🌎 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY — SIMPLE STUDY NOTES
1. What is Geography?
🗺️ Geography
Geography = studying places on Earth and what happens there.
Easy way to remember:
History = WHEN things happened
Geography = WHERE things happen
Physical Geography
Physical geography = studying the natural parts of Earth.
Examples:
* 🌋 Volcanoes
* 🌊 Oceans
* 🌧️ Weather
* 🌳 Plants
* 🏔️ Mountains
* 🌎 Earth’s surface
Human Geography
Human geography = studying people and how they interact with places.
Examples:
* Cities
* Population
* Culture
* Migration
* Businesses
Geographic Techniques
These are tools geographers use to study Earth.
⸻
🛰️ 2. Remote Sensing
Remote Sensing
Measuring or studying something from far away WITHOUT touching it.
Think:
👀 Looking at Earth from a distance
Examples:
* 🛰️ Satellite
* ✈️ Airplane
* 🚁 UAV/drone
Quizlet card
Q: What is remote sensing?
A: Studying or measuring Earth from a distance.
⸻
🌍 3. Latitude & Longitude
THIS is important.
Imagine Earth has an invisible grid around it.
The grid helps us say exactly where a place is.
There are two main directions:
LATITUDE = up and down on a map
Latitude tells you how far NORTH or SOUTH you are from the Equator.
🌎 Equator = 0° latitude
Think:
LATITUDE = LADDER 🪜
The lines look like they go across Earth, but latitude tells you NORTH or SOUTH.
Examples:
* Equator = 0°
* North Pole = 90° N
* South Pole = 90° S
So:
40° N = 40 degrees north of the Equator.
⸻
📍 4. Longitude
Longitude tells you how far EAST or WEST you are from the Prime Meridian.
The Prime Meridian is:
0° longitude
It runs through Greenwich, England.
Think:
LONGITUDE = LONG lines that go from pole to pole
Longitude goes:
0° → 180° East
0° → 180° West
A
⸻
🧠 EASIEST WAY TO REMEMBER.
What does it measure?
Starting point
Latitude
North ↕ South
Equator = 0°
Longitude
East ↔ West
Prime Meridian = 0° Memory trick:
LAT = flat
Latitude lines look flat/horizontal on most maps.
LONG = long
Longitude lines go long from pole to pole.
⸻
🌎 5. Hemispheres
“Hemi” means half.
So a hemisphere is simply half of Earth.
There are 4:
Northern Hemisphere
Above the Equator.
Southern Hemisphere
Below the Equator.
Eastern Hemisphere
East of the Prime Meridian.
Western Hemisphere
West of the Prime Meridian.
⸻
⭐ 6. POLARIS QUESTION
Your professor asks:
If Polaris is 39° above the horizon, what is your latitude?
Don’t panic. 😭
The rule:
Polaris’s angle above the horizon = your latitude
BUT this works in the Northern Hemisphere.
So:
Polaris = 39°
Therefore:
✅ Latitude = 39° N
That’s literally it.
Why?
Polaris is basically lined up with the North Pole.
If you’re:
* At the Equator → Polaris is about 0° above the horizon.
* At 39° N → Polaris is 39° above the horizon.
* At the North Pole → Polaris is about 90° above the horizon.
So:
Polaris angle = latitude
Quizlet
Q: Polaris is 39° above the horizon. What is your latitude?
A: 39° N
⸻
🕘 7. THE LONGITUDE MATH QUESTION
This one looks scary because your professor wrote a bunch of stuff. But it’s really just two steps.
Question:
You set your watch to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). You travel somewhere else. When the Sun is directly overhead, your watch says 9 AM. What is your longitude?
First understand:
☀️ “Sun directly overhead”
This means:
It is local solar noon.
In other words:
The place you’re standing = NOON
But your watch says:
9 AM GMT
So:
Noon - 9 AM = 3 hours
You’re 3 hours behind Greenwich.
⸻
🧮 Now the important math
Earth rotates:
15° every hour
This is something you should memorize.
So:
3 hours × 15°
= 45°
Therefore:
✅ 45° West
Why WEST?
Because your location is experiencing noon later than Greenwich.
Think:
Greenwich already reached noon.
Your location is still behind Greenwich’s time.
So you’re WEST.
The whole problem:
12 PM − 9 AM = 3 hours
3 × 15° = 45°
Answer:
⭐ 45° W ⸻
☀️ SUN ANGLE
HIGH/DIRECT ANGLE
☀️
⬇️
⬇️
🌎
Energy is concentrated → stronger heating 🔥
LOW ANGLE
☀️ ↘️
↘️
↘️ 🌎
Energy spreads out → weaker heating 🥶
🧠 Remember:
STRAIGHT = STRONG ☀️
TILTED = WEAKER ☀️
⸻
📐 PERPENDICULAR
Perpendicular = 90°
Think:
⊥
One line is standing straight on another.
For sunlight:
☀️
⬇️
⬇️
━━━━ Earth
The sunlight is hitting the surface straight on.
4
