Geography Exam PDF

Geography Exam UNIT 1 : What is Geography? ​ Geography is the study of the earth and its people, landscapes, places, and environment. ​ Geography teaches and reinforces skills such as statistical analysis, map interpretation, and critical thinking that are applicable in almost...

Geography Exam UNIT 1 : What is Geography? ​ Geography is the study of the earth and its people, landscapes, places, and environment. ​ Geography teaches and reinforces skills such as statistical analysis, map interpretation, and critical thinking that are applicable in almost any field. Spatial analysis: the study of measuring and assessing spatial data, featuring locations Physical geography: - the study of physical forces that shape our planet. ​ ​ - main goal is to understand the powerful natural forces that can cause enormous damage and loss of life Human geography: - the study of people, their distribution, cultures, and their way of life - concerned with immigration and the demographic patterns of age distribution Getting to know Canada: ​ Approximate area: 9,984,670 km2 (10 mil km) ​ Approximate population: 37 million ​ Capital city: Ottawa ​ Ontario’s capital: Toronto ​ Largest city: Toronto ​ Largest province: Quebec ​ Smallest province: PEI ​ 10 provinces, 3 territories ​ National symbols: Maple leaf, beaver ​ Toronto: 44N, 79N What is a map? ​ A map is what helps us to study our world and understand relationships between places. Thematic map: shows the distribution of one or more specific data themes to highlight patterns Topographic map: detailed and accurate representation of land, showing shapes using lines to represent elevation. General purpose maps: shows both natural and human made features Large scale maps: show smaller areas in more detail VS Small scale maps: cover large regions, ex. World maps Parts of a map: ​ Title ​ Scale ​ Legend ​ Date of publication ​ Direction ​ border Map of Canada: ​ PROVINCES: ○​ Alberta (capital: Edmonton) ○​ British Columbia (capital: Victoria) ○​ Manitoba (capital: Winnipeg) ○​ New Brunswick (capital: Fredericton) ○​ Nova Scotia (capital: Halifax) ○​ Saskatchewan (capital: Regina) ○​ Quebec (capital: Quebec City) ○​ Ontario (capital: Toronto) ○​ PEI (capital: Charlottetown) ○​ Newfoundland and Labrador (capital: St. John’s) ​ TERRITORIES: ○​ Nunavut (capital: Iqaluit) ○​ Northwest Territories (capital: Yellowknife) ○​ Yukon (capital: Whitehorse) ​ LOCATION IN THE WORLD: ○​ North America ○​ Northern Hemisphere Principles of Latitude and Longitude: ​ LATITUDE: measurement of a location north or south of the Equator. ​ LONGITUDE: measurement of location east or west of the prime meridian ​ EQUATOR: circle of latitude that divides the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres ​ PRIME MERIDIAN: starting point for measuring distance both east and west around the earth ​ NORTH POLE: point in the northern hemisphere where the earth’s axis of rotation meets its surface ​ SOUTH POLE: opposite side of the north pole Pros of tech in mapping: ​ Search box ​ Variable scale (zoom in and out) ​ Street view (virtual tour) Cardinal points: four principal parts of a compass (N,S,E,W) Ordinal points: secondary parts of a compass (NW,SW,NE,SE) Grid systems: ​ Alphanumeric grid: ○​ uses letters and numerals to identify squares in a grid pattern. ○​ often used in road maps ​ Map grid: ○​ grid of blue lines on a topographic map ○​ used to locate any place on a topographic map ​ Latitude & Longitude: ○​ angular measurements, expressed as degrees of a circle. ○​ used for locating places on the surface of the Earth GPS: global positioning device from modern satellite technology that identifies exact locations on earth GIS: geographic information system with revolutionary software that revolutionises the way we make maps and analyse information Geographic thinking: ​ SPATIAL SIGNIFICANCE: requires you to determine the importance of a place or region ​ INTERRELATIONSHIPS: relationships that exist within and between natural and human environments ​ PATTERNS AND TRENDS: arrangements of objects on Earth’s surface in relationship to each other ​ GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE: a way of looking at the world that includes environmental, political and social implications Three types of scale: ​ verbal scale: “one inch to the mile” ​ graphic scale bar: every space represents something ​ representative fraction: 1:24000 UNIT 2 : SPHERES OF THE EARTH: ​ Atmosphere (air): the mixture of gases surrounding the Earth and other planets ​ Hydrosphere (water): the part of the Earth composed by water -​ Including clouds, oceans, seas, ice caps, glaciers, lakes, rivers, underground water supplies, and atmospheric water vapour ★​ Approximately 71% of the Earth is covered in water ○​ 97% of this water is in the oceans (salt water) ○​ 3% is fresh water ​ 77% of freshwater is locked in ice ​ 22% of freshwater is in the ground ​