unit 1 vocab

Question 1

physical geography

Answer 1

the study of spatial characteristics of various elements of the physical environment

Question 2

human geography

Answer 2

the study of the spatial characteristics of humans and human activities

Question 3

four level analysis

Answer 3

the thinking skills used by geographers to help them understand why things and people are where they are and why the location of an item or of people with particular traits are important

l1. comprehension

l2. identification

l3. explanation

l4. prediction

Question 4

analyze

Answer 4

break down into parts and study each part carefully

Question 5

theory

Answer 5

a system of ideas and concepts that attempt to explain or prove why or how interactions have occurred in the past or will occur in the future

Question 6

concepts

Answer 6

key vocabulary words, ideas, and building blocks that geographers use to describe our world

Question 7

processes

Answer 7

involve a series of steps or actions that explain why or how geographic patterns occur

Question 8

models

Answer 8

representations of reality or theories about reality

Question 9

spatial models

Answer 9

look like stylized maps, and they illustrate theories about spatial distributions

Question 10

nonspatial models

Answer 10

illustrate theories and concepts using words, graphs, or tables

Question 11

time distance decay

Answer 11

the idea that things near each other are more closely connected or related than things that are far apart

Question 12

spatial pattern

Answer 12

refers to the general arrangement of things being studies

Question 13

networks

Answer 13

a set of interconnected entities, sometimes called nodes

Question 14

quantitative data

Answer 14

any information that can be measured and recorded using numbers

Question 15

geospatial data

Answer 15

quantitative and spatial

Question 16

qualitative sources

Answer 16

not usually represented by numbers. this data is collected as interviews, photographs, remote satellite images, descriptions, or cartoons

Question 17

scales of analysis

Answer 17

local, regional, country or global scale

Question 18

reference maps

Answer 18

designed for people to refer to for general information about places

Question 19

political maps

Answer 19

show and label human-created boundaries and designations, such as countries, states, cities, and capitals

Question 20

physical maps

Answer 20

show and label natural features, such as mountains, rivers, and deserts

Question 21

road maps

Answer 21

show and label highways, streets and alleys

Question 22

plat maps

Answer 22

show and label property lines and details of land ownership

Question 23

thematic maps

Answer 23

show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon

Question 24

choropleth maps

Answer 24

use various colors, shades of one color, or patterns to show the locations and distribution of spatial data, often shows rates or other quantitative data in defined areas

Question 25

dot distribution map

Answer 25

used to show the specific location and distribution of something across a map, each dot represents a specified quantity

Question 26

graduated symbol map

Answer 26

uses symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of something, larger sizes indicate more of something and smaller sizes indicate less

Question 27

isoline map

Answer 27

also called isometric maps, use lines that connect points of equal value to depict variations in the data across space. where lines are close together, the map depicts rapid change, and where lines are farther apart, the phenomenon is relatively the same

Question 28

topographic map

Answer 28

points of equal elevation are connected on these maps, creating contours that depict surface features

Question 29

cartogram

Answer 29

the sizes of countries are shown to some specific statistic

Question 30

scale

Answer 30

the ratio between the size of things in the real world and the size of those same things on the map

Question 31

cartographic scale

Answer 31

refers to the way the map communicates the ratio of its size to the size of what it represents

Question 32

small scale map

Answer 32

shows a larger amount of area with less detail

Question 33

large scale map

Answer 33

shows a smaller amount of area with a greater amount of detail

Question 34

absolute location

Answer 34

the precise spot where something is according to a system

Question 35

latitude

Answer 35

distance north or south of the equator

Question 36

equator

Answer 36

an imaginary line that circles the globe halfway between the north and south poles, designated as 0 degrees latitude

Question 37

longitude

Answer 37

distance east or west of the prime meridian

Question 38

prime meridian

Answer 38

an imaginary line that runs from pole to pole through greenwich, england, designated as 0 degrees longitude

Question 39

international date line

Answer 39

roughly follows the prime meridian but makes deviations to accommodate international boundaries

Question 40

relative location

Answer 40

a description of where something is in relation to other things

Question 41

connectivity

Answer 41

how well two locations are tied together by roads or other links

Question 42

accessibility

Answer 42

how quickly and easily people in one location can interact with people in another location

Question 43

direction

Answer 43

used in order to describe where things are in relation to each other, cardinal directions such as north, east, south, west or other intermediate directions are commonly used to describe direction

Question 44

patterns

Answer 44

general arrangement of things

Question 45

absolute distance

Answer 45

usually measured in terms of feet, miles, meters, or kilometers

Question 46

relative distance

Answer 46

indicates the degree of nearness based on time or money and is often dependent on the mode of travel

Question 47

elevation

Answer 47

the distance of features above sea level, usually measured in feet or meters

Question 48

distribution

Answer 48

the way a phenomenon is spread out over an area

Question 49

clustered distribution

Answer 49

phenomena are arranged in a group or concentrated area

Question 50

linear distribution

Answer 50

phenomena are arranged in a straight line

Question 51

dispersed distribution

Answer 51

phenomena are spread out over a large area

Question 52

circular distribution

Answer 52

phenomena are equally spaced from a central point, forming a circle

Question 53

geometric distribution

Answer 53

phenomena are in a regular arrangement

Question 54

random distribution

Answer 54

phenomena appear to have no order to their position

Question 55

landscape analysis

Answer 55

the task of defining and describing landscapes

Question 56

spatial data

Answer 56

all of the information that can be tied to specific locations

Question 57

aerial photography

Answer 57

professional images captured from planes within the atmosphere

Question 58

field observations

Answer 58

used to refer to the act of physically visiting a location, place, or region and recording, firsthand, information there

Question 59

remote sensing

Answer 59

gathers information from satellites that orbit the earth or other craft from above the atmosphere

Question 60

fieldwork

Answer 60

observing and recording information on location, or in the field

Question 61

geovisualization

Answer 61

2D or 3D interactive maps that allow people to zoom in or out to see data in ways that was previously impossible

Question 62

global positioning system (gps)

Answer 62

gps receivers on the earth's surface use the locations of multiple satellites to determine and record a receiver's exact location

Question 63

geographic information system (gis)

Answer 63

computer systems that can store, analyze, and display information from multiple digital maps or geospatial data sets

Question 64

community based solutions

Answer 64

helps people improve their standard of living, increases the likelihood of sucess