Chapter 1-4 vocab words
This is all the vocab words that we are suppose to study for the geography 9-weeks test.
Terms
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- communism
- a political system in which the government owns all property and dominates all aspects of life in the country
- humus
- decayed plant or animal matter
- drought
- a long period of lower-than-normal precipitation
- hydroelectric power
- the production of electricity by moving water
- population density
- the average number of people per square mile or square kilometer
- environment
- an area's land, water, climate, plants and animals, and other physical features
- ecosystem
- any place where plants and animals depend upon each other and their environment for survival
- United Nations (UN)
- an organization of the world's countries that promotes peace and security around the globe
- continents
- large landmasses
- weathering
- the process of breaking rock into smaller pieces
- ocean currents
- large streams of surface seawater
- desertification
- the slow process of losing soil fertility and plant life
- command economy
- a system in which the central government makes all economic decisions
- democracy
- a form of government in which the people elect leaders and rule by majority
- plate tectonics
- a theory suggesting that Earth's surface is divided into more than 12 slow-moving plates, or pieces of Earth's crust
- popular culture
- culture traits that are well known and widely accepted
- earthquake
- sudden, violent movement of Earth's crust
- map
- a flat drawing that shows part of Earth's surface
- water vapor
- water that occurs in the air as an invisible gas
- lava
- magma, or liquid rock, that reaches Earth's surface
- extinct
- to die out completely
- climate
- a region's average weather conditions over a long period
- absolute location
- a specific description of where a place is
- natural resource
- any material in nature that people use and value
- birthrate
- the annual number of births per 1,000 people
- solar energy
- energy from the sun
- tropics
- regions close to the equator
- physical geography
- the study of the world's physical features, such as landforms, bodies of water, climates, soils, and plants
- weather
- the short-term changes in the air for a given place and time
- region
- a part of the world with one or more common features distinguishing it from surrounding areas
- globalization
- the process in which countries are increasingly linked to each other through culture and trade
- cultural diffusion
- the spread of culture traits from one region to another
- reforestation
- planting trees to replace lost forestland
- globe
- a spherical model of the entire planet
- culture region
- an area in which people have many shared culture traits
- groundwater
- water found below Earth's surface
- renewable resources
- resources that can be replaced naturally
- front
- a place where two air masses of different temperature or moisture content meet
- humanitarian aid
- assistance to people in distress
- nonrenewable resources
- resources that cannot be replaced
- human geography
- the study of the world's people, communities, and landscapes
- meteorology
- the study of weather and what causes it
- landscape
- the human and physical features that make a place unique
- social science
- a field that studies people and the relationships among them
- relative location
- a general description of where a place is
- gross domestic product (GDP)
- the value of all goods and services produced within a country in a single year
- cartography
- the science of making maps
- landforms
- shapes on Earth's surface, such as hills or mountains
- culture trait
- an activity or behavior in which people often take part
- environment
- a plant or animal's surroundings
- steppe
- a semi-dry grassland or prairie
- habitat
- the place where a plant or animal lives
- developed countries
- countries with strong economies and a high quality of life
- fossil fuels
- nonrenewable resources formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals
- surface water
- water that is stored in Earth's streams, rivers, and lakes
- revolution
- one trip of Earth around the sun
- monsoon
- winds that shift direction with the seasons and create wet and dry periods
- cultural diversity
- having a variety of cultures in the same area
- savanna
- an area of tall grasses and scattered trees and shrubs
- glacier
- large area of slow-moving ice
- population
- the total number of people in a given area
- developing countries
- countries with less productive economies and a lower quality of life
- ethnic group
- a group of people who share a common culture and ancestry
- permafrost
- permanently frozen layers of soil
- water cycle
- the circulation of water form Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back
- market economy
- a system based on private ownership, free trade, and compitition
- prevailing winds
- winds that blow in the same direction over large areas of Earth
- deforestation
- the loss of forestland
- freshwater
- water without salt
- erosion
- the movement of sediment from one location to another
- precipitation
- water that falls to Earth's surface as rain, snow, sleet, or hail
- migration
- the process of moving from one place to live in another
- interdependence
- the reliance of one country on the resources, goods, or services of another country
- population distribution
- where people want to live( rivers, fertile soil)
- latitude
- the distance north or south of Earth's equator
- rotation
- one complete spin of Earth on its axis
- culture
- the set of beliefs, values, and practices a group of people have in common
- geography
- the study of the world, its people, and the landscapes they create