How Geography Works How to think like a geographer

Vocabulary Spatial- relating to, occupying, or having the character of space Phenomenon- a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen Location- where something is Place- all the things in a location Space- how the things in a place interact distance between places

determining what is there, understanding why it is there, categorizing it with other places, and describing how things appear on the planet. Geography: The art and science of:

So what is the process? Anything you can map has a spatial property and you can describe it with: Areal Distribution Density: how many things are in an area Dispersion: how far apart are the things Diffusion: how things spread Pattern: how things are arranged Notice the mathematical basis for the above. Yes, geographers like to count.

So… Which area has the highest density? Which area has the least density? Which area has the most equidistant dispersion? Figure E Figure D Figure C Figure B Figure A

So… Which area has the highest density? D Which area has the least density? A Which area has the most equidistant dispersion? D Figure E Figure D Figure C Figure B Figure A Can you think of a name for each pattern?

So… Linear Rectangular Triangular Circular Random Note on using words correctly: When describing patterns you could say like a line or linear, or like a circle or circular. Saying the pattern is a line or a circle is incorrect. Sorry, that’s just the way it is. Give some real world examples of these patterns.

So… So how could these patterns diffuse (spread out)?

There are two major categories of diffusion: Expansion & Relocation Go to the Teacher Made PowerPoints for more detail.

Categories: things regarded as having particular shared characteristics Find 3 different ways to categorize the following things in 2-3 groups: Aardvark Alpaca Baseball glove Binder Cat Caramel Chicken nuggets Cockroach Emerald Football Orchid Paper Potato Razor Saw Shawl Shovel Tomato Uniform Vanilla bean Watermelon Fork Frog Glasses Hammer Hose Jack-o-lantern Knife Octopus Opossum Orange tree Orangutan So if you can put these things in in a particular area you can create a region.

Regions: Regions are categories of similar places. macro regions often share the same language religion ethnicity micro regions would share a specialized purpose (delivery area) accents beliefs customs

Some Regions of the World North America Sub- Saharan Africa North Africa Latin America South Asia Middle East Eastern Europe Western Europe Southeast Asia East Asia

Which of these maps cover the most/least area? So how would a geographer describe this? Regions can be based on different characteristics

Scale a : a proportion between two sets of dimensions (as between those of a drawing and its original) b : a distinctive relative size, extent, or degree When do you use different scale maps? Large scale maps cover small areas and give a great amount of detail. Used when you need to find or examine an exact location Small scale maps cover large areas and have little detail Used when you want to find or examine a relative location

Finding distance on a map Find the scale for the map you're going to use - it might be a ruler-looking bar scale or a written scale, in words or numbers. Use a ruler to measure the distance between the two places. If the line is quite curved, use a string to determine the distance and then measure the string. If the scale is a representative fraction (and looks like 1/100,000 or 1:100,000), multiply the distance of the ruler by the denominator, giving distance in the ruler units. If the scale is a word statement (i.e. "One centimeter equals one kilometer") then determine the distance. For a graphic scale, you'll need to measure the graphic and divide the scale into the measured units on the ruler. Convert your units of measurement into the most convenient units for you (i.e. convert 63,360 inches to one mile)

How do geographers use this stuff? Pick any problem facing a group of people.

Determine a question: 1.What needs to be examined to answer the question? 1.What are the categories I’m going to construct? Are they valid? 2.Are the observations I’m making actually part of the cause of the problem? 2.At what scale am I going to examine the problem? Where is this problem? 1. Is it wide ranging or localized? 1.What are the parameters (exact location or study area)? 2. What are things near this area that may help solve the problem? 1.Is this thing still happening? 1.Does it matter when it is being observed?

To answer these questions you have to have some background knowledge. Steps: 1.Categorize a particular phenomenon 2.Determine the study area 3.Try to spot patterns 4.What other things appear in these patterns? 5.What processes are probable causes this distribution? 6.What and how can you test for validity?

Prediction makes it valuable! Name occupations and/or businesses that rely on geography to be successful. Give criteria the different businesses would use.

After this Power Point you should be able to: Explain the difference between place and location (and from years of experience, this is a common problem). Know what geographers are looking for (basically things that you can count). Understand that a thing that humans do is categorize (lump things together), and some categories make sense and others, well, not so much. Be able to come up with the patterns some phenomena commonly appears. If they can be placed in particular areas you can describe this by creating regions. You can map these regions and show these relationships/patterns. Now that you’ve done all this you can make generalizations like, “this is a good place”, or “these things generally are found in this arrangement”. Finally you have something you can actually use. Now if you are looking for a thing you have an idea where to find it, or if you change a particular location this will probably happen”. If you can do this you are thinking like a geographer.