Download Chapter 4 Study Guide

Chapter 4 Study Guide
I. The Elements of Culture
A. Defining Culture
 Culture – the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shared and
passed on by members of a group
o Involves the following factors:
- food & shelter
- education
- religion
- security/protection
- relationships to
- political & social
family & others
organization
- language
- creative expression
 Society – a group that shares a geographic region, sense of
identity, and a culture
 Ethnic Group – a group that shares a language, customs, and
common heritage
o Has an identity as a separate group of people within the
same region
B. Culture Change and Exchange
 Culture can be changed by internal and external forces
o Innovation – taking existing technology and resources
and creating something new to meet a need.
o Diffusion - is change from the outside resulting from the
spread of cultural traits from one culture to another.
o Culture Hearth is a place where important ideas begin
and then spread to other cultures.
o Acculturation - is change from within, where one culture
adapts traits from another culture.
C. Language
 Helps establish a cultural identity
 Language Families
o Between 3,000 and 6,500 languages are spoken across
the world
o All languages developed from the Indo-European family
o Dialect – versions of a language that reflect changes in
speech patterns related to class, region, or other cultural
changes.
 Language Diffusion
o Language can be diffused (spread) in many ways:
 Follow trade routes
 Be invented
 Through contact between groups that blend their
languages
 By migration
D. Religion
 3 Categories of Religion
o Monotheistic – belief in one god
o Polytheistic – belief in many gods
o Animistic – belief in divine forces in nature
 Spread of Religion
o Religions spread through diffusion or conversion
E. Major Religions
 World’s 5 Major Religions
1. Judaism
o Oldest of the Southwest Asian religions
o Followers are called Jews
o Monotheistic religion
o Basic laws & teachings come from the holy book
called the Torah
o Jerusalem is the religious center
2. Christianity
o Largest religion – 2 billion followers
o Evolved from the teachings of Judaism
o Christians
o Monotheistic
o Based on the teachings of Jesus Christ
o Bible
o Has 3 major groups: Roman Catholic, Protestant, &
Eastern Orthodox
3. Islam
o Based on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
o Followers are called Muslims
o Monotheistic
o Worship God, who is called Allah
o Holy book is the Qur’an
o 2 major divisions: Sunni & Shiite
4. Hinduism
o World’s oldest religion
o Concentrated in India, but has followers elsewhere
o Polytheistic
o Divine spirit is Brahman
o Caste system
5. Buddhism
o Founded by Siddhartha Gautama ( Buddha or
Enlightened One)
o Teachings promote living to reach nirvana
 Other Asian Practices
o Confucianism, Taoism, & Shinto
II. Population Geography
A. Worldwide Population Growth
 Birth and Death Rates
1. Birthrate - # of live births per thousand population
2. Fertility Rate – avg. # of children a woman would have in
her lifetime.
3. Mortality Rate (death rate) - # of deaths per thousand people
4. Infant Mortality Rate - # of deaths among infants under age
one per thousand live births
5. Rate of Natural Increase ( population growth) – subtract the
mortality rate from the birthrate.
o Birthrate – Mortality Rate = Rate of Natural Increase
 Population Pyramid
o Graphic device that shows sex & age distribution of a
population
o Allows geographers to examine how events in society,
such as wars, famine, or epidemics, affect the population
of a country or region.
B. Population Distribution
 Almost 90% of the world’s population live in the Northern
Hemisphere
 Climate, Altitude, & access to Water, influence where people
live
 Habitable Lands
o Almost two-thirds of the world’s population live in the
zone between 20˚N & 60˚N latitude
o Have suitable climate and vegetation
 Urban-Rural Mix
o More than half the world’s pop. Live in rural areas
o That’s changing because more people are moving to
cities
 Migration
o Push-pull factors
 Push Factors – cause people to leave their
homeland and migrate to another region
 Pull Factors – attract people to another location
B. Population Density
 This is the avg. # of people who live in a measurable area
 The # is reached by dividing the # of inhabitants in an area by
the total amount of land they occupy
 Carrying Capacity – the # of organisms a piece of land can
support
 Factors that influence both Carrying Capacity & Population
Density are:
o Fertility of the land
o Level of technology & Economic activities
III. Political Geography
A. Nations of the World
 State – independent unit that occupies a specific territory & has
full control of its internal and external affairs
o Refers to territory and govt.
