7th Grade Social Studies - SW Asia Economics, Geography & Environment

Literacy Rates

The ability to read and write.

Standard of Living

How comfortable and well people live, based on things like income, housing and access to things like healthcare.

Human Capital

The skills, knowledge, and training of a country’s workforce.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total value of everything a country produces in a year.

GDP per Capita

The average yearly income per person in a country.

Bartering

Trading without the use of money.

Specialization

When someone or something focuses on doing one thing really well.

Trade Barriers

Rules that make it harder for countries to trade with each other.

Tariff

A fee extra cost added to something from another country.

Quotas

Limits of how much of something that can be brought from another country.

Embargo

A rule that stops all trade between two countries.

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)

A group of countries that work together to control how much oil they sell to other countries.

Stable

Not changing too much; staying the same.

Three Fundamental Economic Questions

What to produce, How to produce, Who consumes it

Traditional Economy

An economic system based on past customs, traditions, and bartering without using money.

Command Economy

An economic system fully controlled and planned by a central government.

Market Economy

An economic system driven purely by buyer and seller interactions with no government control.

Mixed Economy

An economic system blending market freedom with government regulations.

Israel’s Economy

Mixed economy (70% free) led by technology and agriculture, burdened by defense costs.

Saudi Arabia’s Economy

Mixed economy (64% free) controlled largely by state oil revenue, working to diversify.

Turkey’s Economy

Mixed economy (65% free) with large manufacturing, slowed by complex regulations.

Causes of Water Pollution in SW Asia

Untreated urban sewage, chemical farm runoff, and industrial waste.

Turkey’s GAP Dam Project

22 dams increased Turkey’s power and farming, but severely reduced downstream river flow.

Iraq’s Water Scarcity

Upstream dams reduced river flow by 80%, damaging agriculture and drinking supplies.

Israel’s Solution to Water Scarcity

Advanced technology like drip irrigation to maximize crop growth with minimal water.

Jordan’s Water Rationing

Strict government limits that supply piped water to households only a few days per week.

Desert Population Density

Very low population density due to extreme heat and lack of freshwater.

River Population Density

High population density along riverbanks due to freshwater, farming, and transport access.

Desert Transportation

Historically camel caravans; modern transport relies on trucks, cars, and airplanes.

Location of Israel, Gaza, and West Bank

Situated along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia.

Path of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Flow from the mountains of Turkey through Syria and Iraq into the Persian Gulf.

Location of Saudi Arabia

Occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula between the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

Location of Afghanistan

A landlocked, mountainous nation on the eastern edge of Southwest Asia.

Political Map

Map that show borders and cities.

Physical Maps

Maps that show natural land features.

Currency Exchange

System to trade different types of money, necessary for international business.

Resources

Things that are needed to make or do something like money, time, or materials.

Silk Road

A famous ancient trade route that connected Asia to Europe people treated things like Silk spices and other goods along this route.

Trading Centers

Places where people come together to buy, sell, and exchange goods.

Strait

A narrow path of water that connects two bigger bodies of water.

Canal

A man-made river that helps ships and boats move from one place to another.

Gulf

A big water pocket that is connected to the ocean or a sea, like a bend or a scoop in the land where water goes in.

Sea

A big area of salt water that smaller than an ocean, it's like a lake that is connected to an ocean.

River

A long winding water path that flows across the land. It starts in a high place like a mountain, and goes down to a lower place like a lake or an ocean.

Citizen

A person who legally belongs to a country and has rights and responsibilities there.

Government

The group of people who are in charge of running a country.

Parliament Democracy

A type of government where people vote for a group of representatives (parliament), and this group chooses the leader of the country (Prime Minister).

Parliament

A group people chosen by citizens to make laws and decisions for the country.

Autocratic Monarchy

A type of government where one person, usually a king or queen, has almost all the power and makes most decisions.

Monarchy

A government ruled by a king, queen, or a royal family.

Lineage

The line of a family members that someone comes from, like their ancestors.

Royal Family

The family of kings, queens, princes, and princesses.

Democratic

A type of government where people have the power to vote and choose their leaders.

Congress

A group of people in some countries, like the United States, who makes laws.

Representatives

People chosen by citizens to speak or make decisions for them in government.

The type of government Israel has.

Parliamentary Democracy

The type of government Saudi Arabia has.

Autocratic Monarchy

The type of government Turkey has.

Presidential Democracy

What is #1?

Suez Canal

What is #2?

Red Sea

What is #3?

Jordan River

What is #4?

Euphrates River

What is #5?

Tigris River

What is #6?

Persian Gulf

What is #7?

Strait of Hormuz

What is #8?

Arabian Sea

What is #9?

Mediterranean Sea

What is #10?

Israel

What is #11?

Egypt

What is #12?

Yemen

What is #13?

Saudi Arbia

What is #14?

Kuwait

What is #15?

Qatar

What is #16?

United Arab Emirates

What is #17?

Oman

What is #18?

Turkey

What is #19?

Syria

What is #20?

Iraq

What is #21?

Iran