Unit 1 Vocabulary

Question 1

absolute location

Answer 1

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

Question 2

core

Answer 2

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

Question 3

density

Answer 3

the number of things (people, animals, objects) in a specific area.

Question 4

distance decay

Answer 4

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

Question 5

distribute

Answer 5

to arrange within a given space

Question 6

ecological perspective

Answer 6

the relationships between living things and their enviroments

Question 7

environmental determinism

Answer 7

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

Question 8

formal region

Answer 8

an area that has one or more shared traits; also called a uniform region

Question 9

friction of distance

Answer 9

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

Question 10

functional region

Answer 10

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

Question 11

globalization

Answer 11

the expansion of economic, cultural, and political progresses on a worldwide scale

Question 12

human geography

Answer 12

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

Question 13

location

Answer 13

the position that a point/object occupies on Earth

Question 14

mental maps

Answer 14

internalized representations of portions of Earth’s surface

Question 15

model

Answer 15

a representation of reality tht presents significant features or relatinships in a generalized form

Question 16

node

Answer 16

the focal point of a functional region

Question 17

pattern

Answer 17

the way in which things are arranged in a particular space

Question 18

perceptual region

Answer 18

a type of region that reflects people’s feelings and attitude about a place; also called a vernacular region

Question 19

periphery

Answer 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.

Question 20

physical geography

Answer 20

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

Question 21

place

Answer 21

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

Question 22

possibilism

Answer 22

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

Question 23

region

Answer 23

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

Question 24

relative location

Answer 24

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

Question 25

scale

Answer 25

the area of the world being studied

Question 26

semi-periphery

Answer 26

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

Question 27

site

Answer 27

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

Question 28

situation

Answer 28

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

Question 29

space

Answer 29

the area between two or more things

Question 30

spatial perspective

Answer 30

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

Question 31

sustainability

Answer 31

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

Question 32

sustainable development

Answer 32

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

Question 33

time-space compression

Answer 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 quicker/easier

Question 34

vernacular region

Answer 34

same as a perceptual region

Question 35

world system theory

Answer 35

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

Question 36

absolute distance

Answer 36

distance that can be measured using a standard unit of length

Question 37

absolute direction

Answer 37

the cardinal directions north, south, east and west

Question 38

cartographer

Answer 38

a person who creates maps

Question 39

census

Answer 39

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

Question 40

georaphic information system (GIS)

Answer 40

a computer system that allows for the collection, organization, and display of georaphic data for analysis

Question 41

global positioning system (GPS)

Answer 41

a network of satellites that orbit Earth and transmit location data to recievers, enabling users to pinpoint their exact location

Question 42

map scale

Answer 42

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

Question 43

quantitive

Answer 43

involving data that can be measured by numbers

Question 44

qualitive

Answer 44

involving data tha is descriptive of a research subject and is often based on people's opinions

Question 45

reference map

Answer 45

a map that focuses on the location of places

Question 46

relative distance

Answer 46

distance determined in relation to other places or objects

Question 47

relative direction

Answer 47

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

Question 48

remote sensing

Answer 48

collecting or analyzing data from a location without making physical contact

Question 49

thematic map

Answer 49

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

Question 50

topography

Answer 50

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