AP HuG 1 Unit 1 Flashcards
Vocab Hall of Fame
Place
is a specific point on Earth, distinguished by a particular characteristic. Every place occupies a unique location, or position, on Earth’s surface.
Region
is an area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics. Geographers divide the world into a number of regions, such as North America and Latin America.
Scale
Is the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole. Geographers study a variety of scales, from local to global. Ex. global in scale; climate change and depletion of energy supplies. Ex. Local in scale; preservation of distinctive cultural and economic activities.
Space
A physical gap or interval between two objects.
Connection
Relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space.
Map
two dimensional or flat-scale model of Earth’s surface, or a portion of it.
Cartography
science of map making.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
a system that determines the precise position of something on Earth.
geotagging
identification and storage of a piece of info by its precise latitude and longitude coordinates.
Geographic Information Science
analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technologies.
geographic information system
captures, stores, queries, and splays the geographic data.
remote sensing
the scanning of the earth by satellite or high-flying aircraft in order to obtain information about it.
Volunteered geographic information
creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily and for free by individuals.
citizen science
science researched by amateur scientists
participatory GIS
community based mapping
mashup
map that overlays data from one source on top of a map provided by a mapping service, like google maps or google earth
Map scale
Relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its actual size on Earth
Ratio
ratio between distances of maps and earths surface.
written scale
relationship between map and earths distances in words
projection
A map projection is a systematic transformation of the latitudes and longitudes of locations from the surface of a sphere (3D) into locations on a plane (2D). Maps cannot be created without map projections. All map projections necessarily distort the surface in some fashion.
Graphic scale
bar lined marked to shows distance on earths surface
Meridian
a circle of constant longitude passing through a given place on the earth’s surface and the terrestrial poles.
Longitude
the angular distance of a place east or west of the meridian at Greenwich, England, or west of the standard meridian of a celestial object, usually expressed in degrees and minutes.
Latitude
the angular distance of a place north or south of the earth’s equator, or of a celestial object north or south of the celestial equator, usually expressed in degrees and minutes.
parallel
(of lines, planes, surfaces, or objects) side by side and having the same distance continuously between them.
Prime meridian
he earth’s zero of longitude, which by convention passes through Greenwich, England
GMT
master reference point at 0 degrees longitude
International date line
Position deviates from 180º longitude at times to accommodate various nearby nation-states.
location
the position that something occupies on Earth’s surface
toponym
name given to a place on Earth
Site
physical character of a place
situation
location of a place relative to other places
cultural landscape
a combination of cultural features (lang, religion,) economic features (agric and industry) and physical features (climate and veg)
formal region/uniform region
an area where everyone shares common characteristics
functional region/nodal region
area organized around a focal point (node)
vernacular region/pecerptual region
area ppl believe exists as part of their cultural identity
culture
body of customary beliefs, material traits, traditions of a group of ppl
spatial association
if the distribution of one feature is related to the distribution of another feature
globalization
the entire world is forced or processed in making something worldwide
transnational corporation
a company where research, operations, and sales are made in many countries not just where the headquarters are located
distribution
density, concentration, pattern
the arrangement of a feature in space (density, concentration, pattern)
concentration
extent of a features spread over space (objects in area close together are “clustered” , far apart are “dispersed”)
pattern
geometric arrangement of objects in space
density
frequency with which something occurs in space
poststructuralist geography
examines how powerful ppl in the society dominate less powerful ppl
humanistic geography
branch of human geography that emphasizes ideas about a place and gives them symbolic meanings
behavioral geography
importance of understanding the psychological basis for individual human actions in space
uneven development
increasing gap in economic conditions between regions in the core and periphery that results from globalization of economy
assimilation
process of a groups cultural features resembles another group
acculturation
process of changes in culture that results from two groups meeting
syncretism
combo of elements of 2 groups elements into a new cultural feature.
diffusion
a feature spreads across space from one place to another over time
relocation diffusion
the spread of an idea through physical movements of ppl from one place to another
expansion diffusion
the spread of a feature from one place to another in an additive process (heirarchical, contagious, and stimulus diffusion)
hierarchical diffusion
spread of an idea from ppl of authority to another persons of places
contagious diffusion
rapid widespread of a characteristic through population
stimulus diffusion
spread of an underlying principle even if the characteristic seems to fail
network
a chain of communication that connects places
distance decay
the physical distance between people leads to less interaction and eventually the contact disappears
space-time compression
the reduction in time it takes for something to reach another place
hearth
a place from which innovation originates
resource
a substance in the environment that is useful to people, economically and technologically access, and socially acceptable to use.
sustainability
the use of earths resources in a way that ensures their availability in the future.
renewable resource
produced in nature, more rapidly than it is used
non renewable resource
produced in nature slower than used by humans
conservation
The sustainable use and management of earths natural resources to meet human needs such as food, medicine, and recreation.
preservation
maintenance of resources In their present condition
biotic
composed of living organisms
abiotic
composed of non living or inorganic matter
atmosphere
A thin layer of gases surrounding earth
hydrosphere
all the water on and near earths surface
lithosphere
earths crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust
biosphere
all living organisms on earth
climate
long term average weather condition at a particular location
ecosystem
group of living organisms and the abiotic sphere with which they interact is an ecosystem
ecology
scientific study of ecosystems
environmental determinism
an approach that physical environment caused social development
possibilism
people have the ability to adjust to their environment
polder
piece of land that Is created by draining water from an area
