What are Geographical Concepts? Flashcards
What is a geographical concept?
important idea that geographers make use of to understand the world.
List the four key geographical concepts.
space
environment
place
scale
What is space?
a physical area on the Earth’s surface.
What can spaces be used for?
Learning, e.g. school
Business, e.g. shopping centres / malls
Recreation, e.g. parks
How is location expressed?
Through using a set of coordinates based on a global imaginary horizontal and vertical lines known as latitude (horizontal) and longitude (vertical) respectively.
What are Singapore’s coordinates?
1 degree North
103 degree East
What is a spatial pattern?
locations of individual geographical features, such as mountains or roads, that may be arranged across an area in a particular way.
How can spatial patterns be identified?
linear or cluster
See textbook Page 14, Figure 1.16a and Figure 1.16b
What are some questions geographers may explore?
- Where is a particular feature located on the Earth’s surface?
- What is the distance between two features?
- How are the features arranged in this area of study?
What is a place?
An area of the Earth’s surface that holds special meaning for people.
What are some places that people are likely to consider as special?
- neighbourhood they 2. grew up in
Primary school they attended
Why do people consider some places as special?
As these places were settings for daily activities that they used to take part in, they would have developed memories and feelings towards those places over time.
What concept do geographers use when studying people’s relationships with the physical and built environments?
Concept of place
What are some questions that geographers may ask when studying people’s relationships with the physical and built environments?
- Who are the groups of people in this place?
- How do they view and feel about this place? What are some reasons for their views and feelings?
- How can this place be improved for the people?
What is environment?
The physical and built environments, as well as the processes that occur naturally or result from human actions.
What are geographers interested in?
Studying the interactions between humans and the physical or built environments.
What are geographers keen to do?
find ways to minimise the negative impacts of humans on both the physical and built environments.
Where is Chek Jawa situated?
South-eastern tip of Pulau Ubin
Why is Chek Jawa unique / special?
It is a natural area that contains rich animal and plant life.
Why were boardwalks and viewing towers constructed at Chek Jawa?
- To allow people to enjoy its natural beauty.
- Prevent people from damaging Chek Jawa’s fragile environment.
What are some questions geopgraphers may ask when they apply the concept of environment?
- What are the attributes or characters of the environment?
- How and why is the environement changing? What processes are occurring here?
- What can be done to minimise the impact of humans on the environment?
What is scale?
the level of detail at which geographers study something
What are the three different types of scale that geographers often use?
- Map scale
2.Time scale
3.Geograpic scale
What are maps?
Diagrams that represent features of the physical and built environments such as rivers and cities.
What is a map scale?
The relationship between a distance on a map and the actual distance on the ground.
How is a map scale expressed?
A representative fraction or as a statement.
a 500-metre long road may be represented as being 5 cm long on a map.
1:
What are contour lines?
lines found on a map joining points of equal height above or below sea level.
What is time scale?
period of time during which something happens.
Why do geographers need to consider time scale?
Because processes and changes in the physical and built environments occur at a variety of time scales, from seconds to weeks, to decades and even to millenia.
1 century = 100 years
1 decade = 10 years
1 year= 365 days
1 millenium = 1000 years
Page 19 of textbook Figure 1.24 A diagram showing different time scales
What is a geographic scale?
Spatial extent of something
How is a geographic scale divided?
- local
- national
- regional
- global
village / town centre = local scale
whole country = national scale
group
Page 20, textbook, Figure 1.25
What questions may geographers ask when they apply the concept of scale?
- Which areas are affected by this phenomenon?
- What time scale does this phenomenon operate on?
- Does this phenomenon occur at the individual, local or national level?
Identify the geographical concept applicable to the statement.
‘Orientation programme held at school helped Secondary 1 students know themselves and their classmates better. It helped to strengthen bonds and school spirit.
Place
Identify the geographical concept applicable to the statement.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has led to many deaths and displacement of Ukrainians. Beyond the region, it has triggered the biggest increase in energy prices affecting other parts of the world.
scale
Identify the geographical concept applicable to the statement.
There seems to be a pattern where factories are concentrated in Singapore. There are mostly found at the western part of Singapore.
space
Identify the geographical concept applicable to the statement.
Eastern parts of Singapore have higher temperatures than the rest of the island due to concentration of urban areas with no stretches of vegetation.
Environment
