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Geography
Ch.3&4
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Culture | the way of life that distinguishes a people, for, example, government, language, region, customs, and beliefs. |
| Population Density | the average number of people living in a given area |
| Birthrate | the number of live births each year per 1,000 people |
| Immirgrat | a person who moves into a country |
| Emigrant | a person who leaves a country to live elsewhere |
| Urbanization | the growth of city populations |
| Rural | of, or characteristic of, the countryside |
| Culture Hearth | a place in which important ideas begin and thereafter spread to surrounding cultures |
| Cultural Convergence | the contact and interaction of one culture with another |
| Diffusion | the process by which a cultural element is transmitted from one group or individual to another |
| Cultural Divergence | the restriction of a culture from outside influences |
| Sovereignty | a country's freedom and power to decide on policies and actions |
| Unitary System | a system of government in which one central government holds most of the political power |
| Federation | a government structure in which some powers are given to the national government and other powers are reserved for more local governmnets |
| Confederation | a system of government in which individual political units keep their sovereignty but give limited power to a central government |
| Authoritarian | descriptive of a system of government in which the leaders hold all political power |
| Dictatorship | a system of government in which absolute power is heid by a small group or one person |
| Totalitarianism | a system of government in which a central authority controls all aspects of society |
| Monarchy | a system of authoritarian government headed by a monarch-a king, queen, shah, or sultan-whose position is usually inherited |
| Democracy | a system of government in which the people are invested with the power to choose their leaders and determine government policy |
| Traditional Economy | an economic system in which families produce goods and services for their own use, with little surplus and exchange of goods; also known as a subsistence economy |
| Market Economy | an economic system in which decisions about production, price and other, economic factors are determined by the law of supply and emand |
| Command Economy | a economic system that is controlled by a single central government |
| Natural Resource | a material in the natural environment that people values and use to satisfy their needs |
| Renewable Resource | a natural resource that the environment continues to supply or replace as it is used |
| Nonrenewable Resource | a natural resource that cannot be replaced once it is used |
| Fossil Fuel | any one of several nonrenewable mineral resources formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals and use for fuel |
| Nuclear Energy | a type of energy produced by fission- the splitting of uranium atoms in a nuclear reactor, releasing stored energy |
| Water Power | energy produced from falling water to move machinery or generate electricity |
| Geothermal Energy | energy produced from the earth's intense interior heat |
| Solar Energy | energy produced by the sun |
| Primary Economic Activity | an economic activity that takes or uses natural resources directly, such as fishing or mining |
| Subsistence Farming | farming that provides only enough for the needs of a family or a village |
| Commercial Farming | the raising of crops and livestock for sale in outside markets |
| Secondary Economic Activity | an economic activity in which people use raw materials to produce or manufacture new products of greater value |
| Cottage Industry | a small-scale manufacturing operation using little technology, often located in or near people's homes |
| Commercial Industry | a large-scale manufacturing operation that employs many people and produces large quantities of goods |
| Tertiary Economic Activity | an economic activity in which people do not directly gather or process raw materials but pursue activities that serve others; service industry |
| Quaternary Economic Activity | an economic activity that focuses on the acquisition, processing, and sharing of information, such as education or research |
| Export | an item that is sent out of the country for sale |
| Import | an item that is brought into the country for sale |