← What Role Does Geography Play in the Census?
Flashcards
What Role Does Geography Play in the Census?
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What Role Does Geography Play in the Census? — Flashcards
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Spatial | Pertaining to space on Earth's surface |
| American Community Survey | Conducted monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau, this tool is designed to show how communities are changing; produces national data on more than 35 categories such as education, income, housing, and employment |
| Decennial Census | Conducted every 10 years by the U.S. Census Bureau, this tool counts all U.S. residents according to where they resided on April 1 of that census year |
| Boundary | The extent or limit of a geographic area such as a census block, census tract, county, or place; may or may not follow a visible physical feature like a river or street |
| Geographic Hierarchy | A system of relationships among geographic entities in which each entity (except the smallest) is divided into units that may be further divided (e.g., states into counties into county subdivisions) |
| Geographic Entity | A geographic area of any type, such as a state, county, place, county subdivision, census tract, census block, country, or territory |
| Administrative Entity | A geographic area, usually with legally defined boundaries but often without elected officials, created to administer elections and other governmental functions (e.g., school districts, voting districts) |
| Legal Entity | A geographic entity whose origin, boundary, name, and description result from charters, laws, treaties, or other governmental action (e.g., states, counties, cities, congressional districts, school districts) |
| Statistical Entity | A geographic area or combination of geographic entities for which the Census Bureau tabulates data; boundaries are not legally defined and the entity has no governmental power |
| Small-Area Data | Census data tabulated at the census block, block group, and census tract area levels |
| Census Tract | A small, relatively permanent statistical subdivision of a county, ideally containing 4,000 people and 1,600 housing units, that nests within counties and whose boundaries normally follow visible geographic features |
| Census Block | The smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates decennial census data; bounded by visible features (streets, streams, railroad tracks) and nonvisible features (property lines, boundaries) |
| Census Block Group | A statistical area that generally contains between 600 and 3,000 people and is used to present data |
| Which census geographic division is the largest in area? | Census tracts are the largest in area |
| Which census geographic division is the smallest in area? | Census blocks are the smallest in area (census block groups are in the middle) |
| Why might scale be tricky when comparing census divisions on a map? | The smallest division (census block) may look artificially bigger due to an enlarged scale, so students must check the map's scale key carefully |
| What is the main learning objective of this activity? | To define and analyze different types of census geographic entities and determine how data from different census geographic entities might be useful |
| What key question does this activity ask students to answer? | What role does geography play in the census? |
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