First Semester Study Guide Exam
World Geography
Religion
 Basic beliefs
Be able to use/define
 Absolute location and relative location
 Latitude and longitude
 Equator and Prime Meridian
 Tropic of Cancer
 Trade Winds
 Rain shadow effect
Political
 Define United Nations
 Define World Trade Organization
 Define different types of governments
 Diplomacy
 Nationalism
 Boundaries (natural, geometric, cultural)
Define
 Orographic effect
 Rift
 Fault
 Plate tectonics
 Plate boundaries (convergent, divergent
and transform)
 Weathering
 Erosion
NORTH AMERICA
Population
 Immigrant
 Push/pull factors
 Population density
 Population pyramids
 Demography
Culture
 Definition
 Culture traits
 Culture regions
 Fundamentalism
 How culture spreads
 Demography
 Communism/command economy
 Capitalism/market economy
Economy
 Economic activities (primary, secondary,
tertiary, quaternary
 Types of economies(command, market,
traditional, mixed)
 Communism
 Capitalism
 Infrastructure
 Developed vs undeveloped vs developing
Know information on the following physical
features in North America
 Appalachian Mountains
 Rocky Mountains
 Death Valley
 Great Plains
 Grand Canyon
 Mississippi River
U.S./Canada/Mexico
 American Revolution
 1990-Present
 Branches of government
 Federal System
 NAFTA: effect on Canada, the US, and
Mexico; pros and cons
 Identify differences in U.S./Canada
governments
 Describe economies of US, Canada and
Mexico
 Climates of North America
 North America vocab
LATIN AMERICA
Know information on the Latin America
physical features
 Atacama Desert
 Panama Canal
 Amazon River
 Amazon Rainforest
 Andes Mountains
 Angel Falls
 Yucatan Peninsula
Latin America
 Describe economies and poverty
 Religion in South America
 Communism
 Socialism
 Capitalism
 Inequality in Latin America
 Explorers
 Colonization (colonial class system,
revolutions, 3G’s, etc.)
 Guns, Germs and Steel
 Columbian Exchange
o Products
o impact
 Describe benefits of Panama Canal:
trade, transportation and travel
 Latin American Vocab
 Incas
 Aztecs
MAPS
Capitols of
 U.S.
 Canada
 Mexico
 Cuba
 Haiti
 Puerto Rico
 Brazil
 Venezuela
 Argentina
 Chile
 Peru
 Colombia
Physical Features in Americas
 Atlantic Ocean
 Pacific Ocean
 Gulf of Mexico
 Caribbean Sea
 Mississippi River
 Rio Grande
 Colorado River
 Appalachian Mountains
 Rockies




Great Plains
Amazon River
Andes Mountains
Isthmus of Panama
Physical Features of Europe
 Alps
 Pyrenees
 Danube River
 Rhine River
 Seine River
 Iberian Peninsula
 Jutland
 Balkan Peninsula
 Mediterranean Sea
Identify Countries in Latin America
 Cuba
 Puerto Rico
 Mexico
 Panama
 Colombia
 Venezuela
 Argentina
 Brazil
 Peru
 Chile
 Haiti
 Dominican Republic
Identify countries in Europe
 Ireland
 Great Britain
 France
 Germany
 Spain
 Austria
 Denmark
 Norway
 Sweden
 Greece
 Italy
 Croatia
 Czech Republic