AP Human Geography: Introduction to Maps and Projections

Overview of the World

• Urban areas are widespread globally.
• Population dynamics, culture, languages, and religion continuously evolve.
• Climate change and globalization impact economies, governments, and daily life.

Introduction to AP Human Geography

• Focus on understanding world dynamics through maps and geography.

Understanding Maps

Globes vs. Map Projections

• Globes: Not practical for daily use as they don't show detailed boundaries or directions.
• Map Projection: A method to represent the globe on a flat surface.

Mercator Map Projection

• Features: Right angles, focus on longitude and latitude.
• Uses: Great for showing accurate directions (commonly used for naval navigation).
• Distortion: Significant distortion in the size and location of landmasses (e.g., Africa vs. Greenland).

Other Map Projections

• Good Homolosine Projection: Equal-area projection; accurate size and shape but poor for distance and direction.
• Fuller Projection: Accurate size and shape; lacks cardinal directions.
• Robinson Projection: Minimizes distortion, especially at poles.
• Winkle Triple Projection: Similar to Robinson, rounder shape.
• Gall-Peters Projection: Accurate landmass size; distorts shape and direction.

Importance of Distortion

• Every map projection has some form of distortion affecting direction, shape, area, or distance.

Categories of Maps

Reference Maps

• Purpose: Informational, used for boundaries, geographic features, directions.
• Absolute vs. Relative:
  • Absolute Direction: Exact (e.g., East is 90 degrees on a compass).
  • Relative Direction: Contextual (e.g., "north of you").
  • Absolute Location: Exact spot (e.g., GPS coordinates).
  • Relative Location: Descriptive (e.g., "near the water tower").

Thematic Maps

• Display spatial patterns using quantitative data.
• Types of Thematic Maps:
  • Choropleth Maps: Use colors for data representation; generalized.
  • Dot Density Maps: Use dots for spatial distribution; can be clustered.
  • Graduated Symbol Maps: Use symbols or shapes to indicate data locations; visually impactful but complex.
  • Isoline Maps: Use lines for similar data areas; often weather maps.
  • Cartogram Maps: Dynamic representation based on data size; visual but distorted.
  • Flow Line Maps: Show movement of goods, services, ideas; size and color of arrows indicate data.

Conclusion

• Understanding different map types and projections is crucial for analyzing geographic information.
• Encouraged to use additional resources like the Ultimate Review Packet for thorough study.

Study Tips

• Review differences between map types and their uses.
• Familiarize with examples and applications of both reference and thematic maps.
• Practice distinguishing between absolute and relative terms in geography.
• Engage with interactive resources for better retention of map projections and their characteristics.