GED SOCIAL STUDIES
https://youtu.be/kIID5FDi2JQ
Basic Concepts of Geography
Physical geography involves the study of physical features of the world, like
glaciers, oceans, rivers, and landmasses, and includes the study of natural
systems like climates and ocean currents.
Human geography is the study of human interaction with the
environment. Topics of human geography include population, economic
development, land usage, urbanization, agricultural development, and
cultural change.
A central concept of geography is location.
Latitude is based on imaginary east-west parallel lines wrapping around the
earth parallel to the equator.
Longitude refers to imaginary north south lines that intersect at the north and
south poles.
The equator, a line around the earth equidistant from the north and south poles,
is latitude 0°; the north pole is 90° north, and the south pole is 90° south.
The prime meridian is longitude 0°, an arbitrary line near London drawn
through the site of what was once one of the world’s leading observatories.
Longitudinal lines are numbered in degrees east and west from the prime
meridian.
All places on Earth can be located by their coordinates, their degrees north or
south of the equator and their degrees east and west of the prime meridian.
Washington, D.C., for example, is 38.9072° N, 77.0369° W.
Another central concept of geography is region.
regions are basic to both physical and human geography.
• Physical geography focuses on natural regions (for example, the Amazon
Basin, the Gobi Desert, or the continent of Australia
• These can be well-defined regions with marked borders, like the country
of Spain, or regions that are not well demarcated, like the French-speaking
region of Belgium.
• functional regions, like the regional management structure of a large
corporation or the different interrelated systems of a metropolitan area.
• They even can be perceptual regions with only vague borders, like the
Bible Belt or an ethnic neighborhood in a city.
Maps are a common tool geographers use to provide information.
Maps can show physical features and/or man-made features.
Maps usually include a scale that relates the size of the map to the
size of the actual area shown on the map, depicted as an equation (1
inch = 100 miles) or a ratio (1:100,000).
Most maps also include a key or legend that explains the markings on
the map.
one problem with maps, especially those showing a large region or the
entire world, is distortion.
Any projection of the curved surface of Earth onto a flat map is not
entirely accurate.
geographers have developed a number of different methods for
projecting the curved surface of Earth onto a flat map.
Practice
Question 1 refers to the following two world map
World Map A: Equirectangular
projection
World Map B: Cassini projection
1. Which statement correctly describes the two maps?
(1) Map A shows an accurate view of the world while Map B distorts reality.
(2) Map B shows an accurate view of the world while Map A distorts reality.
(3) Map A would be of greater use to a pilot trying to fly from Alaska to Europe
than Map B.
(4) Both maps distort the size, shape, and location of the continents.
(5) Map B provides a less-accurate view of the shape of Antarctica than Map A.
Question 2 refers to the following table:
The World’s Largest Deserts
Size(Squ
Locat
Desert ion
are Selected Fact
Miles)
The With average annual precipitation of only2 to 8 inches, Antarctica is the
Antarctic continent of
Antarctica
5.4 million world’s driest continent; paradoxically, it contains most of the world’s supply
of fresh water.
Most of the Sahara, where the world’s hottest temperature has been recorded,
Northern
Sahara Africa
3.3 million gets less than 1 inch of rainfall annually, but its Nile River Valley is lush and
green year-round
Although the Arabian Desert is one of the hottest and driest areas of the planet,
Arabian
Arabian Peninsula
900,000 oases (sites naturally supplied with underground water) make it an important
producer of dates
China and Snowfall accounts for most of the precipitation in the Gobi Desert, where
Gobi Mongolia
500,000
temperatures can drop to –40°F in the winter.
Southern Although it only gets 3 to 7.5 inches of rainfall annually, areas of the Kalahari
Kalahari Africa
300,000
support an abundance of desert plants and wildlife
Deserts are areas that get less than 10 inches of annual precipitation (rain, snow, hail)
2. Which statement provides the best general conclusion that can be
made from the table
as a whole?
(1) Deserts are always sparsely populated areas.
(2) Deserts around the world look about the same.
(3) Most of the world’s deserts are in Africa.
(4) Not all deserts have the same climate.
(5) South America doesn’t have any deserts.
