GEOGRAPHY: TOOLS AND CONCEPTS UNIT

 

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Chapter 3-4: The Earth's Human Geography
Tools and Concepts Review Notes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GEOGRAPHY TOOLS AND CONCEPTS

CHAPTER 1-2: THE WORLD OF GEOGRAPHY

1. Global Community

-people interacting with one another (direct and indirect)

-transportation and communication have extended our communities to include the world

2. Geography

-study of the Earth

-geography looks at the Earth through many points of view

Fundamental Themes of Geography pp. 9-13 & 24-25

3. Location

-absolute = a specific location of something or some place on the Earth

-relative = using other places to describe where something is

4. Place-

-physical, the form of the land (topography)

-human features, describes what humans have added to geography and how they are used

5. Human-Environment Interaction-

-how humans interact with the environment and nature

6. Movement

-transportation of people, goods and ideas

7. Region

-makes comparisons of general areas

-a unifying feature of a common area

Geography pp. 1-7

8. Place

-geographers ask questions like "where" and "why"

-"geo" = Earth "graphy" = science of

9. Location

-geographers gather, organize, and analyze geographic information

10. Region

-land, climate, resources (like water,trees,etc.), population all influence where people live or do not live

11. Movement

-mental map: exists only in ones mind and not on a page.

Types of Geography

12. Physical Geography

-deals with the way the surface of the Earth actually is

-examples: land forms, climate, precipitation

13. Cultural Geography

-deals with the type of people in a particular area or region

-examples: ethnic groups, urban vs. rural, tribes, cultures

14. Political Geography

-deals with borders and boundaries which separate areas

-borders are man-made (even though natural features may be used as borders)

-includes study of how political regions interact

-examples: countries, states, counties

Common Types of Maps pp. 70-71 & 130-145

15. Political Map

-shows boundaries or borders of countries, state, etc.

16. Physical Map

-shows the earths features

17. Distribution Map

-shows information or where certain amounts of information are located on the earth

-a map which is like a graph

Map Projections pp. 14-17

18. Distortion

-not accurate

19. Projection

-how a round earth is placed on a flat map

-distortion always increases the farther away from the center of the map

20. Mercator Projection

-shows longitude and latitude (direction) well

-distorts true land size

21. Equal-Area Projection

-shows true land size well

-distorts longitude and latitude, most directions can be seen three ways

22. Interrupted Projection

-shows longitude and latitude and true size well

-distorts shape of earth because of large gaps in map

23. Robinson Projection

-attempts to combined Mercator and equal area projection

-most commonly used map

24. Polar Projection

-shows the extreme northern and southern areas of the world well

-distorts longitude and latitude

Climates Around the World pp. 38-42 & 48-49

25. Climate

-long term weather patterns of an area

26. Tropical Climate Zones

-0 to 23 1/2 degrees latitude (equator to tropics)

-hot summers, warm winters

-humid, rain forest, jungles

-low latitudes

27. Temperate Climate Zones

-23 1/2 degrees to 66 1/2 degrees (tropics to arctic/antarctic circles)

-warm summers, cool winters

-changing seasons, average rainfall and temperatures

-middle latitudes

28. Polar Climate Zones

-66 1/2 degrees to 90 degrees (arctic/antarctic circles to poles)

-cool summers, cold winters

-permafrost, tundra

-high latitudes

29. Continental Climate

-influenced by latitude

-the higher the latitude, the colder the overall climate

30. Altitude

-measurement used to determine height of areas on the earth

-average level of the sea is used as a starting point

-both above and below sea level

31. Vertical Climate

-as altitude increases, climate becomes colder

32. Ocean Currents

-movements of water within the ocean

-warm ocean currents originate near the equator

-cold ocean currents originate near the poles

-warm ocean currents have a great affect on climates

-cold ocean currents have little affect on climates

33. Marine Climate

-influenced by ocean currents (latitude is much less important)

-marine climates are cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter

-due to nearness to ocean, precipitation is increased

 

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GEOGRAPHY TOOLS AND CONCEPTS

CHAPTER 3-4 : THE EARTH'S HUMAN AND CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

1. POPULATION

- total number of people in a particular area

- population is not evenly spread through out the world

- population is effected by climate, physical geography, availability of food, etc.

2. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

- the way population is spread out over the earth

- population density is the amount of people in a particular area

3. DENSE

- heavily populated area

4. SPARSE

- little population in an area

5. BIRTHRATE

-number of births each year per 1,000 people

6. DEATH RATE

-number of deaths each year per 1,000 people

7. LIVE EXPECTANCY

- the average number of years people live

- many things add or decrease this rate

- increase: medical care, nutrition, education

- decrease: war, famine

8. GREEN REVOLUTION

- changes in agricultural practices (since the 1950's) which have led to a great

increase in food

- insecticides, fertilizers, better genetics, irrigation

9. HYDROPONICS

- growing crops without the help of soil

- nutrients are added to water and the crop is grown in the water

10. MIGRATION

- movement of people from one area to another

11. IMMIGRATION

-people leaving one country for another

- possible reasons: war, famine, socioeconomic, quality of life, availability of land, availability of work

12. DEMOGRAPHER

- scientists who study and examine the population of the world

- look for reasons as to why people choose certain regions

13. "PUSH-PULL" THEORY

- theory used by demographers stating that people migrate because certain things "push" them to

leave

- possible "pushes": war, famine, changes in government, economic (work, land)

- theory also states that people migrate because certain things "pull" them to leave

- possible pulls: economic, quality of life

14. RURAL AREAS

- small towns or villages in the countryside

15. URBAN AREAS

-large towns and cities

16. URBANIZATION

- migration of people to the urban areas

- urban areas are rapidly increasing in population while rural areas are declining

- can present many problems for both areas

17. CULTURE

- accepted way of life of a group of people

- this includes the way the group acts, thinks, believes and feels

18. CULTURAL TRAITS

- a particular groups accepted way of doing something over a long period of time

- passed on from one generation to the next

19. CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

- any environmental or technological change made by a culture

20. SOCIETIES

- groups of people bound together because of culture

21. CUSTOMS

- social living habits of the group

22. VALUES

- beliefs or ideas which guide a group or a persons life

23. GOVERNMENT

- established form of rule

24. RELIGION

- belief in a super-natural being or beings and how they are worshipped

- explains the unexplainable : the beginning, the end and the law

25. HISTORY

-important people, ideas, events, or other things which have happened in the past of the culture

26. LANGUAGE

- common way of communication of a culture

- spoken, written

27. SOCIOLOGIST

-scientists who study the unique features of different modern cultures

28. ARCHAEOLOGIST

-scientists who study and learn about past cultures

-archaeologists must use many different methods of finding out information about past cultures when there may be no reliable or accurate records available

29. ORAL TRADITIONS

- stories past down by word of mouth from one generation

to the next

- usually a mixture of fact, fiction and myth

30. ARTIFACTS

- objects left behind from cultures long ago

- archaeologists can tell allot about people and their lives by

studying artifacts

- tools, art work, pottery, homes, garbage, etc.

31. PRIMARY SOURCES

- first hand accounts of history

- interviews of people who were there, photographs, written

records

32. SECONDARY SOURCES

- conclusions which must be drawn by studying an artifact

- may or may not be accurate ... secondary conclusions can

change

33. SOCIAL STRUCTURE

- way of organizing a culture into smaller groups

- insures that the all the needs of a culture are met

34. NUCLEAR FAMILY

- mother, father and children

35. EXTENDED FAMILY

-includes several generations of family members or other relatives

36. SOCIAL CLASSES

- the ranking of people within the culture

- different cultures have different ways of ranking people

37. CULTURAL REGION

- an area occupied by people who share one or more cultural traits

38. CULTURAL HEARTH

- a place where important ideas began and from which they spread to other areas

39. CULTURAL DIFFUSION

- a process whereby ideas, innovations and attitudes spread throughout a culture

40. CULTURAL ASSIMILATION

- process whereby immigrants give up or lose some of their unique ethnic traits to better blend into

their newly adopted culture

41. ACCULTURATION

- the process of accepting, borrowing and exchanging ideas

42. GLOBAL VILLAGE

- the working together of the entire world into one culture

- made possible by the increase of technology and transportation

 

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Geography Tools and Concepts

