Objective: Students will be able to understand the contemporary tools of geography.

Do Now: Use the basic tools of a geographer that you learned about above to explain the where and why of the
Bahamas.
Place

Region

Scale
Local Scale –

Global Scale -
Space Harbor Island is most renowned for its beautiful Pink Sand Beach, located along its eastern Atlantic
Ocean side. It almost seems endless, stretching for some three plus miles, and it is 50 to 100 feet wide.
Considered one of the very best beaches in The Islands of The Bahamas, it was featured in The Travel
Channel's World's Best Beaches segment in March 2005 and named 'Best Sand Beach'. It was one of 10
beaches worldwide to be included in the program.

The almost indescribable pale pink color of the sand comes from microscopic coral insects, known as
Foraminifera, which have a bright pink or red shell full of holes through which it extends pseudopodia,
footings that it uses to attach itself and feed.
The space occupied by the Bahamas has distinctive what distinct feature?

Connection Connections between the Bahamas and other places are provided by

Content Vocabulary
Global Positioning System Geographic Information
GI- Science Remote Sensing
(GPS) System (GIS)
Volunteered Geographic
Citizen Science Participatory GIS (PGIS) Mashup
Information (VGI)
Ground Truthing Mental Map

Mini – Lesson: Close Reading – Contemporary Mapping Tools

Contemporary Mapping
Maps are used by geographers primarily for displaying geographic information and for offering geographic
explanation. Maps are the geographer’s most essential tool. Maps are not just paper documents in textbooks. They
have become an essential tool for contemporary delivery of online services through smart phones, tablets, and
computers.

Pinpointing Location:
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) uses satellites to reference locations on the ground. GPS is most
commonly used for navigation. Pilots of aircraft and ships stay on course with GPS. On land, GPS detects a vehicle’s
current position, the motorist programs the desired destination into a GPS device, and the device provides
instructions on how to reach the destination. GPS on cellphones and computers can also be used to find the precise
location of a vehicle or person. Geographers find GPS to be particularly useful in coding the precise location of
objects collected in fieldwork. The GPS in use in the United States includes three elements:
 Satellites placed in predetermined orbits by the U.S. military (24 in operation and 3 in reserve).
 Tracking stations to monitor and control the satellites.
 A receiver that can locate at least 4 satellites, figure out the distance to each, and use this information to
pinpoint its own location.
1. Complete the following regarding a Global Positioning System:
Elements/Components Uses/Implementation

The locations of all the information we gather and photos we take with our electronic devices are recorded through
geotagging, which is identification and storage of a piece of information by its precise latitude and longitude
coordinates. Geotagging has led to concerns about privacy.

Analyzing Data: GI-Science and Geographic Information System

(GI-Science) is the examination of data relating to Earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information
technologies. A geographic information system (GIS) is a complex computer system which stores and presents
geographically referenced data. GIS is more efficient than pen and ink for making a map: Objects can be added or
removed, colors brightened or toned town, and mistakes corrected without having to tear up the paper and start from
scratch. Each type of information can be stored in a layer. Separate layers could be created for boundaries of
countries, bodies of water, roads, and names of places. Most maps combine several layers and GIS maps permits
construction of much more complex maps than can be drawn by hand.

2. Geographers use GIS (Geographic Information System) to store “layers” of data. Give four examples of types of
data stored in a single layer.

The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from airplanes is known as remote
sensing. At any moment a satellite sensor records the image of a tiny area called a picture element, or pixel. A map
created by remote sensing is essentially a grid that contains many rows of pixels. Geographers use remote sensing to
map the changing distribution of a wide variety of features, such as agriculture, drought, and sprawl.
3. Define remote sensing:

4. List several things that geographers can map using remotely sensed data.
 Collecting and Sharing Data:
VGI Electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets, and computers are ubiquitous parts of culture the world over
today. These electronic devices allow individuals to produce maps and share them with others. Volunteered
geographic information (VGI) is the creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily and for
free by individuals utilizing these electronic devices. VGI is part of the wider trends of citizen science, which is
scientific research conducted by amateur scientists, and participatory GIS (PGIS), which is community-based
mapping.

