This page will be used to list vocabulary words used in class. The words can also be found here on Quizlet.com, a free website that students can create flashcards, play games with the vocabulary words, create their own lists, etc.
List 1:
ETHNIC GROUP Group of people who share a common race, language, and culture.
RELIGIOUS GROUP Group of people who share a common system of beliefs.
IRRIGATION Providing water to crops using pipes, ditches, etc.
DESALINATION The process used to convert sea water to freshwater for drinking.
OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
AGRICULTURE Farming; growing crops and raising animals for food.
NOMADIC Migratory lifestyle.
OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Controls the supply and price of oil.
List 2:
ARID Very dry.
UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION Unequal access to resources needed for survival and economic growth.
SUEZ CANAL Man made waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
UBRAN Related to a city
RURAL Characteristic of country life
STRAIT OF HORMUZ Narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea
GEOGRAPHY Study of how things are arranged or distributed across the earth's surface.
List 3:
MONOTHEISM Belief in one God; Ex: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
SUNNI Branch of Islam that believes that the leader can be any qualified Muslim
Majority of Muslims are Sunni
SHIA Branch of Islam that believes the leader must be a descendant of Muhammad (mostly in Iran)
RESERVOIR Human made place for storing water
STANDARD OF LIVING quality of life
increase in literacy rate leads to an increase in standard of living
LITERACY RATE percent of population with the ability to read and write
increase in literacy rate leads to an increase in standard of living
List 4:
HOW CITIZENS PARTICIPATE Autocracy, oligarchy, democracy (parliamentary, presidential)
AUTOCRACY Dictatorship; no citizen participation
OLIGARCHY Rule by a small group; limited citizen participation
DEMOCRACY Citizens participate by voting or running for office; parliamentary or presidential
HOW GOVERNMENTS DISTRIBUTE POWER Federal, unitary, confederate
FEDERAL Power is shared or divided between the central authority and regional authorities
UNITARY One central government has the power
CONFEDERATION Loose alliance between countries
Ex: United Nations, European Union
THEOCRACY: A government controlled by religious leaders.
MONARCHY: A government headed by a king or queen.
List 5:
MARKET ECONOMY Economic system in which choices are made by consumers, producers, and entrepreneurs.
COMMAND ECONOMY Economic system run by the government.
TRADITIONAL ECONOMY Economic system in which custom and tradition determine what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce.
MIXED ECONOMY Combination of command and market economies. All countries have a mixed economy.
ENTREPRENEUR One who takes a risk to start a business.
POLITICAL TRADE BARRIERS Tariff, Quota, Embargo (Sanction); motivates consumers to buy domestic goods
CURRENCY Type of money used to pay for goods and services. Currency must be exchanged in order to trade.
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT Total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year.
List 6:
TARIFF: Tax on imported goods
QUOTA: Limit to the number of goods imported
EMBARGO (SANCTION): Ban on trade for political reasons
SPECIALIZATION: Focusing on production of a particular good because of available resources.
FACTORS OF PRODUCTION: Natural resources, labor, capital resources, entrepreneurship
NATURAL RESOURCES: Minerals, freshwater, arable land, timber, fossil fuels
LABOR: Human capital, workers.
CAPITAL RESOURCES: Factories, machinery, and technology used to produce goods and services; goods used to make other goods.
List 7:
DIVERSIFIED ECONOMY: Economy that has a variety of goods and services
INFRASTRUCTURE: Facilities and services needed to support economic development; water and service lines, roads, highways, power plants, schools, etc
ANTI-SEMITISM: Racism against Jews
ZIONISM: Jewish Nationalism movement to restore their homeland of Israel (1948)
SADDAM HUSSEIN: Dictator of Iraq who invaded Kuwait for their oil. This caused the Persian Gulf War in 1991 (Desert Storm.) He was later accused of having WMDs. This lead to the second invasion of Iraq in 2003 (Operation Iraqi Freedom.)
