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ch. 18-20 vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
domestication | the process of training and breeding animals for use by humans |
communism | a system of government in which the government controls the means of production, determining what goods will be made, how much workers will be paid, and how much items will cost |
Eurasia | the name some geographers suggest should be used for the landmass of Europe and asia |
inland sea | a sea that is almost completely surrounded by land |
tundra | a dry, treeless plain where temperatures are always cool or cold and only specialized plants can grow |
taiga | thinly scattered, coniferous forests found in Europe and Asia |
steppe | a temperate grassland found in Europe and asia |
multiethnic | composed of many ethnic groups |
ethnic group | people who share such things as culture, language, and religion |
acid rain | rain whose high concentration of chemicals usually from industrial pollution, pollutes water, kills plant and animal life, and eats away at the surface of stone and rock; a form of chemical weathering |
infant mortality | the number of children per 1,000 live births who die within the first year |
maternal mortality | the number of women who died due to pregnancy and childbirth complications per 100,000 live births |
life expectancy | the number of years an individual is expected to live as determined by statistics |
national identity | peoples sense of what makes them a nation |
ghetto | a section of a city in which a particular minority group is forced to live |
holocaust | the execution of 6 million jews in nazi concentration camps during world war II |
velvet revolution | a revolution without bloodshed, which took place in czchoslovakia during the late 1980's |
collective farm | a government owned farm manage by workers who share the profits from their produce |
privatization | the process of selling government owned industries and businesses to private owners |
balkanize | to break up into small, mutually hostile political units, as occurred in the balkans after world war I |
entrepreneur | a go-getter individual who starts and builds a business |
multiplier effect | the effect an investment has in multiplying related jobs throughout the economy |
annex | to formally incorporate into a country or state the territory of another |
diversify | to increase the variety of |
chernozem | a rich topsoil found in the Russian steppes and other mid latitude grasslands |
permafrost | a layer of soil just below the earths surface that stays permanently frozen |
czar | an emperor of russia |
abdicate | to surrender ones office, throne, or authority |
soviet | in the former soviet union, any one of various governing councils |
command econemy | an economic system that is controlled by a single central government |
glasnost | a policy of openness introduced in the soviet union in the late 1980's |
perestroika | in the former soviet union a policy of economic restructuring |
ruble | the currency of russia |
black market | the system of selling goods and services outside of official channels |