AP Human Geography Midterm Flashcards
What are Political maps
Boundaries of countries, states, cities, etc.
What is a Physical map
Mountains, natural features, rivers
What is a Road map
Roads, landmarks made by man such as buildings
What is a Thematic map
Maps that show data in different ways
What is a Choropleth map
Shows different shades to show amount of data
What is a Dot Distribution map
Shows clusters and density of data points
What is a Graduated Symbol map
Size of symbols designates quantity of data
What is a Cartogram map
Distorts geography to show different quantities of data
What is a Isoline map
Using lines to show quantities of weather or elevation increases
What is a Small-scale map
Shows a large amount of space with a small amount of detail
What is a Large-scale map
Shows a small amount of space and great detail
What is Latitude
East/West lines on a globe or map projection
What is Longitude
North/South lines on a globe or map projection
Equator
East/West line through center of globe or map projection
Prime Meridian
North/South line through center of globe or map projection
International Date Line
Line through the Pacific Ocean designating time zone beginning and end
What is Absolute Location
Coordinates
What is Relative Location
Where a place is located relative to others (“Point A is next to Point B”)
What is Accessibility
How easy it is to get to a place via di erent transportation methods; limited due to physical geography, government policies, isolation, weather (potentially)
What is Connectivity
How a place is connected to other places via physical geography or communication technology
What is Direction
Cardinal directions
How do relative distance and accessibility change over time?
Improved transportation cost/time e ciency such as planes or trains or automobiles
What is Relative distance
Cost to get to another place or time it takes to get to another place
What is Absolute distance
Exact measurement between two places; meters, miles, km, inches, feet
What is Elevation
How high a place is above sea level
What are some Points of high elevation
Mountains, Colorado, atop buildings, typically further inland
What are some Points of low elevation
Coastal/beach, Florida, savannah, marsh/swamp
What is Clustered distribution
High density, urban areas
What is Linear distribution
Density along a line, along a river, across the Silk Road/trade routes, along an interstate
What is dispersed distribution
Low density, rural countryside, mountainous regions
What are Map Projections
Di erent ways of showing a 3D globe on a 2D surface (They all have distortions!!)
Distortions
Shape
Area
Distance
Direction
What is Shape
How a country’s borders shown
What is Area
Land mass (Look at Greenland and Africa
What is Distance
How far away things are
What is Direction
Are north/south and east/west constant?
Why is the mercator map projection beneficial? What can it be used for?
Mercator map can be beneficial because the Mercator map maintains direction
It can be used for navigation!
What does Goode-Homolsine map distort
distorts distance and direction and shape distorted
What does the Dymaxion map distort
distorts direction, distance
What does the Gall-Peters map distort
Distorts shape and distance
What are examples of field observations? How can the spatial data collected from these observations be used by geographers?
Field Observations include surveys, photos, census, interviews.
Used by geographers to understand physical and cultural landscape.
How has remote sensing used to gather and analyze geospatial data.
monitoring changes through satellites and sensors
How has aerial photography been used to gather and analyze geospatial data.
Photos from planes and drones
How has GIS been used to gather and analyze geospatial data.
Layers of data collected for analysis
How has GPS been used to gather and analyze geospatial data.
Navigation and direction using satellites
How do each benefit the field of geography?
Geospatial technology can be used to address temperature changes, issues with tra c, deciding on where to build a new hospital, tracking wildfires, etc.
What is Quantitative data
Data using numbers/quantities
What is Qualitative data
Using words or images as data
How can census data be used at a local scale and a national scale to tell us about geospatial patterns?
Census data: Tells us demographic information, party a liation, how many people per household, number of children in a household
This can help us understand where we need to build a new school on a local scale.
This can help us understand where di erent concentrations of political views are located at a national scale.
How can satellite imagery be used at a local scale and a national scale to tell us about geospatial patterns?
Satellite imagery is used to track national weather events.