OSAMA BIN LADIN: Leader of the terrorist group Al Qaeda, that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. Taken out by Navy Seals in May 2011.
PARTITIONING to split into parts; establishing artificial political boundaries. This would later lead to conflict between ethnic groups and religious groups. Ex: After WWI, France and Great Britain partitioned the Ottoman Empire to form countries in the Middle East (oil.) Ex: African countries were partitioned by European imperial powers at the Berlin conference in 1884. Artificial political boundaries were based on the location of natural resources.
HOLOCAUST: Killing of millions of Jews by the Nazis during World War II.
List 8:
ASIAN BROWN CLOUD: Air pollution over Asia caused by industry, automobiles, and burning wood for cooking and heating in rural areas.
GANGES RIVER: River that is sacred to Hindus and flows through India and Bangladesh before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. Very polluted from pesticides, fertilizers, sewage, and ashes from human remains.
YANGTZE RIVER: The longest river in China that provides hydroelectric, irrigation, and transportation. Also has the Three Gorges Dam. Very polluted from pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial contaminants.
GOBI DESERT: Asia's largest desert located in northern China.
MEKONG RIVER: River of southeast Asia that runs through many countries before emptying into the South China Sea.
MONSOON: A seasonal wind pattern in southern Asia that blows warm, moist air from the southwest during the summer, bringing heavy rains, and cold, dry air from the northeast during the winter
ARCHIPELAGO: A group of islands.
DESERTIFICATION: The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.
List 9:
ENLIGHTENMENT: Awakening to ultimate truth
REINCARNATION: Cycle of rebirth in Hinduism and Buddhism
KARMA: Good or bad behavior that determines one's position in this life or the next
KAMI: Nature spirits; spirits of ancestors in Shintoism
VEDAS: Hindu sacred texts
NIRVANA: Perfect state of being; freedom from the cycle of reincarnation (Buddhist belief)
MOKSHA: Release from the cycle of reincarnation (Hindu belief)
TRIPITAKA: Sacred text of Buddhism.
List 10:
POLYTHEISM: Belief in many gods
MOSQUE: Muslim place of worship
SYNAGOGUE: Jewish place of worship
ANIMISM: Traditional tribal religion in which spirits play an important role in regulating daily life, believe spirits are present in animals, plants, and other natural forces and take the form of the souls of their ancestors.
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM: 1. belief in one God, Allah, and Muhammad his prophet2. daily prayer; pray 5 times a day facing Mecca- mosques- Jewish places for worship 3. alms (offering) for the poor 4. fasting (sunrise to sunset) during Ramadan (September-October) 5. hajj- pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime (and visit Kaaba)
SHARIAH: Islamic law
SHINTO: "Way of the kami (spirits)"; and indigenous religion of Japan that holds that everything in nature has a spirit
CONFUCIANISM: A philosophy of ethics, education, and public service based on the writings of Confucius
Buddhism A religion in which Buddha's teachings that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire and suffering ceases when desire ceases.
HINDUISM: Hinduism A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being who takes many forms.
CASTE SYSTEM: A social system that classifies the people of India into different groups based on your occupation, ritual purity, and your karma.
List 11:
COMMUNISM Economic/Political system where a totalitarian government controls everything, in order to create a classless society where everyone is equal.
FAMINE Widespread hunger
ECONOMICS The study of how people use limited resources to meet needs and wants.
FAVORABLE BALANCE OF TRADE When a country exports more goods than it imports. (Exports > Imports)
BARTER Trade without the use of currency; trading a good for a good, or a good for a service, or a service for a service. Characteristic of a traditional economy.
CEREMONIAL LEADER A person who holds the title as the highest leader of a country but has no real power; Example: constitutional monarch such as the Queen of England or Emperor of Japan.
UNITED NATIONS An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.(1945): New league of nations created with a Security Council (five winners of WWII promise to carry out UN decisions with their own forces) of the world powers to enforce the UN's will. General Assembly (every country = 1 vote) + Security Council (permanent, veto power).
