1. Nature and Perspectives Review
AP Human Geography

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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?

7. 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: degrees W and E of prime meridian
Individual line: meridian
Relative Location (Situation)
Location of A, relative to B

8. 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

9. 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

11. Time Zones

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

13. Scale: Large = large details Small = small details

14. Small-scale
Large-scale

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

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

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

18. Thematic Maps Dot Map Cartogram map Chloropleth map
Contour or Isoline map
Proportional symbol map
Flow line

19. World Population Cartogram