1. AP Human Geography Chapter 1 - Thinking Geographically
An Adventure in
Thinking Geographically
CLICK to WATCH
llhammon Spring 2013

2. What Is Geography? On your globe: Write your definition of geography
ID a place you want to learn about
ID a contemporary geographic issue that interests you

3. AP Human Geography Chapter 1 - Thinking Geographically
Defining Geography
Word coined by Erathosthenes, a Greek scholar
geo = Earth
graphia = writing
so…
geography means “earth writing”
Grid system
Circumference
llhammon Spring 2013

4. NOT Just Maps
Many people have misconceptions about geography and think of the discipline as simply an exercise in memorizing place names.
THEY ARE…

5. AP Human Geography Chapter 1 - Thinking Geographically
The WHY of Where!
llhammon Spring 2013

6. A Spatial Perspective Geography is a spatial science
Geographers study space in order to locate the distribution of people and objects
Geographers analyze patterns and processes that result through interaction

7. The Geographic Framework
WHERE…the locations of specific features
WHY THERE…why that feature is where it is
RELATED TO…how a location/feature is spatially related to locations/features in other places

8. Geography is EVERYwhere! Globally Locally
Draw A T-Chart!
Geography is EVERYwhere! Globally Locally

9. Geography Is Global Geography exists in the global issues such as
population growth
terrorism
globalization and cultural diffusion

10. Local Geography
Geography's importance can also be established by looking at community issues, such as:
Edward’s Aquifer (water supply)
Ozone Action Days (pollution)
Annexation (growth management)
Retail openings and closures

11. Geography is BOTH Physical and Human!

12. Right Here… Right Now
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13. Thinking Like A Geographer
ASK questions ACQUIRE information ORGANIZE your data ANALYZE your data ANSWER your question BE CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR WORLD!
5 Skills of Geography

14. Geography vs History
Geographers…
Historians…
ID the location of important places and explain why human activities are located beside one another
ID the dates of important events and explain why human activities follow one another chronologically
Ask WHERE and WHY THERE
Ask WHEN and WHY THEN
Recognize that actions at different points on Earth have important cause and effect consequences
Recognize that actions in time have a cause and effect implications
Think spatially
Think chronologically
AND… geographers have the advantage of real-time, hands-on exploration and fieldwork!

15. Chapter 1: Basic Concepts

16. How Do Geographers Describe Where Things Are?
Key Issue 1:
How Do Geographers Describe Where Things Are?

17. Map
A visual representation of the earth’s surface- Or Any other identifiable pattern that occurs in the real world

18. How Do You Use Maps in “Everyday” Life?
2 Minute TNT… Turn and Talk
Share, Listen, Ask a Question
SWITCH and REPEAT
Stay on Task!
Watch our ideas EXPLODE!

19. Cartography
The art and science of making maps Cartographers MAKE the maps!

20. Geography’s Essential Tools
AP Human Geography Chapter 1 - Thinking Geographically
Geography’s Essential Tools
Maps have purposes:
as reference tools to find locations, to find one’s way
as communication tools to show the distribution of human and physical features
THINK ABOUT IT… maps both REPRESENT and CREATE our reality of the world
CLICK
llhammon Spring 2013

21. MaPPING OUR WORLD

22. In 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue
Fun Mapping Our World Fact… historians believe this is the map Columbus showed the King and Queen of Spain when asking them for money and support for his travels to the East Indies.

23. International Date Line
World Geographic Grid
KNOW
THESE!
GMT
Latitude
Longitude
Parallel
Meridian
Equator
Prime Meridian
International Date Line

24. Absolute Location
The absolute location of any place can be described by longitude and latitude- meridians and parallels

25. San Antonio on the Geographic Grid
Latitude:
29° 25' 26" N 
Longitude:
98° 29' 35" W

26. Map Scale
The degree to which a map “zooms in” on the area it is representing
Cartographers represent a portion of the earth on every map- scale determines what details are seen/unseen

27. Ways to Depict Scale…
1 inch on a map may equal 10 miles in the real world… that scale can be written as an
equation: 1 inch = 10 miles
fraction: 1/10 miles
ratio 1:10 miles
drawn as a graphic
any way it’s written means inch on the map equals miles in the real world

28. THIS IS THE TRICKY PART!
The more “zoomed in” the map is on an area, the larger is its map scale large-scale maps depict a smaller area
The less “zoomed in” the map is on an area, the smaller is its scale small-scale maps depict a larger area

29. Scale
NOTE! Map scale affects both spatial association and spatial perspective… THINK about scale and what it shows- and doesn’t show!

