General Geography
What is Geography?
Simple definition: "The scientific study of the earth's surface, physical features, divisions, products, population, etc." (Oxford Dictionary)
What is a place?
A narrow definition from Human Geography:
"Physical (or virtual, ed.) spaces that people naturalize through patterns, behaviour and communications" (Campbell, 2018)
Broader definition could be (from thoughtco.com -The 5 Themes of Geography):
"Place describes the human and physical characteristics of a location"
The only mountain chain in the world with peaks over 8,000 meters above sea level
The Himalayas
Amazon Rainforest, Carnival, Big statue of Christ
Brazil
Bonus info: The statue is called Cristo Redentor
Name of the British Geographer who is the author of "A Global Sense of Place"
Doreen Massey
What is scale?
"The representation of any area, as produced and defined by social process, from the smallest unit, the body, to the largest, the universe (Campbell, 2018)"
Scale can also just describe zooming in and out on a map, but what is in common with the citation from Human Geography above is that you see different things at different scales.
The name of the canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through Egypt
The Suez Canal
Four offical languages, Chocolate, Always neutral
Switzerland
Bonus info: The four official languages are German, French, Italian and Romansch
Which concept within Urban Geography and Sociology explains the economical and demographic changing of a neighborhood/district in a city, typically caused by wealthier people moving in, thus increasing property prices, causing poorer people to move out?
Gentrification
What is a territory?
"An area of land, or sometimes sea, that is considered as belonging to or connected with a particular country or person" (Cambridge Dictionary)
But could as well by in the smallest scale, the "personal space" around a person, a building that is governed by rules set by the owner etc. As long as these three criteria are true something could be considered a territory:
1. The Geographic area of the territory is classified
2. The is a comminication of absolute space (the borders of the territory are marked/expressed)
3. The is a will to control and/or "defend" (understood broadly) it
The river that has its spring in Germany, flowing through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine underway, before flowing into the Black Sea
The Danube or Donau
Islands, Hobbitton, Occasional earthquakes
New Zealand
What is Geopolitics?
"The political relations between countries and groups of countries in the world, as influenced by their geography and the study of these relations" (Oxford Dictionary)
Explain what time-space compression is
"Time-space compression refers to the set of processes that cause the relative distances between places (i.e., as measured in terms of travel time or cost) to contract, effectively making such places grow 'closer' " (Warf, 2017).
Mention at least three countries where the capital city is NOT the biggest city by population, WITHOUT mentioning any country where the capital is also the biggest city.
Possible answers: Australia, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, China (People's Republic of), Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, India, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Philippines, San Marino, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States of America & Vietnam
Fermented horse milk, Nomads, Capital city containing five A's in its name
Mongolia
Bonus info: The capital city with four A's is Ulaanbaatar.
Oh no, a Natural Geography question has sneaked in among all the Human Geography ones! Will the MOB-students prevail?
Explain the three types of Techtonic plate boundaries; The Convergent, Divergent and Transform plate boundaries.
1. Convergent boundaries: Where two plates are colliding. Subduction zones occur when one or both of the tectonic plates are composed of oceanic crust. The denser plate is subducted underneath the less dense plate. The plate being forced under is eventually melted and destroyed. This type often creates Mountain ranges.
2. Divergent boundaries: Where two plates are moving apart. The space created can also fill with new crustal material sourced from molten magma that forms below. Divergent boundaries can form within continents but will eventually open up and become ocean basins. On land: Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which produce rift valleys. Under the sea: The most active divergent plate boundaries are between oceanic plates and are often called mid-oceanic ridges.
3. Transform boundaries: Where plates slide passed each other. The relative motion of the plates is horizontal. They can occur underwater or on land, and crust is neither destroyed nor created. Because of friction, the plates cannot simply glide past each other. Rather, stress builds up in both plates and when it exceeds the threshold of the rocks, the energy is released – causing earthquakes.
Source: https://www.gns.cri.nz/
Explain the two concepts of Relative Space and Relational Space
Relative Space: "An understanding of space wherein the relative location of bodies is determined with respect to other bodies. Relative space contrasts with absolute space, wherein location is understood with respect to an independent frame of reference such as a coordinate system. The dimensions of absolute space are fixed and immovable, whereas relative space is a movable dimension." (Rogers, 2013)
Relational Space: "Space is relational because objects exist only as a system of relationships to other objects. Space is thus seen as the product of interrelations, as constituted by them. Space is a multiplicity, heterogeneous rather than homogenous, plural rather than singular. Space is, therefore, always in the process of making, never finished or closed" (Elden, 2009)
Mention at least 7 out of the 14 countries that shares a land border with Russia, WITHOUT mentioning any country that doesn't.
Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia & North Korea are all correct answers.
Desert, Ancient city carved into rock, Deepest point on land in the world
Jordan
Bonus info: The Ancient city is Petra, Depest point is Dead Sea