1. Geography, Geographers, and Geography Tools - Zombie-Based Learning
Channel: David Hunter
Date: 2013-10-10

Download the NOTES or take the QUIZ: http://zbl.im/quiz1

GEOGRAPHY INTRO: 
WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY? 
WHAT DO GEOGRAPHERS DO?
WHAT TOOLS DO GEOGRAPHERS USE?

WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY? - Let's break down the word "geography"
geo- of the earth (geocentric, geology, geometry) 
graphy- writing or study of (cinematography, photography, typography, biography, etc)
study of the earth - its features (landforms, climates) and its people

WHAT DO GEOGRAPHER DO?
Study the earth. How people and places interact. 
Ask and try to answer questions about the world. (How does where people live affect their lives? How do people change the earth? What will it be like if there are 10 million people on earth? How does globalization affect equality?)

WHAT TOOLS DO GEOGRAPHERS USE?
Geographers use all sorts of tools to help them investigate their questions. They commonly use maps, globes, atlases, aerial photographs, satellite photographs, information graphics, and a computer program called GIS. 

MAPS
A map is a flat representation of a part of Earth.
Geographers use many different types of maps. Maps can show lots of different information including the location of places on the world.    

Maps use projection to try and display a round object (Earth) on a flat surface (a map). Cartographers (map-makers) have long struggled with trying to find the most accurate projection to make maps with.


ATLAS
An atlas is a book of maps.
An atlas contains maps of the world or a region of the world. Some atlases also include more information about the places they include in the maps. 

Atlases can be very helpful for traveling. Instead of brining many maps, you can bring one atlas. 



GLOBE
A globe is a model of the Earth, used to avoid distortions in spatial relations on the world.
Maps of the world are distorted from trying to make a round object fit on a flat surface. The globe is round, so it remains accurate. 

The globe provides an accurate scale of how far apart locations are. You can also use a globe to get a comparison of the size of different locations. 


AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS
Aerial photographs are photographs taken from the sky and used to take measurements or create maps.

Aerial photographs can be taken from airplanes, balloons, or even kites.  


SATELLITE PHOTOGRAPHS
Satellite photographs are like aerial photographs, but they are taken from space.

Satellite photographs can capture large areas of the Earth, but they can also zoom in pretty close. 


INFORMATION GRAPHICS
Information Graphics or Infographics are visual symbols of data. They are images that show information using pictures or symbols.

Information graphics can be as simple as a bar graph or as complex as the image to the left.   


GIS (Geographic Information System)
GIS is a computer based program used to store, manage, and analyze data.

A GIS map is more than a map because it can pull up a lot of information. Geographers use GIS to help make decisions.
Imagine that you wanted to make sure schools were not near any factories that might pollute the air. With a GIS map, geographers can use the database (place that stores information) to show where all the schools are. They can then use the database to also show where all the factories are. The GIS helps geographers see all kinds of information and how it relates to locations.