia
  • Buddhism:
    • Mahayana
    • Theravada
    • Vajrayana

• Religious Conflicts:

  • Religion vs. Politics/Government:
    • Conflict: Tibet and the Chinese Government
    • Location: China (Tibet)
    • Religions Involved: Tibetan Buddhism vs. Communist government
    • Description: The Chinese government restricts religious practices and political freedoms. The Dalai Lama lives in exile.
  • Religion vs. Religion - Interfaith Conflicts:
    • Conflict: Israel-Palestine Conflict
    • Location: Israel and Palestinian Territories
    • Religions Involved: Judaism vs. Islam
    • Description: A long-standing territorial and political conflict rooted in competing historical and religious claims.
  • Religion vs. Religion - Intrafaith Conflicts:
    • Conflict: Sunni vs. Shia Muslims
    • Location: Middle East
    • Religions Involved: Islam (Sunni vs. Shia Branches)
    • Description: Political and religious tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
  • Religion vs. Secularism:
    • Conflict: France’s ban on religious symbols in public schools
    • Location: France
    • Religions Involved: Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and others vs. Secular government
    • Description: France’s secular laws prohibit overt religious symbols in public schools, causing tension with religious communities.

Unit 4: Chapter 7

• Race vs. Ethnicity:

  • Race: Based on physical characteristics, such as skin color.
  • Ethnicity: Based on cultural identity, like language, tradition, ancestry, religion, etc.

• Impact of Blockbusting on Racial Distribution in Urban Areas:

  • Blockbusting was a practice where real estate agents convinced white homeowners to sell their homes cheaply out of fear that Black Families would move in, which they though would cause property values to go down. The homes were then resold at higher prices to Black families, leading to racial segregation and formation of racially divided neighborhoods.

• Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces in Political Geography:

  • Centripetal Force: Unifies a country.
  • Centrifugal Force: Can break apart a country.

• Examples of Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces:

  • Centripetal Force: A shared national language, propaganda.
  • Centrifugal Force: Many different languages, different religious values.

• Ethnic Conflict in Kashmir:

  • Between India and Pakistan, with both vying for the region.
  • Also between Muslims (in Kashmir) and the Hindu-led Indian government.

• Relationship between Balkanization, Shatterbelts, and Devolution:

  • Balkanization: The breakup of a state into smaller, often hostile units, usually due to ethnic, cultural, or religious differences.
  • Shatterbelt: A region caught between stronger external forces, experiencing conflict, instability, and pressure to divide.
  • Devolution: When a central government peacefully gives power to regional groups, often to prevent potential balkanization or unrest in a shatterbelt.

Unit 4: Chapter 8

• Microstates:

  • Monaco
  • San Marino
  • Liechtenstein

• Locations of Geometric Boundaries:

  • Africa (after the Berlin Conference)
  • Upper US
  • Middle East borders between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
  • Select regions of Australia

• State Shapes:

  • Elongated: States benefit from having a diverse range of climates.
    • Example: Chile
  • Compact: States benefit from being easily accessible to governing.
  • Fragmented: States can control scattered resources but face unity challenges.
    • Example: Indonesia
  • Prorupted: States gain access to important areas like coasts or buffer zones through extensions.
    • Example: Thailand

• Federal vs. Unitary States:

  • Federal States: Share power between national and regional governments (e.g., US).
  • Unitary States: Centralize power in one main government with little local autonomy (e.g., France).

• Packing and Cracking Gerrymandering:

  • Packing: Puts many opposition voters into one district to reduce their power elsewhere.
  • Cracking: Spreads opposition voters thinly across districts to prevent them from winning any.

• EU (European Union):

  • A political and economic union of European countries that promotes cooperation, trade, and peace.

• NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement):

  • NAFTA, now USMCA, was created to eliminate trade barriers and increase economic ties between the US, Canada, and Mexico.

• Supranational Organizations:

  • Support globalization by encouraging cooperation but can reduce member countries’ full sovereignty.

• Forward-Thrust Capital:

  • Brasilia is a forward capital of Brazil, built inland to promote development and integrate the country

• Hegemony:

  • Hegemony is when one country dominates other politically, economically, or culturally (the US post-WWII)

• Buffer State:

  • Afghanistan historically served as a buffer state between British India and the Russian Empire

• Exclave vs. Enclave:

  • Exclave: A part of a country separated from the main area, like Alaska.
  • Enclave: A part of a country completely surrounded by another country, like Lesotho within South Africa.

• Territoriality:

  • Territoriality is the effort by a country or group to control and defend a specific geographic area.

• Irredentism:

  • Irredentism is the belief that a country should reclaim territory based on ethnic or historical ties, like RUssia in Crimea

Unit 5: Chapter 9

• Economic Activities:

  • Primary Activity: Fishing which involves the extraction of natural resources directly from the Earth.
  • Secondary Activity: Manufacturing and turning raw materials (like timber) into finished products (like furniture).
  • Tertiary Activity: Teaching and providing services to others rather than producing goods.
  • Quaternary Activity: Research and Development such as activities related to knowledge-based services.

• Most Practiced Economic Activity:

  • Agriculture, specifically subsistence agriculture.

• Human Practices Prior to Agriculture:

  • Hunting and gathering.

• World Regions Practicing Subsistence Agriculture:

  • Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia.

• Examples of Extensive Subsistence Agriculture:

  • Pastoral Nomadism: Herding livestock example: Mongolia
  • Shifting Cultivation: Clearing forested areas by cutting and burning vegetation to create fields for crops.
    • Example: Amazon River Basin in South America

• World Regions Practicing Shifting Cultivation:

  • Tropical regions, such as parts of Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon Rainforest.

