AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

Ch 1: Thinking Geographically

Terms : Hide Images
30392933Agricultural DensityThe ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture
30392934Arithmetic DensityThe total number of people divided by the total land area
30415410Base LineAn east-west line designated under the Land Ordinance of 1785 to facilitate the surveying and numbering of townships in the United States
30415411CartographyThe science of making maps
30415412ConcentrationThe spread of something over a given area
30415413ConnectionsRelationships amoung peopleand objects across the barrier of space
30415414Contagious DiffusionThe rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population
30415415Cultural EcologyGeographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships
30415416Cultural LandscapeFashioning of a natural landscape by a cultural group
30415417CultureThe body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute a group of people's distinct tradition
30415418DensityThe frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area
30415419DiffusionThe process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time
30415420Distance DecayThe diminishing in importance and eventual disappearence of a phenomnon with increasing distance from its origin
30415421DistributionThe arrangement of something across Earth's surface
30415422Environmental DeterminismA nineteenth- and early twentieth-century approach to the study of geography thast argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the phyisical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the phyisical environment caused human activities
30415423Expansion DiffusionThe spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process
30415424Formal Region(or uniform or homogeneous region) An area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics
30415425Functional Region(or nodal region) An area organized around a node or focal point
30415426Geographic Information System (GIS)A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and display geographic data
30415427Global Positioning System (GPS)A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and recievers
30415428GlobalizationActions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope
30415429Greenwich Mean TimeThe time in that time zone ecompassing the Prime Meridian, or 0 degrees longitude
30415430HearthThe region from which innovative ideas originate
30415431Heirarchical DiffusionThe spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places
30415432International Date LineAn arc that for the most part follows 180° longitude, although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas. When you cross the International Date Line heading east (toward America), the clock moves back 24 hours, or one entire day. When you go west (toward Asia), the calendar moves ahead one day.
30415433Land Ordinance of 1785A law that divided much of the United States into a system of townships to facilitate the sale of land to settlers
30415434LatitudeThe numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator
30415435LocationThe position of anything on Earth's surface
30415436LongitudeThe numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian (0°).
30415437MapA two-dimensional, or flat, representation of Earth's surface or a portion of it
30415438Mental MapAn internal representation of a portion of Earth's surface based on what an individual knows about a place, containing personal impressions of what is in a place and where places are located.
30415439MeridianAn arc drawn on a map between the North and South poles.
30415440ParallelA circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians.
30415441PatternThe geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area.
30415442Physiological DensityThe number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture
30417970PlaceA specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.
30417971PolderLand created by the Dutch by draining water from an area.
30417972PossibilismThe 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.
30417973Prime MeridianThe meridian, designated at 0° longitude, which passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.
30417974Principal MeridianA north-south line designated in the Land Ordinance of 1785 to facilitate the surveying and numbering of townships in the United States.
30417975ProjectionThe system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map.
30417976RegionAn area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features.
30417977Regional StudiesAn approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phemona in a particular area study (cultural landscape)
30417978Relocation DiffusionThe spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.
30417979Remote SensingThe acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.
30417980ResourceA substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use.
30417981ScaleGenerally, the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole, specifically the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface.
30417982SectionA square normally 1 mile on a side. The Land Ordinance of 1785 divided townships in the United States into 36 sections.
30417983SiteThe physical character of a place
30417984SituationThe location of a place relative to other places.
30417985SpaceThe physical gap or interval between two objects.
30417986Space-Time CompressionThe reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems
30417987Stimulus DiffusionThe spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected.
30417988ToponymThe name given to a portion of Earth's surface.
30417989TownshipA square normally 6 miles on a side. The Land Ordinance of 1785 divided much of the United States into a series of townships.
30417990Transnational CorporationA company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located.
30417991Uneven DevelopmentThe increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy.
30417992Vernacular RegionAn area that people believe to exsist as part of their cultural identity (perceptual region)

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!