 | Term | Definition |
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Acid Deposition |
Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted by burning fossil fuels, enter the atmosphere-where they combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid and return to earth's surface. |
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Acid Precipitation |
Conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to acids that return to earth as rain,snow, or fog. |
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Active solar energy systems |
Solar energy system that collects energy through the use of mechanical devices like photovoltaic cells or falt plate collectors. |
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Agribusiness |
Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through ownership by large corportations |
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Agricultural Density |
The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture |
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Agricultural Revolution |
The time when humans beings first domesticated palnts and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering |
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Agriculture |
The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain. |
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Air Pollution |
Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particules, at a greater level that occurs in average air. |
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Animate Power |
Power supplied by people or animals. |
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Animisn |
Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural evnts like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit or conscious life |
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Annexation |
Legally adding land area to a city in the United States |
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Apartheid |
Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas. |
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Arithmetic Density |
The total number of people divided by the total land area. |
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Autonomous Religion |
A relgion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally. |
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Balance of Power |
Condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries. |
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Balkanization |
Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among it. |
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Balkanized |
A small geographic area that could not successfully be organzied into one or more stable states because it was inhabited by ethnicities with complex long standing antagonism toward each other ethnicities. |
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Basic Industries |
Industries that sell their product or service primarily to consumers outside the settlement |
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Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) |
Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution. |
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Biomass Fuel |
Fuel that derives from plant material and animal waste. |
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Blockbusting |
A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their homes at low prices because of fear that black families will move into the neighborhood. |
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Boundary |
Invisibile line that marks the extent of a state's territory. |
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Break-of-bulk point |
A location where transfer is possible from one mode of transportation to another. |
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British Received Pronunciation (BRP) |
The dialect of English associated with upper-class Britons living in the London area now considered a standard in the UK. |
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Branch (of a religion) |
A large and fundamental division within a religion. |
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Breeder Reactor |
A nuclear power plant that creates its own fuel from plutonium. |
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Bulk-gaining industry |
An industry in which the final product weighs or comprises a greater volume than the input. |
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Business Services |
Services that primarily meet the needs of other businesses. |
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Cartography |
The science of making maps. |
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Caste |
The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law. |
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Census Tract |
An area delineated by the U.S. Bureau of hte Census for which statistics are published; in urbanized areas, census tracts correspond roughly to neighborhoods. |
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Census |
A complete enumeration of a population. |
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Central Business District (CBD) |
The area of hte city where retail and office activities are clustered. |
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Central Place Theory |
A theory that explains the distribution of services, based on the fact that settlements serve as centers of market area for services; larger. Settlements are fewer and farther apart than smaller settlements and provide services for a larger number of people who are willing to travel farther. |
