Unit 1 Vocab

Question 1

The exact location of an object, usually expressed in coordinates of longitude and latitude

Answer 1

Absolute location

Question 2

Classification of a country or region that has wealth, higher education levels, more advanced technologies, many resources, strong militaries, and powerful allies

Answer 2

Core

Question 3

The number of things — people, animals, or objects — in a specific area

Answer 3

Density

Question 4

A principle stating that the farther away one thing is from another, the less interaction the two things will have

Answer 4

Distance decay

Question 5

To arrange within a given space

Answer 5

Distribute

Question 6

The relationships between living things and their environments

Answer 6

Ecological perspective

Question 7

The idea that human behavior is strongly affected, controlled, or determined by the physical environment

Answer 7

Environmental determinism

Question 8

An area that has one or more shared traits’ also called a uniform region

Answer 8

Formal region

Question 9

A concept that states that the longer a journey is, the more time, effort, and cost it will involve

Answer 9

Friction of distance

Question 10

An area organized by its function around a focal point, or the center of an interest or activity

Answer 10

Functional region

Question 11

The expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale

Answer 11

Globalization

Question 12

The study of the processes that have shaped how humans understand, use, and alter Earth

Answer 12

Human geography

Question 13

The position that a point or object occupies on Earth

Answer 13

Location

Question 14

Internalized representations of portions on Earth’s surface

Answer 14

Mental map

Question 15

A representation of reality that presents significant features or relationships in a generalized form

Answer 15

Model

Question 16

The focal point of a functional region

Answer 16

Node

Question 17

The way in which things are arranged in a particular space

Answer 17

Pattern

Question 18

A type of region that reflects people’s feelings and attitudes in a particular region

Answer 18

Perceptual region

Question 19

Classification of a country or region that has less wealth, lower education levels, and less sophisticated technologies and also tends to have an unstable government and poor healthcare systems

Answer 19

Periphery

Question 20

The study of natural processes and the distribution of features in the environment, such as landforms, plants, animals, soil, and climate

Answer 20

Physical geography

Question 21

A location on Earth that is distinguished by its physical and human characteristics

Answer 21

Place

Question 22

Theory of human-environment interaction that states that humans have the ability to adapt the physical environment to their needs

Answer 22

Possibilism

Question 23

An area of Earth’s surface with certain characteristics that make it cohesive yet distinct from other areas

Answer 23

Region

Question 24

A description of where a place is in relation to other places of features

Answer 24

Relative location

Question 25

The area of the world being studied

Answer 25

Scale

Question 26

Classification of a country or region that has qualities of both core and peripheral areas and is often in the process of industrializing

Answer 26

Semi-periphery

Question 27

A place's absolute location, as well as its physical characteristics, such as the landforms, climate, and resources

Answer 27

Site

Question 28

Location of a place in relation to other places or its surrounding features

Answer 28

Situation

Question 29

The area between two or more things

Answer 29

Space

Question 30

Geographic perspective that focuses on how people live on Earth, how they organize themselves, and why the events of humans societies occur where they do

Answer 30

Spatial perspective

Question 31

The use of Earth's land and natural resources in ways that ensure they will continue to be available in the future

Answer 31

Sustainability

Question 32

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Answer 32

Sustainable development

Question 33

A key geographic principle that describes the ways in which modern transportation and communication technology have allowed humans to travel and communicate over long distances more quickly and easily

Answer 33

Time-space compression

Question 34

A type of region that reflects people's feelings and attitudes about a place; also called perceptual region

Answer 34

Vernacular region

Question 35

Theory describing the spatial and functional relationships between countries in the world economy; categorizes countries as part of a hierarchy consisting of the core, periphery, and semi-periphery

Answer 35

World system theory

Question 36

Distance that can be measured using a standard unit of length

Answer 36

Absolute distance

Question 37

The cardinal directions north, south, east, and west

Answer 37

Absolute direction

Question 38

A person who creates maps

Answer 38

Cartographer

Question 39

An official count of the number of people in a defined area, such as a state

Answer 39

Census

Question 40

A computer system that allows for the collection, organization, and display of geographic data for analysis

Answer 40

Geographic information systems / GIS

Question 41

A network of satellites that orbit Earth and transmit location data to receivers, enabling user to pinpoint their exact location

Answer 41

Global positioning system (GPS)

Question 42

The relationship of the size of the map to the size of the area it represents on Earth's surface

Answer 42

Map scale

Question 43

Involving data that can be measured by numbers

Answer 43

Quantitative

Question 44

Involving data that is descriptive of a research subject and is often based on people's opinions

Answer 44

Qualitative

Question 45

A map that focuses on the location of places

Answer 45

Reference map

Question 46

A distance determined in relation to other places of objects

Answer 46

Relative distance

Question 47

Direction based on a person's perception, such as left, right, up, or down

Answer 47

Relative direction

Question 48

Collecting or analyzing data from a location without making physical contact

Answer 48

Remote sensing

Question 49

Any map that focuses on one or more variables to show a relationship between geographic data

Answer 49

Thematic map

Question 50

The representation of Earth's surface to show natural and human-made features, especially their relative positions and elevations

Answer 50

Topography