Unit 1- This is geography Flashcards
The 5 concepts geographers use are:
Place, region, scale, space, and connections.
Maps can be used as (2 tools)
Reference tools and communication tools
Maps used as reference tools help us…?
find the shortest route between to places and not get list.
Maps used as communication tools help us…?
depict the distribution of human activities or physical features
Map scale-
The relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its real size on Earth
Three types of map scale-
Ratio, written, and graphic
A line of latitude is a parallel or median?
Parallel
A line of longitude is a parallel or median?
Median
How many time zones are there?
24
What is the universally accepted standard time? What median is it located at?
GMT, the Prime Meridian (0 degrees W)
GIScience-
Analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellites or other electronic information.
What are the three GIScience tools geographers use?
GPS, GiS, and remote sensing.
Define GPS.
GPS (global positioning system) is a system that determines the precise position of something on Earth.
Define GIS.
GIS (geographic information system) captures, stores, queries, and displays geographic data.
Define remote sensing.
The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth.
Four different maps get combined into one map showing the characteristics of all four. What geographic tool was used?
GIS
What is map projection?
Transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map
What are the four types of map distortion?
Shape, distance, relative size, and direction.
Define shape distortion.
Appears more elongated
Define distance distortion.
The distance between two points changes.
Define relative size distortion.
The proportion of the size of two locations changes.
A map is in an oval shape with the top and bottom elongated. It contains significant relative size distortion. What map is this?
A Robinson Projection
A map is rectangular. There is very little relative size distortion, and there is a lot of space allocated to land. What map is this?
A Mercator Projection
What are the four ways geographers identify location?
Toponym (name), site, situation, and mathematical location (latitude/longitude)
What is toponym?
The name given to a place on Earth.
What is site?
The physical characteristic of a place.
What is situation?
The location of a place relative to the location of another.
What is mathematical location?
The exact location of a place found using latitude and longitude coordinates.
Define cultural landscape.
A combination of cultural, economic, and physical features.
What are the three types of regions?
Formal, functional, and vernacular.
What is a formal region?
Two regions that share a distinct characteristic.
What is a functional region?
An area organised around a focal point, where the presence of something diminishes as you progress further from the center of said focal point.
What is a vernacular region?
An area people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.
What are the two concepts of culture?
What people care about, and what people take care of.
What do people care about in terms of culture?
Important cultural values like religion.
What do people take care of in terms of culture?
The bare essentials.
What are the two types of scale?
Local and global.
What is a transnational corporation?
A corporation that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries with a home factory in a single country.
What is the Spacial Division of Labour?
A region’s workers specialize in a particular task or tasks.
What is distribution?
The arrangement of a feature in space.
What are the three types of distribution?
Density, concentration, and geometric arrangement.
Define density.
The amount of something compared to the amount of space it contains.
Define concentration.
The extent of a feature’s spread over space.
Define geometric pattern-
The geometric arrangement of something, if there is one.
What is diffusion?
The process by which a feature spreads from one place to another.
What is a hearth?
A place from where an innovation originates.
What are the two main types of diffusion?
Relocation diffusion and Expansion diffusion.
What is relocation diffusion?
When an innovation diffuses by physical movement.
Identify the three types of expansion diffusion.
Hierarchical, contagious, and stimulus diffusion.
Define Hierarchical diffusion.
When an innovation diffuses from an influential figure/place to non influential figures/places.
Define Contagious diffusion.
The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout a population.
Define stimulus diffusion.
The spread of an underlying principle even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse. (Ex. apple {the company})
What is cultural ecology?
The geographic study of human-environment relationships.
What is environmental determinism?
The belief that where somebody is located affects how they act/what they do as a human, and how they interact with other humans. (Not used by geographers anymore)
What is possibilism?
The belief that the location can affect how somebody acts, yet said human can adapt to the environment and overcome the barriers presented by it.
What is a polder?
Land created by draining water.
What is a resource?
A substance in the environment that is useful to people, feasible to access, and morally okay to use.
Define sustainability.
The use of Earth’s resources in ways that ensure their availability in the future.
What are the three pillars of sustainability?
Environmental, society, and economy.
What is the environmental pillar of sustainability?
The sustainable use and management of Earth’s natural resources to meet human needs.
What is the society pillar of sustainability?
Humans need resources to survive, so they make use of those resources to meet needs.
What is the economy pillar of sustainability?
Natural resources acquire a monetary value through exchange in a marketplace.
