🌐 Five Themes of Geography
- Location — Where is it? (Absolute: coordinates; Relative: near something)
- Place — What is it like? (Physical & human characteristics)
- Human-Environment Interaction — How do people affect/adapt to the environment?
- Movement — How do people, goods, and ideas move?
- Region — How are areas grouped by shared characteristics?
🗺️ Map Elements (TODALS)
- T — Title (what the map shows)
- O — Orientation (compass rose / north arrow)
- D — Date (when the map was made)
- A — Author (who made the map)
- L — Legend / Key (symbols explained)
- S — Scale (distance ratio)
📍 Latitude & Longitude
| Latitude | Longitude | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | North–South (0°–90°) | East–West (0°–180°) |
| Lines run | East–West (horizontal) | North–South (vertical) |
| Key line | Equator (0°) | Prime Meridian (0°) |
| Measures | Distance from Equator | Distance from Prime Meridian |
Tip: Latitude = “ladder” rungs (horizontal). Longitude = “long” lines (vertical).
🗂️ Types of Maps
| Map Type | Shows |
|---|---|
| Physical | Natural features (mountains, rivers, deserts) |
| Political | Borders, capitals, countries |
| Thematic | Specific data (population, climate, resources) |
| Topographic | Elevation using contour lines |
| Choropleth | Shaded regions by data values |
| Cartogram | Areas sized by data (e.g. population), not land area |
🌡️ Climate Zones
| Zone | Description | Example Region |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical | Hot & wet year-round | Amazon Basin, Central Africa |
| Dry | Little rainfall, hot or cold | Sahara Desert, Arabian Peninsula |
| Temperate | Moderate temps, seasonal rain | Western Europe, SE Australia |
| Continental | Large temp swings, inland | Central Russia, US Midwest |
| Polar | Extremely cold year-round | Antarctica, Arctic Canada |
🏛️ Types of Government
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Democracy | Citizens vote for leaders | USA, India |
| Autocracy | One ruler holds all power | North Korea |
| Monarchy | King/queen rules (const. or absolute) | UK (const.), Saudi Arabia (abs.) |
| Theocracy | Religious law governs | Iran |
| Oligarchy | Small group holds power | Historical: apartheid South Africa |
| Communist | One-party state, gov controls economy | China, Cuba |
💼 Economic Sectors
| Sector | Activity | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Extracting raw materials | Farming, mining, fishing |
| Secondary | Manufacturing / processing | Factories, construction |
| Tertiary | Services | Teaching, healthcare, retail |
| Quaternary | Knowledge / IT | Research, tech development |
Pattern: As countries develop, workers shift from primary → secondary → tertiary sectors.
📖 Key Vocabulary (24 Terms)
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Push factor | Negative condition that drives people away from a place |
| Pull factor | Positive condition that attracts people to a place |
| Emigration | Leaving one’s country to live elsewhere |
| Immigration | Moving into a new country to live |
| Urbanisation | Growth of cities as people move from rural to urban areas |
| Population density | Number of people per unit of area (e.g. people/km²) |
| Cultural diffusion | Spread of cultural elements from one society to another |
| Acculturation | Adopting some traits of another culture while keeping your own |
| Assimilation | Fully absorbing into another culture, losing original identity |
| Sovereignty | Supreme authority of a state to govern itself |
| GDP | Gross Domestic Product — total value of goods/services produced |
| GDP per capita | GDP divided by population — indicates average standard of living |
| HDI | Human Development Index — measures health, education, income |
| MEDC | More Economically Developed Country |
| LEDC | Less Economically Developed Country |
| Sustainable development | Meeting present needs without harming future generations |
| Plate tectonics | Theory that Earth’s crust is made of moving plates |
| Ring of Fire | Zone of earthquakes/volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean |
| Rain shadow | Dry area on the leeward side of a mountain |
| Biome | Large region with distinct climate, plants, and animals |
| Supranational org. | Organisation where countries cooperate beyond national borders (e.g. EU, UN) |
| Stateless nation | An ethnic/cultural group without its own recognised country |
| Refugee | Person forced to flee due to war, persecution, or disaster |
| Globalisation | Increasing interconnection of the world’s economies and cultures |
🎤 Fun Fact for Alishba!
Tokyo, Japan has one of the highest population densities of any major world city — about 6,400 people per km². If Len Kagamine lived in central Tokyo, he would have roughly 6,400 neighbours in every square kilometre! That is like fitting the entire population of a small Texas town into an area the size of Frisco’s Stonebriar Centre mall... several times over. 🏙️🎵