Thinking Geographically: Key Issue 1
Name: _______________________ P: ____
How Do Geographers Describe Where Things Are?
Due: _______
Rubenstein, pp. 2 – 13 and Appendix pp. 476 - 482
1. Define geography:
2. Compare/Contrast the differences in the disciplines of history and geography.
History
Geography
3. Finish the sentence: “The first chapter _______________how geographers _________about the __________.”
4. Find a picture in your textbook that illustrates globalization and local diversity. Write the page number of the
picture and describe why you chose it:
-Globalization
-Local Diversity
5. Identify and describe the two categories of geography.
6. Define and describe in words and pictures how each of the following concepts is essential in the study of
geography. These terms will be important all year!
Map
Place
Region
Scale
Space
Connections
7. CASE STUDY/Big Mac Attack
a. What motivates companies to build in certain locations and not others?
b. How is McDonald’s both a representative of globalization and local diversity?
8. Define cartography:
● MAPS
9. Give two examples of early mapmaking and its (unusual?) materials for the maps.
(a)
(b)
10. Who first demonstrated that the earth was round? How?
11a. Who was the first to use the term “geography.”
11b. List three of his contributions in geography at that time.
(a)
(b)
(c)
12. Provide an example of developments in geography for each of the following:
Chinese
Muslims
Age of Discovery
(16th Century)
(Use Appendix pages 476 – 482 to help you answer the following questions, along with the reading in Chapter 1,
Section 1 of your book.)
13.When making a map, the 1st and most important decision in regards to the map is its scale. Define scale:
13b. Give an example of the following types of scales
 RF
 Written Statement
 Bar scale
14. THINK. What are characteristics and advantages of a map which shows only a small portion of the earth’s
surface – like a neighborhood - that is, a large-scale map?
15 What are characteristics and advantages of a map which shows the entire globe, a small-scale map, have?
16. When geographers convert the round earth to a flat map, they use a projection. All projections have some
distortion (only a globe has none). List the four things that typically become distorted in various projections and
two other distortions that accompany projection in order to attempt to preserve size and shape
a.
c.
e.
b.
d.
f.
17. Which type of map (large or small scale) has the least distortion?
18. Two important projections are the Mercator and Robinson. Complete the table below to compare their
advantages and disadvantages.
MERCATOR
Disadvantages
Advantages/Strengt
hs
ROBINSON
19. List areas of the world that would be located at high-latitude locations.
20. With regard to the Land Ordinance of 1785, which became the official survey system for the United States,
define and illustrate the following:
a) township
b) sections
21. Why is this survey system (which is 226 years old) still important in understanding U.S. geography today?
● CONTEMPORARY TOOLS
22. Complete the following regarding a Global Positioning System.
G P S
Elements/components…
Uses/implementation…
23a. Define remote sensing:
23b. Remotely sensed images consist of pixels. What is the smallest area on the surface of the earth that can be
scanned as a single pixel?
24c. List several things that geographers can map using remotely sensed data.
25a. “Geographic information systems involve storing information about a location in ______________. Each
layer represents a different piece of _________________ or ____________________ information.”
25b. Give three examples of types of data stored in a single layer.
26. Contemporary Geographic Tools/Navigation Devices from Hand-Drawn to Electronic
a. List examples of how you use maps in your daily life
b. What are Navteq and Tele Atlas?
c. What is “ground-truthing”?