AP Human Geography Guide

General Overview

• Content includes extensive notes on the 5 Themes of Geography, forms of distortion, thematic maps, climate factors, migration patterns, map projections, economic terms, vocabulary related to geography, and models/theories relevant to human geography.

5 Themes of Geography

• Location: Relative and absolute locations; latitude and longitude.
• Place: Physical and human characteristics.
• Human-Environment Interaction: How humans interact with their environment.
• Movement: Patterns of individuals, goods, ideas; impacts on spatial interactions, accessibility.
• Regions: Areas defined by specific criteria or characteristics.

Physical vs. Human Geography

• Physical: Topography, climate, flora/fauna, soil.
• Human: Culture, population, economic, political, urban agriculture.

Distortion in Maps

• Shape, direction, distance, size can be distorted.
• Thematic maps: isoline, choropleth, graduated symbol, dot map, cartogram.

LACEMOPS - Climate Factors

• Latitude: Affects temperature.
• Air Masses: Influence from polar or tropical regions.
• Continentality: Water moderates climate.
• Elevation: Temperature changes with altitude.
• Mountain Barriers: Moisture and weather patterns.
• Ocean Currents: Affect climate temperature.
• Pressure Cells: Air pressure differences.
• Storms: Interaction of air masses.

Migration Patterns

• Women migrate more within countries; men migrate internationally.
• Migration's main driver is economic.
• Patterns include rural to urban migration.

Map Projections

• Goodes: Minimizes distortion; interrupted.
• Conic: Accurate over small areas.
• Planar: Accurate at center point.
• Mercator: Good for direction, distorts size.
• Robinson: Balanced distortion of shape, size, direction.
• Gall-Peters: Accurate landmass sizes, distorted shapes.
• Fuller: Maintains accurate size and shape.
• Winkel Tripel: Rounded shape, distortion at poles.

Economic Terms

• Differentiation between primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary countries.
• Levels of development: MDCs, NICs, LDCs.

Vocabulary

• Cartography: Mapmaking science.
• Scale: Map detail and coverage.
• Scale of Analysis: Level at which data is observed.
• Distance: Absolute (quantitative) vs Relative (qualitative).
• Clustering/Dispersal: Proximity or spread of objects.

Models and Theories

• Demographic Transition Model: Stages of country's development based on birth/death rates.
• Ravenstein's Laws of Migration: Predictable migration patterns.
• Wallerstein's World Systems Theory: Core, periphery, semi-periphery classifications.
• Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth: Economic progression stages.

Important Concepts

• Cultural Diffusion: Movement of cultural characteristics.
• Sustainability: Balancing conservation with use.
• Environmental Determinism vs Possibilism: Impact of environment on human activities.

Additional Topics

• Language families and distributions.
• Religious practices and their geographical distributions.
• Urban development models and migration patterns.

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of human geography and its various aspects, serving as a useful study aid for understanding the subject's core components.