Chapter 1: Basic Concepts (Part 2)

Question 1

Map

Answer 1

A two-dimensional, or flat, representation of Earth’s surface or a portion of it.

Question 2

Mental map

Answer 2

An internal representation of a portion of Earth’s surface based on what an individual knows about a place, containing personal impressions of what is in a place and where places are located.

Question 3

Meridian

Answer 3

An arc drawn on a map between the North and South poles.

Question 4

Parallel

Answer 4

A circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians.

Question 5

Pattern

Answer 5

The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area.

Question 6

Physiological density

Answer 6

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture.

Question 7

Place

Answer 7

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

Question 8

Polder

Answer 8

Land created by the Dutch by draining water from an area.

Question 9

Possibilism

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Principal meridian

Answer 10

A north-south line designated in the Land Ordinance of 1785 to facilitate the surveying and numbering of townships in the United States.

Question 11

Projection

Answer 11

The system used to transfer locations from Earth’s surface to a flat map.

Question 12

Region

Answer 12

An area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features.

Question 13

Regional studies

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Relocation diffusion

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Remote sensing

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Resource

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Scale

Answer 17

Generally, the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole, specifically the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth’s surface.

Question 18

Section

Answer 18

A square normally 1 mile on a side. The Land Ordinance of 1785 divided townships in the United States into 36 sections.

Question 19

Site

Answer 19

The physical character of a place

Question 20

Situation

Answer 20

The location of a place relative to other places. Situation factors Location factors related to the transportation of materials into and from a factory.

Question 21

Space

Answer 21

The physical gap or interval between two objects.

Question 22

Space-time compression

Answer 22

The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems.

Question 23

Stimulus diffusion

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Toponym

Answer 24

The name given to a portion of Earth’s’ surface.

Question 25

Township

Answer 25

A square normally 6 miles on a side. The Land Ordinance of 1785 divided much of the United States into a series of townships.

Question 26

Transnational corporation

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Uneven development

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Vernacular region (or perceptual region)

Answer 28

An area that people believe to exist as part of their cultural identity.