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AP Human Geography Flashcards

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4747076743AcculturationThe process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups, each of which retains distinct culture features.0
4747089252AssimilationThe process by which a group's cultural features are altered to resemble those of another more dominant group.1
4747093381BiosphereAll living organisms on Earth, including plants and animals, as well as microorganisms.2
4747100472CartographyThe science of making maps.3
4747112104ClimateThe long-term average weather condition at a particular location.4
4747123673ConcentrationThe spread of something over a given area.5
4747125932ConservationThe sustainable management of a natural resource.6
4747132190Contagious DiffusionThe rapid, wide-spread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.7
4747140919Cultural EcologyA geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships.8
4747149970Cultural LandscapeAn approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phenomena in a particular study area.9
4747156141CultureThe body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute a group's distinct tradition.10
4747162597DensityThe frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area.11
4747166271DiffusionThe process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time.12
4747169323Distance DecayThe diminished importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.13
4747174612DistributionThe arrangement of something across Earth's surface.14
4747181770EcologyThe scientific study of ecosystems.15
4747188000EcosystemA group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres with which they interact.16
4747195421Environmental DeterminismA nineteenth-and early twentieth-century approach to the study of geography which argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities.17
4747220428Expansion DiffusionThe spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in an additive process.18
4747225801Formal Region (or uniform region)An area in which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics.19
4747231249Functional Region (nodal region)An area organized around a node or focal point.20
4747235783Geographic Information System (GIS)A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.21
4747244911Global Positioning System (GPS)A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers.22
4747251989GlobalizationActions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.23
4752512255Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)The time in the zone encompassing the prime meridian, or 0% longitude.24
4752519045HearthThe region from which innovative ideas originate.25
4752522138Hierarchical DiffusionThe spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places.26
4752528397International Date LineAn arc that for the most part follows 180% longitude, although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas. When the International Date Line is crossed heading east (toward America), the clock moves back 24 hours, or one entire day. When it is crossed heading west (toward Asia), the calendar moves ahead one day.27
4752543283LatitudeThe numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator (0%).28
4752549858LocationThe position of anything on Earth's surface.29
4752551373LongitudeThe numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian (0%).30
4752572718Map ScaleThe relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface.31
4752578275MeridianAn arc drawn on a map between the North and South poles.32
4752581394Nonrenewable ResourceSomething produced in nature more slowly than it is consumed by humans.33
4752583016ParallelA circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians.34
4752586324PatternThe geometric or regular arrangement of something in a particular area.35
4752587955PlaceA specific point on Earth, distinguished by a particular characteristic.36
4752590128PolderLand that the Dutch have created by draining water from an area.37
4752591944PossibilismThe theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.38
4752596935Prime MeridianThe meridian, designated as 0% longitude, that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.39
4752603044ProjectionA system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map.40
4752610506Relocation DiffusionThe spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.41
4752614000Remote SensingThe acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from other long-distance methods.42
4752617800Renewable ResourceSomething produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans.43
4752619621ScaleGenerally, the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole.44
4752991312SiteThe physical character of a place.45
4752993048SituationThe location of a place relative to another place.46
4752995499Space-Time CompressionThe reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place as a result of improved communications and transportation systems.47
4753001106Spatial AssociationThe relationship between the distribution of one feature and the distribution of another feature.48
4753004683Stimulus DiffusionThe spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected.49
4753024230SustainabilityThe use of Earth's renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future.50
4753029122SyncretismThe combining of elements of two groups into a new cultural feature.51
4753034119ToponymThe name given to a portion of Earth's surface.52
4753037445Transnational CorporationA company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters and shareholders are located.53
4753044191Uneven DevelopmentThe increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy.54
4753050393Vernacular RegionAn area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.55

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