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Economics People of North America Chapter 2 People and the Land Core Lesson 1 How does the land affect people? The land and its resources affect where and how people live. Railroads and other new forms of transportation helps cities continue to grow. Cincinnati grew into its current city because of its location along the Ohio River. Steamboats used to carry and move people and goods in and out of the city. Today, more goods travel along the Ohio River than along any other inland waterway in the world. Because of its location, it has become an important center for air, bus, railroad, and river travel. …the Ohio River Where People Live A strong economy is another reason how people choose where to live. People choose to live where they can find good jobs Example: Monterrey, Mexico has a rapidly growing population because it is a growing center for business. Many businesses in this city trade with the United States. As more businesses trade, the more jobs are created. The more jobs, the more people who move there in hopes of making a living. Where People Live Continued… People also settle in places they enjoy. Geography can push people out of their area or into a new area. Cold and gray skies often push people into a warmer climate. A warm, sunny climate is part of the environment in these places. Environment: the surroundings in which people, plants, and animals live. North American Population Changing the Land- Natural Resources Natural resources and human activities both affect the land. Natural forces, such as wind and moving water, constantly shape and reshape the land. Example: the Colorado River has carved the Grand Canyon through erosion. Erosion: the process by which water and wind wear away the land. Strong wind and rushing water can also carry bits of soil for miles. Over time it can build up and form whole new areas of land. Example: much of Louisiana was formed from soil that was carried there by the Mississippi River. Changing the Land- Human Activities Examples of human activities could be building highways and digging mines. These activities can bring many benefits, but they also have consequences. Building highways provides a way for people to travel, but then the land cannot be used for other purposes, such as farming. Mining gives jobs and resources that people want, but they also often destroy plant life and places where animals live. Chemicals used in mining also create pollution Pollution: anything that makes the soil, air, and/or water dirty and unhealthy. Pollution from mines may make nearby rivers unsafe for fish, wildlife, and people. Changes to the Environment Humans sometimes make small changes to the environment that have big effects. The environment is made up of eco-systems. An eco-system is a community of plants and animals along with the surrounding soil, air, and water. Each part of the eco-system affects the health of all the other parts. Human activity can affect an eco-system in ways people never expected. Changes to the environment continued… Example of changes made to an eco-system: Ships have accidentally carried plants and animals from one eco-system to another. In their new ecosystem, these plants and animals can spread quickly. The zebra mussel, a type of shellfish, came to the Great Lakes attached to ships. Because there are few animals in North America that will eat them, they spread throughout the Great Lakes and then into many of the country’s rivers. Zebra mussels can cause big problems. They form groups that clog pipes, and they eat the food that local fish depend on. One more example of changing the environment People also affect the environment when they move soil from the bottom of the Great Lakes. They move the soil to make the lakes deep enough to allow large ships to navigate through the lakes. However, this process can stir up pollution that is in the soil. Lesson Review Would you classify pollution as a result of natural change or human change? Why? How does the climate influence where people live? Give an example from the lesson of how people change the environment, and explain why they do it. What is the relationship between the geography in your region and the activities people there do for fun? What effect did the spread of zebra mussels have on the Great Lakes? Define the following words: Environment, erosion, pollution, and eco-system Economies in North America Core Lesson 2 There are many different ways a country can use its resources and organize its economy. Everyone makes economic decisions Examples: what to produce/what to buy Countries make their own economic decisions No country has enough resources to produce everything its people want. To solve this, each country has an economic system. Economic system: a set of ideas that guides how a country will use its resources and produce its goods. Every system offers ways to answer 3 basic questions: What goods will be produced? How will those goods be produced? Who will receive or buy the goods? The United States Economic System The U.S. has a wide variety of workers and businesses- some provide services and others produce goods. U.S. products range from: applesauce and cars to computers and cookware. U.S. services include: teaching, providing medical care, and preparing food. The U.S. answers to the 3 economic questions Question 1: What goods will be produced? Question 2: How will those goods be produced? People and businesses are free to decide what they want to produce. To make this decision, businesses try to find out what buyers want. People and businesses are also free to decide how to produce their items. They can choose which resources to use. Most will choose resources that are the least expensive or easiest to find. Question 3: Who will receive or buy the goods? The answer to this question depends on many things, including the needs of the people in the area of the business. Example: a company that produces warm boots will find most of its customers in regions that have cold climates, and not in warmer states such as New Mexico. Supply, Demand, and Price If people buy a lot of a product or service, more companies will make it. However, if consumers do not buy a certain service/good, the producer will need to provide something else or go out of business. Consumers also affect the price that producers charge for their goods. Example: suppose a company produces canned tomato soup and canned onion soup. The company tries to sell each for $1.00. Tomato soup turns out to be popular; those cans sell quickly because demand for them is high. Demand: the amount of something that people want to buy for a certain price. When demand is high, the price usually goes up. Supply, Demand, and Price continued… Not many people buy the onion soup. Now, the company has too large a supply of onion soup. Supply: is the amount of something that producers want to make at a certain price. When supply is high, prices generally falls. This company will probably make less onion soup and may lower the price to get rid of their supply. Supply and Demand Competition Competition can influence prices as well. Competition: occurs when businesses that sell similar goods and services try to attract the most consumers and make the most money. When there is a lot of competition, consumers have many choices of where to buy what they need/want. Companies “win” consumers by keeping their prices low and their quality high. Sometimes goods become scarce; there are not enough product for every consumer who wants it. In this case, some consumers may be willing to pay more to get it so the producers of that good may raise the price. Lesson Review What effect does competition among producers have on prices? What is the purpose of having an economic system? When might consumers compete to buy a product or service? Suppose you have an idea for a new product? Why would it be a good idea to do research on how many people might want to buy your product? Define the following words: Economic system, demand, supply, competition
