De Anza College___________________________
Social Sciences
 
Geography 10 - Winter 2000
Study Guide for the first Midterm
 
 
Weeks ONE and TWO
 
Key Terms:
map, thematic map, cartogram, scale, projections, globe, axis, pole,
latitude/longitude coordinates, site and situation, exact/relative
location, distance decay, context (cultural, historical and spatial), process,
boundary, ecology, four types of regions: 1) formal region, 2)
nodal or functional region, 3) perceptual or vernacular region, 4) natural
region.
 
Study Questions:
Define the word "map", Define "perspective", Define "scale" What would be the
specialty of an area studies specialist? (a regional
geographer). How does the 'Man-Land' tradition differ from the Earth Sciences
Tradition? How are flat map projections created?
How are they distorted and why? How does scale limit the amount and type of
information that can be shown on a map? Distinguish
between different types of regions. How do the borders of different regions
differ? Why is Istambul, Turkey located where it is?
Explain in terms of site and situation.

Week THREE
 
Key Terms:
global climate change, greenhouse effect, greenhouse gasses, (carbon compounds-
CO2-Carbon Dioxide, CFC's, CH4-Methane, etc.),
fossil fuels, photosynthesis, systems theory, dynamic equilibrium, inputs &
outputs, feedback.
 
Study Questions:
What is the greenhouse effect, what human processes are contributing to it, and
what are its potential implications?, Which places will
be most affected by potential sea level rise?, What are greenhouse gasses, and
how do they act as the planet's atmospheric insulator?
What is the difference between global warming and ozone depletion?

Week FOUR
 
Key Terms:
urban sprawl, mass transit, automobility, commute, suburbanization, urban
morphology, raison d'être, urban function,
perception/mental map, balkanize, distance decay.
Study Questions:
How did changes in transportation technology change North American cities? What
is the relationship of any city to its hinterland?
What is the relationship between North American urban morphology and the
greenhouse effect? How can public transit help reduce
our carbon emissions to the atmosphere? What factors determine the location of a
city? What factors influence the contents of an
individual's personal perception map? How did Columbus' mental map of what he
discovered influence early maps of the Americas?

Week FIVE
 
Key Terms
Hispanic, rainforests, deforestation, biodiversity, El Niño, convection,
rainshadow, Easterly trade winds.
 
Study Questions:
Describe the geographic distribution of "Hispanics." Explain why this group is
too diverse to be understood as a single people. If
Rainforests cover a small part of earth's surface, why is their continued
existence considered to be so important? Why does
deforestation contribute to the greenhouse effect? Describe the El Niño effect in
terms of ocean temperature, currents, and related
weather abnormalities in Latin America. What factors account for the geographic
pattern of deserts and rainforests in South America?
How did El Niño alter the normal climate patterns in South America?

Week SIX
 
Key Terms:
nation, state, empire, multinationalism, border, homeland, sovereignty,
ethnicity, minority, language group, friction of distance,
modernization, industrial revolution, mechanization, population, continentality,
maritime climate.
 
Study Questions:
What is the relationship between political boundaries and the following:
ethnicity, economics, and language? Is a 'nation' a contiguous
entity? Can culture be 'mapped'? Describe the potential problems encountered by a
nation without a state. Explain the history behind
the current geographic distribution of Romance languages in Europe. Describe the
problems encountered by the break-up of
Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Describe the reasons for the
conflict in Dagestan, Russia. Why is the population
of Russia declining?