1. Unit 1 Geography Study Guide
What to study!

2. Culture & Cultural Diffusion
Definition of Culture
A way of life of a group of people who share beliefs and similar customs.
Ethnic Group
Group of people who share common ancestry, language, religion and customs.
Cultural Diffusion
The spread of new knowledge and skills from one culture to another.

3. Government Systems Authoritarian government
Any type of government in which no or little individual freedom is allowed; North Korea, Hitler, Stalin, Mao
Government that gives people the most political freedom
Republic
U.S. Government System
Democratic Republic
Government Run by the few
Oligarchy
Country with a Constitutional Monarchy
Great Britain

4. Economic Systems Definition of Economic Systems
How a country deals with production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services
Economy that does not use money but rather trade goods with one another
Traditional Economy
An economy where the people determine what goods and services are produced and how they are distributed
Capitalist Economy
This economy is high risk, high reward, and has an uneven wealth distribution
An economy where the government determines what goods and services are produced and how they are distributed
Communist Economy
In this economic system there is very little incentive to work, a low standard of living and few personal choices
An economy in which a government takes over major industries but still allows private industries to exist
Socialist Economy
This economy is associated with very high taxes and increased government assistance

5. Physical Geography Plate Tectonics
The idea that the earth’s crust is made of large, moving slabs of rock
Reasons that support the idea of a supercontinent (Pangaea)
Fossils found on one continent match fossils found on other continents
The continents fit together like puzzle pieces
Volcanoes and earthquakes are most likely to occur
Where plates collide or pull apart (fault lines)

6. Internal Forces
Example of Internal Forces
Earthquakes and Volcanoes

7. External Forces Example of External Forces Mechanical Weathering
Wind Erosion
Water Erosion
Glacial Movement

8. Boimes
The biome is found at higher latitudes (furthest from the equator)
Tundra
The biome which the vegetation depends upon its elevation
Alpine/Mountain
The biomes that can co-exist next to each other (they have to be at the same elevation)
Tropical Rainforest and Savana

9. Defining Characteristics of Culture:
Language
Religion
Social Groups
Government
Economy
Cultural Diffusion
Why does it happen
Economies
What impact do they have on peoples lives
Biomes
Be able to describe at least 3 ways people in a specific area have adapted their lives to that biome.
Remember that biomes include climate, physical features, weather, location, vegetation, etc.)

10. The maps Make sure you can map: Continents and Oceans
Lines of Latitude (Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, Equator) and the Line of Longitude
Mountains (Andes, Ural, Himalayan & Mt. Everest, Rocky Mt., Alps, and Mt. Kilimanjaro)
Deserts (Gobi, Atacama, and Sahara)
Rainforests (Amazon & Congo)
Panama Canal, Suez Canal, & Siberia
Rivers (Amazon, Ganges, Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Mississippi, Congo, and Indus)
Big Bodies of Water (Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Yellow River, English Channel, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea)