PHYSICAL

GEOGRAPHY Daina Rose Gaje

Capiz State University-
CollegeDumarao Satellite
BSEd 3- Social Studies
Jessa Castaño
September 27, 2021

Preface
This course is an introduction to the basic processes that influence the
characteristics and spatial relationships of climate, water cycle and vegetation.
Students examine the interactions of solar energy with the Earth’s atmosphere
and surface, and how atmospheric circulation, precipitation, and weather systems
are generated. The cycling of water and other Earth resources within the living
zone - the biosphere - are discussed, while students focus on how these cycles,
together with the flows of energy, influence the nature and distribution of
ecosystems and vegetation. Throughout the course, students look at patterns of
human activity that are in response to and have an effect upon environmental
processes. Students are then asked to observe and to interpret aspects of their
local environment by applying what they have learned.

Introduction to Physical Geography

Physical Geography, also called earth science, is the study of our home
planet and all of its components: its lands, waters, atmosphere, and interior. In
this book, some chapters are devoted to the processes that shape the lands and
impact people. Other chapters depict the processes of the atmosphere and its
relationship to the planet’s surface and all our living creatures. For as long as
people have been on the planet, humans have had to live within Earth’s
boundaries. Now human life is having a profound effect on the planet. Several
chapters are devoted to the effect people have on the planet. The journey to
better understanding Earth begins here with an exploration of how scientists learn
about the natural world and introduces you to the study of physical geography
and earth science.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This chapter has several goals and objectives:
• Develop an understanding of geographic and scientific knowledge and
inquiry.
• Describe the basic model of the scientific method and how scientists use it
to understand the natural world.
 • Explain the importance of understanding location.
• Compare and contrast the various types of geospatial technologies used
today.
Geography
Learning Goals and Objectives
AREA: Scientific and Geographic Inquiry
Learning Goal 1: Students will learn how human, physical and environmental
components of the world interact.
Objectives:
a. Students will be familiarized with economic processes such as globalization,
trade and transportation and their impacts on economic, cultural and social
activities.
b. Students will be introduced to demographic, social and cultural attributes such
as migration, social relations and cultural identity. The main objective is to
underline those human activities are subject to adaptation and change.
c. Students will learn about the variety of political systems and nation states
which administratively subdivide the regions of the world. How human activities
are regulated and under the jurisdiction of a variety of geographical units and how
these relations shape the economic and social space are of particular relevance.
d. Students will gain a level of understanding about environmental systems such
as climate and biogeography.
e. Students will be exposed to the nature of physical systems such as
geomorphologic processes and natural hazards.
f. Students will be able to read and interpret information on different types of
maps.
Chapter1
Scientific and Geographic Inquiry
Scientific Inquiry