The term mashup refers to the practice of overlaying data from one source on top of one of the mapping services.
Computer users have the ability to do their own GIS because mapping services provide access to the application
programming interface, which is the language that links a database such as an address list with software such as
mapping. A mashup map can show the locations of businesses and activities within a neighborhood in a city. The
requested information could be all pizza parlors within a mile of a certain address. Mapping software can also show
the precise locations of gas stations with the lowest prices or current traffic tie-ups on highways.

5. State a question you have about the area where you live. Describe a mashup that you could create using GIS that
would answer your question.

Medial Summary: Answer the following questions based on your class notes and your knowledge of human
geography.

 What is the difference between GIS and GPS?

 Make a list of programs you use that utilize GIS and GPS data. In what ways do these programs impact your
life?
Activity: Read the passage, draw your mental map, then answer the questions that follow.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Summary / Evaluation: Review the answers to the questions. Any further questions?
Homework: Answer the following questions below based on your class notes and your knowledge of human
geography:

1. Driving around to gather information for street navigation devices is called

a) ground truthing.
b) remote sensing.
c) GIS programming.
d) GPS grounding.
e) GPS.
2. The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite, spacecraft, or specially equipped high-altitude balloon
is
a) GIS.
b) GPS.
c) remote sensing.
d) aerial photography.
e) USGS.
3. A computer system that stores, organizes, retrieves, analyzes, and displays geographic data is
a) GIS.
b) GPS.
c) remote sensing.
d) USGS.
e) topographic analysis.
4. Global Positioning Systems reference ________ location.
a) relative
b) situational
c) mathematical
d) toponymic
e) only military
5. If NASA sends a space probe into orbit around Mars, and that probe transmits images of the Martian surface back
to Earth, we could say that
a) the space probe is gathering surface data, but it cannot be described as engaging in remote sensing because this
is an operation that, by definition, can only be accomplished from Earth orbit.
b) the space probe is generating data for GPS.
c) the space probe is engaging in remote sensing, although it is gathering data from a planet other than Earth.
d) the probe is engaging in aerial photography, although it is taking its "pictures" from outer space.
e) the USGS has programmed the space probe to mimic the work of Earth satellites.
6. If a geographer uses some of the components and applications of a computer system to organize and display maps,
but she doesn't use it for other functions,
a) she is still using a GIS, although she may not be using all of its potential to store, organize, retrieve, and analyze
data.
b) she is still utilizing a GPS, although she may not be using all of its potential to store, organize, retrieve, and
analyze data.
c) she is using only the components of a remote sensing system, because she is not storing, organizing, retrieving,
or analyzing data.
d) she is not using a GIS, because she is not using all of the system's potential to store, organize, retrieve, and
analyze data.
e) she is using only the topographic analysis functions, because she is not using all of its potential to store,
organize, retrieve, and analyze data.
7. A geographer might use a GPS to
a) log the locations where photographs were taken, but not to find the best route to a store.
b) make a map but not to drive a car.
c) find the best route to a store or log the locations where photographs were taken.
d) record toponyms and terracentric calculations.
e) make a map or find a route to a favorite store, but not to log the locations where photographs were taken over
the course of a research project.
8. A mental map
a) requires that a person be in a particular location to draw the map.
b) is a map created using a GIS.
c) is a personal representation of a location.
d) is limited by citizen science.
e) is the same thing as participatory GIS.
9. This mapping process has led to concerns about privacy.
a) participatory GIS
b) citizen science
c) mashup production
d) geotagging
e) remote sensing

10. Which of the following is NOT true?

a) Scale is the relationship between a portion of the earth being studied and the whole earth.
b) Space refers to the physical gap between two objects.
c) Place is a specific point on earth distinguished by specific qualities.
d) Space and place are the same thing.
e) Scale may be represented by a city block, a neighborhood, a city boundary or an entire metropolitan area.