ShmoopTube

00:04

[Coop and Dino singing]

00:13

This is Dr. Connie.

00:15

She’s a geographer, meaning she’s a specialist in the field of…you guessed it…geography! [Dr Connie in her office]

00:19

For Dr. Connie, geography means more than just being able to read a map or name the

00:23

capitals of all fifty states… [Dr Connie with a list of all fifty states]

00:25

In fact, there are five themes that make up the study of geography.

00:29

Let’s take a look at them.

00:30

First up: Location, location, location.

00:33

It's more than just the most important part about starting a business. [People approaching ice cream van]

00:35

So there are two types of location…

00:38

“Absolute location”, which uses latitude and longitude to precisely pinpoint a location

00:42

on earth….

00:43

And “relative location”…

00:44

…which describes the location of one place in relation to another. [Dino discussing relative location]

00:48

For example, "just West of Philadelphia," or "ten miles south of Main Street."

00:53

If you ever invite some to your place, do them a favor and don't give them a relative

00:56

location.

00:57

By the time they find you, they probably won't want to hang out anymore… [Woman opens door to man holding starbucks cup]

01:00

Location also helps explain certain features of landmasses.

01:02

There’s a reason glaciers are found at the poles – where its cold – and not the equator.

01:06

So…word to the wise, glaciers? [Glacier wearing sunglasses in the sun]

01:09

Cancel that cruise to the equator you booked.

01:10

The second theme of geography is place.

01:13

Place is just “what’s in a certain location.”

01:15

In other words: its physical and human characteristics.

01:18

Take Dagobah.

01:19

It’s a place whose physical characteristics include bogs, bendy trees, fog, weird flying [Animal flying over the Dagobah]

01:23

animals, snakes, and underwater creatures that don’t like eating droids.

01:27

And its human element – aka who lives there, the religion practiced, and the work done [Yoda appears in a forest]

01:32

– pretty much centers around this guy, whatever he is…

01:34

… oh, and occasionally this dude.

01:36

They practice the Force, lift rocks with their minds, swing on vines and dispense wisdom.

01:41

The third theme of geography is movement, aka how people and things get around.

01:45

That can mean modes of transportation like how people get themselves to work, the store, [Cars moving in traffic]

01:49

or to their orbiting spaceship.

01:51

Movement can also mean how ideas get around.

01:53

And yup, that includes you getting these ideas right now.

01:56

Boom.

01:57

Magic.

01:58

Movement also has a historical element – meaning the movement of people over time, from one [People on a ship sailing in the ocean]

02:01

place to another.

02:02

And movement can even mean the traveling of the elements, too.

02:05

Cowabunga, dude!

02:07

Moving onto theme four: Human/Environmental Interaction…

02:10

In others words, how we impact our environment, for better or worse. [Coop explaining human/environmental interaction theme]

02:13

…Uh…

02:14

Usually for worse.

02:15

Humans have polluted the air, land and sea with things like pesticides and greenhouse

02:19

gases.

02:20

But we change the environment in other ways, too, like building roads, and erecting buildings. [People constructing a building]

02:24

And sometimes, the environment chooses to interact with us, in the form of natural disasters.

02:28

They can be terrifying and deadly, and Dwayne Johnson almost never shows up to save the [Dwayne Johnson saves woman from lake]

02:32

day…

02:32

Almost.

02:33

Our final theme is “region”.

02:35

Regions are organized based on a place’s similar characteristics.

02:38

There are “uniform regions”, such as Latin America.

02:41

The cultures in this area are uniform, i.e., they share similar languages, food and music.

02:46

And then there are “functional regions” like the New York City Metropolitan Area,

02:50

whose “center point” is New York City…

02:52

… and whose surrounding areas include Long Island, the Hudson Valley and major cities [Cities surrounding New York]

02:55

in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

02:58

And that's that!

02:59

As you see, geography can tell you all kinds of things that help us better understand our

03:03

world.

03:04

One thing geography still can’t do, however: pinpoint the exact location of your keys … [Person using smartphone to find location]

03:07

Sorry, Dr. Connie.

03:08

That's on you.

03:09

…Maybe Dwayne can help? [Dwayne Johnson holding Dr Connies keys]

Full Transcript