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AP hug Notes
AP HUG -Midterm Study Guide (Units 1-4)
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Unit 1: Thinking Geographically
What purpose do maps serve?
Maps are a visual representation of an area. They help in navigation, understanding, spatial relationship, analyzing geographic patterns, and communicating geographic information.
What misconceptions exist about maps?
Sometimes, maps only show you what they want you to see. They can also be inaccurate, distorted, or outdated.
List and describe the four types of thematic maps.
Choropleth: Uses color or shading to show data: population density or economic indicators
Isoline: Use lines to represent areas with equal values such as temperature or elevation
Dot-Map: Use dots to represent the presence or quantity of a feature.
Catogram: Distorts the size of geographic areas based on a particular variable (ex. population).
List and describe the four types of reference maps.
Political: Shows boundaries, cities, and major landmarks
Road: Displays physical features such as mountains, rivers and valleys
Physical: Shows streets, highways and transportation networks
Topographic: Detail the terrain using contour lines to show elevation and landforms.
What are the four ways a map can be projected?
Through:
Mercator Projection: Preserves angles and shapes but distorts size
Robinson Projection: Balances size and shape distortion (used for world maps)
Peters Projection: Maintains equal area but distorts shapes
Conic Projection: Best for mapping smaller areas such as countries or states
What are the different types of QUANTITATIVE spatial patterns?
Absolute Direction: Exact direction you’re heading
Absolute Distance: Exact distance between 2 places
Absolute Location: Exact spot something is located
What are the different types of QUALITATIVE spatial patterns?
Relative Direction: Direction depends on surrounding area
Relative Distance: Approximate measurement between 2 points
Relation Location: Description of a location using surrounding features
What direction do latitude lines run? What about longitude?
Latitude runs East to West, while longitude runs North to South.
What are the three contemporary tools of geospatial technologies?
GIS (Geographic Information Systems): a computer system that displays data using geocoding.
GPS (Global Positioning System): uses satellites to determine precise positions on Earth.
Remote Sensing: Collects data from satellites or aircraft.
What is dangerous about using information gathered in these observations?
The data obtained may be inaccurate, outdated, or biased.
What is the difference between how quantitative and qualitative data for geospatial information is gathered?
Quantitative data: Information that is measured using numbers
Qualitative data: Recorded through field observations. Media reports, newspapers, articles, travel, narratives, documents, landscape analysis, etc.
What is space? How does distribution relate to space?
Space refers to the physical gap or interval between objects. Distribution is the arrangement of a feature in space.
List and describe the three main properties of distribution.
Density: Frequency in which something occurs in space
Concentration: Extent of a feature spread over space (how far apart things are: clustered or dispersed)
Pattern: Geometric arrangement of objects in space
What are seven characteristics that describe site?
Climate, water sources, topography (how things are arranged), soil, vegetation, latitude and longitude, and elevation.
What is time-space compression? How has time-space compression changed as times have moved forward?
Time-space compression refers to the set of processes that cause the relative distances between places to contract, effectively making such places “grow closer.” Components are transportation and communication. Due to the enhancement of modern technology, we have different sources of transportation such as airplanes, making things that are far apart, closer.
What does spatial interaction refer to?
Spatial interaction refers to the contact, movement, and flow of things between locations- physical or informational.
What are examples of renewable and nonrenewable resources?
Renewable: Solar energy, windpower, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass, overconsumption, and resource management
Nonrenewable resources: Coal, oil, gas, nuclear energy, and fossil fuels.
List and identify what are the four scales of analysis.
Local: A province, state, city, country, or neighborhood
National: One country
Regional: Multiple countries of the world or different regions; (Ex: Midwest)
Global: Entire world
List and describe three different ways geographers define regions.
Formal Region: defined by shared characteristics (a language area).
Functional Region: defined by a specific function ( a metropolitan area).
Vernacular Region: defined by cultural perception ("The South")
Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns
What physical factors explain patterns of population distribution?
3 physical factors are: Climate, landforms, and water bodies
What human factors explain patterns of population distribution?
4 human factors are: Cultural, economic, historical and political.
