APGEO: Homework and Do Now 8-31

Today's Do Now: What is the site and the situation of Durham, NC?

It is extremely important that all of you gradually become comfortable with the basic concepts of geography discussed in Unit I and included on the Unit I vocabulary list I passed out last week. Here is a great website discussing many of these concepts in depth, with plenty of examples:

http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/cctp/units/geog_for_GIS/GC_index.html

A few additional readings on site and situation (optional):

http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/sitesituation.htm

http://geographyfieldwork.com/SiteSituation.htm

http://www.scalloway.org.uk/sett2.htm

Due tomorrow: Reading notes on "The Four Traditions of Geography."

After the Do Now, we delved into the challenging Unit I vocabulary.

A few additional definitions of terms we covered today:

Absolute Location - the exact position of an object or place stated in spatial coordinates or a grid system designed for locational
purposes, e.g., latitude and longitude.

Relative Location - the position of a place or activity in relation to other places or activities; implies spatial relationships and usually suggests the relative advantages or disadvantages of a location with respect to all competing locations.

Site - the absolute location of a place or activity described by physical characteristics.

Situation - the location of a place relative to other places.

Space — The phys­i­cal gap or inter­val between two objects. (We didn't specifically talk about this today, but the concept of "space" is at the core of geography. Keep thinking about it!)

Psychological distance - The closeness one feels to another person, group, or object.

See you tomorrow,
--Mr. McCarl