Population Pyramid

Today in Human Geo. we learned about population pyramids. Population pyramids are used for multiple things. We use them to analyze growth or decline of fertility, mortality and migration. The left side of the graph is usually males while the right side of the graph is usually females. The pyramids show mainly three things. They show the growth rate. They show the birth rate. And they show the life expectancy. On the graph, many old people do not pay taxes because they are not working anymore. Also the babies and infants do not pay taxes which is not helping the government. The most profitable ages are twenty to sixty two. This is because they are usually working and they are paying taxes while the other ages are using tax dollars for healthcare. There are three main types of population pyramids. They are, the tree, the cup, and the box. The tree shows a developing country. A box shows a developed country with a slowly increasing population. The cup is a developed country with a slowly decreasing population.

Cia facts

Today in Human Geo. we talked about facts that we did our blog on. There was a girl that talked about the islands that have the least populated people. She thought they were very interesting because, well I don't actually know. We talked about how African countries like Nigeria and Libya have such high rate of HIV deaths. This is because in Africa they do not have any birth control or condemns to protect. They can not control the spread because often people get raped and are forced to have sex. We talked about how that in poor countries most kids are born under weight because they can not offered to buy food and can not grow food. The last thing that we talked about is how we have a test next week. The test is that we have to look up certain questions on the CIA fact book. We will also have to be able to answer questions with a word bank.

CIA fact book

              The first piece of information that I found that was interesting to me was that the net migration of Russia was 1.7 per thousand people. I think that this is interesting because Russia is a country that has a lot of poverty and they have been going down hill ever since the end of communism. This is interesting to me because Russia is a giant nation that has mass amounts of land which could be used for many things even though it is freezing during the winters. I think that this pertains to our studies because we are looking at emigration and immigration.

            The next fact that I chose was that Australia has a growing population of one point three. This is interesting because they are as a whole are a relatively large continent, I believe that they should have a higher increase in population. Now there are twelve point one births but there is also a death rate of seven point three. I think this would balance the population increase out, but they have a five point five immigration rate. I think that this immigration rate and the difference between death and birth would be greater than one point three.

          The third fact that I found was that the population of Sweden was 9,960,487. I thought that this was interesting because Sweden isn't a very big nation. I would have thought they would have had like maybe a million people or less. They are number 91 on the list of population, which isn't that big but it is bigger than many other nations. Sweden is above Ireland on the population list. That is a big chunk of land that you hear a lot more about than Sweden.

            The fourth fact is the death and birth rate of the United Kingdom. I choose this because I think that a nation that is limited to a certain amount of land because it is surrounded by water. I think that since they have a birth rate which is greater than the death rate, they need to watch and maintain to prepare for overpopulation. The death rate is nine point four while the birth rate is twelve point two. If they keep increasing than one day they will literally run out of room.

            My fifth fact is how there is a small population on Jamaica but they support the millions of visitors that travel there. They have a population of roughly two million but millions of people travel there every year. The people that live there must support and take care of the successful business that they have made. They have a negative migration rate which means that they have people that leave the country to go to other place.

Measuring Population

Today in Human Geo. we learned about how the population is determined. There is a crude birth rate which is the number of births per year. Crude means natural or raw state. There is also the crude death rate. That is the number of deaths a year. The Rate of natural increase is made by subtracting the death rate from the birth rate. This gives the natural annual growth in percent form for country or region. Do not forget about migration when measuring the population. Net Migration Rate is the number of persons entering and leaving the country at a given time. This number is written as a positive number. An excess of people leaving is emigration. This is written as a negative number. The reasons why people leave a place is called a push force and the reason they go to a place is called a pull force. An example of a push force is a civil war or religious persecution. An example of a pull force is a better economic opportunity or better health care plans.

Life expectancy

Today in Human Geo. we learned about the average life expectancy of a human. The average number of years that a person is expected to live depends on where they live. To determine what the average life expectancy is you must have a group of people that were born in the same year and that live in the same country. A country that has a high life expectancy is a place called Monaca. This is a place where everyone is rich, and they do not have a lot of stress or worries. They also have the best healthcare that money can buy. For these reasons they do not have many issues, which makes them less likely to die at a young age. In a country called Chad however, the story is very different. They are a country in central Africa that is very poor. They do not have much if any clean water. They also have a very big disease problem and they do not have a good hospital anywhere near them. The US is number 42 on this scale because of the pollution, drugs, and health problems.

