Name: ______________________________________

What is “Geography??”1

The ancient Greeks were the first to formally study the earth and develop the science of “geography.” They

used to say that “Geography is the Mother of All Science.”The word “geography” literally means

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________

Geography’s Key Ideas…What There? Why There? Why Care?

1. What There?a. ___________________________________: “Where did it

happen?”■ it can be ___________________ or

___________________■ Relative = depends on where you are located. “my house

is west of where you are”■ Absolute = doesn’t depend on where you are located. “my

house is at 45o N 115o W”■ provides the starting point for many kinds of geographic

study

b. ____________________: ■ these are the characteristics of the ________________ of

a location that can affect that location■ e.g. Canada’s Maritime provinces are struggling

economically compared to other locations in Canada because the Maritimes are ___________, _______________, have little _____________________, and don’t have many ______________________________

1 <http://s3.amazonaws.com/minglebox-photo/f9f13f2d1310548225551.990ddeee.m_geography.jpg>

Name: ______________________________________

2. Why There?a. Geographers study the world and look for causes,

_________________,__________________, connections and interconnections

b. Pattern : e.g. we look at the location of volcanoes and we see that many of them are around the edge of the ______________. So we have called this the “_________________________” (a region)

c. Trend : to change or develop in a certain direction. ■ e.g. Russia’s population is ______________.

Measurements show that the earth’s climate is ___________________.

d. Geographers use this information to divide the world into ______________.

e. Region :■ an area of the earth that has _______________ and

easily recognizable features■ creating regions help to __________________________

into themes■ regions can vary widely in ____________ (e.g. Credit

Valley, Southern Ontario, Eastern Canada, Western Hemisphere)

■ regions can be defined using many different criteria…1. by _______________ (the Muslim World)2. by ________________ (the English-speaking world)3. by __________________ (Developed countries,

Developing countries)4. others

Name: ______________________________________3. Why Care?

a. _________________________________________________…■ everything is connected to everything else in some way■ and because of this, what happens in one location can

force ___________________ in other locations■ these changes can be positive or negative■ e.g. the volcanic eruptions in Iceland have lead to

closures of airports in Europe■ humans have an impact on the environment, and the

environment can have an impact on humansb. We must also consider different Geographic

_____________________________…■ environmental, economic, political, social■ use geographic perspectives to identify and solve

______________________, make decisions, judgements, plan

■ we must consider the _____________________________ and the circumstances that they are in. e.g. different cultures view the environment differently

Name: ______________________________________

What is “Geography??”

The ancient Greeks were the first to formally study the earth and develop the science of “geography.” They used to say that “Geography is the Mother of All Science.”The word “geography” literally means:The study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these, including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries.

Geography’s Key Ideas…What There? Why There? Why Care?

4. What There?

Name: ______________________________________

a. Location/Place: “Where did it happen?”■ it can be relative or absolute…■Relative = depends on where you

are located. “my house is west of where you are”

■ Absolute = doesn’t depend on where you are located. “my house is at 45o N 115o W”

■ provides the starting point for many kinds of geographic study

b. Situation: ■ these are the characteristics of the

surroundings of a location that can affect that location

■ e.g. Canada’s Maritime provinces are struggling economically compared to other locations in Canada because the Maritimes are small, isolated, have little agriculture, and don’t have many natural resources

Name: ______________________________________

5. Why There?a. Geographers study the world and

look for causes, patterns, trends, connections and interconnections

b. Pattern: e.g. we look at the location of volcanoes and we see that many of them are around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. So we have called this the “Ring of Fire” (a region)

c.Trend: to change or develop in a certain direction. ■ e.g. Russia’s population is

declining. Measurements show that the earth’s climate is changing

d. Geographers use this information to divide the world into regions

e. Region:■ an area of the earth that has similar

and easily recognizable features

Name: ______________________________________

■ creating regions help to organize information into themes

■ regions can vary widely in size (e.g. Credit Valley, Southern Ontario, Eastern Canada, Western Hemisphere)

■ regions can be defined using many different criteria…

1. by Religion (the Muslim World)

2. by Language (the English-speaking world)

3. by Economics (Developed countries, Developing countries)

4. others

Name: ______________________________________

6. Why Care?a. Interrelationships & Interactions…

■ everything is connected to everything else in some way

■ and because of this, what happens in one location can force changes in other locations

■ these changes can be positive or negative

■ e.g. the volcanic eruptions in Iceland have lead to closures of airports in Europe

■ humans have an impact on the environment, and the environment can have an impact on humans

b. We must also consider different Geographic Perspectives…

Name: ______________________________________

■ environmental, economic, political, social

■ use geographic perspectives to identify and solve problems, make decisions, judgements, plan

■we must consider the lives of others and the circumstances that they are in. e.g. different cultures view the environment differently