Download Learning the Five Themes in Geography

Learning the Five Themes
in Geography
Chapter 1
Section 1
Geography
The word comes from a
Greek word meaning “writing
about or “describing” the
earth.
It is the study of where
people, places, & things are
located and how they relate to
each other.
1. Location: Where is it?
A. Absolute location: a precise
place. They do not change in
degrees of longitude &
latitude. Longi. & latit. are
used as a grid system of
imaginary lines for precisely
locating places.
Cont.
B. Relative Location: It
describes how a place is
related to its surrounding
environment. Ex: The park is
about two blocks west of the
public library.
2. Place: What is it like?
A. Physical Characteristics:
Geographers examine the
natural features of places,
including landforms, climate,
and vegetation.
Cont.
B. Human Characteristics:
How people live, work,
languages, customs, beliefs,
governed, economy function,
urban growth, farming
techniques, & architectural
styles.
3. Human –Environment
Interaction: How do people relate
to the physical world?
Refers to the relationship between
human and their environment.
People learn to use what the
environment offers and to change it
to meet their needs.
We also learn to live with
environment we can’t control. Ex:
climate, floods, hurricanes, etc.
Examples:
The American Southwest
provides examples of positive
and negative changes. Before
the era of swimming pools, air
conditioning, massive
irrigation, and automobiles,
this hot, dry region had few
residents.
4. MOVEMENT: How do people,
goods, & ideas move from one location
to another?
Ex: lakes, rivers, railroads,
highways, clothing you wear,
music, and any kinds of
transportation.
But, movement also means
movement of ideas, religions,
customs, languages, and values.
5. Region: How are places
similar or different?
Is an area of the earth’s surface
with similar characteristics. They
usually have something that
unifies them.
They may include physical,
political, economic, or cultural
characteristics.
2 types: Formal and Functional
A. Formal Regions
Certain characteristic are found
throughout the area.
U.S., Latin America, Europe,
Africa, etc. Ex:states, countries,
& cities that share the same
political regions, law & rules by
the same govt., & similar
cultural styles.
Functional Region
A set of interactions &
connections between places.
South Texas region can be
defined by its climate, vegetation,
rivers and landforms.
Suburbs: highways, commuter
railroads, subways, & bus lines
move people from suburbs to
cities.
Questions on five themes
1. What is the difference between
absolute and relative location?
2. How is the absolute location of a
place described?
3. How is the relative location of a
place described?
4.What does the theme of place
refer to?
Cont.
5. What is a region?
6. How do formal & functional
regions differ?
7. What does the themes humanenvironment interaction refer to?
8. Give some examples of the positive
and negative effects of people
altering their environment?
Answers?
1. A.L. is the exact place of a
geographic feature & R.L. describes
a feature’s location in relation to its
surrounding.
2. By identifying the place’s latitude
& longitude.
3. By identifying its spatial
relationship to other places around
it.
4. The physical & cultural features
of a location.
Cont. Answers
5. An area of the earth’s surface with
similar characteristics.
6. Formal is base on related
characteristics & functional is
connections between places.
7. Ways in which people use, change
or live with their environment.
8. Positive: safer and more livable;
negative: pollutes, destroys natural
beauty.