AP Human Geography Chapter 1- Basic Concepts

Question 1

atmosphere

Answer 1

the thin layer of gases surrounding Earth

Question 2

biosphere

Answer 2

All living organisms on Earth, including plants and animals, as well as microorganisms.

Question 3

cartography

Answer 3

the science of mapmaking

Question 4

climate

Answer 4

average weather in a place

Question 5

concentration

Answer 5

extent of feature’s spread over space

Question 6

contagious diffusion

Answer 6

the rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature of trend throughout a population

Question 7

cultural ecology

Answer 7

a geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships

Question 8

cultural landscape

Answer 8

the fashioning of a natural landscape by a cultural group

Question 9

culture

Answer 9

the body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute a group’s distinct tradition

Question 10

density

Answer 10

the frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area.

Question 11

diffusion

Answer 11

the process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time.

Question 12

distance decay

Answer 12

the diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

Question 13

distribution

Answer 13

arrangement of something across Earth’s surface

Question 14

ecosystem

Answer 14

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

Question 15

environmental determinism

Answer 15

a nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuray approach to the study of geography with argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities.

Question 16

equator

Answer 16

latitude at 0°.

Question 17

equal-area projection

Answer 17

a map projection that shows the sizes of regions in correct relation to one another but distorts shapes

Question 18

expansion diffusion

Answer 18

the spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in an additive process

Question 19

formal region

Answer 19

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

Question 20

functional region

Answer 20

an area organized around a node or focal point

Question 21

GIScience

Answer 21

the development and analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technologies.

Question 22

GIS

Answer 22

a computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.

Question 23

GPS

Answer 23

a system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers.

Question 24

globalization

Answer 24

actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope

Question 25

GMT

Answer 25

the time in the zone encompassing the prime meridian, or 0° longitude.

Question 26

hearth

Answer 26

the region from which innovative ideas originate

Question 27

hierarchical diffusion

Answer 27

the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places.

Question 28

housing bubble

Answer 28

a rapid increase in the value of houses followed by a sharp decline in their value

Question 29

international date line

Answer 29

an arc that for the most part follows 180 degrees longitude, although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas. When you cross it heading towards America, you gain a day. When you cross it towards Asia, you lose a day.

Question 30

latitude

Answer 30

indicates parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator. 'fatitude'

Question 31

location

Answer 31

the position of anything on Earth's surface.

Question 32

longitude

Answer 32

indicates the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian

Question 33

map projection

Answer 33

a system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map

Question 34

map scale

Answer 34

the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface

Question 35

mercator projection

Answer 35

a true conformal cylindrical map projection, the Mercator projection is particularly uyseful for navigation because it maintains accurate direction. Mercator projections are famous for their distortion in area that makes landmasses at the poles appear oversized

Question 36

mental math

Answer 36

an internal representation of a portion of Earth's surface based on what an individual knows about a place, containing personal impressions of what is in a place and where places are located

Question 37

meridian

Answer 37

an arc drawn on a map between the North and South poles

Question 38

network

Answer 38

a chain of communication that connects places

Question 39

nonrenewable research

Answer 39

something produced in nature more slowly than it is consumed by humans

Question 40

parallel

Answer 40

a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians

Question 41

pattern

Answer 41

the geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area

Question 42

place

Answer 42

specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic

Question 43

possibilism

Answer 43

the theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives

Question 44

preservation

Answer 44

maintenance of a resource in its present condition, with as little human impact as possible

Question 45

prime meridian

Answer 45

the meridian, designated at 0° longitude, that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England

Question 46

region

Answer 46

an area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features

Question 47

regional studies

Answer 47

an approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phenomena in a particular study area

Question 48

relocation diffusion

Answer 48

the spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another

Question 49

remote sensing

Answer 49

the acquisition of data about earth's surface form a satellite orbiting the planet or form other long-distance methods

Question 50

robinson projection

Answer 50

projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors. It does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction, but it minimizes errors in each

Question 51

renewable resource

Answer 51

something produced in nature more rapidly than consumed by humans

Question 52

scale

Answer 52

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

Question 53

site

Answer 53

the physical character of a place

Question 54

situation

Answer 54

the location of a place relative to another place

Question 55

space-time compression

Answer 55

the reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place as a result of improved communications and transportation systems

Question 56

spatial analysis

Answer 56

examining geographic patterns to identify relationships; Thinking necessary to answer questions like: Why is what where? What are the patterns?

Question 57

stimulus diffusion

Answer 57

the spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected

Question 58

sustainability

Answer 58

the use of earth's renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future

Question 59

toponym

Answer 59

the name given to a portion of earth's surface

Question 60

transnational corperation

Answer 60

a company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located

Question 61

uneven development

Answer 61

the increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy

Question 62

vernacular region

Answer 62

an area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity (the South)