AP Human Geography - Unit 1: Thinking Geographically - Key Concepts

The Birth of Geography

  • Eratosthenes: Recognized as the inventor of geography.
    • Geo (Earth) + Graphy (To write)

Latitude and Longitude

  • Longitude:
    • Lines run east to west (Meridians).
    • Measure distance east or west of the Prime Meridian (0 degrees).
  • Latitude:
    • Lines run north to south (Parallels).
    • Measure distance north or south of the Equator (0 degrees).

Map Projections

  • Mercator Projection:
    • Lines of longitude and latitude are straight.
    • Pros: Good for navigation and direction.
    • Cons: Distorts absolute size of landmasses.
  • Robinson Projection:
    • Curves longitude lines away from the Prime Meridian.
    • Pros: Better representation of land sizes and shapes.
    • Cons: Not ideal for direction/navigation.
  • Azimuthal Projection: Useful for mapping the poles.
  • Gall-Peters Projection: Rectangular projection that attempts to prevent distortion.
    • Pros: Good for navigation, relatively accurate sizes.
    • Cons: Stretched appearance.
  • Important Note: No maps are 100% accurate.

Types of Maps

  • Reference Maps: Show the location of places.
  • Thematic Maps: Display a phenomenon spatially.
    • Chloropleth Maps: Use color to represent a phenomenon (darker colors indicate greater phenomenon).
    • Dot Maps: Use dots to show a phenomenon (good for showing clustering, density, distribution).
    • Graduated Symbol Maps: Use varying symbol sizes to indicate the frequency or amount of something in an area.
    • Isoline Maps: Use lines to depict a phenomenon.
    • Cartograms: Distort land size to represent information.