Contemporary Human Geography Study Guide Chapter 1 PDF

Mackenzie Erickson Study Guide – Contemporary Human Geography – Chapter 1 Use the following as a study guide for the textbook. While they will also provide a good study guide for your unit tests, keep in mind that they are not an exhaustive list of questions, and that your unit tests will also incl...

Mackenzie Erickson Study Guide – Contemporary Human Geography – Chapter 1 Use the following as a study guide for the textbook. While they will also provide a good study guide for your unit tests, keep in mind that they are not an exhaustive list of questions, and that your unit tests will also include questions from our lectures, videos and exercises. It is very important that you employ regular, daily study sessions if you want to be successful in this course. You should write out the answers to these questions for best results; merely highlighting them in your text will not ensure that the answers are committed to your long term memory. Chapter 1 – This is Geography 1.1 1.​ In what one important way do geography and history differ? a.​ Geography is distinctive because it encompasses both social science and natural science. b.​ The capabilities of historians and geographers differ in one especially important aspect: A geographer can take a plane or car to another place on Earth, but a historian cannot travel back to another time in the past. The ability to reach other places lends excitement to the discipline of geography. 2.​ Describe the two basic concepts Geographers use to explain the uniqueness of places. a.​ A PLACE: is a specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic. Every place occupies a unique location, or position, on Earth’s surface. b.​ A REGION: is an area of Earth denied by one or more distinctive characteristics. 3.​ Describe the three basic concepts Geographers use to explain how places are interrelated. a.​ SCALE: istherelationshipbetweentheportionofEarth being studied and Earth as a whole. Geographers are increasingly concerned with the global scale. b.​ SPACE: refers to the physical gap, or interval, between two objects. Geographers observe that many objects are distributed across space in a regular manner and for discernible reasons. c.​ CONNECTION: refers to relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space. Geographers are concerned with the various means by which connections occur and are especially interested in connections between human activities and the physical environment. 1.2 4.​ Who was the first to suggest the earth was a sphere and who proved this with evidence? a.​ First to suggest Earth was a sphere: Pythagoras b.​ Proved this with evidence: Aristotle 5.​ Who was the person to codify the basic principles of map making?  a.​ Ptolemy 6.​ How did map making change during the age of exploration and discovery? a.​ In Europe, making maps as reference tools revived during the Age of Exploration and Discovery. b.​ Columbus, Magellan, and other explorers who sailed across the oceans in search of trade routes and resources in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries required accurate maps to reach desired destinations without wrecking their ships c.​ Cartographers used information collected by the explorers to create more exact maps. 7.​ Who was the first to suggest that the continents were once all joined together? a.​ Alfred Wegener 1.3 8.​ What does GIS stand for? a.​ Geographic Information Science 9.​ What is remote sensing? a.​ The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other long-distance methods is remote sensing. 10.​What is GPS and geotagging? a.​ GPS: Global Positioning System b.​ Geotagging: The locations to which we venture using mapping applications, as well as the photos we take with our electronic devices, are recorded through geotagging, which is identification and storage of a piece of information by its precise latitude and longitude coordinates 11.​What is a mental map? a.​ A useful way to identify a perceptual region is to get a description of the region from the people living in it and to draw a mental map, which is based on a person’s impressions of what is in the place. 12.​What is participatory GIS? Give an example of your own use of this technology. a.​ Participatory GIS (PGIS), is community-based mapping. Citizen science and PGIS collect and disseminate local knowledge and information through electronic devices. 1.4 13.​What is map scale? What 3 ways can it be expressed? Which appear on a map? a.​ Map Scale: The level of detail and the amount of area covered on a map depend on its map scale, which is the relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its actual size on Earth. b.​ 3 Ways it can be expressed: i.​ RATIO: A ratio or fraction shows a numerical relationship between distances on the map and Earth’s surface. ii.​ WRITTEN: A written scale describes the relationship between map and Earth distances in words. iii.​ GRAPHIC: A graphic scale usually consists of a bar line on a map to represent distance on Earth’s surface. c.​ All 3 show up on a map 14.​What is a projection? What four types of distortion can result from projections? a.​ Projection: The scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat. b.​ 4 types of distortion: i.​ SHAPE: of an area can appear more elongated or squat than in reality ii.​ DISTANCE: between two points may become increased or decreased.  iii.​ RELATIVE SIZE: of different areas may be altered, so that one area may appear larger than another on a map but is in reality smaller. iv.​ DIRECTION: from one place to another can be askew 15.​What distortion is evident on the Mercator projection? Gall-Peters? a.​ MECATOR: Mercator projection has little distortion of shape but distorts size. In a Mercator projection, areas near the poles appear much larger than they actually are. b.