Chapter 1 Key Issues 1 & 2

Many farms were built next to rivers to have access to water for crop irrigation. This an example of _______________.

• situation factor

• site factor

• proximity factor

• trade factor

Answer explanation

situation = a location relative to other places/things both man-made and natural

In descriptions of interaction between people and the environment, the term “environmental determinism” implies that

• the physical environment exclusively shapes humans and their actions 

• humans by their actions and technologies alter the physical environment to suit their needs

• determination of environmental limitations is a primary task of geographers

• capitalist economies do not contribute to global environmental degradation 

• there exists no interacting relationship between people and their surrounding physical environment

Answer explanation

the theory that environment determines what we do

Which of the following concepts could best be explained by the theory of possibilism?

• Regional differences between the internal structures of cities

• Changes in population growth rates over time

• Limitations on agricultural crops based on climate

• Political patterns seen in election maps

• Modification of landscapes by human cultures

Answer explanation

we can adjust the environment to suit us

ex. terrace farming allows for a community to live and work in a seemingly unsuitable environment

Which of the following is a characteristic of the Mercator projection?

• The size and shape of countries in the higher latitudes are greatly exaggerated.

• The size of all countries is accurate, but the shape is distorted.

• Countries near the Equator appear 50 percent larger than countries in the middle latitudes.

• The projection is designed to maintain undistorted outlines of landmasses.

• Distances on the Mercator projection are real and accurate

Answer explanation

distortion at the poles!

Every map projection has some degree of distortion because

• a curved surface cannot be represented on a flat surface without distortion

• parallels and meridians never cross at right angles on a globe

• the grid system is two-dimensional, while the real world is three-dimensional

• Earth is not a perfect sphere

• latitude lines are shorter than meridian lines

Which of the following describes the perspective of environmental determinism?

• A twentieth-century idea that human cultures are imprinted on the landscape in different forms of land use and architecture

• A contemporary ecological view that human activity is affecting the global environment toward a negative outcome

• A former scientific viewpoint stating that factors within the physical geography of a region shape the local population’s culture and behaviors

• A theory that humans hold the ability to modify Earth’s physical geography to meet the resource needs of a society

• A belief system based on an ideology that humans have dominion over Earth and its natural resources

Which of the following terms best describes regions that make up the political geographic divisions within a country?

• Cultural

• Perceptual

• Vernacular

• Physical

• Formal

Answer explanation

clear boundaries, based on measurable data, one or more unifying characteristics

ex. voting results, agricultural zones, climate zones, etc.

A formal culture region differs from other regions in that it

• has a focal point or node

• is one that people believe exists

• has a selected feature or internal uniformity

• does not contain gradations such as core, domain, and sphere

• applies only to linguistic and religion regions

Answer explanation

If I were giving you directions from new albany to target giving directions such as turn left at the rallys and when you get to the second streetlight turn right. Which of the following best describes the type of information provided in the directions?

• Absolute location

• Relative location

• Cultural landscape

• Geographic information systems

• Cartographic principles

Answer explanation

relative= the way we casually speak about location or distance

absolute= exact measurement/ latitude & longitude

Measures the distance east and west of the Prime Meridian

• Longitude

• Tropics

• Latitude

• Polar