• Impact of Climate on Agriculture:

  • Climate affects agriculture by influencing the types of crops that can be grown, the growing season length, and water availability.

• Carl Sauer’s Theories Regarding Agriculture:

  • Agriculture originated in areas with abundant natural resources and favorable climate, particularly around the Fertile Crescent.

• Agribusiness:

  • Refers to the business activities involved in the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products.

• Impact of Technology on Agriculture:

  • Technology has significantly impacted agriculture by increasing efficiency, crop yields, and precision, like genetically modified organisms (GMOS).

• Transhumance and Swidden:

  • Transhumance: The seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures.
  • Swidden: A form of shifting cultivation where vegetation is cut, burned, and cultivated for a few years before the area is abandoned to recover (slash and burn).

• Second Agricultural Revolution:

  • Took place in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe. Innovations included the enclosure movement, crop rotation, selective breeding, and the seed drill.

• Von Thunen’s Model:

  • (Model not provided in the original text)

Unit 6: Chapter 12

• Hierarchy of City Types (Smallest to Largest):

  • Hamlet
  • Village
  • Town
  • City
  • Metropolis
  • Megalopolis

• Alpha ++ Global Cities:

  • New York City, London

• Rank Size Rule vs. Primate City Rule:

  • Rank Size Rule: The population of a city. every city is halved in population in proportion to the next lower one, is inversely proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy.
  • Primate City Rule: The largest city is disproportionately larger and more significant than the ones after it.

• Central Place Theory:

  • Range: The maximum distance people are willing to travel to use a good or service.
  • Threshold: The minimum number of people needed to support a service.

Unit 6: Chapter 13

• Contribution of the Industrial Revolution to Urbanization:

  • The industrial revolution led to urbanization by creating factory jobs in cities, which drew people from rural areas seeking employment.

• Squatter Settlements:

  • Squatter settlements are informal housing areas built by people who occupy land illegally, often lacking basic services like clean water, electricity, and sanitation.

• Challenges for Megacities in MDCs:

  • Traffic congestion and pollution
  • Affordable housing shortages
  • Aging infrastructure
  • Social inequality and homelessness
  • Urban sprawl and loss of green space

• Annexation:

  • Annexation is the legal process by which a city adds land to its jurisdiction, often incorporating surrounding unincorporated areas to extend services or increase tax revenue

• Key Concepts:

  • Counter-urbanization: People moving away from the CBD into suburban or rural areas
  • Concentric Zone Model: by Ernest Burgress, descripts outward growth in concentric rings from CBD
  • Sector Model: Sectors of influence from CBD, wedges, certain sectors do specific things, advantages, explains why some ares are weather or more industrial than others, even at the same distance from CBD
  • Multi-nuclei model: developed by harris, desripts a city has multiple centers or activity, not just CBD, reflects high complexity of places

Unit 7: Chapter 10

• HDI (Human Development Index):

  • The human development index measures a country’s overall level of development and quality of life Uses:
    • Health - life expectancy
    • Education - mean years of schooling ,and expected years of schooling
    • Standard of living - Gross national income per capita (adjusted for purchasing power parity)

• Core-Periphery Model:

  • Core Countries: US, Germany, Japan
  • Semi-Periphery Countries: Brazil, India, South Africa
  • Periphery Countries: Niger, Haiti, Afghanistan

• Purpose of “Fair Trade” Standards:

  • Ensure fair wages and safe working conditions for producers promote environmental sustainability support small-scale farmers and workers in developing countries, and reduce exploitation in global supply chains

• Purpose of the Self Sufficiency Development Strategy:

  • Protect domestic industries by reducing dependence on foreign goods, encourages balanced growth across all regions of a country and limit imports through tariffs and quotas

• Success of the Four Dragons (Tigers):

  • Export-oriented industrialization
  • Strong government support for education, infrastructure, and investment
  • Modeled their strategy after Japan after WW2
  • Attracted foreign investment and used cheap labor to grow manufacturing sectors

• Dependency Theory:

  • Core countries exploit periphery countries for raw materials, labor, and markets, keeping them poor and dependent on the cores.

• Rostow’s Development Model (5 Stages):

  • Traditional Society: Subsistence agriculture, limited technology
  • Preconditions for Takeoff: Infrastructure development, investment begins
  • Takeoff: Rapid growth in a few economic sectors, industrialization starts
  • Drive to Maturity: Technology spreads, industries diversify, economy grows steadily
  • Age of Mass Consumption: High income, widespread consumer goods and services

Unit 7: Chapter 11

• Advantages of Maquiladoras:

  • Low labor costs for US companies, Proximity to the US market
    Creates job opportunities, foreign investment and economic development in the region

• Outsourcing:

  • Moving industrial production to facilities outside the country
    common locations: india, china, philippines, vietnam
  • Transnational corporations transfer some work to LDCs bcause of the substantial difference in wages despite increse transportation costs
  • (subsitition principle (awesomseee!))
  • A decrease in veritgal integration (one company owns everything)

• Origin of the Industrial Revolution:

  • Great Britain, in the late 1700s.
  • started due to access to coal and iron, capital investment, colonial markets, technologcail innovation, and politcal stability

• Location of Industry:

  • Resource oriented industries arelocated near raw materials to reduce transportation costs for heavy or bulky inputs
    Market oriented industries are located near consumers to reduce shipping costs for finished products or because products are perishable or bulky

• Fossil Fuels:

  • nonorenewable resources (coal, oil) take millions of years to form and cannot be replaced on a human timescale.
  • Oil is concentrated in the Middle East, Russia, and parts of NA Natural Gas is mostly found in the US and Russia Coal is abundant in China , the US, India, and Australia.