​ GALL-PETERS: This projection distorts shape but not size 1.5 16.​What is the grid system of Latitude and Longitude used for? What are parallels and meridians? a.​ The grid system of latitude and longitude is used to tell time as the grid helps determine time zones. b.​ PARALLEL: is a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians. The numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel is called latitude c.​ MERIDIAN: is an arc drawn between the North and South poles. The location of each meridian is identified on Earth’s surface according to a numbering system known as longitude. 17.​What are the reference points (i.e. 0 degrees) for both latitude and longitude? a.​ LATITUDE: parallel to the equator b.​ LONGITUDE: arc between the North and South Poles i.​ Longitude is the basis for calculating time. Earth as a sphere is divided into 360° of longitude (the degrees from 0° to 180° west longitude plus the degrees from 0° to 180° east longitude). 18.​What is the basis for calculating time? a.​ Longitude 19.​What is UTC and GMT? a.​ UTC: Coordinated Universal Time b.​ GMT: Greenwich Mean Time 20.​Each time zone is how many degrees of longitude? a.​ UTC: b.​ GTM: 21.​What is the international date line? a.​ The International Date Line is an arc that for the most part follows 180° longitude, although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas. i.​ when crossed heading east you lose an entire day (behind by 1 day) ii.​ when crossed heading west you gain an entire day (ahead by 1 day) 22.​What is necessary to measure longitude accurately? a.​ Scale & projection 1.6 23.​What is a toponym? a.​ TOPONYME: is the name given to a place on Earth. A place may be named for a person, perhaps its founder or a famous person with no connection to the community, such as George Washington 24.​Distinguish between site and situation. a.​ SITE: site characteristics include climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation. The combination of physical features gives each place a distinctive character.  b.​ SITUATION: Situation is a valuable way to indicate location. Situation helps us find an unfamiliar place by comparing its location with a familiar one. Situation helps us understand the importance of a location. Many places are important because they are accessible to other places. 1.7 25.​What kinds of features make up the cultural landscape? a.​ A region gains uniqueness from the cultural landscape, which is a combination of cultural features such as language and religion, economic features such as agriculture and industry, and physical features such as climate and vegetation, possessing not a single human or environmental characteristic but a combination of them. 26.​What are formal, functional and vernacular regions? a.​ FORMAL: A formal region, also called a uniform region, is an area within which most people share one or more distinctive characteristics i.​ ex) language b.​ FUNCTIONAL: The feature chosen to define a functional region dominates at a central focus or node and diminishes in importance outward. The region is tied to the central point by transportation or communications systems or by economic associations. c.​ VERNACULAR: Vernacular regions emerge from people’s informal sense of place rather than from strictly physical features. 1.8 27.​Who has led the globalization of the global economy? What are these corporations? a.​ Globalization of the economy has been led primarily by transnational corporations, sometimes called multinational corporations b.​ A transnational corporation conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters and principal shareholders are located. 28.​What kinds of features distinguish the developed from the developing regions of the world? a.​ Various shared features— such as per capita income, level of education, and life expectancy—distinguish developed regions and developing regions. Possession of wealth and material goods is higher in developed countries. 29.​Why are local cultural beliefs threatened with extinction? a.​ Fast-food restaurants, service stations, and retail chains deliberately create a visual appearance that varies among locations as little as possible. That way, customers know what to expect, regardless of where in the world they happen to be. b.​ As more people become aware of elements of global culture and aspire to possess them, local cultural beliefs, forms, and traits are threatened with extinction. c.​ interacting with social norms (nike shoes, eating Mcdonalds or having an Iphone takes away from cultural beliefs. 30.​How might better communications actually preserve cultural diversity? a.​ The communications revolution that promotes globalization of culture also permits preservation of cultural diversity. b.​ TV, for example, was once limited to a handful of channels displaying one set of cultural values. With the distribution of programming through cable, satellite, the internet, and streaming services, people now can choose from an infinite number of programs in many languages. With the globalization of communications, people in two distant places can watch the same TV program. 31.​What is spatial association? Give an example. a.​ SPATIAL ASSOCIATION: occurs within a region if the distribution of one feature is related to the distribution of another feature  b.​ An example of spatial association is the relationship between poverty rates and access to healthcare facilities in a city. If areas with higher poverty levels also have fewer hospitals and clinics, there is a strong spatial association between these two factors. c.​ Another example is the distribution of fast-food restaurants and obesity rates—if neighborhoods with a high density of fast-food chains also report higher obesity rates. 