Download Name: Date: Chapter 2/Section 3 Notes Human Geography 3.1

Name: ____________________________________ Date: _______________________________
Chapter 2/Section 3 Notes
Human Geography
3.1 World Cultures
 The ways people speak, eat, work, play and worship are all part of culture.
Culture: how people in a region live, behave, and think
Expressions of culture include:
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language
religion
beliefs
customs
arts, music, dance
literature
Symbol: an object that stands for something else
 People recognize and respect symbols!
Example: stars on the American flag are symbols for the 50 states
Civilization: society that has a highly developed culture and technology
 A person learns about their civilization by watching and intimidating others!
Cultural Regions: areas that are unified by common cultural traits or characteristics
Example: The people in Latin America speak Spanish or Portuguese and practice the Roman
Catholic religion
3.2 Religions and Belief Systems
 Religions and belief systems are important parts of culture around the world
A religion is a set of beliefs and practices that is often focused on one or more gods
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Major world religions:
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Christianity
Hinduism
Islam
Buddhism
Judaism
Sikhism
Religion helps people to answer questions such as, “What is the purpose of life?”
Monotheistic religion: belief in one god
Three monotheistic religions:
1. Christianity
2. Islam
3. Judaism
Polytheistic religion: belief in many gods
Religions have:
ASPECT
Doctrine or set of basic beliefs
EXAMPLE
Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of
God
The Bible is the sacred text for Christianity, the
Koran the sacred text for Islam, and the Torah
is the sacred text for Judaism
Ten Commandments are a code of conduct for
Jews and Christians
Sacred scriptures or texts that communicate
the beliefs of a religion
A code of conduct or beliefs about right or
wrong behavior
 Religions have grown and have spread throughout the world
3.3 Economic Geography
 People produce, buy, and sell goods in a variety of different ways
Economy: system in which people produce, sell and buy things
Economic activity: the production of goods and services
Three Sectors of Economic Activity:
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Primary sector: taking raw materials from the soil or water
Examples: mining, farming, fishing, and forestry
Secondary sector: using raw materials to manufacture products
Example: Making cars
Tertiary sector: services
Example: banking or health care
Factors of Production:
A country is more likely to have a strong economy if it has all four factors of production:
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2)
3)
4)
Land-all the natural resources used to produce goods and services
Labor-the size and education level of the workforce
Capital-country’s wealth and infrastructure
Entrepreneurship- the creativity and risk needed to develop new goods and services
Economic Systems:
Economic systems: ways in which countries organize the production of goods and services
Different Types of Economic Systems:
 Traditional economy: people trade goods and services without money
 Free enterprise economy/market economy/capitalism: privately owned businesses
create goods that people buy in markets
 Command economy: the government owns most parts of the economy and decides
what will be produced or sold
 Mixed economy: has elements of a free enterprise and command economy
Economic Indicators:
The strength of a country’s economy can be measured by:
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gross domestic product (GDP)
income
literacy rate
life expectancy
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Gross domestic product: the total value of goods and services that a country produces
Developed countries:
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countries with high gross domestic products
most of the jobs are in the tertiary sector
people are educated and literate
high level of medical care
transportation
Example: United States
Developing countries:
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countries with low gross domestic products
most of the jobs are in the primary or secondary sector
few people are educated and literate
low level of medical care
Example: Countries in Africa
3.4 Political Geography
 Countries around the world have different forms of government
Government: an organization that keeps order, sets rules, and provides services for a society
Citizen: a person who lives within the territory of a government and is granted certain rights
and responsibilities by that government
A limited government does not have complete control over its citizens and the citizens have
some individual rights and responsibilities.
An unlimited government has complete control over every aspect of its citizens’ lives.
Types of Government:
1) Democracy-citizens elect representatives to govern them
Legislature branch: creates laws
Executive branch: carries out laws
Judicial branch: interprets laws
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The United States was the first modern country to establish a representative
democracy.
2) Monarchy- a king, a queen, or emperor rules society and the ruler usually inherits or is
born into office.
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Absolute monarchy: citizens haves few or no rights (example-Saudi Arabia)
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Constitutional monarchy: the queen or king shares power with a government organized
by a constitution (example-United Kingdom)
3) Dictatorship- one person (the dictator) rises to power and rules society
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dictator controls all aspects of life
citizens have few or no rights
Example: North Korea
4) Oligarchy- a group of a few people who rules society
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ruling group is wealthy or has military power
citizens have few or no rights
Example: Myanmar
5) Communism- the government controlled by the Communist Party owns all the property
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citizens have few or no rights
Example: Cuba
3.5 Protecting Human Rights
United Nations:
 Formed in 1945
 Made up of 51 countries from around the world
 Main goals:
 Keep peace
 Develop friendly relationships among countries
 To protect people’s human rights
 In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights which said that all people should be treated with dignity and respect.
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Human rights: political, economic, and cultural rights that all people should have
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