Unit 1 Vocab Flashcards
the cardinal directions north, south, east, and west
Absolute Direction
distance that can be measured using a standard unit of length
Absolute Distance
the exact location of an object, usually expressed in coordinates of longitude and latitude
Absolute Location
a person who creates maps
Cartographers
an official count of the number of people in a defined area, such as a state
Census
classification of a country or region that has wealth, higher education levels, more advanced technologies, many resources, strong militaries, and powerful allies
Core
the number of things—people, animals, or objects—in a specific area
Density
a principle stating that the farther away one thing is from another, the less interaction the two things will have
Distance Decay
to arrange within a given space
Distribute
the relationships between living things and their environment
Ecological Perspective
the idea that human behavior is strongly affected, controlled, or determined by the physical environment
Environmental Determinism
movement of people, goods, or information that has economic, social, political, or cultural effects on societies
Flow
an area that has one or more shared traits; also called a uniform region
Formal Region
an area organized by its function around a focal point, or the center of an interest or activity
Functional Region
a computer system that allows for the collection, organization, and display of geographic data for analysis
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
a network of satellites that orbit Earth and transmit location data to receivers, enabling users to pinpoint their exact location
Global Positioning System (GPS)
the expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale
Globalization
the study of the processes that have shaped how humans understand, use, and alter Earth.
Human Geography
The position that a point or object occupies on Earth.
Location
the relationship of the size of the map to the size of the area it represents on Earth’s surface
Map Scale
internalized representations of portions of Earth’s surface
Mental Maps
the focal point of a functional region
Node
the way in which things are arranged in a particular space
Pattern
a type of region that reflects people’s feelings and attitudes about a place; also called a vernacular region
Perceptual Region
classification of a country or region that has less wealth, lower education levels, and less sophisticated technologies and also tends to have an unstable government and poor health systems
Periphery
the study of natural processes and the distribution of features in the environment, such as landforms, plants, animals, soil, and climate
Physical Geography
a location on Earth that is distinguished by its physical and human characteristics
Place
theory of human-environment interaction that states that humans have the ability to adapt the physical environment to their needs
Possibilism
involving data that is descriptive of a research subject and is often based on people’s opinions
Qualitative
involving data that can be measured by numbers
Quanitative
a map that focuses on the location of places
Reference Maps
an area of Earth’s surface with certain characteristics that make it distinct yet cohesive from other areas
Region
direction based on a person’s perception, such as left, right, up, or down
Relative Direction
distance determined in relation to other places or objects
Relative Distance
a description of where a place is in relation to other places or features
Relative Location
a method of collecting or analyzing data from a location without making physical contact
Remote Sensing
the area of the world being studied
Scale
classification of a country or region that has qualities of both core and peripheral areas and is often in the process of industrializing
Semi-Periphey
a place’s absolute location, as well as its physical characteristics, such as the landforms, climate, and resources
Site
location of a place in relation to other places or its surrounding features
Situation
the area between two or more things
Space
geographic perspective that focuses on how people live on Earth, how they organize themselves, and why the events of human societies occur where they do
Spatial Perspective
less densely populated residential and commercial areas surrounding a city
Suburbs
the use of Earth’s land and natural resources in ways that ensure they will continue to be available in the future
Sustainability
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Sustainable Development
any map that focuses on one or more variables to show a relationship between geographic data
Thematic Maps
a system of ideas intended to explain certain phenomena
Theory
a key geographic principle that describes the ways in which modern transportation and communication technology have allowed humans to travel and communicate over long distances quicker and easier
Time-space compression
the representation of earth’s surface to show natural and man-made features, especially their relative positions and elevations
Topography
a type of region that reflects people’s feelings and attitudes about a place; also called a perceptual region
Vernacular Region
theory describing the spatial and functional relationships between countries in the world economy; categorizes countries as part of a hierarchy consisting of the core, periphery, and semi-periphery
World System Theory