Science is a path to gaining knowledge about the natural world. The study of
science also includes the body of knowledge that has been collected through
scientific inquiry. To conduct a scientific investigation, scientists ask testable
questions that can be systematically observed and careful evidenced collected.
Then they use logical reasoning and some imagination to develop a testable idea,
called a hypothesis, along with explanations to explain the idea. Finally, scientists
design and conduct experiments based on their hypotheses. Scientists seek to
understand the natural world by asking questions and then trying to answer the
questions with evidence and logic. A scientific question must be testable and
supported by empirical data, it does not rely on faith or opinion. Our
understanding of natural Earth processes helps us to understand why earthquakes
occur where they do and how to understand the consequences of adding excess
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Scientific research may be done to build knowledge or to solve problems and lead
to scientific discoveries and technological advances. Pure research often aids in
the development of applied research. Sometimes the results of pure research
may be applied long after the pure research was completed. Sometimes
something unexpected is discovered while scientists are conducting their
research. Some ideas are not testable. For example, supernatural phenomena,
such as stories of ghosts, werewolves, or vampires, cannot be tested. Scientists
describe what they see, whether in nature or in a laboratory.
Science is the realm of facts and observations, not moral judgments. Scientists
might enjoy studying tornadoes, but their opinion that tornadoes are exciting is
not important to learning about them. Scientists increase our technological
knowledge, but science does not determine how or if we use that knowledge.
Scientists learned to build an atomic bomb, but scientists didn’t decide whether or
when to use it. Scientists have accumulated data on warming temperatures; heir
models have shown the likely causes of this warming. But although scientists are
largely in agreement on the causes of global warming, they can’t force politicians
or individuals to pass laws or change behaviors.
For science to work, scientists must make some assumptions. The rules of nature,
whether simple or complex, are the same everywhere in the universe. Natural
events, structures, and landforms have natural causes and evidence from the
natural world can be used to learn about those causes. The objects and events in
nature can be understood through careful, systematic study. Scientific ideas can
change if we gather new data or learn more. An idea, even one that is accepted
today, may need to be changed slightly or be entirely replaced if new evidence is
found that contradicts it. Scientific knowledge can withstand the test of time
because accepted ideas in science become more reliable as they survive more
tests.
Geographic Inquiry
Geography is the study of the physical and cultural environments of the earth.
What makes geography different from other disciplines is its focus on spatial
inquiry and analysis. Geographers also try to look for connections between things
such as patterns, movement and migration, trends, and so forth. This process is
called geographic or spatial inquiry.
In order to to this, geographers go through a geographic methodology that is quite
similar to the scientific method, but again with a geographic or spatial emphasis.
This method can be simplified in a six step geographic inquiry process.
• Ask a geographic question. This means to ask questions about spatial
relationships in the world around you.
• Acquire geographic resources. Identify data and information that you need
t answer your question.
• Explore geographic data. Turn the data into maps, tables, and graphs, and
look for patterns and relationships.
• Analyze geographic information. Determine what the patterns and
relationships mean with respect to your question.
“Knowing where something is, how its location influences its characteristics, and
how its location influences relationships with other phenomena are the
foundation of geographic thinking. This mode of investigation asks you to see the
world and all that is in it in spatial terms. Like other research methods, it also asks
you to explore, analyze, and act upon the things you find. It also is important to
recognize that this is the same method used by professionals around the world
working to address social, economic, political, environmental, and a range of
scientific issues” (ESRI).

AREA: Scientific Method

Learning Goal 2: Students will learn the scientific method offers an
objective methodology for scientific experimentation that results in unbiased
interpretations of the world and refines knowledge.
Objectives
Objectives
• Students will be able to understand the scientific process
through the scientific method.
• Student will identify the scientific method in a previous
exercise.
Chapter2
Scientific Method You have probably learned that the scientific method is a
series of steps that help to investigate. To answer those questions, scientists use
data and evidence gathered from observations, experience, or experiments to
answer their questions. But scientific inquiry rarely proceeds in the same
sequence of steps outlined by the scientific method. For example, the order of the
steps might change because more questions arise from the data that is collected.
Still, to come to verifiable conclusions, logical, repeatable steps of the scientific
method must be followed. Scientific Questioning
The most important thing a scientist can do is to ask questions.
• What makes Mount St. Helens more explosive and dangerous than the
volcano on Mauna Loa, Hawaii?
• What makes the San Andreas fault different than the Wasatch Fault?
• Why does Earth have so many varied life forms but other planets in the
solar system do not?
• What impacts could a warmer planet have on weather and climate
systems?
Earth science can answer testable questions about the natural world. What makes
a question impossible to test? Some untestable questions are whether ghosts
exist or whether there is life after death. A testable question might be about how
to reduce soil erosion on a farm. A farmer has heard of a planting method called
“no-till farming.” Using this process eliminates the need for plowing the land. The
farmer’s question is: Will no-till farming reduce the erosion of the farmland?
Scientific Research
To answer a question, a scientist first finds out what is already known about the
topic by reading books and magazines, searching the Internet, and talking to
experts. This information will allow the scientist to create a good experimental
design. If this question has already been answered, the research may be enough
or it may lead to new questions.
EXAMPLE
The farmer researches no-till farming on the Internet, at the library, at the local
farming supply store, and elsewhere. He learns about various farming methods;
he learns what type of fertilizer is best to use and what the best crop spacing
would be. From his research he learns that no-till farming can be a way to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which helps in the fight against
global warming.