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World Geography2013
Chapter 3 and 4 vocbulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Culture | the way of life that distinguishes a people, for example,government,language, religion, customs, and beliefs. |
| population density | the average number of people living in a given area. |
| birthrate | the number of live births each year 1,000 people. |
| immigrants | a person who moves into a country. |
| emigrants | a person who leaves a country to live elsewhere. |
| unbanization | the growth of city populations |
| rural | of, or characteristic of, the countryside. |
| culture hearth | a place in which important ideas begin nd 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 | The growth of city populations. |
| federation | a government structure in which some powers are given to the national government and other powers are reserved for more local governments |
| 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 held 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. |
| 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 determine by the law of supply and demand. |
| command economy | an economic system that is controlled by a single central government |
| demoracy | a system of government in which the people are invested with the power to choose their leaders and determine government policy. |
| Natural resource | a material in the natural environment that people value 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 used 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 cops and livestock for sale in 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 acivity | an economic activity in which people do not directly gather or process raw materials but pursue activities that serve other;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 |