 Nation – group of people with a common culture living in a
territory and having unity.
o Refers to people
 Nation-State – when a nation and a state occupy the same
territory
 Types of Government:
o Democracy – citizens hold political power through elected
representatives.- Ex: United States
o Monarchy – ruling family headed by a king or queen
holds political power – Ex: United Kingdom
o Dictatorship – An individual or group has complete
control – Ex: North Korea
o Communism – Nearly all political power and means of
production are held by the govt. in the name of all people
B. Geographic Characteristics of Nations
 Three geographic characteristics describe a country:
1. Size
2. Shape
3. Location
C. National Boundaries
 Boundaries set limits of the territory controlled by the state
 Within its borders, states can:
o Collect taxes
o Set up a legal code
o Declare an official language
o Claim resources
 Two types of boundaries:
1) Natural Boundaries – based on physical features of the
land, such as rivers, lakes, chain of mountains.
o Dispute may arise if the physical feature changes
2.) Artificial Boundaries – fixed line generally following
latitude or longitude lines
o Conflict may arise when an artificial boundary
ignores established divisions between groups of
people
D. Regional Political Systems
 Countries often are divided into smaller political units to make
governing more efficient.
 Most common local units of government are: cities, towns,
villages
IV. Urban Geography
A. Growth of Urban Areas
 Urban Geography – the study of how people use space in cities
 Urban Areas:
o Central city – core of an urban area
o Suburbs – areas that touch the border of the central city or
touch other suburbs that touch the city.
o Exurbs – smaller cities or towns with open land between
them and the central city
o Megalopolis – several metropolitan areas grow together
 Urbanization – the dramatic rise in the number of cities and the
changes in lifestyle that result.
 When geographers study urban areas, they consider location,
land use, and functions of the city.
B. City Locations
 Many cities are located in:
o Places that allow good transportation, such as on a river
o Places with easy access to natural resources
 Cities may specialize in certain economic activities because of their
location
C. Land Use Patterns
 Land use patterns found in all cities are:
o Residential – including single-family housing & apartment
buildings
o Industrial – areas reserved for manufacturing of goods
o Commercial – used for private business and the buying &
selling of retail products
 Central Business District (CBD) – core of a city based on
commercial activity.
o Business offices & stores
o Very expensive housing
D. Functions of Cities
 Types of Functions of a city: retail, entertainment, transportation,
business, education, government, manufacturing, wholesaling,
residential, recreation, religious
V. Economic Geography
A. Economic Systems
 Economic System – the way people produce and exchange goods
and services. There are 4 basic types:
o Traditional economy (barter) – goods & services are traded
without exchanging money
o Command Economy (planned economy) – govt. controls the
production of goods & services
o Market Economy (demand economy/capitalism) – goods &
services are determined by the demand from consumers.
o Mixed Economy – combination of command & market
economies. All people benefit.
B. Economic Activities
 Levels of Economic Activity
o Primary Activities – gathering raw materials for immediate
use or to use in making the final product
o Secondary Activities – adding value to materials by changing
their form. Ex: Manufacturing cars
o Tertiary Activities – providing business or professional
services. Ex: Teachers, Salespeople, Doctors
o Quaternary Activities – provide information, management,
and research services by highly-trained persons
C. The Economics of Natural Resources
 Natural Resources – materials on or in the earth – such as trees,
fish, or coal – that have economic value
o 3 Types of Natural Resources;
 Renewable – can be replaced through natural
processes. Ex: trees & seafood
 Non-Renewable – cannot be replaced once they’re
removed from the ground.
 Ex: fossil fuels, petroleum, natural gas, coal –
the basis of energy production
 Inexhaustible energy sources – used for producing
power, a result of solar or planetary processes and
are unlimited in quantity. Ex: sun, geothermal heat,
winds, and tides
D. Economic Support Systems
 Infrastructure – consists of basic support systems needed to
keeping an economy going including:
o Power
o Communications
o Transportation – most important system
o Water
o Sanitation
o Education systems
 The more sophisticated the infrastructure, the more developed the
country.
E. Measuring Economic Development
 Per Capita Income – avg. amount of money earned by each person
 Gross National Product (GNP) – total value of all goods & services
produced by a country over a year or some other specified time
 Gross Domestic Product – total value of all goods & services
produced within a country in a given period of time.
F. Development Levels
 Developing Nations have a low GDP & limited development on all
levels of economic activities. Struggle with providing residents with
items to meet basic needs
 Developed Nations have a high per capita income and varied
economy. U.S., Japan, and Canada have highly developed
economies