Geography Skills Study GuideKEY

Directions: Use your chapter 1 notes to complete questions 1-8.

  1. List the tools geographers use to study our world.

______maps, globes, and satellite images______

  1. Name the two branches of geography.

____physical and human______

  1. Globes show __the world as it really is ______.
  2. List the five themes of geography.

___location, place, region, movement, human-environment interaction______

  1. What do human geographers study? __the world’s people, landscapes where they live, economies , politics (government), city life______
  2. What do physical geographers study? ___the world’s geographic features like landforms, bodies of water climates, soil, and plants______
  3. To understand how the world works, geographers look at places at three different levels. Those levels are _local____, _regional_____, and __global_. (Be sure you understand the difference between each level.)

Directions: Use your chapter 2 notes to complete questions 9-10.

  1. Most of Earth’s available freshwater supply is stored ___underground______.
  2. 3% of Earth’s water supply is __freshwater______(freshwater or saltwater)?
  3. 97% of Earth’s water supply is __saltwater______(freshwater or saltwater)?
  4. What causes the seasons to change on Earth? _tilt of Earth’s axis toward & away from the sun______

Directions: Use your chapter 3 notes and your textbook to complete questions 12-15.

  1. (TB p.59) Mediterranean climates (found in the temperate zone) are characterized by sunny, warm, dry _summers___ and mild, somewhat wet __winters______.
  2. The hottest places on Earth are in the lower latitudesor areas closest to the equator. This is known as the _tropical______region.
  3. (TB p.69) A nonrenewable resource is _a resource that cannot be replaced by earth’s natural processesand examples are __coal, petroleum, natural gas______
  4. (TB p. 69) A renewable resource are ___resources Earth replaces naturally____ and examples are _water, soil, plants, animals______

Directions: Define the following terms using your Geo Skills vocabulary handout.

  1. region - _a part of the world that has one or more common features (ex. Landforms, climate) ____
  2. environment–land, water, climate, plants, and animals in an area______

How do physical environments affect the way people live? It determines what kind of shelter people live in, what type of clothing they wear, and the way they prepare for severe weather.

  1. plate tectonics - _a theory suggesting Earth’s surface is divided into a dozen or so slow-moving plates
  2. landforms - _shapes on the planet’s surface______

Examples: __Rocky Mountains, Mississippi River, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, San Fernando Valley, Red Sands desert___

How do landforms affect the way people live? Landforms can keep people isolated so they don’t speak the same language as others, can influence where people settle or live, and can determine or decide what kind of jobs people have.

  1. relative location _general description of where a place is______

Example: _U.S. is north of Mexico and south of Canada, Houston is south of Dallas and north of Galveston

  1. absolute location __specific location using latitude and longitude or a physical address_____

Example: __(10°S, 25°W), 18218 Theiss Mail Route______

Latitude and Longitude Practice

Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude

  1. __5°S______10°W______5. __24°S______35°W__
  2. __10°S______20°W_____6. __25°N_____10°W_
  3. __0°______0°______7. __10°S______5°E_____
  4. __5°N______40°W_____8. __20°S______20°E______