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Details Title: World Geography Final Exam Description: 1st Semester Final Exam Total Flash Cards: 69 Created: 12/11/2004 08:45:21	To study from this set of flash cards, or to create your own your own study flash cards, register HERE. If you are already a registered user, CLICK HERE.
Cards Term What are the main two lines of latitude and longitude? Definition Equator and Prime Meridian Term Briefly describe the theory of Pangaea and what proof Alfred Wegener uses to support his theory. Definition Pangaea is the theory that the continents were all one super-continent that drifted apart over time. Wegener uses fossils to help support his theory. Term What are the two most important factors of chemical weathering, and what are three causes of acid rain? Definition The most important factors are water and carbon dioxide, and the three causes of acid rain are industrial pollution, acid-producing agents from the ocean, and volcanic activity. Term Define population density. Definition The average number of people in a square mile or kilometer. Term Describe the rain shadow effect. Definition Moisture in the air is dropped on the side of the mountain that faces the ocean, and the other side is dry and hot. Term Define diffusion. Definition Diffusion – changes are due to outside influences Term Define acculturation. Definition Acculturation – changes develop from adapted traits Term Define communism. Definition businesses are owned by the state – all decisions about what to make, what to charge, etc are made by the state (gov’t) Term Define and list examples of renewable sources of energy Definition Renewable source - natural resources that the environment continues to supply or replaces as its used. Examples: Soil, plants, the sun Term How is per capita GNP determined? Definition It is found by dividing the total value of goods and services produced in a year by the country’s population. Term Define subsistence farming. Definition Farming that provides only enough for the needs of a family or a village. Term The US uses more fossil fuels than it can produce. Is this true of the rest of the industrialized world? Definition yes Term What is most of the land used for in the US? Canada? Definition US-Commercial farming, Canada-Hunting and Gathering Term In what region of economic activities do most Canadians live? Definition Where commercial farming takes place. Term If Chicago is the nation’s leading agricultural market, what is its hinterland? Definition The United States Term What term describes the dominant human characteristic of the Northeast? Definition Megalopolis Term Why did cities emerge along the fall line in the southern U.S.? Definition So that they could use water power from streams to power their mills Term What happened in 1831 that changed agriculture? Definition Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical reaper Term Why has the majority of the U.S. Labor Force moved from agriculture to other occupations since the beginning of the 20th century? Definition Because of improvements in transportation and communication Term What is the preferred name of the native people of Canada? Definition Inuit Term What geologic force shaped Mexico’s landscape? Describe the landform pattern. Definition Plate tectonics shaped the high mountains and plateaus Term What are peninsulares, criollos, mestizos and Indians? Definition Spanish social classes in early Mexico Term When the Mexican government after the revolution bought out haciendas and awarded peasants with ejidos, what government program was this? Definition Land redistribution Term How does the climate on the Caribbean coast of Central America differ from that on the Pacific Coast? Definition The Caribbean coast has a tropical wet climate, and the Pacific Coast has a tropical wet and dry climate Term What are concerns about maquiladoras? Definition They negatively impact people’s health, they provide tedious work for low pay, they create environmental problems. Term Which Central America country is made up of a majority of people of European descent? Definition Costa Rica Term What would you see if you flew over the Greater Antilles Islands? Definition Volcanic Mountains. Term What are similarities of the three Guianas in S. America? Definition Tropical wet climate, rain forests and narrow coastal plain Term What accounts for Venezuela’s economic wealth? Definition petroleum Term What has been the trend in population movement in Brazil since the 1970s? Definition People moved to cities in search of jobs Term What is the largest and least explored region of Brazil? Definition Amazon River Basin Term Why is most of Brazil’s rural population subsistence farmers when the agricultural industry in Brazil is extremely profitable? Definition Because only a handful of wealthy families own the large plantations and most of the rural population own only small plots of land. Term Why did Brazil choose a new capital, Brasilia in the 1950s? Definition It wanted to encourage people to move away from its more crowded cities, and populate the interior. Term What happened in 1982 in Argentina? Be specific with who was involved