unit 1

Question 1

geospatial technologies

Answer 1

geographic information systems (GIS), satellite navigation systems (GPS), remote sensing, online mapping & visualizations

Question 2

fieldwork / field observations

Answer 2

act of an individual physically visiting a location and recording first hand information (photographs interviews, written accounts, media repos, travel narratives, U.S. Census, etc.)

Question 3

geographic information systems (GIS)

Answer 3

computer software, stores, analyzes, and displays info from multiple digital map sets (thematic and physical layers), used for analyzing crime data, effects of pollution, urban planning

Question 4

satellite navigation systems

Answer 4

satellites orbit earth and communicate locational into GPS receivers, absolute location, navigation for ships cars aircraft and etc.

Question 5

aerial photography

Answer 5

professional images captured by planes or drones

Question 6

remote sensing

Answer 6

use of cameras and sensors mounted on aircraft or satellites which orbit to collect images (monitors environmental changes and weather)

Question 7

sense of place

Answer 7

factors that contribute to the uniqueness of a location

Question 8

placelessness

Answer 8

a location without a sense of place, no distinct attributes

Question 9

toponym

Answer 9

Locations name; usually reflective of the culture and history of a place (ex: Georgetown Washington)

Question 10

site/physical landscape

Answer 10

environmental features of a location: climate, water sources, topography, soil, elevation

Question 11

time-space compression

Answer 11

increasing sense of accessibility seems to bring humans in distant places closer together

Question 12

cultural ecology

Answer 12

the study of how humans interact and adapt to the environment, theories evolved due to developments in technology, environmental determinism vs possiblism

Question 13

environmental determinism

Answer 13

emerged in the 18th century (1700s), belief that climate and landforms are the most powerful forces shaping human behavior and societal/cultural development, historically used to justify racism.

Question 14

Possiblism

Answer 14

modern interpretation, acknowledges limitations imposed by the natural environment, but focuses on the role of human culture to modify and respond to the environment to better fit human needs

Question 15

scales of analysis

Answer 15

global, regional, state-country-national, sub-state (state), country, city / local, census tract

Question 16

small scale map

Answer 16

shows a LARGE area with SMALL amounts of data, zoomed OUT, BIG NUMBERS on the map

Question 17

large scale map

Answer 17

shows a SMALL area with LARGE amounts of data, zoomed IN, SMALL NUMBERS on the map

Question 18

functional region

Answer 18

Organized around a central node (focal point) and the relationship is technically based around economics, travel, or communication (airports, subway, and road maps)

Question 19

vernacular / perceptual region

Answer 19

based on a persons perspective or perception of a certain location, boundaries vary widely because people have different senses of what defines and unites this region (cultural maps, liked sports teams)

Question 20

Absolute location

Answer 20

A precise position on Earth’s surface

Question 21

Latitude

Answer 21

The (invisible) horizontal lines circling Earth parallel to the equator; latitude is the degree of distance north or south from the equator, which is at 0 degrees, as far as the poles, which are at 90 degrees

Question 22

Longitude

Answer 22

The (invisible) vertical lines on Earth’s surface that mark imaginary circles connecting the North Pole with the South Pole

Question 23

Diffusion

Answer 23

The pattern by which a phenomenon such as the movement of people, or their ideas, technologies, or preferences, spreads from a particular location through space and time

Question 24

Independent invention

Answer 24

Occurs when the same or a very similar innovation is developed at the same time in different places by different people working independently

Question 25

Expansion diffusion

Answer 25

Occurs when ideas or practices spread throughout a population, from area to area, in a snowballing process, so that the total number of knowers or users and the areas of occurrence increase

Question 26

Hierarchical diffusion

Answer 26

Occurs when ideas leapfrog from one important person, community, or city to another, bypassing other persons, communities, or rural areas

Question 27

Contagious diffusion

Answer 27

The wavelike spread of ideas in the manner of a contagious disease or forest fire, moving throughout space without regard for hierarchy

Question 28

Stimulus diffusion

Answer 28

Occurs when a specific trait is rejected, but the underlying idea is accepted

Question 29

Relocation diffusion

Answer 29

Occurs when individuals or groups with a particular idea or practice migrate from one location to another, thereby bringing the idea or practice to their new homeland

Question 30

Dot density / distribution map

Answer 30

A map that uses dots to represent objects or counts; the dot can represent one object (a one-to-one dot density map), or it can represent a number of objects (a one-to-many dot density map)

Question 31

Proportional / graduated circle maps

Answer 31

A map that uses symbols (such as circles or dots) of different sizes to represent numerical values

Question 32

Cartograms

Answer 32

A map that distorts the geographic shape of an area in order to show the size of a specific variable; the larger the area on a cartogram, the larger the value of the underlying variable

Question 33

Choropleth map

Answer 33

A thematic map that shows data aggregated for a specific geographic area, often using different colors to represent different values

Question 34

Thematic map

Answer 34

A map that emphasizes the spatial patterns of geographic statistics or attributes, and sometimes the relationships between them

Question 35

Reference maps

Answer 35

A map that shows geographic locations on Earth’s surface, such as the locations of cities or oceans

Question 36

Map scale

Answer 36

The distance on a map in relation to distance in actual space; for example, 1 inch on a map might indicate a distance of 100 miles

Question 37

relative distance

Answer 37

A measurement of the level of social, cultural, or economic similarity between places despite their absolute distance from each other

Question 38

absolute distance

Answer 38

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit of length, such as a foot, yard, mile, or kilometer

Question 39

Elevation

Answer 39

Distance above sea level

Question 40

Topographic map

Answer 40

A graphic representation of the three-dimensional configuration of Earth’s surface

Question 41

Metropolitan area

Answer 41

An area composed of a heavily populated urban core and its less populated surrounding areas

Question 42

Nodes

Answer 42

Central points where the functions of a functional region are coordinated and directed

Question 43

Time-distance decay

Answer 43

Also known as the “first law of geography”; the idea that near things are more related than distant things, and interaction between two places decreases the farther apart they are