world geography todaychapter 1 studying geography preview section 1: themes and essential...

World Geography Today Chapter 1

Studying GeographyPreview

Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements

Section 2: Skill Building: Using the Geographer’s Tools

Chapter Wrap-Up


Read to Discover

• What are the two main branches of geography?

• How do we use geography?

• What are some ways we can organize our world and the study of geography?



Question

What are the two main branches of geography?



• Studies distribution and characteristics of the world’s people (where people live and what they do)

• Examines how people make and trade things that they need to survive

• Focuses on Earth’s natural environments, including landforms, water features, plants, animals, and other physical features

• Studies the processes that shape physical environments

• Studies how people interact

with their environments

Human Geography

Physical Geography

Both



We Use Geography:

• In Government—For mapmaking and planning

• In Business—For marketing and development

• In Schools—For education

• Every Day—To find our way in town or on trips, when we watch the news and weather, when we read about other countries, when we make decisions about locations for events or businesses



• Formal—Has one or more common features that make it different from surrounding areas

• Functional—Different places that are linked together and function as a unit

• Perceptual—Reflects human feelings and attitudes


Organizing the World by Regions


By Five Themes

• Location—Exact or relative spot of something on Earth

• Place—Physical and human features of a location

• Human-Environment Interaction—Ways people and environments interrelate with and affect each other

• Movement—How people and things change locations and the effects of these changes

• Region—Geographic areas with one or more shared characteristics


Organizing the Study of GeographyOrganizing the Study of Geography


By Six Essential Elements

• The World in Spatial Terms

1. How to use maps and other tools

2. How to use mental maps to organize information

3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments

• Places and Regions

4. The physical and human characteristics of places

5. How people create regions to interpret Earth

6. How culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions



By Six Essential Elements• Physical Systems

• Human Systems

• Environment and Society

7. The physical processes that shape Earth’s surface

8. The distribution of ecosystems on Earth

9. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations

10. The complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics

11. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth

12. The patterns of human settlement



By Six Essential Elements• Physical Systems

• Human Systems

• Environment and Society

13. The forces of cooperation and conflict

14. How human actions modify the physical environment

15. How physical systems affect human systems

16. The distribution and meaning of resources

• The Uses of Geography

17. Apply geography to interpret the past

18. Apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future



Read to Discover

• How do geographers and mapmakers organize our world?

• What kinds of special maps do geographers use?

• How do geographers use climate graphs and population pyramids?



• By drawing lines on the globe

• By identifying hemispheres, landmasses, and bodies of water

• By making and using maps


Geographers and Mapmakers Organize


Question

What are characteristics of the three map projection types?



Map Projection

Cylindrical

Conic

Flat-Plane

Advantages

Used by navigators because it shows true direction and shape

Accurate for areas with long east-west dimensions

Used by pilots and navigators because it shows true direction and area sizes

Disadvantages

Exaggerates landmasses at high latitudes

Not as accurate for areas that extend mostly north to south

Distorts shapes



• Climate and Precipitation Maps—Show weather patterns and atmospheric conditions

• Population and Economic Maps—Show the distribution of people, natural resources, and land usage patterns

• Elevation Profiles and Topographic Maps—Show physical features of the land


Special-Purpose Maps


Climate graphs show average temperatures and precipitation in a place.

Population pyramids show percentages of males and females by age group in a country’s population. They help us understand population trends.


Important Geographic Characteristics


Chapter Wrap-Up Understanding the Main Ideas

1. What are two main branches in the study of geography?

2. What six essential elements help us organize the study of geography?

3. How are the three kinds of regions defined?

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the three main map projections?

5. What are six kinds of special-purpose maps?

world geography todaychapter 1 studying geography preview section 1: themes and essential...

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