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Geo ch.11 (2)
Industry and Energy - Site/Situation Factors and Fossil Fuels
Term | Definition |
---|---|
site factors | industrial location factors related to the costs of factors of production inside a plant |
3 site factors | labor, capital, and land |
labor-intensive industry | an industry in which wages and other compensation paid to employees constitute a high percentage of expenses |
capital intensive | an industry with a much lower-than-average percentage of expenditures on labor |
Fordist production | Traditionally, factories assigned each worker one task to perform repeatedly. Called this because the Ford Motor Co. was one of the first companies to organize its production this way early in the 20th century |
post-Fordist production | used to describe flexible production, in contrast with Fordist production |
capital | the funds to establish new factories or modernize existing ones |
situation factors | Location factors relating to the transportation of materials into and from a factory |
proximity to inputs | The optimal plant location is as close as possible to inputs if the cost of transporting raw materials to the factory is greater than the cost of transporting the product to consumers |
proximity to markets | The optimal plant location is as close as possible to the customer if the cost of transporting raw materials to the factory is less than the cost of transporting the product to consumers. |
bulk-reducing industry | An industry in which the inputs weigh more than the final products |
mining copper | bulk reducing because the heavy, bulky ore extracted from mines is mostly waste, known as gangue |
concentration of copper | ore crushed into fine particles, mixed with water and chemicals, and filtered and dried - transforms heavy ore into product of much more value per weight. Mills are built near copper mines |
smelting copper | removes impurities, smelters built near concentration mills to minimize transport costs |
refining copper | refined to produce copper cathodes, refineries located near smelters |
manufacturing copper | copper ready for use is produced in foundries |
gangue | the waste extracted from copper mines |
nonmetallic minerals | more than 90% of minerals that humans use (by weight), ex. building stones, gemstones, fertilizer minerals |
metallic minerals | properties are valuable for machinery and vehicles, to varying degrees are malleable and ductile and good conductors of heat and electricity |
ferrous alloy | contains iron, comes from Latin word for iron, important metals used to make them are chromium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, tin, titanium, and tungsten |
nonferrous alloy | no iron, important metals used to make them include aluminum, copper, lead, lithium, magnesium, zinc, precious metals, and rare earth metals |
bulk-gaining industry | makes something that gains volume or weight during production, must be located near where the product is sold |
single-market manufacturer | a specialized manufacturer with only one or two customers, optimal location is close to the consumers |
YKK | largest supplier of zippers, with factories in 68 countries |
trucks | used for short distances since they can be unloaded quickly and cheaply |
trains | used for cross-country shipments since they do not have to make daily rest stops |
airplanes | used for small and valuable packages, most expensive for all distances |
boats | used for crossing oceans since the cost per km is very low |
break-of-bulk point | a location where transfer among transportation modes is possible |
containerization | has facilitated transfer of packages between modes |
just-in-time delivery | shipment of parts and materials to arrive at a factory moments before they are needed |
3 disruptions to just-in-time | natural hazards, traffic, and labor unrest |
supply | the quantity of something that producers have available for sale |
demand | the quantity that people wish to consume and are able to buy |
animate power | power supplied by animals or by people themselves |
fossil fuels | an energy source formed from the residue of plants and animals buried millions of years ago |
coal | supplanted wood in N America and Europe, coal formed in tropical locations and swamps, China produces 1/2 of the world's supply |
petroleum | became important with diffusion of motor vehicles, formed from residue on the seafloor, Russia and Saudi Arabia have 1/4 of the world's supply |
natural gas | now used to heat homes and produce electricity, formed from sediment on the seafloor, Russia and Middle East have 1/3 of the world's supply |
nonrenewable energy | resources that have finite supplies capable of being exhausted |
4 sources of energy in the US | industry, transportation, homes, commercial |
proven reserve | supply of energy remaining in deposits that have been discovered |
coal reserves | 1 quadrillion metric tons, would last 110 years |
natural gas reserves | 7,000 trillion cubic meters, would last 54 years |
petroleum reserves | 1.7 trillion barrels, would last 43 years |
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) | created by developing countries possessing substantial petroleum reserves, particularly in the Middle East; formed to enable oil-rich countries to gain more control over their resource |
potential reserve | the supply in deposits that are undiscovered but thought to exist |
2 ways to convert potential reserves | fields yet to be developed and fields yet to be discovered |