UNIT 1 Studying Geography and Introduction to Early History

Part 1 – GeographyMr. Davis

Cavalier Social Studies

DEFINITIONS (p. 1)

• ABSOLUTE LOCATION – the precise point where a place is located on Earth

• RELATIVE LOCATION – where a place is located in relation to another place

• DISTORTION – a change in shape, size, or position of a place when it is shown on a map

• MAP PROJECTIONS – a way of representing the spherical Earth on a flat surface

DEFINITIONS (p. 1)

• PHYSICAL FEATURES – any natural characteristic of the Earth’s surface, such as landforms and bodies of water

• LANDFORMS – any natural feature of the Earth’s surface that has a distinct shape. Landforms include major features such as continents, plains, plateaus, and mountain ranges. They also include minor features such as hills, valleys, canyons, and dunes.

DEFINITIONS (p. 1)

• CLIMATE – the pattern of weather over a long period of time

• VEGETATION – all the plants and trees in an area• POPULATION DENSITY – the average number of

people who live in a unit of area, such as a square mile. Population density measures how crowded an area is.

• ECONOMIC ACTIVITY - any activity that relates to the making, buying, and selling of goods and services

DEFINITIONS (p. 1)

• LATITUDE – imaginary parallel lines that run east to west across the globe. They are measured in degrees North or South and are the first measurement in absolute location.

• LONGITUDE – imaginary meridian lines that run north and south across the globe and meet at the poles. They are measured in degrees East or West and are the second measurement in absolute location.

DEFINITIONS (p. 1)

• HEMISPHERE – half the world. The Northern and Southern hemispheres are separated by the Equator. The Eastern and Western hemispheres are separated by the Prime Meridian.

• EQUATOR – 0 degrees latitude; runs east to west across the center (widest point) of the Earth.

• PRIME MERIDIAN – 0 degrees longitude; runs through the observatory in Greenwich, England. The reference point for measuring other meridians of longitude.

ACCESSING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE (p.2)

• Why do we need to understand GEOGRAPHY in order to understand HISTORY? Write your thoughts in a 3-5 sentence paragraph. There are no right or wrong answers.

THE GEOGRAPHIC SETTING

• We use maps to find locations of places and how far apart they are.

• Maps show absolute location: your address is an example of this. Using a grid of latitude and longitude also shows latitude and longitude. (Think: when the military wants to launch a missile, they need it to hit the EXACT target)

• Relative location can also be found on maps. These are directions you may tell your friends. (“I live up the road past the red barn, third house on the left.”)

DISTORTION

• Because Earth is a 3D sphere and maps are flat (2D), the size and shape of features get distorted, or stretched.

• Globes are most accurate, but not as handy as maps.

• There are different MAP PROJECTIONS that work best for what geographers want to study.

• The photos on page 4 of your Interactive Notebook show how distortion can be a problem.

LONGITUDE AND LATITUDE

• Every place on Earth can be found using the latitude and longitude grid. It’s how your GPS works.

• LATITUDE LINES run East to West and are parallel to the Equator. These lines are measured in degrees North or South of the Equator.

• LONGITUDE LINES are half-circles that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. The Prime Meridian is 0 degrees longitude. The International Date Line is 180 degrees longitude.

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

• LATITUDE = 0-90 Degrees North or South• LONGITUDE = 0-180 Degrees East or West• Together, these form the coordinates of a

location on Earth. Latitude is ALWAYS listed first, just like the x-axis on a coordinate plane in Math.

• Bowling Green, Kentucky is near 37 Degrees North, 86 Degrees West.

PRACTICE (p. 7)

• Label the Equator (0 Degrees latitude)• Label the Prime Meridian (0 degrees longitude)• Place a dot and label the major cities at the correct

absolute location:• 1. St. Petersburg, Russia (60 N, 30 E)• 2. Dakar, Senegal (15 N, 15 W)• 3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (23 S, 45 W)• 4. Bowling Green, KY, USA (37 N, 86 W)• 5. Melbourne, Australia (37 S, 142 E)

HEMISPHERES

• A hemisphere is half the Earth. There are actually four, depending on how you divide the Earth. The Equator separates the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The Prime Meridian and International Date Line separate the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

OCEANS

• Water covers 70 percent of the Earth’s surface.• It’s really one huge ocean, but geographers

divide it into four oceans: Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, and Pacific.