and what the result was. Definition They lost a war with Great Britain over the Falkland Islands and agreed to allow open elections. Term What physical feature is unique to Bolivia among the Andean countries? Definition It is landlocked Term What is the ongoing conflict in Nicaragua? Definition land for farming is unevenly distributed Term Why is Dover not the capital of English trade? Definition Dover’s cliffs plunge straight down to the water, London is located on an estuary and ships can sail to the port Term What is significant about Scotland and Wales with regards to England? Definition they have kept cultural identities separate from England Term Which country conquered Wales in 1284 and is a strong influence? Definition ENGLAND Term Name the parts of the United Kingdom Definition Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England Term Name the parts of the United Kingdom that are on the island of Great Britain. Definition All but Northern Ireland are on the island of G.B. Term Decide which of the following statements about France is true: France was divided after WWII. France has a strong national identity. France is located in Eastern Europe. TRUE STATEMENT IS Definition France has a strong national identity. Term What problem existed in the Irish economy, unlike its neighbor Great Britain, that caused its population to drop by millions? Definition potato famine Term Describe the relative location of Spain and Portugal Definition located west of Italy on the Iberian Peninsula bordered by the Atlantic Ocean Term If you live in a place where the sun never sets for weeks at a time, where do you live and what time of year is it? Definition in the northernmost territories of the Nordic nations. It is midsummer Term What feature links the Netherlands with the rest of Europe and the world Definition it contains Europe’s largest inland waterway – port city of Rotterdam Term What does the name Confederation Helvetica reflect about Switzerland? Definition its gov’t is a confederation, it has diverse cultural groups who have political autonomy, it is organized into cantons (like states) that have control over local affairs Term Where do 1/3 of Greece’s inhabitants live? Definition in or around Athens Term Why does Milan, Italy have a hot and dry climate? Definition the tall peaks of the Alps block winds carrying moisture from the North Atlantic Term What is a problem with building in Venice? Definition the grounds sinks and there is also a problem with pollution Term What country has these characteristics – German speaking, mountainous, known for great composers, emphasis on iron mining? Definition Austria Term Why is the majority of Poland’s people ethnically Polish? Definition Nazis killed most of the Jews in the Holocaust; Soviet Control caused most Germans to flee Term When and how did Solidarity gain worldwide recognition? Who led the group? Definition recognition gained in a strike in the Baltic port of Gdansk that was an effort to force the gov’t to make economic and democratic reforms – led by Lech Walesa who was elected in 1990 as the Polish President Term What is the term for selling government industries to private citizens?What effect did this economic reform have on the Czech Republic in the mid- to late 1990s? Definition privatization – reduced unemployment in the C.R. Term What is the main ethnic group of Hungary? of Poland? Definition Hungary – Magyars, Poland- Polish Term What happens on collective farms in Slovakia when a profit is made? Definition it is shared with others Term The Soviet Union was the largest producer of steel and iron and focused on heavy industry, what was a side effect of this focus on the people of the Soviet Union? Definition everyday items, like clothing and shoes, were scarce Term What natural resources are found in Siberia? Definition COAL and natural gas Term Which part of Yugoslavia did not experience widespread fighting? Definition Macedonia Term What does the term balkanized mean? Definition to break into small, mutually hostile political units Term What was the purpose of perestroika? Definition economic reform to gradual introduce privatization Term Why do some buildings in Siberia stand six feet off the ground on posts Definition to allow frigid air to circulate and diffuse heat under the buildings–permafrost would melt Term Why did the Soviet Union want control of the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia? Definition strategic location on the Baltic Sea Term What is Ukraine’s capital? Definition KIEV Term Why could Kiev be called the Mother of Russia during the time of the Soviet Union? Definition It is where the first Russian state began Term How did Western investment help Romania’s struggling economy? Definition an American soft drink company expanded operation there and jobs were added through the multiplier effect Term When and how did Slovakia become an independent nation? Definition 1993 when it split Czechoslavakia peacefully with Czech Republic Term Describe this people of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Definition made up of conflicting ethnic groups Term What is the largest country in Northern Eurasia? Definition Russia