AP Geo Vocab Pt1

The study of Earth's physical characteristics and processes: how they work, how they affect humans, and how humans affect them

• human geography

• processes

• physical geography

• quantitative data

The branch of geography that studies how human activity affects or is influenced by Earth's surface

• human geography

• physical geography

• networks

• nonspatial models

to break down into parts and study each part carefully.

• processes

• theory

• models

• analyze

a system of ideas and concepts that attempt to explain and prove why or how interactions have occurred in the past or will occur in the future.

• analyze

• theory

• networks

• spatial models

key vocabulary, ideas, and building blocks that geographers use to describe our world.

• models

• qualitative sources

• concepts

• four level analysis

a series of steps or actions that explain why or how geographic patterns occur.

• processes

• theory

• spatial patterns

• geospatial data

representations of reality or theories about reality, to help geographers see general spatial patterns, focus on the influence specific factors, and understand variations from place to place.

• concepts

• models

• nonspatial models

• spatial models

look like stylized maps, and they illustrate theories about spatial distributions.

• models

• networks

• qualitative sources

• spatial models

illustrate theories and concepts using words, graphs, or tables. They often depict changes over time

• scales of analysis

• spatial models

• spatial patterns

• nonspatial models

model that helps explain some patterns evident on the Earth at night

• time-distance decay

• geospatial data

• four level analysis

• spatial models