What causes the earth to have seasons?
the tilt of the earth
Where are the sun's direct rays on the equinoxes and in what months do they take place?
directly over the equator; March and September
What makes commercial farming in developed countries more successful than subsistence farming in developing countries?
advanced technology in farm equipment, seeds, etc.
What is convection?
Warm substances (air, water, magma) expand, rise, cool off, and fall
How does convection affect the atmosphere and the oceans?
creates currents that cool off/warm up the earth's oceans and air
Describe the government's control of a free market (capitalist) economy
little to none
Describe the government's control of the economy in: Socialist (mixed) economy
controls major industries (energy, banking, communications, transportation, and individuals own everything else)
Describe the government's control of the economy in communist economy
Communist (command) economy Total control
What are the characteristics of a traditional economy?
rural, little surplus, local decisions about production, producers consume harvest/products
What is a monarchy?
inherited power
Why must countries trade with each other?
Because resources are not evenly distributed around the world in each country
What happened in Ireland in the 1840s that cause widespread famine, death, and many Irish to leave the country?
blight on potato plants
Which of the following is true of the water cycle? (increasing) (decreasing) (constant) (moves around)
constant and it moves around
How does earth's water move around?
precipitation moved by air currents, storm systems
In South America, more people live (inland) (along the coasts) (in the Andes).
along the coasts
Name the three indigenous Latin American Empires and the areas they occupied.
Aztec (southern Mexico), Inca (Peru), Maya (Yucatan Peninsula, Guatamala
What are the benefits of maquiladoras to the owners?
cheap labor, cheaper costs to build and operate factories, less environmental controls
Define NAFTA.
North American Free Trade Agreement; no tariffs on goods shipped between Canada, USA, Mexico
How has NAFTA affected unemployment in Mexico?
down
How has NAFTA affected manufacturing jobs in Mexico?
up
How has NAFTA affected pollution in Mexico?
up
How has NAFTA affected Mexico's trade with the U.S.?
up
What makes Mexico's southern central plateau the location of volcanic and earthquake activity?
convergence of four tectonic plates
Why did the Brazilian government move their capital city from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia on the Brazilian Highlands?
In an attempt to alleviate coastal crowding
What is the European Union?
free-trade zone among European countries; also economic organization with common currency and bank, common environmental policy; no passports required
Is defense of member countries a part of European Union's purpose?
no
What moderates the climate of Europe despite its northern location? (name the two physical systems that contribute)
Prevailing Westerly winds blow over warm North Atlantic Drift and bring warm winds to Europe
What was the Renaissance and in what Italian city did it begin?
Rebirth of learning, art, science, medicine in the 1300s, Florence, Italy
What was the basis of the conflicts in the Balkan Peninsula (the former Yugoslavia)?
After the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, these former communist regions suffered ethnic conflict, as each group tried to gain control.
What is the basis of the dispute in Northern Ireland?
Irish Catholics want Northern Irelandreturned to the control of the Republic of Ireland; Protestants in Northern Ireland want to remain a part of the U.K.
What was the Cold War?
a war of words of nuclear weapon escalation between the democratic countries of the West and the communist countries of the East
What two countries are in disagreement/conflict over the state of Kashmir?
India and Pakistan
What problems does Bangladesh have?
Natural disasters, overpopulation, malnutrition, poverty
From what ancient religious writings did India's caste system develop?
The Vedas
Rapid industrialization in the 1950s and 1960s in Communist Eastern Europe led to what environmental problems?
pollution of air, water, land
What is the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia?
Ural Mountains
Why did East and West Pakistan become two separate countries (Pakistan & Bangladesh)?
East Pakistanis felt underrepresented by West Pakistani government, different ethnic group
What is the current status of Hong Kong?
Owned by China but mostly free market; limited human rights
What happened in Tiananmen Square?
Students massacred, as they protested for more freedoms
In Communist countries like North Korea, who controls production and distribution of goods and crops?
the government
What was the cause and result of the Korean War?
Communist North invaded free South in an attempt to unite peninsula under communism; peninsula was officially divided into two countries, North Korea and South Korea
What is the Communist view on religions?
strongly discouraged
How were different religions spread to SE Asia?
trade
What religion is unique to Japan?
Shinto
What is the purpose of EU, and with what region of the world is it concerned?
Europe; trade, environmental policy, common currency, common bank
What is the purpose of MERCOSUR, and with what region of the world is it concerned?
South America - free trade
What is the purpose of NATO, and with what region of the world is it concerned?
