Grade 7 Geography: Population, Health, Conservation, and Water Resources

Essential vocabulary flashcards covering population change, scientific health developments, natural resource conservation, community projects, catchments, and water management.

Population

The total number of people living in an area, which changes through births, deaths, and migration.

Birth rate

The number of live births per $1\,000$ people per year.

Death rate

The number of deaths per $1\,000$ people per year.

Natural population growth rate

The birth rate minus the death rate, excluding the effects of migration.

Immigrant

A person who moves into a country to live there.

Emigrant

A person who leaves a country to live elsewhere.

Migration

The movement of people to live in another area.

Infant mortality rate (IMR)

The number of deaths of babies under one year of age per $1\,000$ live births in a year.

Life expectancy at birth

The average number of years a newborn could expect to live if the death rates of that time continued.

Net migration

The difference calculated as immigrants minus emigrants ($\text{Net migration} = \text{immigrants} - \text{emigrants}$).

Civil war

Organised armed conflict fought between groups within one country.

Refugee

A person who has fled their country because of danger such as war or persecution.

Baby boom

A sharp rise in births, which may follow family reunification after a war.

Preventative healthcare

Healthcare measures that prevent illness, such as vaccinations, handwashing, safe water, and healthy eating.

Curative healthcare

Healthcare that treats illness or injury, such as antibiotics for bacterial infections, surgery, and other medicines.

Germ theory

The understanding introduced by Louis Pasteur that microbes cause infections, leading to improved hygiene and disease control.

Vaccination

A development introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796 that trains immunity to recognise and respond to a pathogen, preventing disease rather than treating an existing infection.

Antiseptics

Chemical substances introduced by Joseph Lister that destroy or limit germs on skin and wounds, reducing infection.

Penicillin

An antibiotic discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 that treats susceptible bacterial infections, but does not kill viruses.

Sanitation

Systems such as clean water, toilets, sewage, and refuse services that keep waste away from people and drinking water to reduce diseases like cholera and diarrhoea.

Pandemic

An epidemic that spreads across many countries or continents.

Natural resource

Something found in nature that living things use, such as water, air, and soil.

Renewable resource

A natural resource that is naturally replenished, such as growing vegetation, but remains vulnerable to pollution, damage, and overuse.

Non-renewable resource

A natural resource that forms too slowly to be replaced on a human timescale, such as coal and oil.

Sustainable use

Using resources in a way that meets current human needs while protecting supplies for future generations.

Conservation

The protection and careful management of the environment and natural resources.

Biodiversity

The variety of living things found in an environment.

Erosion

The removal and transport of soil by water or wind.

Marine Protected Area (MPA)

A protected part of the ocean governed by specific conservation rules designed to protect marine species and habitats.

Community conservation

An approach where local residents protect and manage nearby natural areas as stewards (caretakers).

Food security

Reliable access to an adequate quantity of nutritious food.

Permaculture

A system of farming designed to work with natural processes and conserve natural resources.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)

Local knowledge and practical traditions passed down between generations within a community.

Eco-tourism

Responsible nature-based tourism that conserves the natural environment and provides benefits to local people.

Water availability

The total amount of usable water supplied by rainfall, rivers, dams, and groundwater.

Water requirements (demand)

The quantity of water needed by people, agriculture, industry, and other consumers.

Water scarcity

A situation that occurs when available usable water is insufficient to meet user requirements.

Catchment (drainage basin)

The entire area of land drained by a river system and all of its tributaries.

Tributary

A smaller stream or river that flows into and joins a larger river.

Drainage divide

An area of elevated ground or ridge that separates neighbouring drainage basins.

Runoff

Water from rain that flows over the surface of the land rather than soaking in.

Infiltration

The process by which water on the ground surface soaks into the soil.

Riparian zone

The strip of land and natural vegetation directly bordering a river or stream.

Sediment (silt)

Solid mineral and organic material that is transported and deposited by water.

Invasive alien plants

Non-native plants introduced from elsewhere that spread aggressively, crowd out indigenous species, and consume large volumes of water.

Wetland

An area of land where the soil is waterlogged permanently or seasonally, such as a marsh, swamp, or vlei.

Mulch

A layer of grass, straw, or other organic matter spread over soil to slow evaporation and retain moisture.

Drip irrigation

A targeted watering method that delivers water directly to plant roots, minimising loss from evaporation.

Greywater

Wastewater generated from household domestic tasks (excluding toilet waste) that can be reused for non-drinking purposes.