Anthony Cammuso

AP Human Geography: Period 1

August 27th, 2015

Chapter 1 Section 1 Notes:

How do geographers describe where things are?
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Geography- study of where things are found on Earths surface and the
reasons for the locations
Where are people and activities found on Earth?
Why are they found there?

Maps:
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Map- a two-dimensional or flat-scale model of Earths surface, or a portion of

it
Scale model of the real world that is made small enough to work with on a
desk or computer
Cartography- the science or practice of drawing maps
Reference Tool- maps help us to find the shortest route between two places
and to avoid getting lost along the way
Communications Tool- maps are often the best means for depicting the
distribution of human activities or physical features

Early Map Making:

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Early maps were navigation tools designed to show a traveler how to get to
places
Eratosthenes was a Greek geographer who is known to produce the first map
Ptolemy produced maps based on details he heard from merchants and
soldiers
Map making generally began in Europe and slowly spread to other continents
Early maps depicted Earth as a flat piece of land surrounded by monsters
Map making was accentuated in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries during
the Age of Exploration (by the end of the seventeen century much of the
world was outlined)

Contemporary Mapping:
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Maps are geographers most essential tool for displaying geographic

information and for offering geographic explanation

Map Scale:
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The first decision is how much of Earths surface do we want to depict on a

map
To make a scale model of the world, may details must be omitted because
there is not enough space (smaller scale maps can provide more details)
Map Scale- the relationship (or ratio) between distance on a map and the
corresponding distance on the ground
Ratio or Fraction- numerical ration between distances on the map and Earths
surface (units of measure on the map and the ground must be the same)
Written Scale- relationship between map and Earth distances in words (1 inch
equals 1 mile)

Anthony Cammuso
o
o

AP Human Geography: Period 1

August 27th, 2015

Graphic Scale- bar line marked to show distance on Earths surface

Maps are typically displayed in more than 1 of these three ways

Projection:
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Earth is nearly a sphere and is accurately represented with a globe

Small globes do not have enough space to display detailed information
whereas a large globe is difficult to write on, photocopy, display on a
computer, or carry around with you
Projection- the scientific method of transferring locations on Earths surface to
a flat map
The shape of an area can be distorted so that it appears more elongated
The distance between two points may be increased or decreased
The relative size of different areas may appear larger than others
The direction from one place to another can be distorted
The relative sizes of the land-masses on the map are the same as in reality
Eastern and Western hemispheres are separated into two pieces
Medians do not converge at all on the map (do not form right angles)
Robinson projection is useful for displaying information across oceans
Mercator projection is great because shape is distorted very little, direction is
consistent, and the map is rectangular.

Geographic Grid:
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Geographic Grid- a system of imaginary arcs drawn in a grid pattern on

Earths surface
Meridian- an arc drawn between the North and south poles
Latitude- the horizontal lines that pass across Earths globe
Prime Meridian- the line which passes through Greenwich, England at 0
longitude
Parallel- a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right
angles to the meridians
The equator is at 0 degrees latitude and the North Pole is at 90 degrees north
and the South Pole is at 90 degrees South
Longitude and latitude can also be broken down into more specific
measurements called minutes () and seconds ()
Latitude and longitude were both human creations (agreements were made
about where to place them)
Scientifically, the equator is located at the largest circumference on Earth

Telling Time:
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Longitude plays an important role in calculating time

When Earth rotates, it passes through each of the 360 degrees of longitude
Every fifteenth degree of longitude represents one time zone (hence 24
hours)
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)- the time at the prime meridian (master time
reference)
Each time zone is about five hours apart

Anthony Cammuso
o

AP Human Geography: Period 1

August 27th, 2015

The international dateline runs though the 180 degree longitude line (+/- one
day)

Contemporary Tools:
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Geographic Information Science- involves the development and analysis of

data about Earth acquired though satellite and other electronic information
technologies
Geographers create more accurate and complex maps to measure changes
over time

Collecting Data: Remote Sensing

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Remote Sensing- the acquisition of data about Earths surface from a satellite
orbiting Earth or from other long-distance method

Pinpointing Locations and Layering Data: GPS and GIS

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Global Positioning System- the system that accurately determines the precise
position of something (satellites placed in predetermined orbits, tracking
stations to monitor and control satellites, receivers that can locate at least 4
satellites)
GPS is more typically used for navigation such as the GPS in cars or on
phones
Geographic Information System- a computer system that captures, stores,
queries, analyzes, and displays geographic data (can be used to produce
maps)
The position of any object on Earth can be measured in a computer
In the GIS, objects can be added or removed, colors brightened or toned
down, and mistakes corrected