Praxis II: Social Studies Flashcards
Physical Geography
The study of the natural features of earth
Archipelago
Chain of islands
ex. Philippines
Basin
A geographic depression, often filled with water
Bay
Body of water partially surrounded by land
Delta
A plain at the mouth of a river, often triangular in shape
Flood plain
A plain on either side of a river
Frigid Zones
Climate zones of the Arctic and Antarctic circles
Hill
Raised area of land under 2,000 feet in height
Isthmus
Narrow strip of land connecting two larger regions
ex. Panama Canal
Lines of Latitude
Imaginary horizontal lines that run across the globe
North and South poles have a measure of 90 degrees
Lines of Longitude
Imaginary vertical lines that run across the globe.
International Date Line
Measure of 180 degrees
Mountain
Raised area of land greater than 2,000 feet in height
Mountain Ridge
The peak of a mountain that is stretched over far distances
Mountain Pass
Gap between mountains
Mouth
Point where a rivers enters a sea or lake
Peninsula
Region mostly surrounded by water but still connected to land.
Plateau
Large, flat area raised above the surrounding area. Normally, at least one side of the plateau terminates in a steep slope
Strait
Narrow body of water between two land masses
Temperate Zones
Include distinct Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall
Tributary
River or stream that flows into another river.
Branch
River or stream that leaves a river
Tropic of Cancer
23 degrees south of the equator
Marks the point farthest south where the sun can be seen directly overhead.
Tropic of Capricorn
23 degrees north of the equator
Marks the point farthest north where the sun can be seen directly overhead.
Valley
A low stretch of land between raised areas of land.
Valleys are formed by the action of rivers cutting paths out of the surrounding land.
Population
Any group of individuals that shares some common characteristic
Infant
Any child less than 1 year old
Morbidity Rate
Incidence of people contracting a selected illness within a population
Topological Maps
Maps that have been simplified to the point where only a few pieces of key information stand out.
Ex. Subway system.
Thematic Maps
Display social, political, or otherwise non-geographical data in conjunction with geographical information
Anthropology
The study of humanity
Cultural Anthropology
The study of the cultural organization of a specific group of people
Physical Antrhropology
The study of the development of the human race’s physical form
Structuralism
Humans build meaning out of conceptual differences and oppositions
Ethnography
Combines insights from multiple disciplines with extensive fieldwork
Archaeology
Study of human history through the examination of material artifacts
Sociology
Study of the ways in which an individual may interact with his or her culture as well as large-scale features that emerge only when people come together to form groups.
Conflict Theory
A sociological approach that studies the role of power and conflict in social organizations
Social Organization
Any group that organizes its members into roles and provides connections among the various members.
Major Organizations:
- governments
- religions
- education
- economic
- family
Ethnocentrism
Belief that one’s own cultural group is superior to others.
Prejudice
A preconceived belief that frequently casts negative judgements toward other groups
Big Five Theory
Five major factors to a person’s personality:
- openness
- conscience
- extraversion
- agreeableness
- neuroticism
Cognitive Dissonance
A contradiction between thoughts and behaviors
Dual-code theory
Theory that holds visual and auditory data are processed in two distinctly different ways
Encoding
Process of turning data into memory
Figure-ground
The distinction made between an object being viewed and the surrounding visual data
Hueristics
Mental rules of thumb that subjects develop to help make sense of the world around them
Language Acquisition Device
A theoretical mental architecture that is the source of humans’ inherent ability to learn a lanuage
Motivational Bias
A tendency to ascribe specific attributions to actions
Perceptual Set
A plan of assumptions that helps subjects interpret stimuli
Social psychology
The study of influence of other humans on the development and working of mental processes.
Social Cognitive Theory
Personality is influenced by internal (ideas and beliefs) and external (the observation of others) behavior.
Working Memory
Using short term and long term memories simulateously
Paleolithic Period
First use of stone tools
Neolithic Period
Use of farming
Copper or Bronze Age
Use of metal tools
Sumer Society
- City-states organized into hierarchies
- Cuneiform (first written language)
- Epic of Gilgamesh