Satellite imagery is used to see wildfires or sinkholes or e ects from an earthquake on a local scale.
Describe how geovisualization through GPS and GIS are used by geographers and everyday people. How can it be used to solve real world problems?
Geovisualization through GPS and GIS is used by geographers to map and analyze spatial data like population distribution and land use every day people use it for navigation and finding nearby places it helps solve real world problems by assisting and disaster management urban planning, and environmental conservation
What is Location
Exact coordinates of where something is
What is Place
Natural and man-made features seen at a location
What’s the difference between site and situation in reference to Rome
Site: Characteristics at immediate location; Colosseum, di erent cathedrals, evidence of sequent occupancy
Situation: Location of a place relative to surroundings and connectivity to other places; In Italy, along Mediterranean Sea, connected to Vatican City, connected to much of the world as a center of Catholicism
What is Sense of Place
Uniqueness of a built environment or cultural landscape (Traditional cultures with traditional architecture); Paris, Rome, Venice, San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, NYC landmarks
What is Placelessness
Everything about a place looks similar to places around the world; modern urban areas with postmodern architecture; American farms; o ce buildings; chain restaurants
What has resulted in the shrinking of relative distance, or time-space compression?
We see time-space compression due to increased connectivity as a result of globalization (internet, communication technologies, transportation technologies, trade)
Describe and provide examples of flows
Flows: Patterns and movement of ideas, people, products, and other phenomena
Examples: Chain migration, trade along Silk Roads or Columbian Exchange, flow of intellectual concepts, di usion of religion and language
Explain the concept of distance decay and how time-space compression impacts it.
Distance Decay: As you get further away from something you have less connectivity or less of a relationship to/understanding of it
Time-space compression minimizes the e ects of distance decay through transportation and communication technologies.
Describe the di erences between the theories of possibilism and determinism.
Determinism: The environment determines a society’s ability to succeed in a region and determines their culture
Possibilism: Environment may limit a society, but culture is independent of the environment and people can overcome environmental factors
Examples: Desalination plants in desert areas such as Saudi Arabia
Describe the differences between and provide examples of renewable natural resources and non-renewable natural resources.
Renewable: Resources that don’t run out; saltwater, wind, rain, hydropower, sunlight Non-renewable: Coal, fossil fuels, natural gas, trees, gold and other minerals
How does uneven access to resources impact politics and economic development around the world?
Stronger countries exploit weak/poor governments for their resources (imperialism) for the purpose of economic development. Countries without a lot of resources are less likely to develop. Lots of resources can also lead to a corrupt government trying to protect non-renewable resources.
Describe examples of the built environment and the cultural landscape.
Built Environment/Cultural Landscape: Man-made elements of the environment or a landscape
Examples: Architectural styles (religious), infrastructure, language on signage
What are examples of sustainability e orts made by humans?
Save the trees! Recycle! Reduce plastic! Protesting corporations with high carbon outputs!
Why is it helpful to look at information from different scales of analysis?
Different scales of analysis show di erent types of information at different levels of specificity.
Describe the area shown on a map with the following scales of analysis: Global, World Regional, National, Sub-National (or National Regional), Local.
Global: the entire planet earth (countries, continents, and oceans)
World regional: large regions like southeast Asia or the Middle East
National: individual countries such as the United States or China
Subnational: states, provinces, or regions within a country
Local: cities, towns, neighborhoods, and specific locations within a region or state
What are Functional regions
Regions organized around a focal point and defined by an activity; metro system, bus routes, school zones
What are Formal regions
Regions united by one or more traits; boundaries of a country or state, physical land mass such as mountain ranges; no question about borders
What are Perceptual regions
Boundaries are debatable and transitional (based on individual perception); The Deep South, cultural realm, Southeast Asia, Europe
Why are boundaries of regions often contested or overlapping? What are examples?
Historical conflict of formal boundaries, where a language is spoken can overlap such as the transitional area along Mexican/U.S. border