click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
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 |