AP Human Geography Unit 1: Thinking Geographically | Notes and practice

Notes

Reference maps show locations (political, physical, road maps). Thematic maps show data: choropleth (shaded areas by rate), dot density, graduated symbol, isoline (lines of equal value, like elevation), and cartograms (sizes changed to show data).
Every flat map has distortion of shape, area, distance or direction. The Mercator projection keeps direction for navigation but greatly enlarges land near the poles; equal-area projections (like Gall-Peters) keep size but distort shape.

GIS (Geographic Information Systems) layers data on maps. GPS finds exact locations. Remote sensing collects data from satellites and aircraft.
Data come from field observation, surveys, censuses and satellite images.

Absolute location (latitude and longitude) vs relative location (in relation to other places). Site is a place's physical features; situation is its connections to other places.
Place is the unique character of a location; space is the area between places. Distance decay: interaction decreases with distance. Time-space compression: technology makes places feel closer.
Scale: local, regional, national, global. Patterns can look different at different scales.
Regions: formal (shared trait, like a language region), functional (organized around a central node, like a newspaper's delivery area), and perceptual/vernacular (based on people's feelings, like "the South").

Environmental determinism: the environment controls human behavior (now rejected).
Possibilism: the environment sets limits, but people choose how to adapt.
Sustainability and land use are central themes.

Which map type shades areas based on a rate or percentage?

The Mercator projection distorts:

A city's location on a deep harbor describes its:

The area served by a pizza shop's delivery service is an example of a:

The idea that interaction between places decreases as distance increases is called:

Possibilism argues that:

GIS is best described as:

"The Midwest" is often a perceptual region because:

Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.

Free-response question

A city planner uses a map showing the percentage of households without a car in each neighborhood.

(a) Identify the type of thematic map most likely used.

Show the answer and scoring guide

A choropleth map, which shades each neighborhood based on its percentage.

Check off the points you earned:

(b) Explain ONE limitation of this type of map.

Show the answer and scoring guide

It shows the same shade across a whole neighborhood, hiding differences within it, and large areas can look more important than small, dense ones.

Check off the points you earned:

(c) Explain how the planner could use GIS to decide where to add bus routes.

Show the answer and scoring guide

Layer the car-ownership map with population density and existing transit lines to find dense areas with few cars and no nearby bus service.

Check off the points you earned: