Geography 1 PDF Study Guide

# Fall Semester Exam Review ## Chapter 1 * Geography: The study of the Earth's physical features, climate, human populations, and how these interact. * Absolute Location: The exact position of a place on Earth, typically given in coordinates of latitude and longitude. * Relative Location: The posi...

# Fall Semester Exam Review ## Chapter 1 * Geography: The study of the Earth's physical features, climate, human populations, and how these interact. * Absolute Location: The exact position of a place on Earth, typically given in coordinates of latitude and longitude. * Relative Location: The position of a place in relation to another place, often described using directions. * Hemisphere: One-half of the Earth, typically divided into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres by the Equator, or the Eastern and Western Hemispheres by the Prime Meridian. * Latitude: Latitude lines run horizontally around the Earth and are parallel to the Equator. * Longitude: Longitude lines run vertically from the North Pole to the South Pole. * Equator: An imaginary line around the middle of the Earth that is equidistant from the North and South Poles. * Prime Meridian: The imaginary line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole. ## Chapter 2 * Hydrosphere: The part of the Earth that consists of water in all its forms, including oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, and groundwater, as well as water vapor in the atmosphere. It covers about 71% of Earth's surface. * Lithosphere: The crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. It is divided into tectonic plates that float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere beneath. * Atmosphere: The layer of gases surrounding the Earth. * Biosphere: The zone of life on Earth, including all living organisms and their interactions with the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. * Continental drift: The theory that Earth's continents were once connected as a single landmass (Pangaea) and have since drifted apart over millions of years due to the movement of tectonic plates. This idea was first proposed by Alfred Wegener in the early 20th century. * Earthquake: A sudden and violent shaking of the Earth's surface, caused by the release of energy from the movement of tectonic plates or volcanic activity. * Richter Scale: A scale used to measure the magnitude of an earthquake based on the amplitude of seismic waves recorded by seismographs. * Tsunami: A series of large ocean waves generated by the sudden displacement of a large amount of water, often caused by an undersea earthquake, volcanic eruption, or underwater landslide.