World Geography definitions

Question 1

Evaporation

Answer 1

process by which liquid changes to gas

Question 2

Condensation

Answer 2

the process by which water vapor changes from a gas into liquid droplets

Question 3

Ecosystem

Answer 3

communities of plants and animals

Question 4

Magma

Answer 4

liquid rock within the Earth

Question 5

Weathering

Answer 5

the process by which rocks break and decay over time

Question 6

Sediment

Answer 6

small particles of weathered rock

Question 7

Erosion

Answer 7

movement of surface material from one location to another by water, wind, ice

Question 8

Glacier

Answer 8

thick masses of ice, including great ice sheets and bodies of ice that flow down mountains like slow rivers

Question 9

Plateau

Answer 9

an elevated flatland that rises sharply above nearby land on at least one side

Question 10

Desalinization

Answer 10

process of removing salt from ocean water

Question 11

Headwaters

Answer 11

first and smallest streams formed from the runoff of a mountain, eventually forming rivers

Question 12

Tributaries

Answer 12

any smaller stream or river that flows into a larger stream or river

Question 13

Humus

Answer 13

broken-down plant and animal matter in soil

Question 14

Contour Plowing

Answer 14

plowing fields across a hill, rather than up and down the hill

Question 15

Crop Rotation

Answer 15

the practice of planting different crops in a field in alternating years

Question 16

Deforestation

Answer 16

destruction or loss of forests

Question 17

Reforestation

Answer 17

the replanting of a forest

Question 18

Aquifers

Answer 18

rock layers where groundwater is plentiful

Question 19

Dialect

Answer 19

a regional variety of a language

Question 20

Leaching

Answer 20

downward movement of minerals and humus in soils

Question 21

urbanization

Answer 21

growth in the proportion of people living in towns and cities

Question 22

population density

Answer 22

the average number of people living in an area; usually expressed as persons per square mile or square kilometer

Question 23

natural boundary

Answer 23

boundaries that follow a feature of the landscape

Question 24

Abyssal Plain

Answer 24

areas of the ocean floor where rocks gradually sink because they have no supporting heat below them; the world’s flattest and smoothest regions

Question 25

Polytheism

Answer 25

belief in many gods

Question 26

tariffs

Answer 26

a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports.

Question 27

command economy

Answer 27

an economy in which production, investment, prices, and incomes are determined centrally by a government.

Question 28

literacy rate

Answer 28

is the total percent of population who can read and write.

Question 29

Birthrate

Answer 29

the number of live births per thousand of population per year.

Question 30

market economy

Answer 30

an economic system in which production and prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses

Question 31

mosque

Answer 31

Muslim place of worship

Question 32

Fault

Answer 32

rock masses have broken apart and moved away from each other

Question 33

Quota

Answer 33

in trade matters, limits on the amount of a product that can be imported

Question 34

Monotheism

Answer 34

the belief in one god

Question 35

refugees

Answer 35

people who have been forced to leave an area

Question 36

culture

Answer 36

all the features of the peoples way of life

Question 37

Nationalism

Answer 37

a feeling of pride and loyalty for ones country or culture group

Question 38

death rate

Answer 38

total number of deaths each year for every 1000 people in a place

Question 39

globalization

Answer 39

the process in which connections around the world increase and cultures become more alike

Question 40

capitalism

Answer 40

an economic system in which businesses, industries and resources are privately owned

Question 41

communism

Answer 41

an economic and political system in which the government owns or controls almost all the means of production

Question 42

migration

Answer 42

the process of moving from one place to live in another

Question 43

acculturation

Answer 43

process in which an individual or group adopts some of the traits of another culture

Question 44

cultural boundary

Answer 44

boundaries that are based on culture traits

Question 45

import

Answer 45

the goods a country brings in from different nations

Question 46

export

Answer 46

the goods a country sells or trades with another nation

Question 47

comparative advantage

Answer 47

the ability to produce something at a lower opportunity cost than another country can

Question 48

protectionism

Answer 48

use of tactics that make imported goods more expensive than domestic goods

Question 49

tariff

Answer 49

tax on imports. the goal is to make the price of imported goods higher than those produced at home

Question 50

subsidy

Answer 50

a payment or other benefit given by government to help a domestic producer (U.S and Europe pays subsides to farmers)

Question 51

balance of trade

Answer 51

a nation’s exports minus its imports (can be positive or negative)

Question 52

Trade surplus

Answer 52

a positive trade balance

Question 53

trade deficit

Answer 53

a negative trade balance

Question 54

exchange rate

Answer 54

value of a nation’s currency in comparison to other nations currency. Determined by balance of trade