Week 1 notes- Geog. & Carto./Ch-Lec 1 Flashcards
What does Geography study, and what two basic questions does it ask?
Geography studies land; the two basic questions that it asks are: Where are things located?
Why are they there?
What are the two primary branches of Geography?
Physical Geography and Human Geography
What are the four major sub-fields, or “spheres,” of Physical Geography, and what examples of what each sphere studies?
Four major subfields of physical geography:
-atmosphere (layers of gas and particular matter above us; clouds, ozone layer, greenhouse gases)
-hydrosphere (water in all forms; rivers, water pollution, etc.)
-lithosphere (rocky outer layers of earth; earthquakes, fracking, fossil fuel)
-biosphere (all living organisms; humans, animals, extinction)
What are the four stages of scientific inquiry?
1) Ask a geographic question- questions about spatial relationships in the worlds around you
2) Acquire geographic resources- identify data that you’ll need to answer the question
3) Explore Geographic data- organize data into helpful, manageable resources and look for patterns and relationships
4) Analyze geographic information- determine what the patterns and relationships mean with respect to your question
What are “open systems” versus “closed systems,” and is Earth an open system with respect to energy? With respect to matter.
Open systems are energy and matter that are free to be exchanged across systems (hydrosphere->atmosphere and back again)
Closed systems are areas contained from outside influence
Earth is a closed system with respect to matter and energy.
What is cartography?
Cartography is the science of mapmaking.
What is distortion on a (flat) map?
the changes in shape, area, distance, directions, or continuity
What are some common features that help explain the spatial data shown on maps?
Scales (1 square = 3500km)
Coordinates
Cardinal Directions
What is a computer-based software system that can help organize and depict spatial data?
Sensors
GPS
GIS