Population and Settlement

Today in Human Geo. we learned about More people are being born on the earth now more than ever. Over 7.5 billion people on the planet right now. It is increasing over 73 million per year. 90% of this population growth takes place in the developing countries. A developing country is a country that has enough people but does not have an economical and a social advance. Some examples of developing countries are Afghanistan, Algeria, Albania, and Angola. In 1804 the population was one billion which took ten thousand years. In 1927 the population was two billion and that took 123 years after the ten thousand years. Then in 1974 the population was three billion. This was after the ten thousand and one hundred and twenty three years plus thirty three years. Lately in 2011 the population was seven billion. This took a grand total of ten thousand two hundred and seven years.

Test

Today in Human Geo. we took our second unit test. I thought it was easy. I think this because it was not many questions. I also liked how there were no essay questions. I don't like essay questions because you never know how much is too much and how little is too little. And if you get it wrong you basically fail the entire test. I also think that we should do what you did last time and get the questions before hand. I also think that the standardized test idea is ok. I think it is easier to just take the test but, it is easier for you to grade which I get. I also like how it is quite till the end because, I do not take forever to take tests, but I do take my time. Overall I think the test was easy and that it was fair and the questions are what you told us to study.

Test Game

Today in Human Geo. we played a game to review for the test that is tomorrow. We had a lot of fun, but it got very loud at some points and our team didn't think with its head all the time. I liked the game, but I think the questions should be pre-made. I think that some of the questions were very obscure and that some of them were very fair. I still think that the game was good, but it could have been better. Some people copied off the other person and if they wrote it faster the person copying would get the point. I think this is unfair but its, just a game. I think the questions that we had to answer were very good, but some were just worded weirdly. Overall, I think that it was a good review for the test. I believe that the test will be easier because of this.

Test review

Today in Human Geo. we reviewed for what will be on our test. We reviewed longitude and latitude. We talked about time zones and we also talked about what will be in the test. The time zone map is important to have with us because  there will be a part on the test where we will have to tell what time it is and where it is. I understand how to do it but others seem like they don't. I don't think it is that hard because you just count how many hours are in between them and then you adjust it to the given time. But who knows. We also have to know that the Prime Meridian is. The Prime Meridian is at 0 degrees. We also have to know where the international date line is. It is on the opposite side of the globe Prime Meridian. We need to know the four types of distortion.

In class assignment

Ancient cartography. We all know Eratosthenes made a map of the entire world. Name three other things he is known for.

• 1. He made the first accurate measurement of the circumference of Earth. 
• 2. He devised a mathematical process that provides a straightforward way to find all prime numbers up to a specified integer.
• 3. He figured out why parts of the Nile flooded while others did not. 

Time zones. If it is 10:00 am in Bel Air, what time is it in…

• 4.  Portland, Oregon  7:00 am 
• 5.  Greenwich, England 3:00 pm
• 6.  Toronto, Ontario 10:00 am 
• 7.  The South Pole  3:00 pm

Locations and place names.

• 8.  List five toponyms that are named after physical features. Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Long Island, Ocean City, and Salt Lake City. 
• 9.  List five toponyms that are named after Native American places. Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Malibu, Providence.  
• 10.  List five toponyms that are named after a person of prominence. Baker county, Babgy Cali, Bainbridge NY, Barid TX, Abbot Maine. 
• 11.  List five toponyms that have some religious affiliation. Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland. 

Latitude and Longitude. Give the latitude and longitude for the following cities.

• 12.  Baltimore, Maryland  39.2904° N, 76.6122° W
• 13.  Quito, Ecuador  0.1807° S, 78.4678° W
• 14.  Taveuni, an island in Fiji 16.8414° S, 179.9813° W
• 15.  Christchurch, New Zealand 43.5321° S, 172.6362° E
• 16.  Juneau, Alaska  58.3019° N, 134.4197° W

Antipodes. (Don’t worry, this won’t be on the test. But it’s still cool.)

• 17.  Give the definition of Geographic Antipode.  Any two places or regions that are on diametrically opposite sides of the earth.

Find the antipode for the following locations. I suggest www.antipodesmap.com.

