Unit 1

Question 1

place

Answer 1

a specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic

Question 2

region

Answer 2

an area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics

Question 3

scale

Answer 3

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and the Earth as a whole

Question 4

space

Answer 4

the physical gap or interval between two objects

Question 5

connection

Answer 5

refers to relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

Question 6

map

Answer 6

2D or flat scale model of the Earth’s surface, or a portion of it

Question 7

cartography

Answer 7

the science of mapmaking

Question 8

global positioning system (GPS)

Answer 8

a system that determines a precise position of something on Earth

Question 9

geotagging

Answer 9

the identification and storage of a piece of information by its precise latitude and longitude coordinates

Question 10

geographic information system (GIS)

Answer 10

captures, stores, queries, and displays the geographic data

Question 11

remote sensing

Answer 11

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

Question 12

citizen science

Answer 12

scientific research by amateur scientists

Question 13

mashup

Answer 13

a map that overlays data from one source on top of a map provided by a mapping source

Question 14

map scale

Answer 14

the relationship to something’s size on a map to its size on the Earth

Question 15

projection

Answer 15

the scientific method of transferring locations on Earth to a flat map

Question 16

prime meridian

Answer 16

the 0 degrees longitude line that passes through Greenwich, England

Question 17

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

Answer 17

the master reference time for all points on Earth

Question 18

location

Answer 18

the position something occupies on the Earth

Question 19

toponym

Answer 19

the name given to a place on Earth

Question 20

site

Answer 20

the physical character of a place

Question 21

situation

Answer 21

the location of a place relative to other places

Question 22

cultural landscape

Answer 22

a combination of cultural, physical, and economic factors

Question 23

formal region

Answer 23

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

Question 24

functional region

Answer 24

an area organized around one node or focal point

Question 25

vernacular region

Answer 25

an area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity

Question 26

culture

Answer 26

the body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together show the distinctive traits of a group of people

Question 27

spatial association

Answer 27

occurs when the distribution of one feature is related to another

Question 28

distribution

Answer 28

the arrangement of a feature in space

Question 29

density

Answer 29

the frequency in which something occurs in space

Question 30

pattern

Answer 30

the geometric arrangement of objects in space

Question 31

hearth

Answer 31

a place where an innovation originates

Question 32

diffusion

Answer 32

the process in which a feature spreads across space from one place to another over time

Question 33

expansion diffusion

Answer 33

the spread of a feature from one place to another in an additive process

Question 34

network

Answer 34

a chain of communication that connects places

Question 35

distance decay

Answer 35

the idea that the farther away two people are from each other, the less likely they are to interact

Question 36

space-time compression

Answer 36

to describe the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place

Question 37

resource

Answer 37

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

Question 38

sustainability

Answer 38

the use of Earth's resources in ways to ensure their availability in the future

Question 39

renewable resource

Answer 39

produced in nature at a faster rate then it used by humans

Question 40

non-renewable resource

Answer 40

produced in nature at a slower rate than is used by humans

Question 41

conservation

Answer 41

the sustainable use and management of Earth's natural resources to meet human needs such as food, medicine, and recreation

Question 42

preservation

Answer 42

the maintenance of resources in their present condition, with as little human impact as possible.

Question 43

atmosphere

Answer 43

a thin layer of gasses surrounding the Earth

Question 44

hydrosphere

Answer 44

all the water on and near the Earth's surface

Question 45

lithosphere

Answer 45

Earth's crust and portion of upper mantle directly below the crust

Question 46

biosphere

Answer 46

all living organisms on Earth (plants, animals, and microorganisms)

Question 47

climate

Answer 47

the long-term average weather condition at a particular location

Question 48

ecosystem

Answer 48

a group of living organisms and abiotic spheres with which they interact

Question 49

ecology

Answer 49

the scientific study of ecosystems

Question 50

environmental determinism

Answer 50

a belief that the physical environment caused social development

Question 51

possibilism

Answer 51

the physical environment may limit some human action, but people have the ability to adjust to there environment

Question 52

polder

Answer 52

a piece of land that is created by draining water from an area