World Geography Chapter 4 Test

Culture

The way of life of a group of people who share similar ways of thinking, believing, and living, expressed in common elements.

Culture Examples

Language, religion, social system, laws/government, economic activities, farming, industries, daily life, history, and art.

Language families

group of languages with similar roots.

Language family

English, Spanish and Russian all belong to the Indo-European…

Ethnic groups

a group of people who share a common language, history, or place of origin.

Culture regions

areas with certain traits in common, such as similar economic systems and forms of government.

cultural hearths

farming communities.

long-distance trade

Cultural diffusion

the spread of cultural beliefs, practices, material objects, and ideas from one group of people to another.

agricultural industrial revolution

transformed agricultural from a manual, subsistence-based system into a mechanized, commercial industry.

Demographic Transition Model

Tracks birthrates and death rates over time

Birth rate

number of births per year/1,000 people

Death rate

number of deaths per year/1,000 people

Natural increase

growth rate in population; difference between births and deaths

Doubling time

 number of years it takes a population to double in size

Population growth

Birth rate, death rate, natural increase, and doubling time

Population growth factors + increase in population - decrease

natural increase

Population Distribution

is the variations in population across a country, continent or world

population density

is the average number of people per square mile

Population Pyramid

diagram that shows distribution of a population 

pull factors

Economic factors that attract people to a place

push factors

Economic factors that drive people away from a place

Emigrant

People who leave their homeland

Immigrant

 a person who leaves their home country to live permanently in a different country.

Unitary government

key powers held by national or central government. 

Central government

creates state and local governments and gives them limited powers, but still retains control. 

federal system

divides the powers of government between the national and state or provincial governments.

autocracy

system of government in which the power and authority to rule belongs to a single individual 

Oligarchy

system of government in which a small group holds power. 

Theocracy

a system of government ruled by divine authority or religious leaders, believed to be divinely inspired 

Democracy

any system of government in which leaders rule with the consent of the citizens. 

Direct democracy

citizens themselves decide on issues.

Representative democracies/republican form of government

 a form of government where the people hold the power but elect representatives to exercise it.

Cultural boundaries

divide two identifiable cultures

Geometric boundaries

straight lines, do not account for natural borders or culture

Natural Boundary

follow physical geographic features

Conflict

border disputes, multiple ethnic groups within one area, competition for resources, and control of strategic sites.

Nationalism and terrorism

can breed fear, violence, and may lead to war.

United Nations

an international organization whose aims are to facilitate cooperation between countries and achieve world peace.

NATO

alliance of 32 sovereign Euro-Atlantic countries dedicated to maintaining democratic freedom by means of collective defense. 

WTO

international body that oversees trade agreements and settles trade disputes among countries. 

Geopolitics

examines how political units are influenced by geographic factors, such as a country's size, location, and resources. 

Urban Sprawl

spreading of urban areas onto undeveloped land near cities; increases traffic; drains local resources and destroys open spaces

Metropolitan Area

a region that has a central city and its surrounding areas

Urban structure

arrangement of land use

Urbanization

the movement of people from rural areas to cities

When an industry no longer exists in an area, population can decline and a city can turn into a

ghost town

central place

 a settlement whose livelihood depends on the sale of goods and service to people in the surrounding area

Central Place Theory

theory that attempts to explain the reasons behind the distribution patterns, size, and number of cities and towns around the world.

World City

city that plays an important role in the global economy

Edge City

large suburban business districts and communities