ECHS Final Exam AP Human Geography

Agribusiness

Commercial agriculture characterized by the integration of different steps in the food-processing industry.

Agriculture

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock.

Aquaculture

The cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions.

Bid-rent curve

A model showing that the amount a farmer is willing to pay for land declines with increasing distance.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants and animals, as well as people, culture, and technology, between the Western Hemisphere and Europe, as a result of European colonialization and trade.

Commercial Agriculture

Agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm.

Genetically Modified Organism

A living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology.

Third Agricultural Revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers.

Horticulture

Growing of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and tree crops.

Milkshed

The area surrounding a city from which milk is supplied.

Paddy

The Malay word for “wet rice”; increasingly used to describe a flooded field.

Ranching

A form of commercial agriculture in which livestock graze over an extensive area.

Sawah

A flooded field for growing rice.

Second Agricultural Revolution

An increase in agricultural productivity through improvement of crop rotation and breeding of livestock.

Shifting cultivation

A form of subsistence agriculture in which people shift activity from one field to another; each field is used for crops for a relatively few years and left fallow for a relatively long period.

Subsistence Agriculture

Agriculture designed primarily to provide food for direct consumption by the farmer and the farmer’s family.

Transhumance

Seasonal migration of livestock between mountain and lowland pasture area.

Truck farming

Commercial gardening, so named for the Middle English word truck, meaning “barter” or “exchange of commodities.”

Wet rice

Rice planted on dry land in a nursery and then moved to a deliberately flooded field to promote growth.

Annexation

Legally adding land area to a city in the United States.

Census tract

Area delineated by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for statistics.

Central Business District

Area of a city with business, consumer, and public services.

Edge City

Node of office and retail activities on urban edge.

Galactic Model

Model of urban settlement.

Gentrification

Process of converting urban neighborhoods to middle-income.

Municipality

Legally incorporated urban settlement.

Megalopolis

Continuous urban complex, like in northeastern U.S.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

Urbanized area of at least 50,000 population in the U.S.

Rush hour

Heaviest traffic periods in the morning and evening.

Sector model

Model of city structure with social groups in sectors radiating from CBD.

Smart growth

Urban expansion approach protecting rural land, following development principles.

Sprawl

Development of low-density housing away from existing built-up areas.

Suburb

Residential or commercial area away from existing built-up areas.

Urban area

Central city surrounding suburbs in the U.S.

Urban cluster

A term no longer used to describe an urban area in the United States with between 2,500 and 50,000 inhabitants.

Apparel

An article of clothing.

Break-of-bulk point

A location where transfer is possible from one mode of transportation to another.

Bulk-gaining industry

An industry in which the final product weighs more or comprises a higher volume than the inputs.

Bulk-reducing industry

An industry in which the final product weighs less or comprises a lower volume than the inputs.

Cottage industry

Manufacturing based in homes rather than in factories, most common prior to the Industrial Revolution.

Fordist production

A form of mass production in which each worker is assigned one specific taste to perform repeatedly.

Industry

The manufacturing of goods in a factory.

Just-in-time delivery

Shipment of parts and materials to arrive at a factory moments before they are needed.

Maquiladora

A factory built by a U.S. company in Mexico near the U.S. border to take advantage of the much lower labor costs in Mexico.

Outsourcing

A decision by a corporation to turn over much of the responsibility for production to independent suppliers.

Post-Fordist production

Adoption by companies of flexible work files, such as the allocation of workers to teams that perform a variety of tasks.

Right-to-work law

A U.S. lawyer that prevents a union and a company from negotiating a contract that requires to join the union as a condition of employment.

Site factors

Location factors related to the costs of factors of production inside a plant, such as land, labor, and capital.

Situation factors

Location factors related to the transportation of materials into and from a factory.

Vertical integration

An approach typical of traditional mass production in which a company controls all phases of a highly complex production process.