Absolute location: Exact position, such as latitude and longitude Relative location: Position described in relation to other places Site: The physical features of a place itself Situation: A place's location relative to surrounding areas Region: An area defined by shared characteristics Formal region: Area with uniform traits, such as a country Functional region: Area organized around a central node, like a metro area Perceptual region: Region based on people's feelings, like 'the South' Spatial distribution: How things are arranged across space Density: Number of things per unit of area Distance decay: Interaction declines with distance Time-space compression: Technology making distant places seem closer Geographic information system: Computer system for mapping and analyzing spatial data Remote sensing: Gathering data about Earth from satellites or aircraft Mercator projection: Map that preserves direction but distorts size near poles Arithmetic density: Population divided by total land area Physiological density: Population divided by arable land Agricultural density: Farmers per unit of arable land Crude birth rate: Births per 1,000 people per year Total fertility rate: Average number of children a woman is expected to have Doubling time: Years for a population to double Demographic transition model: Stages of population change as countries develop Population pyramid: Graph of a population by age and sex Dependency ratio: Ratio of dependents (young and old) to working-age people Infant mortality rate: Infant deaths per 1,000 live births Life expectancy: Average years a person is expected to live Epidemiological transition: Shift in leading causes of death from infectious to chronic disease Malthusian theory: Population grows faster than food supply Pro-natalist policy: Government encouraging births Anti-natalist policy: Government discouraging births Push factor: A reason for leaving a place Pull factor: A reason for moving to a place Chain migration: Migrants follow relatives or neighbors to the same destination Forced migration: Movement against one's will Refugee: Person who flees across a border due to persecution or danger Internal migration: Movement within a country Gravity model: Predicts interaction based on size and distance of places Culture: Shared beliefs, customs and material traits of a group Cultural landscape: The visible imprint of culture on land Folk culture: Traditional culture of small, homogeneous groups Popular culture: Culture widely shared across large, varied groups Cultural diffusion: Spread of cultural traits Relocation diffusion: Spread through the movement of people Expansion diffusion: Spread outward while remaining strong in the origin Hierarchical diffusion: Spread from important people or places to others Contagious diffusion: Rapid, widespread spread from person to person Acculturation: Adopting traits from another culture Assimilation: Fully taking on the dominant culture Syncretism: Blending of cultural elements Language family: Group of languages with a common ancestor Lingua franca: A common language for speakers of different languages Universalizing religion: Religion that seeks converts, like Christianity or Islam Ethnic religion: Religion tied to a specific group, like Judaism or Hinduism State: A political unit with defined territory and government Nation: A group sharing identity, culture or history Nation-state: A state whose population shares a national identity Sovereignty: A state's authority over its territory Boundary types: Natural, geometric and cultural borders Devolution: Transfer of power from central to regional governments Centripetal force: Force that unifies a state Centrifugal force: Force that divides a state Supranational organization: Group of states cooperating, like the EU Gerrymandering: Drawing districts to favor a group Geopolitics: Study of how geography shapes politics Irredentism: Claiming land beyond borders because of shared ethnic ties Agriculture: Cultivating plants and animals for food Subsistence farming: Growing food mainly for the farmer's family Commercial agriculture: Farming primarily for sale Green Revolution: Higher-yield crops and techniques spread from the 1960s Von Thunen model: Land use rings around a market center Shifting cultivation: Clearing land, farming it for a few years, then moving on Intensive agriculture: Large inputs of labor or capital per acre Agribusiness: Large-scale commercial farming integrated with processing and sales Monoculture: Growing a single crop Urbanization: Growth of the share of people living in cities Central place theory: Settlements serve surrounding areas, forming a hierarchy Primate city: A city much larger than any other in its country Rank-size rule: The nth largest city has 1/n the population of the largest Megacity: City of over 10 million people Edge city: Suburban commercial hub Gentrification: Wealthier people move into older neighborhoods, raising costs Urban sprawl: Spread of low-density development Concentric zone model: Burgess model of rings around a central business district Sector model: Hoyt model of wedge-shaped zones along transport routes Redlining: Denial of loans or services by area, often on racial lines Industrial Revolution: Shift to factory production beginning in Britain Weber's least cost theory: Industrial sites are chosen to minimize transport, labor and agglomeration costs Deindustrialization: Decline of manufacturing in a region Outsourcing: Contracting work to outside companies, often abroad Human Development Index: Composite of health, education and income Gender Inequality Index: Measures disparities between men and women Core-periphery model: Wealthy core areas dominate poorer periphery areas Rostow's stages: Model of five stages of economic development Microfinance: Small loans for people lacking access to banks Fair trade: Trade certification aimed at paying producers a fair price Sustainable development: Meeting present needs without harming future generations Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/tp-ap-human-geography