1.9 32.​What is distribution? Summarize its four components, or properties. a.​ DISTRIBUTION: Geographers explain how features such as buildings and communities are arranged across Earth. On Earth as a whole or within an area of Earth, features may be numerous or scarce, close together or far apart. The arrangement of a feature in space is known as its distribution b.​ 1-DENSITY: the frequency with which something occurs in space. The features being measured could be people, houses, cars, trees, or anything else. The area could be measured in square kilometers, square miles, hectares, acres, or any other unit of area. c.​ 2-CONCENTRATION: The extent of a feature’s spread over space. If the objects in an area are close together, they are clustered; if relatively far apart, they are dispersed. To compare the level of concentration most clearly, two areas need to have the same number of objects and the same size area. d.​ 3-PATTERN: the geometric arrangement of objects in space. Some features are organized in a geometric pattern, whereas others are distributed irregularly. Geographers observe that many objects form a linear distribution e.​ 4-: 1.10 33.​True or false, the UN has found several countries in the world where women’s average income exceeds that of the average man. a.​ FALSE i.​ “The United Nations has not found a single country in the world where the average income earned by women exceeds that earned by men” 34.​Why might geography matter even more in a world where communication between places is easier than ever before? a.​ due to unequal access geography matters in this sense as not everyone has access to the media. 35.​What has happened to levels of wealth around the world, particularly between the core and the periphery? a.​ Surrounding the core are developing countries on the periphery with limited access to the world centers of consumption, communications, wealth, and power, which are clustered in the core. The increasing gap in economic conditions between regions in the core and periphery that results from the globalization of the economy is known as uneven development. 1.11 36.​What is expansive diffusion? Describe its three components. a.​ EXPANSION DIFFUSION: The spread of an innovation from one place to another in an additive process b.​ 1-HIERARCHICAL DIFFUSION: the spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places. c.​ 2-CONTAGIOUS DIFFUSION: the rapid, widespread diffusion of an idea throughout a population.  d.​ 3-STIMULUS DIFFUSION: the spread of an innovation but with only the underlying principles of it intact 37.​What is relocation diffusion? Give a Canadian example. a.​ RELOCATION DIFFUSION: The spread of an innovation through the physical movement of people from one place to another i.​ ex) A Canadian example of relocation diffusion is the spread of Sikhism to Canada through immigration. 38.​What are the results of the connections between cultural groups? a.​ Assimilation, acculturation, syncretism i.​ the process by which a group’s cultural features are altered to resemble those of another group ii.​ the process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups iii.​ the combination of elements of two groups into a new cultural feature 39.​What are networks, distance decay and space-time compression? a.​ NETWORKS: a chain of communication that interconnects people, things, and places b.​ DISTANCE: space between point A and B c.​ DECAY: The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon d.​ SPACE-TIME COMPRESSION: the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place 40.​Should you leave your cell phone location service on or off? a.​ off because its an interrupting signal 1.12 41.​What is sustainability? Describe its three pillars. a.​ SUSTAINABILITY: the use of Earth’s resources in ways that ensure their availability in the future. i.​ ENVIRONMENTAL PILLAR: The sustainable use and management of Earth’s natural resources to meet human needs such as food, medicine, and recreation is conservation ii.​ SOCIAL PILLAR: Humans need shelter, food, and clothing to survive, so they make use of resources to meet these needs. Consumer choices can support sustainability when people embrace sustainability as a value iii.​ ECONOMIC PILLAR: Natural resources acquire a monetary value through exchange in a marketplace. 42.​Distinguish between biotic and abiotic. a.​ BIOTIC: composed of living organisms i.​ biosphere 1.​ plants, animals, microorganisms etc. b.​ ABIOTIC: composed of nonliving or inorganic matter. i.​ atmosphere ii.​ hydrosphere iii.​ lithosphere 43.​Distinguish between the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and lithosphere. a.​ Atmosphere i.​ thin layer of gases surrounding Earth b.​ Hydrosphere i.​ water on and near Earth’s surface c.​ Lithosphere i.​ Earth’s crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust  44.​What is the biosphere? a.​ BIOSPHERE: comprises all living organisms on Earth, including plants and animals, as well as microorganisms 45.​Distinguish between ecosystems and ecology. a.​ A group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres with which they interact is an ecosystem. The scientific study of ecosystems is ecology. 1.13 46.​What is the difference between environmental determinism and possibilism? a.​ DETERMINISM: Nineteenth-century geographers argued that the physical environment caused social development, an approach called environmental determinism b.​ POSSIBILISM: According to possibilism, the physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment. 47.​What is the biggest challenge posed to the sustainability of California’s ecosystem? a.​ rising sea levels Review, Analyze and Apply -​ Review and familiarize yourself with the Key terms for the chapter.