Notes For Review

Lines Show Location on Maps

1. Coordinates-

-pairs of numbers or letters associated with locating places on a map

2. Grids-

-series of lines on a map used to show location

3. Latitude-

-east and west lines on a map

-measures north and south

-0-90 degrees

4. Parallels-

-because lines of latitude do not end and never cross each other they are parallel

-another name for lines of latitude

5. Equator-

-0 degrees latitude

-divides the north and south hemispheres

6. Tropics-

-23 1/2 degrees North (Tropic of Cancer)

-23 1/2 degrees South (Tropic of Capricorn)

-area of farthest direct rays of the sun on the earth

7. Arctic-Antarctic Circles-

-66 1/2 degrees North (Arctic Circle)

-66 1/2 degrees South (Antarctic Circle)

8. North-South Poles-

-90 degrees North and South

- where all lines of longitude meet

-all directions are south from the North Pole and all directions are north from the South Pole

9. Longitude-

-north and south lines on a map

-measure east and west

-0 to 180 degrees

10. Meridians-

-lines of longitude meet at the poles (not parallel)

-another name for lines of longitude

11. Prime Meridian-

-0 degrees longitude

-divides east and west hemispheres

12. International Date Line-

-180 degrees longitude

-divides east and west hemispheres

-where one calendar day ends and other begins

13. Time Zones-

-divisions of the earth each 15 degrees of longitude or one hour apart

-24 standard time zones

-corrected accounting population centers and land areas

The Parts of a Map pp. 18-19

14. Compass Rose-

-shows direction on a map

15. Cardinal Directions-

-north, south, east and west

16. Intermediate Directions-

-northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest

17. Symbols-

-pictures, colors or drawings on a map which represent real locations or features on the earth

18. Key (or Legend)-

-tell what the symbols stand for

19. Scale-

-proportion used on a map to represent real distances

-size of a map in relationship to the real world

Understanding the Earth pp.26-28

20. Orbit-

-the path the earth takes around the sun

21. Revolution-

-the earth traveling from the beginning to end of its orbit (around the sun)

-takes 365 1/4 days to complete (1 year)

22. Axis-

-imaginary line running through the north and south poles of the earth

23. Rotation-

-earth making one complete turn

-24 hours

-side of the earth facing the sun is day : side of the earth away from the sun is night

Earth-Sun Relationships pp. 29-30 & 52-53

25. Seasons-

-because it is round, the direct rays of the sun do not hit the earth evenly

-the earth tilts 23 1/2 degrees

26. Spring-

-March 21 or 22

-direct rays of the sun are on the equator

-daylight and darkness are equal around the world

27. Summer-

-June 21 or 22

-direct rays of the sun are on the Tropic of Cancer

-greater daylight in the northern hemisphere

28. Fall-

-September 22 or 23

-direct rays of the sun are on the equator

-daylight and darkness are equal around the world

29. Winter-

-December 21

-direct rays of the sun are on the Tropic of Capricorn

-greater daylight in the southern hemisphere

Vegetative Regions of the World pp.43-47

30. Vegetation-

-plant life native to an area

31. Topography-

-shape of the earth, form of geography

32. Precipitation-

-any form of moisture which occurs naturally

-rain, snow, sleet, hail, dew

34. Tundra-

-area of permafrost

-small shrubs and bushes, moss and lichens

35. Taiga-

-area of pine forests (conifers : softwood trees)

-cool temperatures

36. Temperate Forests-

-area of hardwood forests (deciduous : hardwood trees)

37. Mountain-

-hardwoods on lower slopes, pines on higher regions, little to no vegetation near summit

-effected by vertical climate

38. Steppe-

-grassland area

-farming and grazing lands

39. Mediterranean-

-rocky soil, small trees and shrubs due to soil and precipitation

-citrus fruits

40. Rain Forest-

-dense jungle region

-receives over 70 inches of precipitation per year

-near equator

41. Sahel-

-area of transition from grassland to desert

-decreased vegetation nearer desert, increased vegetation nearer grassland

42. Desert-

-few plants, most have adapted to dryness

-less than 10 inches of precipitation per year

33. Savanna-

-grassland area

-used mainly for grazing: big game animals

-wet and dry seasons

44. Temperate Grasslands-

-grassland in the temperate climate region

-agricultural area

45. Biomes-

-includes all aspects of geography working together for survival

-vegetation, climate, animal life

 

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