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World Geography 84
Chapter 3&4 Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| 1.Culture | The way of life that distinguishes a people, for example, government, language, religion, customs, and beliefs |
| 2.Population Density | The average number of people living in a given area |
| 3.Birthrate | The number of live births each year per 1,000 people |
| 4.Immigrant | A person who moves into a country |
| 5.Emigrant | A person who leaves a country to live elsewhere |
| 6.Urbanization | The grow of city populations |
| 7.Rural | Of, or characteristic of, the countryside |
| 8.Culture Hearth | A place in which important ideas begin and thereafter spread to surrounding cultures |
| 9.Cultural Convergence | The contact and interaction of one culture with another |
| 10.Diffusion | The process by which a cultural element is transmitted from one group or individual to another |
| 11.Cultural Divergence | The restriction of a culture from outside influences |
| 12.Sovereingty | A country's freedom and power to decide on policies and actions |
| 13.Unitary System | A system of government in which one central government holds most of the political power |
| 14.Federation | A government structure in which some powers are given to the national government and other powers are reserved for more local governments |
| 15.Confederation | A system of government in which individual political units keep their sovereignty but give limited power to a central government |
| 16.Authoritarian | Descriptive of a system of government in which the leader holds all political power |
| 17.Dictatorship | A system of government in which absolute power is held by a small group or one person |
| 18.Totalitarianism | A system of government in which a central authority controls all aspects of society |
| 19.Monarchy | A system of Authoritarian government headed by a monarch- A king, queen, shah, or sultan- whose position is usually inherited |
| 20.Democracy | A system of government in which the people are invested with the power to choose their leaders and determine government policy |
| 21.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 |
| 22.Market Economy | An economic system in which decisions about production, price, and other economic factors are determined by the law of supply and demand |
| 23.Command Economy | An economic system that is controlled by a single central government |
| 24.Natural Resource | A material in the natural environment that people value and use to satisfy their needs |
| 25.Renewable Resource | A natural resource that the environment continues to supply or replace as it is used |
| 26.Nonrenewable Resource | A natural resource that cannot be replaced once it is used |
| 27.Fossil Fuel | Any one of several nonrenewable mineral resources formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals and used for fuel |
| 28.Nuclear Energy | A type of energy produced by fission- the splitting of uranium atoms in a nuclear reactor, releasing stored energy |
| 29.Water Power | Energy produced from falling water to move machinery or generate electricty |
| 30.Geothermal Energy | Energy produced from the earth's intense interior heat |
| 31.Solar Energy | Energy produced by the sun |
| 32.Primary Economic Activity | An economic activity that takes or uses natural resources directly, such as fishing or mining |
| 33.Subsistence Farming | Farming that provides only enough for the needs of a family or a village |
| 34.Commercial Farming | The raising of crops and livestock for sales in markets |
| 35.Secondary Economic Activity | An economic activity in which people use raw materials to produce or manufacture new products of greater value |
| 36.Cottage Industry | A small-scale manufacturing operation using little technology, often located in or near people's homes |
| 37.Commercial Industry | A large-scale manufacturing operation that employs many people and produces large quantities of goods |
| 38.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 |
| 39.Quaternary Economic Activity | An economic activity that focuses on the acquisition, processing, and sharing of information, such as education or research |
| 40.Export | An item that is sent out of the country for sale |
| 41.Import | An item that is brought into the country for sale |