Core ConceptsGeography: The Study of Earth

Objectives▪ Students will

▪ Describe ways geographers use latitude and longitude to study Earth.

▪ Identify the basic questions geographers seek to answer in their study of Earth.

▪ Identify the 5 themes of geography.

▪ Describe ways geographers use location, place, region, movement, and human-environment-interaction to study and understand Earth.

Geography Geography is the study

of the human and nonhuman features of Earth, our home.

Geographers try to answer two basic questions: Where are things located? Why are they there?

They also study how Earth and its people affect each other.

Directions In order to study

Earth, geographers need to measure it and locate points on its surface.

Cardinal directions are north, south, east and west. Intermediate directions lie between the cardinal directions.

▪ Ex- Northeast, Southwest

Latitude Earth is almost a perfect

sphere, or round shaped body.

Geographers have drawn imaginary lines around Earth to help locate places on its surface. One of these is the Equator, a line drawn around the Earth between the North and South Poles.

The Equator is the most important line of latitude.

Equator The Equator is

also known as the O degree latitude line. Latitude is the

distance north or south of the Equator.

The Equator divides Earth in half. Each half is called a hemisphere.

Longitude Geographers have also

drawn imaginary north south lines that run between the North and South Pole on Earth’s surface. One of these lines is the Prime Meridian.

The Prime Meridian and the other north-south lines measure longitude.

The Prime Meridian establishes the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

Geography’s Five Themes

Geographers use five different themes, or ways of thinking. These themes are

location, place, region, movement, and human-environment interaction.

Using five themes can help you make sense of geography.

Location Geographers begin to study

a place by finding where it is, or its location. There are two ways to talk about location.

Absolute location describes a place’s exact position on Earth in terms of longitude and latitude.

Relative location, or the location of a place relative to another place, is another way to describe location.

Place Geographers also

study place. Place refers to the

mix of human and nonhuman features at a given location.

For example, you might talk about how many people live in a place and the kind of work they do there.

Region Geographers use the

them of region to group places that have something in common.

A region is an area with at least one unifying physical or human feature such as climate, landforms, population, or history.

Movement

The theme of movement explores how people, goods, and ideas get from one place to another.

Daily movement of trucks, trains, and automobiles supplies the people of St. Louis with food, fuel and other basic goods.

Human-Environment Interaction The theme of human-

environment interaction considers how people affect their environment, or their natural surroundings, and how their environment affects them. The movement of water

from the Mississippi into St. Louis’s water system is an example of human-environment interaction.

Ways to Show Earth’s Surface A globe is a model of Earth with

the same round shape as Earth itself. With a globe, geographers can show the continents and oceans of Earth much as they really are.

Photographs are images of Earth’s surface taken from the air. Satellite images are pictures of Earth taken from orbit.

Flat maps and photos have one major problem. Earth is round. A map or photo is flat. There will be areas stretched or bent.

Types of Maps Physical maps show

physical, or natural, features.

Road maps cover a specific area and where roads are located.

Political maps shoe political units, such as countries or states.

Special-purpose show the location and distribution of human or physical features.