CHAPTER 1: EXPLORING GEOGRAPHY
Please Do Now: In your PDN section of your binder answer the following with one or two sentences: What is Geography?
What is Geography? The study of where people, places, and things are located and how they relate to each other This includes culture, climate, land formations, bodies of water, roadways, and many other features on the earth s surface
How do we use Geography? To travel from place to place To plan vacations To decide where to build homes and business To study natural resources
What tools do geographers use? Maps, Charts, and Graphs Sonar- an instrument that uses sound waves to chart a location, typically uses by ships to chart the bottom of the ocean Global Positioning System (GPS) a system of 24 satellites that provides very specific details on location
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Computerized resources that collect and use data to help solve geographic problems?? Example: If Gap Inc. wants to build an Old Navy store in northeast PA they might use data about population, economic opportunities, average income in an area, and location to interstate highways to decide where they will build their new store. All of this information can be found using a GIS.
What other ways might a GIS be useful? Planning housing developments Planning Electrical Plants Farming Hotel and Restaurant Management Advertising Highway Management Forestry
Geographic Concepts Ideas that help to organize information so that patterns can be detected and the information can be related to everyday life
Classwork Assignment: Copy Geographic concepts and definitions # s 1-10 on page 36 into your notebook under notes. 1. Geographic Tools 2. Physical Characteristics 3. Physical Processes 4. Climates 5. Ecosystems 6. Patterns of Settlement 7. Urbanization 8. Migration 9. Population Growth 10. Cultures
Homework: In the homework section of your binder copy define the key terms from page 35 (There are 10 of them) Also copy the Main Idea under the key terms into your notebook in the same spot
Please Do Now: In your PDN section of your binder answer the following with one or two sentences: If you could vacation anywhere where would it be? Why?
Key Terms (page 35) Geography: the study of Earth s Surface and the processes that shape it, the connections, between places, and the relationships between people and their environment GIS: Geographic Information System which uses computer technology to collect and analyze data about the Earth s surface in order to solve geographic problems
Absolute Location: The position on the Earth in which a place can be found (Map Coordinates) Hemisphere: A half of the Earth, the Equator divides northern and southern hemispheres, the Prime Meridian divides the eastern and western hemispheres Relative Location: The position of a place in relation to another place
Character of a Place: The physical and human characteristics that make a place different from other places Perception: A view point that is influenced by a person s own culture and experience Formal Region: A group of places that have similar characteristics Functional Region: A group of places connected by movement
Perceptual Region: A group of places that is defined by people s feelings and attitudes
Geographic Concepts Geographic Tools = Maps, Charts, GPS, Sonar, Ect Physical Characteristics = Mountains, Valleys, forests, Rivers, Lakes, Bays, Ect Physical Process = Acid Rain, Glaciers, Global Warming Climate = Weather over time Ecosystem= Plant and animal life, Rainforests, Swamps, Wetlands, Tidal Pools, Ect.
Where are the 5 Geographic Concepts we talked about today?
PDN Describe the Character of Place for Pennsylvania.
PDN If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Why?
5 Themes of Geography Location Place Regions Movement Human-Environment Interaction
Theme 1 = Location Absolute Location: The position on the Earth in which a place can be found This is given with latitude and longitude coordinates
Hemispheres A half of the Earth Northern Hemisphere Southern Hemisphere Eastern Hemisphere Western Hemisphere The United States is in the Northern and Western Hemispheres
Latitude Imaginary lines that run East and West (Left and Right) on a map The Equator is 0 degrees Tropic of Cancer is 23 ½ degrees north Tropic of Capricorn is 23 ½ degrees south These are the lines that the sun hits directly at certain points of the year and are warmer than the rest of the earth
Latitude 90 degrees north is the north pole 90 degrees south is the south pole These are the coldest points on earth because they are the most distant from the direct sun These points have dark periods where the sun does not come out for months at a time
Longitude Imaginary lines that run North and South (up and down) on a map 0 degrees is the Prime Meridian Lines run from 0 to 180 degrees around the globe The lines of longitude actually get closer at the poles and are the greatest distance at the equator These lines are used to assign time zones
Relative Location: The position of a place in relation to another place A place can have many different relative locations and they can change Examples: Pennsylvania is west of New Jersey Drums is close to Hazleton Philadelphia is about 2 hours away from Hazleton
Theme 2 = Place Character of a Place: The physical and human characteristics that make a place different from other places Physical Characteristics Landforms, Ecosystems, and climate ( things that are found in nature) Human Characteristics language, population, government, currency, religion
Population Urban cities Suburban small towns just outside of cities Rural - country
Geographic Concepts Patterns of Settlement (Rural, Urban, Suburban) Urbanization (Growing Cities) Migration (movement of People) Population Growth (number of people goes up) Cultures ( the way people act)
How Would you use the 5 Geographic Concepts that we talked about today to study this picture?
PDN On your way to school what examples of physical processes did you see?
Theme 3 Regions: A region is a group of places that have one or more characteristics in common Three Types of Regions: Formal Region Functional Region Perceptual Region
Formal Region Areas that all share the same characteristics Examples: States Every town is under the same laws The Corn Belt - Corn is grown in this area of the Untied States Chinatown An area where many Chinese American settled
Functional Region A central place and the areas surrounding it that are affected by that place Example: New York Metropolitan Area Mississippi River Basin Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Perceptual Regions An area that is defined by the way people feel about an area Examples: The South The Mid-West
Theme 4 = Movement Places do not exist all by themselves there is movement between them Examples: A persons accent may travel with them when the move Good that are produced in one region and sold in another
Theme 5 = Human-Environment Interaction How people use their environment Examples: Clearing a forest for farming purposes Drilling for oil Planting flowers