1- Elements of Culture

I) Defining Culture
A) culture
a) the shared knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of a specific group
(i) What are some elements of American culture?
b) provides a basis for acceptance in a group
(i) ties us to one group while separating us from another
(ii) includes things like food and shelter, education, wealth, religion, language, etc
B) society
a) a geographic region that shares a common culture
C) ethnic group
a) shares language, customs, and common heritage
b) these can be within another culture, and provide more specific identity
II) Culture Change and Exchange
A) innovation
a) the need to make life easier leads to new techniques and technologies
(i) these can be dependent on location
1 clay pots vs. woven baskets
B) diffusion
a) the spread of ideas from different societies
(i) today this happens quickly because communication is instant
b) cultural hearth
(i) the place where innovation led to basic ideas that spread to other areas
1 Mesopotamia, China, Indus, Egypt
C) acculturation
a) occurs when a society decides to accept an innovation as part of their culture
(i) can be good or bad
1 forced change (like the Holocaust) usually turns out badly
2 accepted change (like vaccines) often turns out well
III) Language
A) Language and Identity
a) sharing language helps people identify with each other
(i) if many languages in a region are spoken, this can lead to conflict
B) Language Families
a) there are an estimated 3000-6500 languages spoken today
(i) these are typically grouped into much larger categories
1 these can be Romance, Slavic, Germanic, etc, or much more general
 Indo-European, Altaic, Austro-Asiatic, etc (pg. 74)
b) many language groups have hundreds of forms based on language diffusion
(i) this was usually caused by trade and migration
IV) Religion
A) fits into three groups
a) monotheism- one God
b) polytheism- many gods
c) animism- aka traditional, belief in divine forces of nature or spirits
V) Major Religions
A) monotheistic
a) Judaism, Christianity, Islam
B) polytheistic
a) Hinduism, Taoism, Shinto, Confucianism
C) animistic
a) Voodoo, Shamanism
VI) Creative Cultural Expressions
A) every culture has their own, many times recognizable, forms of art, dance, music, etc
a) What are we known for?
B) also includes architecture, textiles, literature, etc

pg. 77 (1, 3) R (1-3) H

2- Population Geography

I) Worldwide Population Growth

A) population hit 1 billion in the early 1800s
a) by 1930 it was 2 billion
b) now we’re about 7.4 billion
(i) Why so fast?
1 technology and medicine allow for longer life span, fix infertility, and better
(more fattening) food leads to more frequent and stable pregnancies
B) Birth and Death Rates
a) birthrate is the number of births per thousand in the population
(i) average is 20 per thousand
b) mortality rate (death rate) is the number of deaths per thousand
(i) this includes everyone, so if a country has lots of elderly people then that can
skew the numbers
c) infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants less than one per thousand
births
(i) using this number and the birthrate, we can track natural growth
(ii) this is useful in predicting needs in the future, but does not account for disease or
war changing populations
C) Population Pyramid (pg. 79)
a) a type of graph allowing people to see more easily the ages in a nation for planning
purposes
II) Population Distribution (where people live)
A) people are not evenly distributed around the world
B) Habitable Zones
a) 2/3 of the population lives between 20° N and 60° N
b) centers of population are near water and have easy access to food
C) Urban-Rural Mix
a) since the 1800s, cities have been the place people go for jobs
(i) right now it’s about half the population in cities, half in rural areas
b) in 2010, there were 25 megacities (10 million or more people)
 (i) largest is Tokyo with 35 million
(ii) demand for basic necessities and sanitation goes up in these areas
1 many times this leads to an increase in crime
D) Migration
a) population distribution shifts with large migration due to push-pull factors
b) Push factors
(i) economic or ecological disasters, war, disease, starvation, etc can push people to
seek a better life somewhere else
c) Pull factors
(i) countries with a good economy, high salaries, good climate, available jobs, etc are
likely destinations for those seeking a better life
III) Population Density (how many live in a place- pg. 80)
A) is the average number of people that live in a square mile or square kilometer
a) this number can be skewed if you look at the big picture vs. specific areas
(i) overall density of US is 86.8 per square mile, but in Alaska it is 1.2 psm and New
Jersey 1,180 psm
B) Carrying Capacity
a) refers to how many organisms a piece of land can support
(i) fertile land can support more people than a desert
b) can be affected by technology
(i) improved farming, trade, even high rise architecture
c) complex societies can have specialized jobs without farming (trade), allowing them to
fit more people in a region that doesn’t have very fertile land

pg. 82 (1, 3c) R (1, 3) H

3- Political Geography

I) Nations of the World

A) when defining a place with a people and government, we call that a state
B) a nation is simply the people who live in an area with a common culture
a) it is possible for a nation to not have a territory
C) Types of Government
a) democracy
(i) citizens hold power directly
(ii) democratic-republic
1 citizens elect officials who hold the power and make decisions
b) monarchy
(i) power held by ruling family headed by king or queen
c) dictatorship
(i) autocracy- individual holds complete political power
(ii) oligarchy
1 small group holds complete power
d) socialism
(i) government has control of production and distribution of goods and services in an
attempt at absolute equality- some areas subject to markets
 e) communism
(i) government owns and makes all decisions in the economy, politics, and
determines the distribution of goods, services, and information
II) Geographic Characteristics of Nations
A) Size
a) large nations don’t inherently mean powerful, however large nations have more
potential to be powerful due to naturally having more resources
B) Shape
a) being compact or spread thinly can affect how easily a country can be governed
C) Location
a) landlocked countries must rely on others for access to the sea for trade
b) countries in important sea trade routes can gain immense wealth
c) countries surrounded by enemies are forced to focus most of their energy on security
III) National Boundaries
A) Natural Boundaries
a) based on physical features of land, like mountains, rivers, lakes, etc
(i) Can present problems- what if a river changes course?
B) Artificial Boundaries
a) fixed line based on longitude or latitude
(i) typically defined in treaties between countries
1 changing these lines as a result of war has led to conflict (Middle East)
IV) Regional Political Systems
A) many governments (modeled after the US) split their national level government into
smaller local units to make governing easier
a) the US has national (federal) and state, but further reduces it into county (or parish),
then local (city)
B) some governments have joined with others in open trade and migration laws, like the
European Union
a) until very recently, this allowed for a massive economic boom for participating
nations
C) the largest political unit is the United Nations

pg. 86 (1, 3cd) R (1, 3) H

4- Urban Geography

I) Growth of Urban Areas

A) Urban Areas
a) cities are not just areas with large populations, they also are centers of business and
culture
b) large cities include suburbs
(i) these are political units bordering the city within commuting distance
(ii) many people live in suburban areas and work in urban areas
c) metropolitan areas include the city, its suburbs, and any smaller towns nearby that
don’t directly connect to the city
(i) when several metropolitan areas grow together, we call that a megalopolis
 1 Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC form one
huge megalopolis
B) Urbanization
a) living in cities has become the easiest way to get jobs
(i) because of this, people have been moving from rural areas to cities
1 this is called urbanization
II) City Locations
A) most cities, and all major cities, are located near water
a) cities are able to grow because of trade, and trade is cheapest over water
B) some cities also specialize in certain trade due to the natural resources nearby
a) Pittsburgh is known for the steel industry because of nearby coal mines and iron ore
III) Land Use Patterns
A) all cities follow basic patterns of land use
a) residential- housing and apartments are the primary structures
b) industrial- areas designed for manufacturing
c) commercial- used for private business and retail products
B) large cities have particular areas specially designed for retail and business
a) downtown Dallas
IV) Functions of Cities
A) cities often are the centers of culture in addition to business
a) concerts, farmers markets, etc
B) also usually have mass transit systems in place

pg. 90 (1, 3ac) R (1, 3) H

5- Economic Geography

I) Economic Systems
A) economy includes production and exchange of goods and services
a) this happens locally, regionally, and internationally
B) Types of Systems
a) Traditional (barter)
(i) trade of goods and services without money
b) Command (planned)
(i) production controlled by central government, which usually owns the factories
(ii) does not necessarily reflect demand
c) Market (demand/capitalism)
(i) production determined by demand
d) Mixed
(i) combination of command and market in order to provide the greatest variety of
goods and services
II) Economic Activities
A) a state’s economy typically fits into a category
a) agrarian (agriculture)
(i) most business revolves around growing food or herding animals (simplest)
b) industrial
 (i) most business involves manufacturing goods for sale
c) service
(i) most business involves trade of goods or services without creating
B) Levels of Economic Activity
a) Primary
(i) gather raw materials for immediate use or use in creating a final product
b) Secondary
(i) adding value to raw materials by changing form (like creating cars from metal)
c) Tertiary
(i) provide business or service (sales, teachers, doctors, etc)
d) Quaternary
(i) provide information, management, and research by highly trained professionals
III) Economics of Natural Resources
A) natural resources are any material on or in earth to which we have applied value
a) some resources only became valuable once we had the technology to use them (oil)
B) we divide natural resources into 3 categories
a) renewable
(i) can be replaced through natural means (trees, food)
b) non-renewable
(i) cannot be replaced once used (metals, precious stones, fossil fuels, natural gas)
c) inexhaustible energy sources
(i) unlimited sources of energy (sunlight, geothermal heat, wind)
C) natural resources are a major part of world trade
a) wars have been fought over the control of precious resources
b) most countries have some resources, but not all, leading to increased trade
(i) this has led to global interdependency
IV) Economic Support Systems
A) infrastructure
a) consists of basic systems like power, transportation, water, sanitation, education, etc
(i) probably the easiest to see and trace is transportation systems
1 if a country has very few roads, they can’t move and trade very efficiently
b) the level of technology is a major indicator of a country’s development
(i) a country may have valuable resources, but if they don’t have the systems to take
advantage of them, they lag behind more developed countries
V) Measuring Economic Development
A) GNP and GDP
a) GNP- gross national product
(i) total value of all goods and services produced by a country over a year (or other
specified amount of time)
(ii) this number is especially impacted by the interconnected nature of the world
1 if a country does a job for another country, their work is totaled in the GNP of
the country they’re working for
 called outsourcing
 India working as call services for American companies are included in the
American GNP, not Indian
b) GDP- gross domestic product
 (i) total value of all goods and services produced within a country over a year
(ii) this value is typically considered more accurate in portraying a country’s growth
B) Development Levels
a) less developed nations (called developing countries) have a low GDP, limited
infrastructure, and a simpler economic system
(i) highly developed nations are the exact opposite
1 these countries are fully connected to other developed nations and have
complex systems in place to govern trade
 decisions made about trade in one country can greatly affect other
countries who trade with them
2 around the world are many free-trade zones, where participating countries
don’t impose tariffs on imports from other participating countries
 NAFTA- North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement
 since 1994, Canada, the US, and Mexico have had a free-trade
agreement in place

pg. 95 (1, 3bc) R (1, 3) H