AP Human Geography

Unit 1 Study Guide

Use this study guide as a manual for your study process.

Point Value __________________________________________________________________________
36 points
Format_______________________________________________________________________________
30 Objective questions: multiple choice (20 minutes)
1 Free Response question (25 minutes)
Topic Guide__________________________________________________________________________
Cartography and the Geographers Toolkit
o Types of Maps
Reference
Thematic
o Purpose of Maps
Map pattern Analysis
Location Allocation Analysis
Spatial Imbalance
o Mental mapping
Based on perception of natural world
All mental maps have distortion based on individuals perceptions and biases
People tend to have biases and favor the places that they come from (think Illinois in our
which state do you want to live in activity)
o Principles and Themes of Geography
Location
Orientation
o Cardinal directions do not change despite changes in orientation
Absolute Location
o Latitude
Run north and south parallel to the equator (0) up to 90
o Longitude
Run east and west of the prime meridian (0) to the International
Date Line (180)
Relative Location
Place
All places are connected to some degree with other places, though modern
processes like globalization have heightened the speed and degree of these
connections
Places exist at different scales
o Know the difference between small and large scale maps
Movement
Diffusion
o Spatial Interaction
Based on distance (decay), accessibility, and connectivity
o Types of diffusion
Expansion diffusion
Contagious

 Hierarchical
Stimulus
Relocation Diffusion
Human Environmental Interaction
The ways in which humans manipulate, alter, and explain their environment
Region
All areas can be grouped into areas based on a variety of qualities
Formal region
o Bounded by common physical or cultural characteristics
Functional region
o Bounded by common activity or action
Perceptual or vernacular regions
o i.e. Southside of Chicago, the Midwest
Human-Environmental Impact
o Resource management and areas of environmental stress
Water conservation in the Middle East and Central Asia
Effects of deforestation
Air, Ground, and Water Pollution
Global Warming Threats and Agreements
The Cultural Landscape
o Culture is composed of cultural traits (individual aspects of culture) and cultural complexes (the
collection of several cultural traits)
o The cultural landscape is the blending of human activity with the natural environment creating a
unique sense of place.
o The cultural landscape has changed over time and conveys information about all previous
inhabitants.
o Sequent occupance
The notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place. Each
contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape.
Geographic Perspectives
o 4 General Traditions (Refer to W.D. Pattison outline)
An earth-science tradition
Focus on natural and physical geography
Important Founder: Aristotle
A man-land tradition
Focus on the relationships between human societies and natural environment
Important Founder: Hippocrates
A spatial tradition
Focus on location
Important Founder: Ptolemy
An area-studies tradition
Focus on the study on how humans create regions of distinct activity, function,
and behavior
Important Founder: Strabo
o Changes to the Geographic Perspective Over Time
Environmental Determinism
Provided the basis for explaining geographic differences for much of human
history.
Posits that physical characteristics of the environment create different types of
behavior and determine destiny.
Fallen out of favor due to the fact that it overly ascribes stereotypical behaviors
to groups of people based on their physical environment and that it is highly
western-centric.
Possibilism
Emerged as a critique of ED in the early twentieth century.
Posits that physical characteristics of the environment limit the potential for
certain types of human development.
Cultural Ecology

Stems from possibilism and emerged in the mid-twentieth century

Posits that humans develop culture as an adaptive tool for their physical
environment and therefore culture both reflects and transcends the natural
environment and its barriers
This theory acknowledges that humans are not just passive actors on the planet,
but that they are capable of manipulating and shaping the world, as well.
Political Ecology
Stems from possibilism and emerged in the mid-twentieth century
Posits that the physical environment is reflective of political, economic and social
forces that spread across cultures through contact.
This theory acknowledges that that places do not exist in isolation and are
influenced by other places.
Suggestions for studying_______________________________________________________________
Start now
Look over old notes
Form a study group! You can work with anyone from this class and study together. Choose a
comfortable meeting spot and DIVIDE and CONQUER the information. Quiz each other, make outlines,
make flashcards, check IDs.