• 18.  Beijing, China Departamento Conesa, RN, Argentina
• 19.  Bermuda -32.301822, 115.239642 (32° 18' 6.6" S, 115° 14' 22.7" E)
• 20.  Your house -39.443158, 103.588747 (39° 26' 35.4" S, 103° 35' 19.5" E)

Culture

Today in Human Geo. we talked about culture. Culture is a body of customary beliefs, material traits and social forums that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people. Origin of word culture, is the latin cutus. Which means "to care for". There are two meanings. To care for and to care about. Geographers study both definitions. They study why the customary ideas, beliefs, and values of a people produce a distinctive culture is a particular place. Especially important cultural values derive from a group's language religion or ethnicity.  What people take care is the second element of culture of interest is production of material wealth, such as food, clothing, and shelter that humans need in order to survive or thrive. Then we talked about why different places are similar. Scale, space, and connections help geographers explain why similarities among places and regions do not result from coincidence. Scale is the relationship between the portion of the earth being studied and earth as a whole.

Review for test

Today in Human Geo. we reviewed for our test. The topic of our unit is maps. We had three main sections. The first was the differences between early maps and contemporary maps. The second is the role of map scales and projections and making maps. The last is how latitude and longitude are used to locate points on earths surface. Human geographers ask two main questions. The first is where people and activities are found on earth and secondly; why are they found there. A map is a two-dimensional flat scale model of earth surface or somewhere on it. Early mapmaking was bad because they did not know where things went. They often distorted things and if a place wasn't discovered it was not on the map. There are three types of scales. We also talked about how things are named. There are three types. The types are site, vernacular and toponym.

Regions

Today in Human Geo. we learned about regions. A region is a unique area. geographers identify three main types of regions. They are the formal region, the functional region, and the vernacular region. The formal region is an area in which everyone shares characteristics in common one or more distinct characteristics. Some examples are common language or economy. An example would be that everyone in Maryland likes crabs from the bay. The functional region, or also known as the nodal region. This is an area that is organized around a node or focal point. An example would be the New York Times. In the state of New York, it is a big thing and everybody either subscribes to it on their phone or has an actual hard copy that they carry around with them. The last region is the vernacular region also known as the perceptual region. This is an area that people believe is part of their culture and identity. Distinct environmentally, cultural, and economic features.

Location Identification

Today in Human Geo. we learned how a place is identified. By this I mean how it is called and why it is called that. There are three main ways. The first way is a toponym. A toponym is the name to a place. It can be derived from settlers, religious beliefs, and religious affiliation.  The second way is site. An example is Carroll county. It was named after John Carroll. It can be based on topography, climate, water, native people, and settlers. The next thing we talked about was region. A region is a area on earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics in a region. They are most often applied on two scales. The first spanning political states. The second is constrained within one political state. A region derives its unified characteristics through cultural landscape. A combination of culture, religious beliefs, and physical features. Culture is the agent, the natural eve, the medium, and culture landscapes.

Test Review

     Today in Human Geo. we moved seats and went over our test and debated about keeling in at the football games. We moved seats first thing. Next, we got our tests back and we went over them. I did not get a ding, but I think that I did pretty well. We went over the test and a lot of people were confused on how to do it. I thought it was simple cause you read the problem, say the answer, and then read the answer. How hard can that be. So, after we did the multiple choice section we went over the essay questions. The first essay question was describing the trial of Socrates and how he died. Socrates was teaching children and he was not using the same methods that everyone else used. He was charged with two crimes and put up in front of a 500 person male jury. Ultimately, he was found guilty and put to death. He had the chance to escape prison, but he would not take the offer because he loved Athens so much. The second question was about the unexamined life is not worth living and what it means. I answered this question so i'm not gonna go into it. Then we talked about kneeling and our teacher used the socratic method to see what our opinions were.

GPS

Today in Human Geo, we learned about GPS. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. GPS is not a very complicated system. The first thing that occurs is a satellite is put into a predetermined orbit. The second thing that happens is a receiving station on earth called a tracking station, monitor's and controls the satellites. Through this process, the receiver station can pin point a certain place anywhere in the world. Each point on earth is unique and distinctively different because of its geographical terrain. Each place is distinguished by unique characteristics. Describing the features of a place is an essential building block for geographers to explain similarities, differences, and changes across earth.  We typically use GPS to navigate directions. There are many applications of GPS such as directions in vehicles, navigational aid to pilots and ship captains, and lastly provide location for social media applications such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.