AP Human Geography Flashcards: The Size and Distribution of Cities
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 10 cards to help you master important concepts.
What is the gravity model used to predict in urban geography?
The gravity model is used to predict the level of interaction between two cities, based on the principle that larger and closer cities have greater interaction.
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What is the gravity model used to predict in urban geography?
The gravity model is used to predict the level of interaction between two cities, based on the principle that larger and closer cities have greater interaction.
Define a primate city.
A primate city is a country's largest city that is more than twice as large as the next largest city, creating an imbalance in the urban hierarchy.
According to the provided content, what are four key principles used to explain the distribution and size of cities?
Four key principles are the rank-size rule, the primate city, the gravity model, and Christaller’s central place theory.
How does the concept of interdependence relate to the interaction of cities?
Interdependence explains that cities are mutually reliant on each other for goods, services, and economic activity, forming a complex network of interaction.
If a country's largest city has 10 million people and follows the rank-size rule, what is the approximate population of its second-largest city?
The second-largest city would have approximately 5 million people (1/2 of the largest city's population).
What does Christaller’s central place theory explain?
Christaller's central place theory explains the spacing, size, and distribution of cities and towns based on their function as central places that provide goods and services to surrounding areas.
Identify four urban concepts that help explain the distribution, size, and interaction of cities.
Four useful urban concepts are hierarchy, interdependence, relative size, and spacing.
What role does 'spacing' play in explaining the distribution of cities?
Spacing is a concept that refers to the distance between urban centers, which theories like Christaller's central place theory attempt to explain as a regular, predictable pattern.
What is the rank-size rule?
The rank-size rule is a principle that explains the relative size of cities, stating that the nth largest city in a country will be 1/n the size of the largest city.
What is an urban hierarchy?
An urban hierarchy is a ranking of settlements (e.g., hamlet, village, town, city) according to their population size and the complexity of their functions and services.