Culture + N America Notebook

Question 1

6 Elements of Culture

Answer 1

Language
Religion
Daily life (Arts, Literature, Customs, Traditions)
Social Systems
Government
Economic Activities

Question 2

people communicate information and experiences and pass on cultural values and traditions.

Answer 2

Language

Question 3

a local form of a
language.

Answer 3

Dialect

Question 4

distinctive
pronunciation of a language.

Answer 4

Accent

Question 5

Belief in one god

Answer 5

Monotheism

Question 6

Belief in more than one god

Answer 6

Polytheism

Question 7

provides an important sense of identity. It also influences many aspects of daily life (moral values, celebration of holidays)

Answer 7

Religion

Question 8

help the members of a culture work together to meet basic needs.

Answer 8

Social Systems

Question 9

the world share certain features, such as maintaining order with the country, providing protection from outside dangers, and supplying other services to the people.

Answer 9

Government

Question 9

a system of production and consumption of goods and services within a country or region.

Answer 9

Economy

Question 10

the spread of culture traits from one culture to another. (When people move from one place to another, they don’t leave their language, religion, food preferences, beliefs, traditions (aka, culture) behind.)

Answer 10

Cultural Diffusion

Question 11

early centers of civilization whose ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas.

Answer 11

Cultural Hearth

Question 12

judging other cultures by the standards of your own. Assuming your own culture to be the best.

Answer 12

Ethnocentrism

Question 13

belief that one racial group is naturally superior to another

Answer 13

Racism

Question 14

gives all key powers to the national or central government. The central government establishes local governments and gives limited sovereignty.

Answer 14

Unitary System

Question 15

divides the powers of government between national and state governments. Each level has sovereignty in some areas.

Answer 15

Federal System:

Question 16

a loose union of independent territories. The US was one in its early days

Answer 16

Confederation

Question 17

the power and authority to rule belongs to a single individual.

Answer 17

Autocracy

Question 18

a king or queen exercises the supreme powers of government.

Answer 18

Monarchy

Question 19

any system in which a small group holds power.

Answer 19

Oligarchy

Question 20

a government of people believed to be divinely inspired.

Answer 20

Theocracy

Question 21

follows physical geographic features like mountains and rivers.

Answer 21

Natural boundary

Question 22

divide two identifiable cultures.

Answer 22

Cultural boundaries

Question 23

often follow straight lines, longitude, or latitude.

Answer 23

Geometric boundaries

Question 24

the idea that people or groups have the right to own businesses and make a profit with limited government interference

Answer 24

free enterprise

Question 25

where the government supports and regulates free enterprise. The government’s main economic task is to preserve the free market by keeping competition free and fair.

Answer 25

Mixed Economy

Question 26

The idea that a person’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that person’s own culture.

Answer 26

Cultural Relativism

Question 27

The production of naturally existing or cultivated resources (e.g. agriculture, ranching, forestry, mining, fishing.)

Answer 27

Primary Sector

Question 28

The conversion of raw materials from the primary economic sector into a finished industrial product. (e.g. manufactured goods, oil refining, construction, ship building, food processing)

Answer 28

Secondary Sector

Question 29

Materials or substances that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

Answer 29

Natural Resource

Question 29

The provision of services to the general population; service industries (e.g., banking, retailing (selling goods), education, law enforcement.)

Answer 29

Tertiary Sector

Question 30

The economic, political, and social well-being of a nation’s people.

Answer 30

Economic Development

Question 30

Countries low in economic development. Poor countries. (“Third world” countries).

Answer 30

Less Developed Countries (LDCs

Question 31

Countries high in economic development. Wealthier countries. (“First world” countries).

Answer 31

More Developed Countries (MDCs):

Question 32

Habit and custom determine the rules for economic activity. Behavior is defined by customs of elders and ancestors rather than what individuals want.

Answer 32

Traditional Economy

Question 33

Individuals and private groups make decisions about what things to produce. People choose what products they will or will not buy. Businesses produce more of what consumers want.

Answer 33

Market Economy

Question 34

The government owns or directs the means of production – land, labor, factories, etc – and controls the distribution of goods. try to distribute goods and services equally among all citizens.

Answer 34

Command Economy

Question 35

the source of a stream or river

Answer 35

Headwaters

Question 36

a smaller river or stream that feeds into a larger river.

Answer 36

Tributary

Question 36

a high point or ridge that determines the direction rivers flow.

Answer 36

Divide

Question 36

one of the longest rivers in North America. Its headwaters are in Minnesota, it flows 2350 miles, reaches a width of 1.5 miles at its mouth and empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Answer 36

The Mississippi River

Question 37

is a high ridge in the Rocky Mountains. Waterways to the west of the divide flow into the Pacific Ocean (or great basin). Waterways east of the divide flow toward the Arctic or Atlantic Oceans.

Answer 37

The Continental Divide

Question 38

a boundary in the eastern United States where higher land drops to the lower Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Answer 38

Fall line

Question 39

a series of canals, rivers, and waterways linking the ____ with the Atlantic Ocean.

Answer 39

The Great Lakes/St Lawrence Seaway System

Question 40

a resource formed in the Earth by plant and animal remains. They include coal, petroleum, and natural gas.

Answer 40

Fossil Fuel

Question 41

A city with a population of at least 50,000 people including outlying communities called suburbs.

Answer 41

Metropolitan Area

Question 42

a large population concentration made up of several large and many smaller cities.

Answer 42

Megalopolis

Question 43

precipitation carrying high amounts of
acidic material.

Answer 43

Acid rain

Question 44

haze caused by the interaction of UV radiation
with chemical fumes from exhaust and
other pollution sources.

Answer 44

Smog