Unit 1: Thinking Geographically - AP Human Geography

Key Concepts

• Space: Geometric surface of the Earth, defined by location and distance.
• Activity Space: Area where daily activity occurs.
• Place: Area of bounded space with human importance; identified by a toponym (place-name).
• Regions: Types of places that can include urban areas, workspaces, resource locations, and transportation nodes.
• Attributes: Change over time, influenced by historical layers, culture, society, politics, and economy.

Scale

• Definition: Relationship of an object/place to the Earth.
• Map Scale: Ratio of distance on a map to real-world distance.
• Relative Scale: Level at which things are grouped for examination.
• Range: Local to global scales.

Types of Regions

• Formal Regions: Areas with homogeneous characteristics (e.g., language).
• Functional Regions: Areas with a central node serving a practical purpose.
• Vernacular Regions: Based on perception or mental maps of residents.

Location

• Absolute Location: Defined by coordinates (latitude and longitude).
• Relative Location: Defined by comparison to a known place or feature.

Site and Situation

• Site: Physical characteristics of a place.
• Situation: Interrelatedness with other places.

Distance

• Absolute Distance: Measured in linear units (miles, km).
• Relative Distance: Explained by concepts like distance decay and Tobler's Law.

Spatial Interaction

• Space-Time Compression: Decrease in time and relative distance due to technology.
• Central Places: Nodes of human activity (e.g., economic centers).
• Core and Periphery: Relationships between regional, cultural, economic, and political phenomena.

Patterns

• Cluster: Grouping on Earth's surface.
• Agglomeration: Purposeful clustering.
• Random Pattern: No specific order.
• Linear and Sinuous Patterns: Straight and wavy lines.
• Land Survey Patterns: Affect property lines and boundaries.

Density

• Arithmetic Density: Number of things per square unit.
• Physiologic Density: Number of people per square unit of arable land.
• Agricultural Density: Farmers per square unit of arable land.

Diffusion Patterns

• Expansion Diffusion: Spreads outward in all directions.
• Hierarchical Diffusion: Moves top-down through hierarchy.
• Contagious Diffusion: Moves outward to nearby locations.
• Stimulus Diffusion: Underlying concept leads to new ideas/products.
• Relocation Diffusion: Crosses barriers, then relocates.

Geographic Tools

• Maps: Different types such as topographic, thematic, choropleth, isoline, dot density, flow-line, and cartograms.
• Mental Map: Cognitive representation of a landscape.

Map Scale and Projections

• Large-scale vs. Small-scale Maps: Large-scale covers small areas with high detail; small-scale covers large areas with low detail.
• Projections: Affect accuracy based on area and shape preservation.

Models

• Spatial Models: Show common patterns among landscapes.
• Urban Models, Demographic Transition Models, Gravity Models: Used for analyzing urban relationships, population growth, and spatial analysis.

Geographic Technology

• GIS (Geographic Information Systems): Spatial analysis and mapping.
• GPS (Global Positioning System): Satellite-based location tracking.
• Aerial Photography and Remote Sensing: Images and data from aircraft and satellites.