What is the difference between population distribution and population density?
Population distribution: he pattern of where people live
Population density: The number of people per unit of area
List and describe the three different types for population density. Include the calculations for all three, as well.
Arithmetic Density: Total number of PEOPLE per unit of land
Agricultural Density: Total number of FARMERS per unit of arable land (suitable for farming)
Physiological Density: The total number of PEOPLE per unit of arable land
What is the purpose of population composition? What are the two categories that composition focuses on?
A population composition can provide information on birth rates, death rates, how long people averagely live, and economic development. It mainly focuses on age and sex.
What is a population pyramid? What information does it provide? (Note: Know how to read and analyze a population pyramid and how to determine growth/decline)
A population pyramid can give evidence of past events such as environmenta;l hazards, wars, political changes, and epidemics. It is mainly used to study population.
What are some general irregularities that would affect a population and be expressed in a population pyramid?
There may be deficits, booms, busts, and echos. There may be differences in cohorts, pyramids may have different shapes, and there may be an economic crisis.
Describe the follow specific irregularities we may see in a population pyramid:
Birth Deficit: A slowdown of births, often occurring during times of conflict, economic downturn, or cultural shifts
Baby Boom: A spike in birth rate, typically occurring after a period of war
Baby Bust: The end of a baby boom, lasting until boomers reach childbearing age
Echo: A spike in birth rates once baby boomers have reached childbearing age
What is a demographic transition model? Why is it important? (Note: Know how to read and analyze a DTM)
A demographic transition model shows 5 typical stages of population change that counties experience as they modernize. It is important because it helps analyze data and population change.
What is an Epidemiologic Transition Model (ETM)? Why is it important? (Note: Know how to read and analyze a ETM)
An epidemiological transition model predicts disease and life expectancy. This model shows the changing death rates and more common causes of death within societies. It’s important because again, it helps regulate population.
Describe the changes we would see in a population as a country movies through the five stages of the DTM.
Stage 1: High birth rate, high death rate.
Stage 2: High birth rate, declining death rate.
Stage 3: Declining birth rate but death rate is more slowly declining.
Stage 4:Low birth rate, low death rate.
Stage 5: Birth declining below death, death declining.
What happens if a species populates past their carrying capacity?
Carrying capacity refers to the maximum population size a species can sustain based on food, habitat, and water necessities. If a species populates past their carrying capacity, then according to the Malthusian theory, population would soon be unsupportable.
Explain the Malthusian theory. Is it valid/accurate today? Why or why not?
The Malthusian theory is that if overpopulation occurred, then the world’s population would be unsupportable because population would grow faster than food production. Then economic struggle, war, and plagues would increase. The Malthusian theory is not valid because the increase in food production is due to the advancements and population increased arithmetically (not exponentially).
Why would anti-natalist policies be established in a country?
There may be concerns about population growth, so anti-natalist policies would be established to try and decrease it. China enforced anti-natalist policies (the One-child policy) to limit the amount of population in the country; due to concerns about overpopulation, resource depletion, environmental sustainability, and the strain on social services, aiming to improve the quality of life for existing citizens by promoting smaller family sizes and readily accessible family planning options.
Why would pro-natalist policies be established in a country?
Pro-natalist policies may be established to encourage population growth. Some governments encouraged large families because they believed that a growing population stimulated economic growth and increased military power. Less population can lead to issues like labor shortages, a shrinking workforce, and strain on social security systems; by encouraging higher birth rates, these policies aim to maintain a sustainable population for economic growth and social stability.
List and describe two examples for both anti and pro natalist policies.
Anti-natalist policy: The One-child policy was enforced in China to stabilize economic growth. It encouraged people to get married later in life, and have children later-leading to fewer children. India also had a gender preference, making an unbalanced gender ratio. Another example is abortion legalization so that the mother has to abort her baby.
Pro-natalist policy: one example is financial incentives;Tax breaks for larger families, one-time baby bonuses, or ongoing child benefit paymen. Another example is childcare support; Affordable child care or flexible work hours for parent.
What is total fertility rate (TFR)? What are reasons for why TFR would decrease?
