Geography - Chapter 2 + 3 Vocab

Question 1

Weather

Answer 1

The condition of the bottom layer of the earth’s atmosphere in one place over a short period of time

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

The term for the weather patterns that an area typically experiences over a long period of time

Question 3

Rotation

Answer 3

The earth spinning on its axis like a top

Question 4

Revolution

Answer 4

One complete orbit around the sun

Question 5

Solstice

Answer 5

The period when the Northern or Southern hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun. Longest or shortest days. Summer and winter

Question 6

Equinox

Answer 6

The sun is directly overhead at the equator. Day and night are equal lengths. Spring and fall

Question 7

Precipitation

Answer 7

All forms of water that fall from the atmosphere onto the earth’s surface

Question 8

Front

Answer 8

Air masses. Can be different temperatures. Cause precipitation

Question 9

Continental Climate

Answer 9

Climate in the great central areas of continents. Most areas have cold snowy winters and warm or hot summers

Question 10

Troposphere

Answer 10

The layer of the atmosphere closest to land

Question 11

Photosynthesis

Answer 11

The process by which plants make food from carbon dioxide and release oxygen

Question 12

Clouds

Answer 12

A mass of tiny particles of water and dust floating in the atmosphere

Question 13

Ozone Layer

Answer 13

A band of ozone gas in the atmosphere that absorbs the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays

Question 14

Ecosystem

Answer 14

It’s formed by the interaction of plant life, animal life, and the physical environment in which they live

Question 15

Biome

Answer 15

It’s used to describe major types of ecosystems that can be found in various regions throughout the world

Question 16

Deciduous

Answer 16

The dominant trees in the forests of the middle latitudes

Question 17

Coniferous

Answer 17

Found in Northern forests. Named after the cones that protect their seeds

Question 18

Chaparral

Answer 18

It includes small evergreen trees and low bushes, or scrub. Mediterranean climate

Question 19

Savanna

Answer 19

Huge tropical grasslands that grow in warm lands near the Equator

Question 20

Herbivore

Answer 20

Plant-eating animals

Question 21

Carnivore

Answer 21

Mear-eating animals

Question 22

Prairie

Answer 22

Temperate grasslands of North America

Question 23

Tundra

Answer 23

Temperatures are always cool or cold

Question 24

Permafrost

Answer 24

A layer of soil just below the surface. It stays permanently frozen

Question 25

Culture

Answer 25

The beliefs and actions that define a group of people's way of life

Question 26

Population Density

Answer 26

The average number of people in a square mile or a square kilometer

Question 27

Birthrate

Answer 27

The number of live births each year per 1000 people

Question 28

Immigrant

Answer 28

People who move into the country

Question 29

Emigrant

Answer 29

People who leave the country to live in other places

Question 30

Urbanization

Answer 30

The growth of city populations

Question 31

Rural

Answer 31

Countryside

Question 32

Culture Hearth

Answer 32

A place where important ideas begin and from which they spread to surrounding cultures

Question 33

Cultural Convergence

Answer 33

It occurs when the skills, arts, ideas, habits, and institutions of one culture come in contact with those of another culture

Question 34

Diffusion

Answer 34

The process by which a cultural element is transmitted across some distance from one group or individual to another

Question 35

Cultural Divergence

Answer 35

The restriction of a culture from outside cultural influences

Question 36

Sovereignty

Answer 36

A nation's freedom from outside control

Question 37

Unitary System

Answer 37

When one central government runs the nation

Question 38

Federation

Answer 38

Some powers are given to the national government and other powers are reserved for more local governments

Question 39

Confederation

Answer 39

Smaller political units keep their sovereignty and give the central government only very limited powers, typically in such fields as defense and foreign commerce

Question 40

Authoritarian

Answer 40

The leaders held all, or nearly all political power

Question 41

Dictatorship

Answer 41

Power is concentrated in a small group or even a single person. Use military force or political terror to gain and exercise power. People not even free to express opinions

Question 42

Totalitarianism

Answer 42

Most extreme form of dictatorship. The government tries to control every part of society: politics, economy, people's personal lives

Question 43

Monarchy

Answer 43

Most common kind of authoritarian government. Rulers inherit their positions by being born into the ruling family

Question 44

Democracy

Answer 44

Any country in which the people choose their leaders and have the power to set government policy

Question 45

Traditional Economy

Answer 45

Nearly all goods and services produces by people are consumed in their own family or village. Little is left over of trade with other communities

Question 46

Market Economy

Answer 46

An economic system that gives great freedom to individuals and groups

Question 47

Command Economy

Answer 47

When an economic system is controlled by a single central government

Question 48

Expansion Diffusion

Answer 48

The spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process

Question 49

Relocation Diffusion

Answer 49

The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another

Question 50

Stimulus Diffusion

Answer 50

the spread of an underlying principle, even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse

Question 51

Contagious Diffusion

Answer 51

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population

Question 52

Hierarchical Diffusion

Answer 52

The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places

Question 53

Toponym

Answer 53

A place name, especially one derived from a topographical feature

Question 54

Greenhouse Effect

Answer 54

Earth's atmosphere reflects most of the sun's radiation, but holds what it takes in. Similar to a greenhouse, which traps sun's warmth for growing plants

Question 55

Sustainable Development

Answer 55

Development balancing near-term interests with the protection of the interests of future generations

Question 56

Demography

Answer 56

The science of vital and social statistics (like births, deaths, diseases, marriages, etc.)

Question 57

Demographic Transition

Answer 57

The transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system