Midterm 1 Review

Question 1

Geography

Answer 1

The study of patterns and processes on Earth’s surface. The word itself is derived from the Greek words geo, meaning ‘the earth’, and graphie, meaning ‘to write about’

Question 2

Human Geography

Answer 2

The study of patterns and processes of the human world, including where people and activities are found and why they are located there.

Question 3

Space

Answer 3

The areal extent of something on the earth’s surface

Question 4

Absolute Space

Answer 4

pace that can be objectively measured with definable boundaries and remains stable over time. It is objective, physically real, and measurable.

Question 5

Relative Space

Answer 5

Subject to continuous change and differences in interpretation. How we perceive space differently.

Question 6

Location

Answer 6

Any particular position within space and on the Earth’s surface.

Question 7

Absolute Location

Answer 7

Relatively stable and unchanging, expressed mathematically.

Question 8

Relative Location

Answer 8

Subject to change and interpretation, expressed in relation to other geographical phenomena

Question 9

Nominal Location

Answer 9

The expression of a place’s name.

Question 10

Toponyms

Answer 10

Names of places that can reveal the Indigenous or colonial pasts, the namer’s perception of a place, and can change over time.

Question 11

Place

Answer 11

A location with a particular identity, meaning, or significance. ______ is space with meaning.

Question 12

Sense of Place

Answer 12

The personally significant attachments we associate with certain places. It can be positive or negative. Human geographers tend to think about _______ as the collective attachments individuals have to places of shared experiences.

Question 13

Placemaking

Answer 13

The deliberate transformation of ‘space’ or location into ‘place’.

Question 14

Placeless

Answer 14

Some places evoke little or no meaning at all. Often linked to homogeneity and standardization.

Question 15

Distance

Answer 15

The amount of space between 2 or more locations.

Question 16

Absolute/Physical Distance

Answer 16

The shortest point between two or more objects. It is measured with reference to a standard system.

Question 17

Time/Travel Distance

Answer 17

Distance mediated by roads, pathways, transit routes, etc.

Question 18

Economic Distance

Answer 18

The physical costs that must be managed when moving people or items across space.

Question 19

Psychological Distance

Answer 19

Relates to one’s state of mind, influenced by experience, knowledge, and emotions.

Question 20

Distribution

Answer 20

The spatial organization of geographic phenomena, often explained by the distance between them.

Question 21

Density

Answer 21

The frequency with which something exists in a measured area.

Question 22

Concentration (Agglomerated)

Answer 22

Objects are close together.

Question 23

Dispersed

Answer 23

Objects are scattered and far apart.

Question 24

Pattern

Answer 24

The geometric arrangement of geographic phenomena in space.

Question 25

Region

Answer 25

A way to think about society at different levels or layers. Also, indicates the spatial relationship between real-world locations, distances, and areas.

Question 26

Map Scale

Answer 26

How much of local areas can show much greater detail.

Question 27

Small-scale Maps

Answer 27

Show large areas with little detail.

Question 28

Large-scale Maps

Answer 28

Show smaller areas with greater detail.

Question 29

Landscape

Answer 29

The visible features of the land/area, which can be natural/physical or human/cultural or both.

Question 30

Cultural Landscape

Answer 30

The outcome of the interactions between people and their environments, the visible human imprint on the land.

Question 31

Diffusion

Answer 31

The movement or spread of geographic phenomena across space and over time.

Question 32

Relocation Diffusion

Answer 32

The spread of ideas, cultural characteristics, etc., from one area to another via the physical movement of people.

Question 33

Expansion Diffusion

Answer 33

The spread of innovations, trends, ideas, and other phenomena that does not require people’s relocation.

Question 34

Hierarchical Diffusion

Answer 34

The spread of cultural practices through key, highly connected, and influential people and places.

Question 35

Contagious Diffusion

Answer 35

The spread of geographic phenomena similar to the spread of infectious disease, rapidly throughout an area.

Question 36

Mental Maps

Answer 36

A unique personal representation of reality. Reflects imperfect knowledge, not objective reality. Shaped by perception and subjective experiences.

Question 37

Map

Answer 37

A two-dimensional graphical representation of the world, used to communicate information and analyze spatial problems.

Question 38

Perspective

Answer 38

How the map is oriented. Can be north-oriented, south-oriented (anthropocentric), Atlantic-centric (European World View) or Pacific-centric (Asian World View).

Question 39

Projection

Answer 39

The way the earth's surface is represented on a flat map. All projections distort portions of the Earth's surface in one way or another. Distortion appears in one or more forms: area, distance, shape, or direction.

Question 40

Culture

Answer 40

The way of life of the members of a society. Includes values, beliefs, worldviews, lifestyles, traditions, customs, and practices.

Question 41

Globalization

Answer 41

Economic, political, and cultural changes that bring about increasing interconnectedness of people and places.

Question 42

Cultural Regions

Answer 42

An area with a degree of homogeneity in cultural characteristics. Examples include the Arctic North, BC, Atlantic, Prairies, Great Lakes, and Canadian Shield.

Question 43

Hearth

Answer 43

The area from which a cultural activity emerges or is most concentrated.

Question 44

Sub-cultures

Answer 44

The values, beliefs, and lifestyles of a minority group within society.

Question 45

Deviance Sub-cultures

Answer 45

Lifestyle deviates from society, often based on pleasure and wants. ex. BDSM community

Question 46

Resistance Sub-cultures

Answer 46

Intentionally distorting appearance or behaviors to resist dominant culture. Ex. punk rockers

Question 47

Distinction Sub-cultures

Answer 47

Lifestyles and practices seen as superior to the dominant culture. ex. people who go to art galleries, symphonies, and the opera

Question 48

Cultural Adaptation

Answer 48

The adaptation or adjustment, by individuals and groups, to the challenges posed by the physical environment. Includes technological, organizational, and ideological changes.

Question 49

Language

Answer 49

A fundamental way that we distinguish between cultural groups. An expression of our beliefs, attitudes, ways of life.

Question 50

Language Family

Answer 50

A group of closely related languages that share a common and/or ancient origin.

Question 51

Language Branch

Answer 51

A subset of a language family with a more recent origin.

Question 52

Religion

Answer 52

A set of beliefs that facilitates an appreciation and understanding of our place in the world and acts to unify all those that believe in a single community.

Question 53

Universalizing Religion

Answer 53

Sees its faith as applicable to everyone and actively seeks new converts (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Buddhism).

Question 54

Ethnic Religion

Answer 54

Appeals to a particular group of people, whose members are usually born into the religion and typically do not seek converts (e.g., Hinduism, Judaism).

Question 55

Ethnicity

Answer 55

An individual’s affiliation with a group that distinguishes them from the rest of the population based on racial, cultural, religious or linguistic characteristics, national origins, etc.

Question 56

Ethnic Group

Answer 56

A group whose members perceive themselves as different from others because of a common ancestry.

Question 57

Race

Answer 57

A socially constructed concept, not a natural thing, that delineates cultural subgroups based on minor physical differences. A race is not a genetically distinct group of a species.

Question 58

Racism

Answer 58

A particular form of prejudice that attributes characteristics of superiority or inferiority to a group of people who share some physically inherited characteristics.