30. Scale Differences and Spatial Perspective Maps of Florida
What do you see/not see at different scales?
The effects of scale in maps of Florida. (Scales from 1:10 million to 1:10,000)

32. Reference Map Shows locations of places and geographic features
Can be a physical or political map

33. Thematic Map
Tells a “story” about the degree of an attribute, the pattern of its distribution, or its movement

34. Topographic Map (Isopleth)
Isolines- lines on a map depicting areas of same or like values Isolines (contour lines) depict where the same elevation exists The interval of a contour map shows the difference in elevation between contour lines

35. Proportional Symbols Map
Uses symbols of different sizes to represent data

36. Dot Map
A dot is used to locate each occurrence of a phenomenon Dots indicate any number of characteristics, for example, one dot for every 100 voters
Military families in Ohio

37. Choropleth Map
Shows statistical data aggregated over predefined regions, such as counties or states, by coloring or shading these regions

38. Cartogram
Substitutes a thematic variable for land area or distance… the geometry or space of these maps is distorted in order to convey the information

39. Cool Cartograms

40. Location Chart
Adds text or statistical information to a map

41. Visualization Map
Uses software to create dynamic computer maps (some are 3D or interactive)

42. Mental Map Also called a cognitive map Maps drawn from memory
MENTAL MAPPING is a key skill in AP HUG! You will never see a labeled map on a test!

43. Funny? Maybe Not!
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44. To Think About
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45. Modern Cartography: GIScience
The science of obtaining information about objects or areas from a distance, usually from aircraft or satellites

46. GIS map
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(GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information
GIS uses thematic layers to help geographers identify relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts

47. GIS Map = Layers of Data

48. GIS Mash-ups Combining Data in New Ways

49. Satellite Maps

50. Global Positioning System Maps (GPS)
Space-based satellite navigation system-provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth

52. Modern Tools or Paper Maps?
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HW Alert!
Ten Percent Summary:
What is the Future of Paper Maps?
27 Map Facts Chart
John Green Mentalfloss
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53. Interested ? Read More… A Career in Cartography
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54. Map Projections

55. The Earth is ROUND!

56. Watch and Think!
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57. The “Orange Peel” Problem
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The “Orange Peel” Problem
Transforming something spherical into something flat is impossible… a 2-D map will never exactly represent a 3D world! Geographers use numerous map projections to produce a variety of maps… for a variety of uses

58. The Trouble with 2D
All flat maps have some distortion in their representation of:
Shape
Area
Distance
Direction

60. 1 Head… 3 Projections
Mollweide
Maercator
Cylindrical Equal Area

61. Why Care About Distortion?
Whether we realize it or not, maps shape what we think is “real” about the world. Misconceptions lead to misinformation!

62. The True Size of Africa
In 2010 Kai Krause, a computer-graphics expert, published a "The True Size of Africa", which showed the outlines of other countries crammed into the outline of the African continent.
His aim was to make "a small contribution in the fight against rampant Immappancy"—in particular, the fact that most people do not realize how much the ubiquitous Mercator projection distorts the relative sizes of countries.
CLICK to READ MORE!

63. Mercator Projection Characteristics: all lines are at 90 degree angles
simplest to read
accurate direction
distorted size, distance, shape

64. Mercator Projection
Useful for navigation because it maintains accurate direction, longitude, and latitude
Most accurate in the tropics (from Cancer to Capricorn)
Most distortion at the north and south poles- the poles appear oversized

65. Mercator… Meet Google!
the Mercator projection has been revived in recent years to meet the needs of digital mapping- for street- level maps, you can’t beat Mercator! straight lines always represents a consistent direction and a rectangular building will appear as a rectangle

66. Peters Projection
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attempts to retain all the accurate sizes of all the world’s landmasses distorts the shape of the continents especially near the poles

67. Robinson Projection Characteristics: lines of longitude are curved
shapes at the poles are flat and not as distorted
most accurate at the equator
most distortion around the outer edges

68. Robinson Projection
Attempts to balance several possible projection errors
Does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction, but it minimizes errors in each
Used by national geographic and many textbooks

69. Polar Projection most accurate at the poles
most distortion around the outer edges
used for navigation of air planes (Great Circle Routes)

70. More Interesting Projections
Look what happens when you type “strangest map projection shapes” into… if a cartographer thinks a projection shape/style will work, they will try it!

71. Interrupted Projection
Seek a compromise by “cutting” Earth’s surface along lines, then depicting each section as a or lobe.
Often lobe boundaries are designed to fall on less important (regarding the map's purpose) areas, like oceans.

72. The Poetry of Maps
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73. Review: Types of Map Projections
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74. REMEMBER!
Be aware of projection- what aspects of the map are represented accurately, and which are distorted — and are those choices appropriate to what’s being communicated? There is no perfect projection, but there aren’t necessarily any bad ones, either — just bad uses of them!

75. Looking Critically at Maps
Every cartographer makes choices when making a map… look carefully! What is included? What is left off? What is distorted?

76. Can You… Explain scale and why it matters?
Explain map projections and ID most commonly used?
Use the geographic grid to locate places?
Explain the development and use of time zones?

77. World Time Zones Time zones are 15° apart 360 ° divided by 15 °= 24
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Time zones are 15° apart
360 ° divided by 15 °= 24
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The world’s 24 standard time zones are often depicted using the Mercator projection.

78. Click To Listen to Another Teacher!