BELLRINGER VOCABULARY: Geography- Landforms- Environment- Global Positioning System (GPS)- Geographic information systems (GIS)- Artifacts-

Chapter One: Looking at the Earth Section One: Thinking like a Geographer I. A Geographer’s View of Place A.Geography is the study of land as well as water, plants, animals, and people. B.Geographers study the physical and human characteristics of places.

C. Landforms are individual features of the land, such as mountains and valleys. D. Geographers study how people interact with their natural surroundings, or their environment. E. Regions are large or relatively small areas that share common cultural characteristics or similar physical environments.

II. The Tools of Geography A. Among the tools that geographers use are maps, globes, Landsat and radar images, GPS, and GIS.

B. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a group of satellites traveling around the earth. A GPS receiver placed at a particular location on the earth receives signals from these satellites. The satellites can tell the exact latitude and longitude of the receiver’s location.

C. Geographic information systems (GIS) is special computer software used in making maps. Geographers input various kinds of data about a specific place into GIS. The computer can then combine and overlap this information to make a map or to change the focus of the map.

III. Uses of Geography A. Geographic information is used by government leaders and businesspeople to plan services and business expansions or relocations. B. The availability of geographic information helps people get to specific locations when traveling and to make sound decisions. C. Geography may be used to help manage resources.

Point of Interest How can the study of geography be used to manage natural resources?

IV. Clues to Our Past A. Historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists try to understand early times. B. Historians rely mostly on written records to learn about the past.

Point of Interest Why do you think it is important to study the past? What can past tell us about our future?

C. To learn about prehistoric times, scientists study artifacts - such as tools, pottery, and weapons - and fossils - such as human remains.

Review 1.What is the difference between GPS and GIS? 2. How is prehistory different from history?