CONTINENTS

• Continents are the largest landmasses on the planet.

• Geographers identify seven of these. From largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

• Even though Europe and Asia are on the same large landmass, they are separated because of history and culture.

PRACTICE (p. 9)

• Trace the Equator and the Prime Meridian• Label the four oceans• Label the seven continents• Circle the ONE continent that is located

entirely in the Southern and Eastern Hemisphere

MAPS

• A map title, legend, and symbols provide you information.

• Grids and scales help you determine absolute and relative location.

• All flat maps have distortion. To deal with that, geographers use different types of maps depending on the information they are looking for.

MAP PROJECTIONS

• Lambert Projection: shows polar regions other projections may distort

• Mercator Projection: great for showing directions, but distorts size of land and bodies of water at the poles

• Robinson and Eckert Projections: an oval map like on p. 9 of your packet. Most accurate, but landmasses are smashed/flattened at the poles

• Goode’s Homolosine Projection: accurate for continents, but cuts up/distorts the oceans

PRACTICE (p. 12)

• Label each map projection. You can use one of each of the following:

• Robinson Projection• Mercator Projection• Eckert Projection• Goode’s Homolosine Projection• List one fact with each projection that justifies

it is the type you labeled

THEMATIC MAPS

• Some focus on physical features and landforms (physical maps/physical geography)

• Some show climate (long term patterns of weather) or precipitation (amount of rain or snowfall in a year)

• Climate affects the vegetation grown in a region. You can see comparisons of climate maps and vegetation maps.

THEMATIC MAPS

• Thematic maps can show human geography• Political map – shows borders between states

or countries (how people divided the Earth), and cities or capitals

• Population density map – shows number of people in an area, like a square mile

• Economic activity map – shows business or industry in an area, or natural resources

MAP TITLES & LEGENDS

• Titles tell the topic of the map• Legends tell you what the map symbols mean• Uses of color might show borders and regions

on a political map, or elevation on a physical map

PHYSICAL FEATURES

• Geographers have named all of the shapes of the land and water on earth. These are physical features or landforms.

• Land has different elevation and shape (mountains, hills, valleys, plains, etc.)

• Water has different shapes, sizes, and flows (lakes, oceans, rivers, bays, etc.)

CLIMATE ZONES

• Each zone has patterns of temperature and precipitation

• Patterns can be placed in a climagraph• Location affects climate! Latitude is the most

important determiner of climate—the closer to the Equator, the more direct sunlight and the warmer the climate.

• Elevation or altitude also affects climate. Higher elevations are generally colder.

VEGETATION

• Vegetation (plant life) adapts to its environment.• Small plants grow in tundra climate (where it is

cold), cacti grow in desert climates (with little rainfall)

• Elevation, sunlight, and soil also affect vegetation• Geographers divide the Earth into vegetation

zones, similar to the climate zones, as plants adapt to climate

POPULATION DENSITY

• Tells us how crowded a place is—divide the number of people living there by a certain area.

• The higher the number, the higher the density (the more people in an area)

• Population density affects how people live (houses, apartments, farms…) and travel (personal vehicles, mass transit)

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

• LAND = How do people use the land to make a living and meet their needs? (Farming? Mining?)

• NATURAL RESOURCES = Lumber from forests; Fish in the ocean; Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas; Uranium for nuclear power; Building dams on rivers for hydroelectricity

PHYSICAL VS. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY (p. 28)

• In the graphic organizer on page 28, fill in facts about what you have learned about physical geography and human geography in the appropriate boxes.

• In the bottom box, include similarities about the study of physical and human geography.

• Find ways these studies connect: How do physical and human geography relate to each other?

FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY

• LOCATION = where is it?• PLACE = what makes it unique?• MOVEMENT = how do people, goods, ideas

move around?• REGION = how can a place be grouped with

other places with similar characteristics?• HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION = how

do people change the environment for their benefit?

COUNTRY PROFILE PROJECT

• You will select a country to research using the 5 Themes of Geography.

• The CIA World Factbook is a GREAT resource with LOTS of geographic information:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/Use the drop-down menu to select a country to gain the needed information