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Study Guide: Test 1
***Suggestion: write answers on a separate sheet of paper
Terms to Know (define each):
Absolute Location — Exact
location of a geographic feature, requires latitude and
longitude coordinates
Relative Location — Location
of a geographic feature using a reference point or
something that is familiar
Latitude — “Parallel”,
imaginary lines that run east to west and circle the globe
parallel to the equator, these lines are the part of the global grid that measure
distance, in degrees (minutes & seconds) north and south of the Equator (0°
Latitude)
Longitude — “Meridians”,
imaginary lines that run north to south and converge at
the North and South Poles, these lines are the part of the global grid that
measure distance, in degrees (minutes & seconds) east and west of the Prime
Meridian (0° Longitude)
Orientation — Direction
Scale — Feature
on a map, shown or indicated by the compass rose
found on a map that helps determine distance from one place to
another
Contours — Lines
on a map that connect areas of equal elevation
Distortion — Inaccuracies
that occur on a map as the transfer of the 3-D earth to
the 2-D map (visual representation, all or part)
Climate — Long-term
weather patterns
Legend (Key) — Display
on a map that explain the symbols, shading, color, etc.
Terracing — Areas
of farmland that have been carved out of mountains or elevated
areas
Polders — Lands
reclaimed from the sea; used in “low courtiers”
Deforestation — Clear-cutting
of forests without replanting for timber, settlement,
of slash & burn agriculture
Desertification — Expansion
of desert/arid conditions due to climate change or
human activity like the overgrazing livestock
Acid rain — Pollution
in the atmosphere that mixes with precipitation
Greenhouse effect — Layering
of gases in the atmosphere that trap the sun’s
radiation causing the heating of the earth’s surface
Erosion — Wearing
away of the earth’s surface (wind, water, glaciers)
Essential questions (answer each as thoroughly as possible):
1. What is the difference between a political and physical map?
Political maps show man-made features such as boundary lines, place
names, cities, capitals
Physical maps show natural features such as landform, water bodies,
climate
2. What types of information can be shown on a thematic map?
A thematic map shows one theme or topic – religion, climate, weather,
population, statistical information, physical features, resources
3. What aspects of the Earth can be distorted when projecting our round world onto a flat map?
SADD – Shape, Area (size), Distance, Direction
4. Describe each of the following map projections and state a use for each one.
--Mercator:
Accurate at the equator, shows true direction
Latitude and Longitude lines run at right angles
Adv.:
Distortion occurs away from the equator, high
latitude areas become distorted
Dis.:
Useful for:
Ship captains; sea navigation
--Robinson:
Adv.:
Shows true shape
Dis.:
Distortion occurs away from the poles
Useful for:
Classroom; Data representation
--Polar:
Accurate at the center (poles), shows the Great
Circle Route
Adv.:
Dis.:
Distortion occurs away from the center
Useful for:
Airline pilots
5. List three uses of mental maps.
Map developed in your mind – it is used to carry out daily activities, give
directions, and understand world events – it is refined by using reference
points or relative locations and comparing mental maps to real world maps
and atlases
6. List three primary sources of information used by cartographers.
Fieldwork, Interview, Photographs, Observation
7. How was a map of Africa in 1914 different than a map of Africa today?
Prior to 1914 the land of Africa was colonized by European countries and
the boundary lines were drawn showing territory of each country. Today all
of the land area in Africa has been divided into independent nations. The
last countries gained independence in the late 1950’s. However, in 2012
boundary lines changed again when the country of Sudan split into two
countries, Sudan and South Sudan.
8. What was the name of the former communist country that was composed of Russia and many smaller
surrounding countries?
U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) –Soviet Union
9. Where is the Middle East?
North Africa and Southwest Asia
10. Who would call the Sea of Japan “the East Sea”?
China, North/South Korea
11. What is another name that has historically been used for Israel?
Palestine
12. Where do most tornadoes occur?
Mid-western U.S. “Tornado Alley”
13. What do you call a hurricane that occurs in the Pacific Ocean?
Typhoon
14. Which sea is shrinking because of a Soviet project in the 1960s to supply cotton farms with water?
The Aral Sea
15. What was Egypt’s purpose in building the Aswan High Dam? What problem has it caused?
The building of the Aswan Dam brought hydroelectric power, controlled
flooding of the Nile and created Lake Nasser for irrigation purposes. The
negatives of building the dam included stopping the deposition of the fertile
silt that came as a result of the annual flood. It displaced 90,000 people
from their homes. The building of the dam led to decreased water flow in
the north, which resulted in poorly managed irrigation systems (increased
salt) and decreased fish stock in the Mediterranean Sea (decreased the flow
of nutrients).
16. List three things that cause pollution.
Air pollution/Acid rain – burning fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas
Water pollution – chemical fertilizers, pesticides, factory waste, sewage
Nuclear pollution
17. What is the purpose of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)?
A GIS combines information about a place from several sources,
databases, satellites, maps and stores it to create new maps and help
geographers solve problems
18. Which countries are fighting over Kashmir?
Pakistan and India (**China)
19. What is another name used for the island of Taiwan?
Formosa (Portuguese territory) & Republic of China (according to China)
20. Describe the key differences between maps of Europe before and after World War II.
Communism divided both Germany and Austria
21. What changed on the map of Europe when the Cold War ended around 1990?
The Soviet Union collapsed and separated into 15 independent nations,
other communist satellite nations separated as well. Czechoslovakia
separated into the Czech Republic and the country of Slovakia. Both of the
separations took place without hostility. However, the satellite country of
Yugoslavia splintered into 5 countries with wars due to ethnic tensions and
political rivalries between Albanians, Bosnians, Croats, and Serbs (most
violent) – the ABC’S of conflict
22. Which river provides water to parts of California, Arizona, and Nevada?
The Colorado
23. What is the difference between climate and weather?
Weather - daily atmospheric conditions
Climate – long-term weather patterns (average)
24. A scale might include the following representation—1:1,000. What might this mean?
One unit on the map represents one thousand units of actual land area