The total fertility rate is the average number of children who would be born per woman of that group in a country-assuming every children went through childbearing years. It can decrease if a woman decides to have an education rather than give birth, economic changes, and relocation (urbanization).
What is crude birth rate? List the calculation for it.
The crude birth rate is the number of births in a year for every 100 people in a population.
( (# of births ÷ total pop.) * 1000)
What are the causes for an aging population? What are the effects of an aging population?
Causes: Longer life expectancy and lower crude birth rate (# of births in a given year for every 1,000 people)
Effects:
Politically: Voting differently
Socially:
Positively: Grandparents can help raise grandkids
Negatively: No one can care for the elderly
Economic:
Positive: Spending money=increased jobs and services
Negative: Funding for elderly services-reduced funding in other areas
Define push factors. List S.P.E.E.D. examples for push factors. (You can list one per letter, but you should know more examples for the test)
Push factors: Negative circumstances or events that compel people to leave an area.
Examples:
S - Social: Religious persecution or discrimination (e.g., fleeing due to religious conflicts).
P - Political: War or oppressive government policies (e.g., escaping a dictatorship).
E - Economic: Lack of job opportunities or extreme poverty.
E - Environmental: Natural disasters like hurricanes or droughts.
D - Demographic: Overpopulation leading to limited resources
Define pull factors. List S.P.E.E.D. examples for pull factors. (You can list one per letter, but you should know more examples for the test)
Pull factors: Destination chosen based on positive conditions and circumstances.
Examples:
S - Social: Better access to education and healthcare.
P - Political: Political stability and safety.
E - Economic: Abundance of job opportunities or higher wages.
E - Environmental: Favorable climate or fertile land.
D - Demographic: Lower population density offering more space and resources.
What are examples of forced migrations?
Forced migrations can be because of slave trade, displaced people/refugees, war, and ethnic cleansing.
What are examples of voluntary migrations?
Voluntary migrations occur when people choose to relocate. If people like the climate of Florida better than the climate of Antarctica, then they would move there. If people like the government better in another country, they’d migrate there.
List and describe policies influencing migration.
Policies influencing migration include open-door policies that allow free movement, closed-door policies that restrict migration, and selective immigration policies that admit migrants based on skills or qualifications.
List and describe effects of migration.
Positive effects: Economic growth, cultural diversity, and labor force expansion.
Negative effects: Brain drain, social tensions, and strain on resources.
Unit 3: Cultural Processes
Compare popular culture and folk culture, their features, types of diffusion and causes of diffusion. How are they connected with environmental determinism and possibilism?
Popular Culture: When cultural traits spread quickly over a large area and are adopted by various groups.
Folk Culture: The beliefs and practices of small homogenous groups of people, often in rural areas.
Popular culture reflects possibilism by overcoming environmental limits, while folk culture is linked to environmental determinism as it adapts to local environments. Folk culture is more tied to environmental determinism, as it adapts closely to local environments.
Differentiate between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. Which of these theories can be linked with the idea of environmental determinism?
Cultural Relativism: The practice of assessing a culture by its own standards rather than viewing it through the lens of one’s own culture (without bias).
Ethnocentrism: Evaluating and judging another culture based on how it compares to one’s own cultural norms.
Environmental determinism links with ethnocentrism because the idea of determinism is that a culture is completely impacted by the environment, which leads to ethnocentrisms view on judging culture possibly because of the environment.
Explain how language, religion and other cultural traits can serve as centripetal and centrifugal forces.
Centripetal: A common language and religion can bring people together because they may feel at home with their own culture and people. Cultural traits can also bring people together because of their similarities.
Centrifugal: Language, religion, and culture can also cause division if there are some misunderstandings or differences.
Explain cultural landscapes and various examples of what that could look like.
Cultural landscapes are the visible imprint of human activity on the environment (mosques in Islamic regions, terraced farming in Southeast Asia). There could be sacred places according to the religion.
Explain patterns and landscapes of language, religion, ethnicity, and gender.
Language: regional dialects and accents shape cultural landscapes.
Religion: sacred sites and places of worship define cultural regions.
