AP Human Geography
Complete AP Human Geography guide covering all 7 College Board units: Thinking Geographically, Population and Migration, Cultural Patterns, Political Patterns, Agriculture and Rural Land Use, Cities and Urban Land Use, and Industrial and Economic Development. Includes the major models (DTM, von Thünen, Burgess/Hoyt, Rostow, Weber) and FRQ strategy.
Topics Covered
What you get
Unit 1 — Thinking Geographically
THE BIG PICTURE. Unit 1 sets up the conceptual toolkit for everything else in AP Human Geography — geographic perspectives, maps, scale, and spatial concepts. The unit weighs 8–10% of the AP exam (the smallest unit, but its tools recur in every other unit). Mastery of map types, projections, and scale of analysis is essential.
Sample Flashcards
Distinguish site and situation with examples.
SITE = the PHYSICAL characteristics of a location: climate, topography, soil, water access, elevation, natural resources. Example: New York City's SITE includes a deep natural harbor, fresh water (Hudson, Lake Erie via canal), and Manhattan's rocky bedrock that supports skyscrapers. SITUATION = location RELATIVE to oth…
How do Mercator, Gall-Peters, and Robinson projections differ?
MERCATOR (1569) — preserves DIRECTION (rhumb lines straight). Made for navigation. Severely distorts AREA at high latitudes — Greenland looks larger than Africa (Africa is ~14× bigger). Often criticized for Eurocentric bias. GALL-PETERS (1855) — preserves AREA accurately.
Sample Key Terms
5 Themes of Geography
Location, Place, Human-Environment Interaction, Movement, Region. Foundational framework for asking geographic questions.
Site vs Situation
Site = physical characteristics of a place (climate, topography). Situation = location relative to other places (trade routes, neighbors). Cities like NYC benefit from both.
Map Projections
Flat representations of curved Earth — always distorted. Mercator preserves direction (distorts area). Robinson is balanced. Gall-Peters preserves area. Goode's Homolosine is interrupted but area-accurate.
What's Covered
- Unit 1 — Thinking Geographically
- Unit 2 — Population and Migration Patterns and Processes
- Unit 3 — Cultural Patterns and Processes
- Unit 4 — Political Patterns and Processes
- Unit 5 — Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns
- Unit 6 — Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes
- Unit 7 — Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes
- AP Human Geography — Skills, Models, and Exam Strategy
8 topics · 61+ flashcards · quizzes & matching games included
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