DSST Introduction to Geography study plan

Distinguish latitude/longitude, great-circle distance, and time-zone offsets by solving 15 coordinate and time-conversion problems

Convert between representative fractions, verbal scales, and graphic scales for 10 map-scale exercises

Identify and label the four map projections (Mercator, Robinson, azimuthal, conic) and state one distortion each produces

Read contour lines to infer elevation, slope steepness, and gradient from a described topographic scenario

Interpret thematic maps (choropleth, isoline, dot density, cartogram) by matching five map types to appropriate data sets

Explain how GIS layers and remote sensing differ, giving one geographic use for each

Describe Earth's rotation, revolution, and axial tilt and connect them to solstices, equinoxes, and seasonal daylight

Compute local solar time differences across three longitude pairs

Sketch and label the layers of the atmosphere, naming the temperature trend in each layer

Differentiate weather from climate and identify the factors that drive global atmospheric circulation cells

Classify the major soil orders by climate and vegetation associations

Match biome types (tropical rainforest, tundra, desert, grassland, taiga) to their climate and latitude ranges

Trace the hydrologic cycle and define watershed, aquifer, and groundwater table

Compare plate boundary types (divergent, convergent, transform) and the landforms each creates

Explain fluvial, glacial, and coastal erosion and deposition processes with one landform example each

Describe how El Niño/Southern Oscillation shifts precipitation patterns

Define culture region, cultural hearth, and diffusion and give one real-world example of each diffusion type

Analyze how physical environment constrains and enables human activity using three case examples

Explain environmental determinism versus possibilism and identify which framing a given scenario uses

Describe the demographic transition model stages and place three countries in their current stage

Map the distribution of major language families and identify three diffusion patterns

Compare world religions by hearth, diffusion path, and spatial distribution

Explain political geography concepts: nation-state, boundary types, and devolution, with examples

Connect urbanization and migration patterns to push-pull factors

Locate and name the major regions, countries, and capitals of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas on a blank map

Identify key physical features: major mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, and seas, by region

Explain one economic and one cultural characteristic that distinguishes each world region

Describe regional climate contrasts within one continent using latitude, altitude, and proximity to water

Synthesize all five domains by completing two full-length timed practice sets

Diagnose the three weakest subtopics from practice results and re-review those notes

Recite key definitions and models (projections, biomes, demographic transition, diffusion) from memory

Build a final one-page review sheet covering formulas, models, and regional facts