Unit 5: Agriculture: Primary Economic Activities

Question 1

agribusiness

Answer 1

Farming engaged in as a large-scale business operation embracing the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products and the manufacture of farm machinery, equipment, and supplies

Question 2

agricultural hearths

Answer 2

areas from where the origins of agricultural ideas and innovation began and spread

Question 3

agriculture

Answer 3

The raising of animals or the growing of crops on tended land to obtain food for primary consumption by a farmer’s family or for sale off the farm

Question 4

biotechnology

Answer 4

the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services

Question 5

cereal grains

Answer 5

grass yielding grain for food (oats, wheat, rye, barley)

Question 5

Columbian Exchange

Answer 5

Movement of plants and animals from each side of the Atlantic Ocean back to the other

Question 6

commercial agriculture

Answer 6

the production of crops for sale and is designed to produce crops for widespread distribution (supermarkets), larger markets, and exports

Question 7

desertification

Answer 7

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting

Question 8

dispersed settlement pattern

Answer 8

used to classify rural settlements, homes range from a scattered to an isolated pattern

Question 9

enclosure

Answer 9

The process of consolidating small landholdings into a smaller number of larger farms in England during the eighteenth century

Question 10

erosion

Answer 10

removal of surface material from Earth’s crust, primarily soil and rock debris, and the transportation of the eroded materials by natural agencies (such as water or wind

Question 11

extensive agriculture

Answer 11

small inputs of labor/money relative to the size of the farmland

Question 12

extensive subsistence agriculture

Answer 12

a vast expanse of land is cultivated to yield minimal output of crops and animals for the primary consumption of the grower’s family

Question 13

Green Revolution

Answer 13

a response to an exponential increase in the global human population and advances in technology that allowed for the mass production of chemical fertilizers

Question 14

hamlet

Answer 14

a settlement which is too small to be considered a town or village

Question 15

village

Answer 15

a group of houses and associated buildings, larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town, situated in a rural area

Question 16

horticulture

Answer 16

The growing of fruits, vegetables, and flowers

Question 17

hunters and gatherers

Answer 17

people who depend largely on food collection or foraging for wild resources

Question 18

industrial agriculture

Answer 18

large-scale, intensive production of crops and animals, often involving chemical fertilizers on crops or the routine, harmful use of antibiotics in animals

Question 19

intensive agriculture

Answer 19

large amounts of labor and capital are used to produce high yields of crops

Question 20

intensive substinence agriculture

Answer 20

a method of agriculture where farmers get more food per acre compared to other subsistence farming methods

Question 21

irrigation

Answer 21

a man-made system whereby water is spread from its natural source (such as a lake or river) over a much larger geographic range to aid in agricultural production

Question 22

job specialization

Answer 22

a process in which employees develop specific skills, experience and knowledge in a particular area in order to gain the expertise required to perform certain aspects of a job

Question 23

labor intensive agriculture

Answer 23

large inputs of labor/money relative to the size of the farmland

Question 24

location theory

Answer 24

addresses the questions of what economic activities are located where and why

Question 25

long-lot survey system

Answer 25

divides the land into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads, or canals

Question 26

Mediterranean agriculture

Answer 26

agriculture done in those regions which are having Mediterranean type of climate; it is a mixture of diverse bio-cultural activities that has developed in five major world regions

Question 27

mercantilism

Answer 27

economic policy that forces colonies to sell their raw materials for low prices and then buy them back from the mother country for high prices

Question 28

metes and bounds

Answer 28

system uses physical features of local geography along with directions and distances to define and describe boundaries of land parcels

Question 29

milkshed

Answer 29

The ring surrounding a city from which milk can be supplied without spoiling

Question 30

mixed crop and livestock farming

Answer 30

crops like soybeans and corn are grown to fatten up livestock so that the farmers can send the livestock to slaughterhouses and make money

Question 31

Neolithic Revolution

Answer 31

led to masses of people establishing permanent settlements supported by farming and agriculture

Question 32

nomadism

Answer 32

a member of a people having no permanent abode, and who travel from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock

Question 33

nucleated settlement pattern

Answer 33

buildings grouped around a central location

Question 34

organic agriculture

Answer 34

use of natural methods to promote plant growth and control pests, without the use of synthetic chemicals or genetically modified organisms

Question 35

pampas

Answer 35

extensive lowland plains of South America

Question 36

pastoral nomadism

Answer 36

Herding of domestic animals in dry, arid climates

Question 37

patriarchal system

Answer 37

men controlled the holding power in the family, the economy, and the government

Question 38

plantation farming

Answer 38

production of one or more usually cash crops on a large swathe of land

Question 39

post-industrial societies

Answer 39

societies whose economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information

Question 40

primary sector

Answer 40

The portion of the economy concerned with the direct extraction of materials from Earth's surface, generally through agriculture, although sometimes by mining, fishing, and forestry

Question 41

primogeniture

Answer 41

the eldest son, or in some rare cases daughter, inherits all of the deceased parents' land

Question 42

quaternary sector

Answer 42

the industry based on human knowledge which involves technology, information, financial planning, research, and development

Question 43

rectangular survey system

Answer 43

the Public Land Survey, the system was used by the US Land Office Survey to parcel land west of the Appalachian Mountains

Question 44

Second Agricultural Revolution

Answer 44

A series of inventions and reforms starting in England in the 1600s that caused a massive increase in agricultural productivity

Question 45

secondary sector

Answer 45

revolves around manufacturing; transforms natural resources into artificial resources

Question 46

seed agriculture

Answer 46

the reproduction of plants by using seeds

Question 47

seed drill

Answer 47

a device used in agriculture that sows seeds for crops by positioning them in the soil and burying them to a specific depth while being dragged by a tractor

Question 48

shifting cultivation

Answer 48

the practice of farming by clearing land for farming by slashing vegetation and burning debris

Question 49

specialization

Answer 49

the separation of tasks within a system

Question 50

substinence agriculture

Answer 50

involves food production mainly for the family

Question 51

tertiary sector

Answer 51

service industry

Question 52

Third Agricultural Revolution

Answer 52

involved hybridization and genetic engineering of products and the increased use of pesticides and fertilizers

Question 53

truck farming

Answer 53

the production of crops of some vegetables on an extensive scale in regions especially suited to their culture primarily for shipment to distant markets

Question 54

vegetative planting

Answer 54

reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots

Question 55

von Thunen's model

Answer 55

aims to explain the spatial organization of agriculture and how it is influenced by transportation costs

Question 56

wattle

Answer 56

a fabrication of poles interwoven with slender branches, withes, or reeds and used especially formerly in building

Question 57

wet (lowland) rice

Answer 57

Practice of planting rice on dry land or in a nursery and then moving seeding to flooded fields to grow

Question 58

winter wheat area

Answer 58

wheat that is sown in autumn and ripens the following spring or summe

Question 59

spring wheat area

Answer 59

wheat that is sown in the spring and harvested in late summer or fall