World Geography, Prentice Hall, Dk _Vocab_Assgnd_Chap 1-4

Front 1

Geography

Back 1

the study of where people, places, and things are located and how they relate to each other

Front 2

core

Back 2

center of the earth

Front 3

mantle

Back 3

a thick layer of rock around the core of the earth

Front 4

crust

Back 4

rocky surface layer of the earth

Front 5

lithosphere

Back 5

surface features including soil, rocks, and landforms

Front 6

atmosphere

Back 6

layer of air, water, and other substances above the earth's surface

Front 7

hydrosphere

Back 7

water in oceans, lakes, rivers and underground

Front 8

biosphere

Back 8

the world of plants, animals, and other living things that occupy the earth's surface

Front 9

continents

Back 9

large land masses on earth

Front 10

relief

Back 10

the difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points on earth

Front 11

plate tectonics

Back 11

theory that the earth's outer shell is not one solid sheet of rock

Front 12

continental drift theory

Back 12

The theory proposed by Alfred Wegener in the 1900s that once there was one supercontinent

Front 13

ring of fire

Back 13

circle of volcanoes surrounding the Pacific Ocean

Front 14

weathering

Back 14

the breakdown of rock at or near the earth's surface into smaller pieces

Front 15

mechanical weathering

Back 15

rock is broken down or weakened physically

Front 16

chemical weathering

Back 16

this alters a rock's chemical makeup by changing the minerals that form the rock or combining them with new chemical elements

Front 17

acid rain

Back 17

chemicals that pollute the air and fall back to earth in precipitation

Front 18

sonar

Back 18

sound, navigation, and ranging to determine distance and direction

Front 19

Landsat 7

Back 19

satellite launched in 1972 to record earth's surface

Front 20

GIS

Back 20

geographic information systems computer technology to collect, manipulate, analyze, and display data about the earth's surface to solve geographic problems

Front 21

5 themes of geography

Back 21

location, place, region, movement, and human-environment interaction

Front 22

absolute location

Back 22

position on the globe

Front 23

hemispheres

Back 23

the world is divided into 2 of these at the equator

Front 24

prime meridian

Back 24

at 0 runs north and south and goes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England

Front 25

latitude

Back 25

imaginary lines that run east- west on the globe

Front 26

longitude

Back 26

imaginary lines that run north to south between the 2 polies

Front 27

relative location

Back 27

location compared to other places

Front 28

character of a place

Back 28

place's physical characteristics and human characteristics

Front 29

perception

Back 29

viewpoint that is influenced by one's own culture and experiences

Front 30

formal regions

Back 30

areas in which certain characteristics are found throughout the area

Front 31

functional regions

Back 31

consists of a central place and the surrounding places affected by it

Front 32

perceptual regions

Back 32

defined by the people's feelings and attitudes about the areas

Front 33

erosion

Back 33

the movement of weathered materials such as gravel, soil, and sand

Front 34

sediment

Back 34

found on the bottom of a stream bed and carries this made up of small particles of soil, sand, and gravel

Front 35

loess

Back 35

caused by windblown deposits of mineral rich dust and silt

Front 36

glaciers

Back 36

huge, slow-moving sheets of ice

Front 37

moraines

Back 37

ridge-like piles of rocks and debris left behind from melted glaciers

Front 38

weather

Back 38

the condition of the bottom layer of the earth's atmosphere in one place over a short period of time

Front 39

climate

Back 39

the weather patterns that an area typically experiences over a long period of time

Front 40

rotation

Back 40

earth spins on its axis like a top

Front 41

revolution

Back 41

one complete trip around the sun in a circular path

Front 42

solstices

Back 42

when the sun is directly over the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn on June 21st & December 21st, respectively

Front 43

equinox

Back 43

on March 21st and September 23rd, when the sun at noon appears directly over head at the equator

Front 44

precipitation

Back 44

all forms of water that fall from the atmosphere onto the earth's surface

Front 45

front

Back 45

air mass

Front 46

continental climates

Back 46

areas that have cold, snowy winters and warm or hot summers

Front 47

troposphere

Back 47

part of the atmosphere closest to the land and contains the air that we breathe

Front 48

photosynthesis

Back 48

process in which plants use CO2 (carbon dioxide) to make their food and give out O2 (oxygen)

Front 49

clouds

Back 49

masses of tiny particles of water and dust floating in the atmosphere

Front 50

ozone layer

Back 50

a band of ozone gas that absorbs the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays and gets thinner because of pollutants

Front 51

ecosystem

Back 51

formed by the interaction of plant life, animal life, and they physical environment in which they live

Front 52

biome

Back 52

major types of ecosystems that can be found in various regions throughout the world

Front 53

deciduous

Back 53

trees that shed their leaves during one season, usually autumn

Front 54

coniferous

Back 54

trees that have long, thin needles and cones that protect their seeds

Front 55

chaparral

Back 55

type of forest that has small evergreen trees and low bushes or scrub

Front 56

savannas

Back 56

huge tropical grasslands near the equator

Front 57

herbivore

Back 57

plant-eating animals

Front 58

carnivore

Back 58

meat-eating animals

Front 59

prairie

Back 59

temperate grasslands of North America

Front 60

tundra

Back 60

areas where temperatures are always cold

Front 61

permafrost

Back 61

layer of soil just below the surface that is permanently frozen

Front 62

natural resources

Back 62

materials in the natural environment that people value and use to satisfy their needs

Front 63

renewable resources

Back 63

natural resources that are constantly being regenerated or replaced by the environment

Front 64

non-renewable resources

Back 64

natural resources that cannot be regenerated or replaced by the environment

Front 65

fossil fuels

Back 65

most important non-renewable mineral resource

Front 66

nuclear energy

Back 66

splitting of uranium atoms in a nuclear reactor to release the stored energy

Front 67

water power

Back 67

ancient source of energy

Front 68

geothermal energy

Back 68

energy that comes from the earth's internal heat

Front 69

solar energy

Back 69

energy produced by the sun

Front 70

primary economic activities

Back 70

activities that rely directly upon natural resources

Front 71

subsistence farming

Back 71

people only grown enough food for their own family's or village's needs

Front 72

commercial farming

Back 72

the production of food and other agricultural products for sale in markets

Front 73

secondary economic activity

Back 73

people use raw materials to produce or manufacture new products of greater value

Front 74

cottage industry

Back 74

production of something by hand

Front 75

tertiary economic activities

Back 75

service industries

Front 76

quaternary economics

Back 76

these activities focus on the acquisition, processing, and sharing of information

Front 77

exports

Back 77

goods that are sent out of the country

Front 78

imports

Back 78

goods that are brought into the country

Front 79

GDP

Back 79

gross domestic product