Gender: gender roles and spaces reflect on societal norms in a region.
Ethnic neighborhoods form distinct urban areas
Define the types of diffusion and causes/effects of diffusion.
Relocation Diffusion: The spread of culture and cultural traits by people who migrate and carry their cultural traits with them.
Expansion Diffusion: The spread of cultural traits outward through exchange with migration
Contagious Diffusion: Occurs when a cultural trait spreads continuously outward from its hearth through contact among people
Hierarchical Diffusion: Spread of culture from most interconnected place from wealth and influence
Reverse Hierarchical Diffusion: At times, a trait diffuses from a lower status to a group of higher status
Stimulus Diffusion: Underlying idea from a cultural hearth is adopted by another culture but the adopting group modifies or rejects one trait according to area
Explain how historical processes impact current cultural patterns.
Colonialism can introduce new cultures, languages, and religions. Imperialism influences conquest, economic control, and cultural dominance. Trade can also impact cultural patterns because new things and ideas get introduced.
Explain effects of diffusion on distribution of languages.
Diffusion can spread languages and create new languages due to cultural blending but it can also lead to a loss of languages because of dominant culture influence.
Explain what factors lead to the diffusion of universalizing and ethnic religions.
Universalizing Religions: Missionary work, colonization, global migration, conquest.
Ethnic Religions: Maintained through strong cultural identity and localized practices.
Describe the processes that appear when various cultures meet.
Acculturation: Adopting traits while keeping your own culture.
Assimilation: Absorbing into another culture.
Syncretism: Blending of two cultures.
Unit 4: Political Patterns and Patterns
Define state and its characteristics. Identify the different types of political identities and real world examples.
A state is a politically defined area with defined territory, borders, a permanent population, government, and sovereignty.
Different political identities:
Nation: Group of people w common identity and shared cultural traits
Nation-state: Borders of a nation meet the borders of the state
Stateless nation: People without a state to occupy
Multi state nation: A nation of people that live in more than one state
Multinational state: A country with various ethnicities and cultures in the borders
(semi)Autonomous: A location within a state that is given authority to govern independently from the national government
Describe effects of colonialism and imperialism in Africa and other countries around the world. Provide real-world examples!
Imperialism is the policy or practice of a country extending its power and influence over other territories or nations, often through colonization, military force, or economic control. This was enforced in Africa through the Berlin Conference. Countries met up and decided to colonize Africa, which later on changed their religion, culture, and language.
Describe how states can exert their territoriality. Provide real-world examples!
They can exert their territoriality politically-The Berlin Conference. They can also do it economically through trade and resource use. They can also expand through war-Israel and Palestine.
Explain how neocolonialism, choke points and shatterbelts act as examples of how states exercise their political power. Provide real-world examples!
Neocolonialism: The use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures in order to control other countries (U.S. wars in the Middle East)
Choke Points: A strategic canal which is narrow, hard to pass through, and has competition for use.
Shatterbelts: Instability within a region that is geographically located between states without overlapping territoriality and political power (Balkan Peninsula)
Describe functions of boundaries. Describe the process of creating political boundaries.
Boundaries define state territory, control movement, and reduce conflict. They are created through negotiations and treaties.
Define various types of boundaries and explain types of disputes that can arise because of various situations. Provide real-world examples!
Antecedent: Preceded the development of the cultural landscape. Physical objects such as oceans or mountains possess a static aspect in that they feature a relatively unpopulated zone between populated areas.
Subsequent: Typically created while the cultural landscape is evolving and is subject to change over time
Superimposed: Drawn by outside powers and may have ignored existing cultural patterns.
Relic: A boundary that has been abandoned for political purposes but evidence still exists of the landscape
Geometric: A straight line or arc drawn by people that does not closely follow any physical features
Consequent: A type of subsequent border that takes into account already existing physical or cultural landscapes
Describe the process of how census leads to redistricting.
Every 10 years the federal government takes a census to count the population. After the census is calculated, the government determines the amount of representatives in the HOR through reapportionment-changing the number of representatives to reflect the state's population. State legislatures then redraw district boundaries so that each district contains the same amount of people- which is called redistricting.
