Introduction to Geography and Maps

Question 1

Absolute Location

Answer 1

Location based on latitude and longitude coordinates

Question 2

Aristotle and Plato

Answer 2

Greek philosophers who believed that the Earth was round

Question 3

Cartograms

Answer 3

Maps that assign space by the size of some datum. For example, world population by country is often illustrated in a cartogram, with countries with larger population appearing larger on the map

Question 4

Cartographers

Answer 4

Map makers; they are very concerned with the problem of distortion

Question 5

Concentration

Answer 5

The density of particular phenomena over an area; in terms of concentration, objects can either be clustered of agglomerated

Question 6

Conformal Maps

Answer 6

Maps that distort area by keep shapes intact

Question 7

Conic Projection Maps

Answer 7

Maps that put a cone over the Earth and keep distance intact but lose directional qualities

Question 8

Cultural Landscape

Answer 8

Cultural attributes of an area often used to describe a place (e.g., buildings, theaters, places of worship)

Question 9

Cylindrical Maps

Answer 9

Maps that show true direction but lose distance (e.g., a Mercator map)

Question 10

Dark Ages

Answer 10

A time when academic thought was not advancing in Europe but was very active across the rest of the world

Question 11

Density

Answer 11

Describes how often an object occurs within a given area or space; most often used in terms of population density

Question 12

Diffusion

Answer 12

Describes the spread of movement of a principle or idea

Question 13

Distribution

Answer 13

This term comes from the idea that everything on the Earth’s surface must have a physical location. There are three different aspects of distribution: density, concentration, and pattern

Question 14

Environmental Determinism

Answer 14

An important development in the field of geography in the early 20th century that stated that human behaviors are a direct result of their environment. This philosophy gave some people the justification to believe that Europeans were smarter than other peoples, because they live in a more temperate climate.

Question 15

Equal-area Projection Maps

Answer 15

Maps that try to distribute distortion equally throughout the map; these maps distort shapes

Question 16

Expansion Diffusion

Answer 16

The term used to describe the spread of a characteristic from a central node through variation means. There are three different types of expansion diffusion: hierarchical, contagious, and stimulus diffusions

Question 17

Flow-line Maps

Answer 17

Maps that are good for determining movement, such as migration trends

Question 18

Formal Regions

Answer 18

Regions where anything and everything inside has the same characteristic or phenomena

Question 19

Functional Regions

Answer 19

Regions that can be defined around a certain point or node; functional regions are most intense around the center but lose their characteristics as the distance from the focal point increases

Question 20

Geographic Information System (GIS)

Answer 20

A way for geographers to obtain new information, GIS layers geographic information into a new map, showing specific types of geographic data, Watershed, population density, highways, and agricultural data are geographic features that can be used as layers of data

Question 21

Geographical Positioning System (GPS)

Answer 21

A way for geographers to obtain new information, GPS technology is found in cars and cellphones; it uses the Earth’s latitude and longitude coordinates to determine an exact location

Question 22

Geography

Answer 22

The description of the Earth’s surface and the people and processes that shape those landscapes

Question 23

Hierarchical Diffusion

Answer 23

The notion that a phenomenon spreads as a result of the social elite, such as political leaders, entertainment leaders, or famous athletes, spreading societal ideas or trends

Question 24

Human Geography

Answer 24

The study of human characteristics on the landscape, including population, agriculture, urbanization, and culture

Question 25

Latitudes (Parallels)

Answer 25

Parallel lines that run east/west on the surface of the Earth; the highest degree of latitude is 90 degrees

Question 26

Longitudes (Meridians)

Answer 26

Parallel lines that run north/south on the surface of the Earth

Question 27

Maps

Answer 27

The basic tools used by geographers to convey information, Maps generally are a representation of the Earth’s surface, although they do come in many forms

Question 28

Mental Map

Answer 28

A map that contains what a person believes to exist; most people have mental maps, and they prove to be a useful tool in communication

Question 29

Mercator, Geradus

Answer 29

One of the first people to produce a world map that showed, with relative accuracy, the general outline of the continents. His map exaggerated the landforms around the polar regions, because all lines of latitude and longitude meet and right angles.

Question 30

Middle Ages

Answer 30

A time after the fall of the Roman Empire and before the Enlightenment

Question 31

Migration Diffusion

Answer 31

The term used to describe the physical spread of people moving form one place to another

Question 32

Oval Projection Maps

Answer 32

Maps that combine the cylindrical and conic projections (e.g., the Molleweide projection)

Question 33

Pattern

Answer 33

Describing how objects are organized in a space, patterns can be anything from triangular to linear or even three-dimensional

Question 34

Planar Maps

Answer 34

Maps that show true direction and examine the Earth from one point, usually form a pole or a polar direction (e.g., any azimuthal map)

Question 35

Possiblist

Answer 35

An approach to geography favored by contemporary geographers that suggests that humans are not a product of their environment but possess skills necessary to change their environment to satisfy human needs. With this approach, people can determine their own outcomes without regard to location

Question 36

Ptolemy

Answer 36

Wrote the series ‘Guide to Geography’, which gave very detailed descriptions of cities and people during the Greek period when the Roman Empire took control of the Mediterranean region

Question 37

Region

Answer 37

A concept used to link different places together based on any parameter the geographer chooses

Question 38

Relative Location

Answer 38

A location that is based on, or refers to, another feature on Earth’s surface

Question 39

Scale

Answer 39

The relationship between the sized of a map to the amount of the planet it represents; the dimension into which one is trying to cast the real world

Question 40

Spatial Interaction (Movement)

Answer 40

Concerned with how linked a place is to the world, this theme of geography deals mainly with area, because how well an area is connected to the world determines its importance

Question 41

Thematic Map

Answer 41

Used to determine some type of geographic phenomenon, thematic maps can be represented in various ways: area class maps, area symbol maps, cartograms, choropheth maps, digital images, dot maps, flow-line maps, isoline maps, point symbol maps, and proportional symbol maps

Question 42

Vernacular Region (Perceptual Region)

Answer 42

A region that exists primarily in the individual’s perception or feelings (e.g., the concept of “the South” differs depending on where someone lives in the United States)

Question 43

Zheng He

Answer 43

In the mid 1400s, this famous Chinese explorer wrote in his journal of a coast with tall trees and mountains expanding as far as the eye could see. It is suspected that he may have come across the coast of Alaska or even the West Coast of the United States. His most famous explorations include those around the Indian Ocean