Geography: the science of studying Earth as the home of humans Hemisphere: one-half of a sphere Equator: the imaginary line that goes around the globe exactly halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole Prime Meridian: (make correction to typo here please): an imaginary line running from the North Pole through England and part of Africa to the South Pole International Date Line: a line following the 180th meridian (longitude) the regions to the east of which are counted as being one day earlier in their calendar dates than the regions to the west Absolute location: identifies a precise position on Earth’s surface; often stated in longitude and latitude Relative location: describes where a place is compared with other places Elevation: the height (altitude) of a place above sea or ground level Region: an area on Earth’s surface that is defined by certain unifying characteristics Barrier island: an island that lies off the coast and protects the beaches by blocking much of the wind, sands, and water that could erode the mainland.

urban area: defined as a city with a population over 2,500 or a city and its surrounding area with over 50,000 residents. rural area: defined as a town or community of less than 2,500 people suburban area (suburb): residential areas around cities urban sprawl: the generally unplanned and uncoordinated growth around an urban area infrastructure: basic facilities such as roads, bridges, and ports metro (metropolis) AKA metropolitan area: a central city of over 50,000 residents or a city and its surrounding counties with a total population of 100,000 or more deep water ports: any port that has the capacity to accommodate large shipping vessels climate: the type of weather a region experiences over a long period of time economics: the study of how we made decisions to allocate limited resources (natural, human, capital) in order to meet our unlimited wants goods: 1) any item that be bought, sold, or traded; 2) tangible objects that satisfy economic wants

services: 1) any action that one person does for another in exchange for some form of payment; 2) activities performed by people, firms or government agencies to satisfy economic wants market: an area of economic activity in which buyers and sellers come together and the forces of supply and demand affect prices domestic market: an area of economic activity relating to, or originating within a country, especially one’s own country international market: an area of economic activity relating to, or affecting two or more nations B.C.: stands for before Christ A.D.: an abbreviation for anno domini – “in the year of our Lord” B.C.E.: before the common era C.E.: common era primary source: first hand or eyewitness account secondary source: accounts of historical events written by people who did NOT personally witness the event. census: the official process of counting the number of people in a country, city, or town and collecting information about them domestic: relating to, or originating within a country, especially one’s own country political: of or relating to politics or government