Define gerrymandering. What forms does it have? What is its purpose? What are the effects of gerrymandering?
Gerrymandering is the drawing of boundaries for political districts by the party in power to protect or increase its power. By drawing these boundaries, politicians can create safe seats that are highly likely to elect members of their own party. Discrimination against African Americans is an effect of gerrymandering.
Compare unitary state and federal state. What are their features? What types of states are these systems good for? What are the benefits and risks of each of these systems of governance?
A federal state unites separate political entities into an overarching system. It allows each entity to maintain some degree of sovereignty. Power is shared between central, regional, and local governments. It is fair because it helps balance the needs of a diverse population, reduction of conflict, and more power is spread.
A unitary system is a style of government in which the power is located centrally and the purpose of regional or local units is to carry out policy. All governing power is held by the national government. Its advantages are that there are no problems when finding a solution, no one to oppose you, and more efficient because change happens quickly. Disadvantages are that the central government is out of touch with the people which can cause revolts.
What are the leading factors of devolution? Be able to list and describe.
Devolution occurs due to ethnic divisions, economic inequality, geographic isolation, or political disagreements. Examples include Scotland’s push for independence or Catalonia’s autonomy movements.
How do political, economic, cultural, and technological changes challenge state sovereignty?
Political, economic, cultural, and technological changes challenge state sovereignty by reducing control. Global organizations, trade, migration, and technology like the internet and cyberattacks weaken a state's ability to have sovereignty.
What are factors that can influence centripetal and centrifugal forces at the state scale?
Centripetal forces such as shared language or national pride, unite a state, while centrifugal forces, such as ethnic divisions or economic disparity, weaken it. Push and pull factors may also influence centripetal and centrifugal stages at a state scale.
Unit 5: Agricultural and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes
What is the connection between physical geography and agricultural practices? (think different types of farming)
Physical geography directly influences agricultural practices by determining climate, soil quality, and terrain, which affect crop selection and farming methods. Agricultural practice refers to the methods and techniques used in farming, including planting, irrigation, fertilization, and harvesting, to cultivate crops and raise livestock efficiently.
What are rural settlement patterns and methods of surveying rural settlements?
Rural settlement patterns refer to the spatial arrangement of homes, farms, and infrastructure in rural areas, influenced by geography, resources, and cultural factors.
Metes and Bounds (using natural landmarks for boundaries, common in colonial America)
Township and Range (grid-based system dividing land into square plots, used in the U.S.)
Long Lot System (narrow, elongated plots along rivers or roads, seen in Quebec and Louisiana).
What are major centers of domestication of plants and animals and how have plants and animals diffused globally?
Major centers of domestication include the Fertile Crescent (wheat, sheep), East Asia (rice, pigs), Mesoamerica (maize, turkeys), and the Andes (potatoes, llamas). Plants and animals spread globally through trade routes, the Columbian Exchange, colonization, and modern agriculture, shaping diets and farming practices worldwide.
What are the advances and impacts of the First and Second Agricultural Revolution?
The First Agricultural Revolution marked the shift from hunting and gathering to settled farming, leading to permanent settlements, population growth, and the development of civilizations.
The Second Agricultural Revolution introduced new tools, crop rotation, and selective breeding, increasing food production and supporting industrialization by freeing labor for factories.
What are the consequences of the Green Revolution on food supply and the environment in the developing world?
The Green Revolution increased food supply in the developing world through high-yield crops, chemical fertilizers, and advanced irrigation, reducing famine and boosting economies. However, it also led to environmental issues like soil depletion, water scarcity, pesticide pollution, and loss of biodiversity, while favoring large-scale farming over traditional small farms.
How do economic forces influence agricultural practices?
Economic forces shape agricultural practices through factors like market demand, cost of production, and government policies. High demand for cash crops (e.g., coffee, cotton) encourages commercial farming, while subsidies and trade agreements affect what and how farmers grow. Mechanization and agribusiness drive large-scale, industrial farming, whereas small farmers may struggle due to high costs and market competition.
