Exam 1: Human Geo

Question 1

What are the 2 main branches of geography? How does GIS relate to them?

Answer 1

Human Geo & Physical Geo
- GIS has both human and physical geo

Question 2

What are some key differences between thematic/systematic geography and regional geography? Which
category does our class fall under?

Answer 2

Thematic/ Systematic: focuses on a specific topic/theme of geography I.e economic geography

Regional: just focuses on the characteristics of an area

Our class is thematic, we’re learning about both human & physical

Question 3

What is the difference between latitude and longitude? What is the graticule?

Answer 3

Latitude: uses parallels on a map, but deals with how far north or south from the equator you are

Longitude: uses meridians, how far east or west from the prime median

Graticule: is an imaginary grid around the earth

Question 4

What is scale? Do large-scale maps show large geographical areas? Why/why not?

Answer 4

Scale- ratio between the map and the area being mapped

large-scale maps show smaller geographical
areas, while small-scale maps show larger geographical areas

Question 5

Why does distortion occur, and what are the 4 characteristics that can be distorted?

Answer 5

Distortion forms because taking a 3D object to 2D causes some characteristics to be messed up

Distance
Direction
Shape
Area

Question 6

What are projections? What do we have to think about when deciding which projection to use?

Answer 6

Projections is a way of flattening the earth to make a map

When using projections we have to decide what characteristics we are willing to sacrifice to make the map

Question 7

What is spatial diffusion? How do contagious diffusion, hierarchical diffusion, and relocation diffusion
work differently?

Answer 7

Spatial diffusion-is how things spread over space

Contagious- spreads through proximity

Hierarchical- spreads from the top down

Relocation- as people migrate they bring their culture, ideas, practices with them, therefore those things spread as well

Question 8

What is space-time compression?

Answer 8

Essentially space-time compression is the result of advancement in tech has allowed ideas & people able to travel longer distances over a shorter time

Question 9

What are fertility and mortality?

Answer 9

Fertility- how many people are being born

Mortality- how many people are dying

Question 10

What is the difference between migration and circulation?

Answer 10

Migration- temporary, seasonal, permanent relocation of people

Circulation- short term movements of people

Question 11

What is the total fertility rate? Why do we only count women?

Answer 11

average number of kids a women will have during her reproductive age
- we only count women because they’re the one giving birth

Question 12

What is population density?

Answer 12

Pop. density is the number of people per unit square of an area

Question 13

Why must the replacement rate always be higher than 2?

Answer 13

Because some children may die before they themselves have a kid

Question 14

What is the dependency ratio?

Answer 14

The ratio of non-working age pop. to the working age pop.

Question 15

What are the 5 stages of demographic transition theory? Understand what each stage means in terms of
births, deaths, and rate of population growth.

Answer 15

1. Birth & Death rates are high
2. Birth rates high & death rates decline as medicine improves
3. Birth rates decline as economic developments improve, & death low & pop. is growing
4. pop. growth levels off as birth & death rates equal
5. Death outpaces Birth rates, pop. declines

Question 16

What are population pyramids? How do they often differ between more-developed and less-developed
countries?

Answer 16

Pop. pyramids are a way of showing age and sex
breakdown of a country’s
(or other area’s) population

More-developed countries tend to have more older people, like an hour-glass figure (inverse)

While less-developed tend to look more like a pyramid shape

Question 17

What is the difference between nations, states, and nation-states?

Answer 17

Nations: group of people who see themselves as a unit based on a shared criteria (such as ethnic or cultural)

States: indp. gov’t excising control over a bordered area

Nation-States: homogenous nation governed by its own sovereign state

Question 18

What are lieux de m ́emoire?

Answer 18

basically memories of a nation, “containers” of memories

Question 19

What is colonialism? How is neocolonialism different?

Answer 19

Colonialism: When a powerful country takes over a country of lower status

Neo-Colonialism: is former colonial countries still exercising influence on their former colonies

Question 20

What is decolonization?

Answer 20

When a colonized people reacquisition their own land

Question 21

What approach does modernization theory take towards economic development? How is world-systems theory a reaction to this idea?

Answer 21

Modernization theory
the logic: technology, knowledge, and productivity support international trade → growth and prosperity
- basically poor countries follow rich step-plan

World- systems theory suggest that this isn’t possible because the system is against peripheral countries

Question 22

What is the difference between core, peripheral, and semi-peripheral countries?

Answer 22

Core: Rich, economic developed, robust infrastructure

Peripheral: poor, outside countries

Semi-Peripheral: Less developed as core, but better off then Peripheral
- Brazil, Russia

Question 23

What are the primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors of the economy? Which sector(s)
predominate in most developed countries? How has this changed over time?

Answer 23

Primary: raw materials from Earth

Secondary: Manufacturing

Tertiary: Service

Quaternary: Knowledge oriented work

Most developed countries are now focused on tertiary & quaternary but it used to be secondary