Download Midterm Study Guide Key - Riverdale Middle School

Midterm Study Guide Key
Geography
1. Latitude: lines that run east to west and measure north and south of the equator
Longitude: Lines that run north to south and measure east or west of the prime meridian
2. Continents: North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, Europe
3. Climate Zones: Tropical, Temperate, Polar
4. Climate: weather conditions in an area over a period of time
Weather: conditions of the atmosphere at any given time
Meteorology: the science that deals with weather
5. Time Zones: Alaskan, Hawaiian, Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern
6. Compass Rose: helps the user locate directions
Cardinal Directions: North, South, East , West
Intermediate Directions: Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest
Chapter 1
1. Culture: the knowledge, beliefs, customs and values of a group of people
2. History: the study of the past
3. Archaeology: the study of the past based on what people left behind
4. Fossil: a part or imprint of something that was once alive
Artifact: an object created by and used by a human
5. Primary Source: an account of an event created by someone who took part in or witnessed the
event
Secondary Source: information gathered by someone who did not take part in an event
6. Human Geography: the study of people and the places where they live
Physical Geography: the study of the earth’s land and its features.
7. Landforms: the natural features of the land’s surface
8. Essential Early Resources: Water, animals, fertile land. Stone for tools
Chapter 2
1. Hominid: an early ancestor of humans
2. Early Humans:
Australopithecus: southern ape
Homo habilis: handy man
Homo erectus: upright man
Homo sapiens: wise man
3. Paleolithic Era: the first part of the Stone Age; before 8000BC; people used stone tools.
4. Mesolithic Era: the middle stone age; earth’s climate changed and people moved out of Africa;
invented hooks, spears, canoes, and pottery
5. Neolithic Era: the new stone age; began around 10,000 years ago; people learned how to polish stone,
make fire and produce food
6. Hunter-gatherers: people who hunt animals and gather wild plants, seeds, fruits and nuts to survive
7. Society: a community of people who share a common culture
8. Ice Age: The sheets of ice covered earth’s surface; ended about 10,000 years ago
9. Land bridge: a strip of land connecting 2 continents
10. Surplus: more than is needed
11. Domestication: the process of changing plants and animals to make them more useful to humans
Chapter 3
1. Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: the most important physical features in Mesopotamia; annual flooding of
these rivers brought silt, making the land ideal for farming
2. Mesopotamia: the world’s first civilization; “between the rivers” in Greek
3. Silt: a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks
4. Irrigation: a way of supplying water to an area of land
Canals: human made waterways
5. Division of Labor: the type of arrangement in which a worker specializes in a certain task or job
6 Sumer: the world’s first civilization in Mesopotamia; the first advanced society
7. Cuneiform: the world’s first system of writing
8. Scribes: writers
9. Hammurabi’s code: a set of 282 laws that dealt with almost every part of daily life
10 Hittites and Kassites: made the strongest weapons of the time; taken over by the Kassites after
the Hittite king was assassinated.
11. Phoenicians: built a trading society in the eastern Mediterranean region; invented the alphabet
12. Assyrians: had a strong army that used chariots and iron weapons; local leaders demanded heavy
taxes
Chapter 4
1. Pyramid: huge stone tombs with 4 triangle shaped sides that meet in a point on top
2. Gift of the Nile: Egypt was called the gift of the Nile because the Nile River gave life to the desert by
bringing water and allowing farming to happen
3. Nile River: the longest river in the world; flows south to north and empties into the Mediterranean
Sea
4. Delta: a triangle shaped area of land made of soil deposited by a river
5. Cataracts: strong rapids
6. Natural Barriers: North—Mediterranean Sea; South—cataracts in the river; West—Western Desert;
East—Red Sea
7. Pharaoh: title used by the ruler of Egypt
8. Dynasty: a series of rulers from the same family
9. Menes: first pharaoh in Egypt, rose to power in Upper Egypt and unified the 2 kingdoms by marrying a
Lower Egyptian princess
10. Mummies: specially treated bodies wrapped in cloth
11. Engineering: the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes
12. Trade Routes: paths followed by traders
13. Farmers: vast majority of the population; grew crops to support their families and pay taxes
14. Scribes: writers
15. Hieroglyphics: Egyptian writing system
Papyrus: long lasting, paper-like material made from reeds.
Chapter 5
1. Himalayan Mountains: the tallest mountains in the world; they border India to the north
2. Subcontinent: a large land mass that is smaller than a continent
3. Monsoons: seasonal wind patterns that cause wet and dry seasons
4. Sanskrit: the most important language of ancient India; the Aryan language that is the basis of many
South Asian languages today
5. Caste System: the division of Indian society into groups based on a person’s birth, wealth or
occupation
6. Division of Society:
Brahmins—Priests
Kshatriyas—Rulers and Warriors
Vaisyas—Farmers, Craftspeople &Traders
Sudras—Laborers and non-Aryans
Untouchables—outcasts; don’t belong to any caste
7. Hinduism: the largest religion in India today
8. Brahmin: creator of the universe and everything in it
9. Karma: the effects that good or bad actions have on a person’s soul
10. Siddhartha: born a prince, questioned the meaning of life; found it under the tree of wisdom;
travelled and taught his ideas
11. Buddha: the enlightened one
12. Four Noble Truths of Buddhism:
--Suffering and unhappiness are a part of life. You can’t escape sorrow.
--Suffering comes from our desire for pleasure and material goods.
--People can overcome desire and ignorance and reach nirvana, the state of perfect peace.
--people can overcome ignorance and desire by following an eightfold path that leads to wisdom,
enlightenment and salvation.
Chapter 6
1. Great Wall: a barrier that linked earlier walls across China’s northern frontier; was built to keep the
Mongols out of China
2. Huang He River: also called the Yellow River; 3,000 mile long river across northern China
3. Shang Dynasty: the first dynasty of ancient China
4. Warring States Period: thousands of armies fought to gain territory lasted for over 200 years
5. Ethics: moral values
6. Confucius: the Chinese teacher whose teachings changed China
7. Four Social Classes under Confucianism:
--Upper Class: The Emperor, his court and his scholars
--Second Class: the peasants, who make life work on a daily basis
--Third Class: the artisans, who produced items for daily life and some luxury goods
--Fourth Class: the merchants, who bought and sold what others made
8. Mandate of Heaven: certain people had the right to rule due to divine intervention
9. Confucianism main ideas:
--People should be respectful and loyal to their family.
--Leaders should be kind and lead by example.
--Learning is a process that never ends.
--Heaven expects people to behave well and act morally,
10. Daoism: stressed living in harmony with the Dao, the guiding force of all reality
11. Legalism: the belief that people are bad by nature and need to be controlled.
12. Mongols: northern invaders of China
13. Trade Routes: routes or paths used for trade; towns developed around the routes
14. Silk Road: 4,000 mile long network of trade routes that stretched westward from China across
Asia’s deserts and mountain ranges, through the Middle East, until it reached the Mediterranean Sea