Nature and Perspectives Review AP Human Geography

For today, 05/01 13 days until your AP exam!! You need to begin (if you haven’t already) studying each night. I will discuss several strategies to use when class begins. If you are taking the AP Exam, pick up a packet and a folder.

Regions Areas of the world that are distinguished by one or more characteristics Constantly overlapping Can be both human and physical Gives humans a sense of identity 3 types: formal, functional, vernacular

Formal (Homogenous) Region Common characteristic(s) shared Predominant not universal Texas: Clearly drawn boundaries, government that passes laws, collects taxes, and issues license plates US Corn Belt: corn is most commonly grown crop, but other crops grown as well

Functional (Nodal) Region Organized around a focal point (node) Characteristic dominates at node and diminishes going outward WAKA Channel 8 (Montgomery, AL): broadcasting area is nearly equidistant from transmissions tower Houston Metro: the frequency of lines decreases as distance from downtown increases

Perceptual (Vernacular) Region People believe exists as part of cultural identity The U.S. South: High cotton production? Low graduation rates? Ex-Confederate states? Baptist most prevalent? Last frost in March? Source of pride? Place to avoid?

Location: position occupied on Earth Absolute (Mathematical) Location: Denver, Colorado, USA: 39°42’’52’ N, 104°59’’04’ W Latitude: 0-90 degrees N and S of equator Individual line: parallel Longitude: 0-180 degrees W and E of prime meridian Individual line: meridian Relative Location (Situation) Location of A, relative to B

Important Lines of Latitude Equator: 0 degrees Tropic of Cancer: 23.5 degrees North Tropic of Capricorn: 23.5 degrees South Arctic Circle: 66.5 degrees North Antarctic Circle: 66.5 degrees South

Important lines of Longitude Prime Meridian: 0 degrees (runs through Greenwich, England) International Dateline: 180 degrees Time Zones: every 15 degrees of longitude equals one hour

Time Zones

Cultural Ecology Theories Environmental Determinism: the physical environment causes social development Possibilism: physical environment influences, but humans cause social development

Scale: Large = large details Small = small details

Small-scale Large-scale

Geographic Information System: a collection of computer hardware and software that permits storage and analysis of layers of spatial data.

Space-Time Compression, 1492-1962 The times required to cross the Atlantic, or orbit the earth, illustrate how transport improvements have shrunk the world.

Distance Decay When contact diminishes with increasing distance and eventually disappears.

Thematic Maps Dot Map Cartogram map Chloropleth map Contour or Isoline map Proportional symbol map Flow line http://www.d.umn.edu/geog/cartfolder/HTML%20Pages/Map-Types.htm

World Population Cartogram