Chapter 4: Study Guide
1. Know your vocabulary.
2. List the characteristics of human populations.
Birth rate, death rate, Infant mortality rate, Age/ Gender ratio, Life expectancy,
GDP, Urban/Rural ratio, Ethnicity, Religion, Language, Level of education
3. List the factors that influence population growth.
Modern medicine and hygiene, Education, Industrialization, Economic development,
Government policy, Role of women in society,
4. List the factors that influence population distribution.
Natural resources, Climate, Economic development, Government policy,
Urban/Rural ratio, Capital resources, Conflict
5. What are push and pull factors. List some push factors and pull factors.
Push factor – negative things that make you want to move out of your
country/Emigrate (Religious Persecution, Lack of Opportunities, Natural
Disasters, Limits on Personal Freedom, Lack of Jobs, Oppressive Gov’t,
War/Conflict, Lack of Food, Overpopulation, Non-arable/no land)
Pull factor – positive things that make you want to move into another
country/Immigrate (Land Availability, Personal Freedom, Political Freedom, Peace,
Economic Opportunity, Jobs, Fertile/Arable Farmland, Family/Ethnic Ties
6. List the characteristics of culture. Which is the most unifying? The most divisive?
Language, Religion, Ethnicity, Government, Economy, Social groups
Language and Religion are the most unifying but also the most divisive.
7. What are resources? List the three types of resources and give examples of each.
Resources are things that have use or value.
Natural resources: Naturally occurring things of value or use
*Renewable (soil, wind, water) and Non-renewable (fossil fuels)
Human resources: People at work (skill level and education)
Capital resources: Made by humans (money for investment, technology,
machinery tools)
8. What is a renewable resource? A nonrenewable resource? Give examples of
each.
Renewable resources replenish themselves or they are naturally reoccurring. (soil,
wind, water, solar energy)
Non-renewable resources can be depleted and do not replenish themselves (Fossil
fuels like oil, coal, & natural gas; Metals, Minerals, Gemstones)
9. Know the Religions of the world.
10. Explain the different economic systems (traditional, command, market, mixed)
1. Traditional economy – goods and services are traded or exchanged without the
use of money (barter)
2. Command economy – production (ownership) of goods and services is controlled
by a central government (planned), does not reflect consumer demand
3. Market economy – production of goods and services is determined by the
demand of consumers, based on the idea supply and demand (capitalism)
4. Mixed economy – market economy with some interaction of the government,
government involvement provides for the benefit of all people
11. Compare and contrast democracy and communism? Federal system and
unitary system?
*Democratic governments rule only with the consent of the people while
communist governments (the leader and the military) have complete rule of all
aspects of their citizens’ lives limiting their personal freedom and the economy
*Unitary systems have only one level of government while a federal system has a
national government that shares powers with a state/local government.
12. What is the definition of development within a country?
Development is the process by which countries improve their people’s quality of
life
13. Compare developed countries and developing countries. List some
characteristics of each?
** In the developed countries of the world people have a high quality of life /
standard of living.
**In the developing countries of the world people have a poor quality of life / low
standard of living
Developing countries:
Most jobs in the primary sector, Provide few services to people, Money is
spent on basic needs, Education is neglected, Few opportunities with poor
education, Average year in school is less than 3, Wealth is often unevenly
distributed in poor countries, Small minority of population enjoys most of
the country’s goods and services
Developed countries:
Few jobs in the primary sector, More jobs in tertiary sector, Tertiary jobs
usually pay better and that leads to high standard of living, Better education,
health care, insurance, Average years in school is 10 or more
14. List and explain the three different levels of economic activity.
1. Primary economic activity – gathering of raw materials (hunting, fishing,
farming, mining)
2. Secondary economic activity – adding value to materials by changing their form
(processing and manufacturing)
3. Tertiary economic activity – providing businesses or professional services
(teachers, doctors, retail)
15. What factors determine economic development?
1. Availability of natural resources (Fossil fuels, Water)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Access to capital resources (Technology, Infrastructure)
Human resources (Labor force)
Educational achievement (High school graduate, College graduate)
Level of economic development (GDP, Per capita income)
Percent Urban v. Rural (Population distribution)
Labor force characteristics (Primary sector workers – gathering natural
resources, Secondary sector workers – manufacturing or assembly,
Tertiary sector workers – service industry)
16. What factors are indicators of standard of living?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Population growth (Natural increase)
Population pyramid (Age/Gender distribution)
Literacy rate
Life expectancy
Infant mortality rate
Percent urban v. rural
Type of agricultural activity (Commercial/Subsistence)
Percent of population involved in agriculture
17. Are economic development and standard of living related? Explain.
Development is the process by which countries improve their people’s quality of
life
** In the developed countries of the world, countries in the core, people generally
enjoy a high quality of life.
**In the developing countries of the world, countries on the periphery, people
have a generally low quality of life.
18. How would you describe the quality of life in the United States? Do you think
that is true for the entire population?
People in the U.S. generally enjoy a high quality of life as compared to the
majority of people in the world. The U.S. is one of the most developed and
wealthiest nations in the world.
19. Explain globalization.
Spreading of the same ideas, practices, and cultural preferences around much of
the world, resulting from the expansion of international trade, travel, and
communication. *THINK: WORLD-WIDE WEB
Because of the economic and cultural power of the United States, much of the
globalizing influence today is American
20. Rationalize the existence of economic alliances. Give two examples and list
some member countries.
Countries can join together for the purpose of trade relating to the exchange of
resources and/ or the production and distribution of goods and services with a
reduction in cost due to the reduction in trade tariffs and taxes
NAFTA, EU, ASEAN, OPEC