Unit 1 Vocabulary

the exact direction a person is heading

the exact distance between 2 places or objects

the exact location of an object, usually expressed in coordinates of longitude and latitude

Can see polar areas with less projection

Advantage: true distance        

Disadvantage: only see part of Earth at 1 time

Show relative size of an area based on a particular attribute

and official count of the number of people in a defined area, such as a state

Uses colors or shading to represent categories of data

close together

spread out

the farther away one thing is from another, the less interaction the two things will have

dots are used to show location of specific observations or events.

Human behavior is largely controlled by the physical environment.

COMPLETELY determines your culture

a movement of people, goods, or information that has economic, social political, or cultural effects on societies

defined boundaries and NOT up for debate

• countries boarders

• states/provinces

• culture/languages

An area organized by its function around a focal point (node)

pizza delivery area, water tower, cell phone coverage

type of region that reflects people's feelings about a place, up for debate

a computer system that can collect, analyze, and display geographic data

a network of satellites that are used to determine the location of something on the Earth’s surface

Avoids shape distortion and the restrictions of a rectangular map

Creates “interruptions”

Advantages: shape & size

Disadvantages: distance

Differently sized symbols are used to represent quantitative data

intersecting lines of latitude and longitude, typically used to describe road layout

the study of the processes that have shaped how humans understand, use, and alter Earth

Lines connect data points of the same value. Isoline maps are used to show particular characteristics of an area.

homes are clustered in a line, typically along a road or a river

Advantage: Direction

Disadvantage: land size (especially near the poles)

Purpose: for navigation across the ocean

*Massive Greenland, Massive Antarctica

Advantage: relative size/area

Disadvantage: shape (stretched and squished)

Wanted to correct Mercator’s mistakes

a location on Earth that is distinguished by its physical and human characteristics; a unique location

The environment places some limitations on human activity, but societies have a range of options on how to live in said environment.

SOMEWHAT determines your culture

information that is often in word form, and is up for interpretation, debate, and discussion

information that is in number form, and is objective and not up for debate

an informational map that shows boundaries, names of places, and geographic features of an area

an area of Earth's surface with certain characteristics that make it cohesive yet distinct from other areas

the direction given in relation to another object’s current location

Pier 39 is located to the left of Chinatown

the approximate measurement between 2 places

ex: The distance from Miami to Orlando is around 200 miles

a description of where a place is in relation to other places or features

ex: 50 miles west of Miami, Florida

a process of collecting information about the Earth’s surface from satellites orbiting the earth

Advantage: since all distortions are present, none of them are too bad

Disadvantage: all 4 distortions are present, so nothing is correct

Used in schools, because it is easiest on the eyes 

observation of data at the global, regional, national, or local

its physical characteristics, such as landforms, climate, and resources

location of a place in relation to other places or its surrounding features

the process of analyzing patterns and relationships within an area or geographic data

a map that displays spatial patterns of places and uses quantitative data to display specific topics

the reduction of time it takes for something or someone to get from one place to another

 LARGE amount of DETAIL

ex: maps of your school, local town/city, a county

 SMALL amount of DETAIL

ex: maps of the world, continents, large states