Countries of the North Atlantic; North Atlantic Treaty Organization - defense treaty
What factors help commercial farms in MDCs be more successful than subsistence farms in LDCs?
More farming technology, including machines, fertilizers, pesticides, modern methods
Why are there frequent earthquakes in Japan?
It is on the Ring of Fire, which is a tectonic border
What happened to the environment as communist Eastern Europe developed industrially?
It was polluted.
Give an historical example of the geographic theme of movement
Slave trade, migration to the U.S., spread of the Internet, spread of religions and languages, etc.
True or False: Eclipses are affected by the relative positions of the sun and the earth
True
True or False: Day and Night are affected by the relative positions of the sun and the earth
False
True or False: Climates are affected by the relative positions of the sun and the earth
True
True or False: Thunderstorms are affected by the relative positions of the sun and the earth
False
True or False: Seasons are affected by the relative positions of the sun and the earth
True
Regarding the poles and the equator, what is the general direction of flow of warm water?
equator to poles
Regarding the poles and the equator, what is the general direction of cooler water?
Poles to equator
Give three examples of material culture.
Books, food, religious items
Give three examples of non-material culture.
Beliefs, ideas, traditions
What is the relationship between birthrates and death rates when a situation of zero population growth exists?
They are relatively equal
Europe can be correctly described as a peninsula of peninsulas. What does that mean?
Europe itself is a peninsula off of Asia, and it has at least five major peninsulas itself.
What four characteristics must any region have to be an independent state (country)?
Land, population, government, sovereignty
What is the government structure of the United States?
Federal
Give three examples of global (international) diffusion.
Religions, foods, languages
In what two countries lie the Pyrenees mountains?
Spain and France
What line of latitude marks the northernmost point to receive the direct rays of the sun?
Tropic of Cancer
What type of farmer raises crops for his/her family to eat?
Subsistence farmer
What type of farmer raises cash crops?
Commercial farmer
What is the driest place in South America?
Atacama Desert
How is world population distributed, evenly or unevenly?
Unevenly
Where is the world's largest rain forest?
Brazil (Amazon)
In MDCs, literacy rate is high or low?
High
In MDCs, birthrate is high or low?
Low
In MDCs, standard of living is high or low?
High
In MDCs, energy usage is high or low?
High
In what country would one find maquiladoras?
Mexico
Name the four political subdivisions of the United Kingdom.
England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
Which European country colonized most of Central and South America?
Spain
What country is the world's #1 producer of coffee?
Brazil
In MDCs, environmental control is high or low?
High
In LDCs, environmental control is high or low?
low
In LDCs, energy usage is high or low?
low
In LDCs, birthrate is high or low?
high
In LDCs, standard of living is high or low?
low
In LDCs, literacy rate is high or low?
low
In which stage of Demographic Transition Model would a country have an aging population (lots of older folks)?
IV
Which of the following does not belong and why?
South Africa Czech Republic Kazakhstan Switzerland Afghanistan
South Africa; not landlocked
Would a separatist movement in country "A" demanding independence be a centrifugal force or a centripetal force?
centrifugal
When a diffused culture trait is first accepted by the powerful elite, and later by others, what type of diffusion has occurred?
hierarchical
Which of these does not belong?
Nigeria Indonesia Germany China Chile
Why?
Indonesia; it is fragmented
What is cultural ecology?
humans interacting with environment
Which of these toponyms does not belong?
Pottstown New York New Jersey Germantown, PA New Hampshire
Why?
Pottstown - does not reflect geographic background
Describe a cultural landscape. Describe a cultural landscape. human's imprint on landscape
human's imprint on landscape (buildings, roads, bridges, etc)
Who first, relatively accurately, calculated the earth's circumference?
Eratosthenes
T F Globalization was made possible by space-time compression.
True
What is the art and science of mapmaking called?
cartography
How many time zones does China have?
one
T F In a country in the second stage of the Demographic Transition Model, with its population pyramid truly resembling a pyramid, there are very few women who die in childbirth.
False
Describe the rate of population growth of a country in stages 2 and 3 of the Demographic Transition Model.
rapid increase
Which of the following is/are pull factor(s)?
forced migration
famine
country experiencing Industrial Revolution
political unrest
persecution by government
available jobs
country experiencing Industrial Revolution, available jobs
Which model explains demographically (using statistics like CBR, CDR, RNI) what happens as countries move from LDCs to NICs to MDCs?
Demographic Transition Model