TASC Geography Level 3 flashcards
TASC Geography Level 3 · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Latitude
- Angular distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees from 0 at the Equator to 90 at each pole; it largely controls climate.
- Longitude
- Angular distance east or west of the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees from 0 to 180; longitude determines time zone and local solar time.
- Five themes of geography
- Location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region; together they organize how geographers describe and analyze any place.
- Formal region
- An area sharing one or more measurable, uniform traits, such as a language zone, a climate belt, or a political boundary.
- Functional region
- An area organized around a central node and connected by flows, such as a city and its commuting zone or a river drainage basin.
- Perceptual region
- A region defined by people's beliefs and mental maps rather than strict boundaries, such as the terms Midwest or Middle East.
- Population density
- The average number of people per unit of land area, calculated as total population divided by total area, usually people per square kilometer.
- Push factor
- A condition that drives people to leave a place, such as conflict, drought, famine, or lack of jobs.
- Pull factor
- A condition that attracts migrants to a destination, such as employment, safety, education, or family connections.
- Demographic transition model
- A model describing how birth and death rates fall in stages as a society industrializes and urbanizes, shifting population growth patterns.
- Divergent boundary
- A tectonic boundary where plates move apart, allowing magma to rise; it creates mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys.
- Convergent boundary
- A tectonic boundary where plates collide; it produces mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, and volcanic activity.
- Transform boundary
- A tectonic boundary where plates slide past each other horizontally, generating earthquakes but little volcanic activity.
- Climate versus weather
- Weather is short-term atmospheric conditions; climate is the long-term average pattern of weather in a place, typically over 30 years.
- Tropical climate
- A climate zone near the Equator with consistently high temperatures and heavy rainfall, often supporting rainforest or savanna vegetation.
- Urbanization
- The rising share of a population living in cities, driven by rural-to-urban migration and natural growth in urban areas.
- Map scale
- The ratio between distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground, shown as a fraction, ratio, or scale bar.
- Large-scale map
- A map showing a small area with high detail, such as a city street map, because the scale ratio is relatively large.
- Small-scale map
- A map showing a large area with less detail, such as a world or continent map, because the scale ratio is relatively small.
- Grid reference
- A coordinate system using lines or cells on a map; in an alphanumeric grid, the easting value is read before the northing value.
- Contour line
- A line on a map joining points of equal elevation; spacing reveals slope steepness and closed loops indicate hills or depressions.
- Cross-section
- A profile graph of terrain along a line on a map, made by plotting distance horizontally and elevation vertically.
- Map projection
- A method for representing the curved Earth on a flat surface; every projection distorts area, shape, distance, or direction.
- Equal-area projection
- A map projection that preserves relative area of regions but distorts shape, useful for comparing land areas or population distributions.
- Remote sensing
- Collecting data about Earth's surface from satellites, aircraft, or drones, often used to track land cover, weather, and vegetation.
- Geographic Information System
- Software that stores, layers, and analyzes spatial data, enabling overlays and queries of features such as roads, population, and land use.
- Absolute location
- A precise position on Earth's surface given by coordinates such as latitude and longitude or a street address.
- Relative location
- A position described in relation to other places, such as north of the river or two hours from the capital city.
- Choropleth map
- A thematic map that shades regions by data value, such as population density or voting results, using graded colors.
- Isoline map
- A thematic map connecting points of equal value with lines, such as contour lines for elevation or isobars for air pressure.
- Correlation versus causation
- Two mapped variables may vary together without one causing the other; a third underlying factor can explain both patterns.
- Map legend
- A key that explains the symbols, colors, and line types on a map so the mapped features can be interpreted correctly.