Chapter 1 Basic Concepts Flashcards

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1
Q

Abiotic

A

Composed of no living or inorganic matter

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2
Q

Atmosphere

A

The thin layer of gases surrounding earth

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3
Q

Biosphere

A

All living organisms on earth

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4
Q

Biotic

A

Composed of living organism

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5
Q

Cartography

A

The science of making maps

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6
Q

Climate

A

The long-term average weather condition at a particular location

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7
Q

Concentration

A

The spread of something over a given area

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8
Q

Connection

A

Relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

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9
Q

Conservation

A

The sustainable management of a natural resource

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10
Q

Contagious diffusion

A

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature of trend throughout a population

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11
Q

Cultural ecology

A

A geographic approach that emphasizes human-environmental relationships

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12
Q

Cultural landscape

A

The fashioning of a natural landscape by a cultural group

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13
Q

Culture

A

The body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute a group’s distinct tradition

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14
Q

Density

A

The frequency with which something exists within a given unit if area

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15
Q

Diffusion

A

The process of spread of a feature or tend from one place to another over time

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16
Q

Distance decay

A

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

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17
Q

Distribution

A

The arrangement of something across earth’s surface

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18
Q

Ecology

A

The scientific study of ecosystems

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19
Q

Ecosystem

A

A group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres with which they interact

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20
Q

Environmental determinism

A

A 1800 and early 1900s approach to the study of geography which argued that the general laws sought by humans geographers could be found in the physical sciences

Geography was the study of how the physical environment caused human activities

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21
Q

Expansion diffusion

A

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in an additive process

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22
Q

Formal region

A

An area in which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics

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23
Q

Functional region (nodal)

A

An area organized around a node or focal point

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24
Q

Geographic information science (GIScience)

A

The development and analysis of data about earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technologies

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25
Q

Geographic information system (GIS)

A

A computer system that stores, organizes, analyses and displays geographic data

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26
Q

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A

A system that determines the precise position of something in earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers

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27
Q

Globalization

A

Actions or processes that involve the entire wiles and results in making something worldwide in scope

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28
Q

Greenwich mean time (GMT)

A

The time in the zone encompassing the prime meridian or 0 longitude

29
Q

Hearth

A

The region from which innovative ideas originate

30
Q

Hierarchical diffusion

A

The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places

31
Q

Housing bubble

A

A rapid increase in the value of houses fooled by a sharp decline in their value

32
Q

Hydrosphere

A

All the water on or near earth’s surface

33
Q

International date line

A

An arc that for the most part follows 180 longitude, although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas
When you go east (toward Mercia), clock goes back 24 hrs.
When you go west (toward China) clock goes ahead 24 hrs.

34
Q

Latitude

A

The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on the globe and measuring distance N & S of the equator

35
Q

Lithosphere

A

Earth’s crust and a portion of the upper mantle

36
Q

Location

A

The position of anything on earth’s surface

37
Q

Longitude

A

The numbering system used to indicate location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance E & W of the prime meridian

38
Q

Map

A

Two-dimensional, flat, representation of earth’s surface of a portion of it

39
Q

Map scale

A

The relation between the size of an object on a map: the size of the actual figure on earth

40
Q

Mental map

A

A representation of a portion of earth based off what a person knows about a place

41
Q

Meridian

A

An arc drawn on a map between the N & S Poles

42
Q

Network

A

A chain of communication that connects places

43
Q

Nonrenewable resource

A

Something produced in nature more so lowly than it is consumed by humans

44
Q

Parallel

A

A circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator

45
Q

Pattern

A

The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area

46
Q

Place

A

A specific point on earth distinguished by a particular characteristic

47
Q

Polder

A

Land created by the Dutch by draining water from an area

48
Q

Possibilism

A

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives

49
Q

Preservation

A

The maintenance of resources in their present condition, with very little human impact - don’t touch!

50
Q

Prime meridian

A

The meridian, designated as 0 longitude- passes through Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England

51
Q

Projection

A

A system used to transfer locations from earth’s surface to a flat map

52
Q

Region

A

An area distinguished by an unique combination of trends or features

53
Q

Regional (or cultural landscape) studies

A

An approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phenomena in a particular area of study

54
Q

Relocation diffusion

A

The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another

55
Q

Remote sensing

A

The acquisition of data about earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from other long-distance methods

56
Q

Renewable resource

A

Something produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans - bamboo

57
Q

Resource

A

A substance in the environment that is useful to people, economically & technologically feasible to access & socially acceptable to use

58
Q

Scale

A

The relationship between the portion of earth being studied and earth as a whole

59
Q

Site

A

The physical character of a place

60
Q

Situation

A

The location of a place relative to another place

61
Q

Space

A

The physical gap or interval between two objects

62
Q

Space-time compression

A

The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to distant place as a result of improved communication & transport system

63
Q

Stimulus diffusion

A

The spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected

64
Q

Sustainability

A

The use of earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future

65
Q

Toponym

A

The name given to a portion of earth’s surface

66
Q

Transnational corporations

A

A company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located

67
Q

Uneven development

A

The increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of globalization of the economy

68
Q

Vernacular region (perceptual region)

A

An area that people believe exists as part of cultural identity