...Question# 1 The geocentric view of the universe was long since developed in ancient Greece by an astronomer named Claudius Ptolemy (AD 90- 168). Ptolemy believed that the sun, stars and other planets revolved around the earth. The idea of “Geocentric” means everything revolves around Earth. It wasn’t long until Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), an astronomer from Poland came up with a new theory that the solar system actually revolved around the sun. He invented the idea of a solar system. Revolutions (1543) was Copernicus’ final work explaining the heliocentric view of the universe. “The trouble was that nothing he could say or do made people feel they were living on a moving, spinning planet” (Gingerich & MacLachlan, 2005, p. 111) The four major contributors to the development of modern astronomy after Copernicus were Johannes Keppler, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Keppler defended the Copernican system in developing the three laws of planetary motion. Kepler’s First, Second and Third Laws are 1. The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the sun at a focus. 2. A line joining a planet and the sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. 3. The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. ("Johannes Kepler Facts, Quotes, Laws of Planetary Motion, Astronomy, Information", n.d., p. 1) Galileo in some cases is given credit to creating the telescope but in...
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...better life. The north and south colonies were settled largely by English origin settlers where two distinct societies developed. The English settlements had varied reasons for coming to the Americas which led to the different developments in their societies such...
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...1) Modern astronomy basically begins with the re-emergence of the heliocentric view of the universe by Copernicus. Who were the four other major contributors to the development of modern astronomy after Copernicus? Explain what those contributions were. Finally, why did it take so long for the geocentric view of the universe to be overthrown and what does that tell us about scientific research and our society, even today? Copernicus release his theory of the heliocentric view while he was on his death bed. Primary reason for this was because of the Catholic’s church control on society at the time and the effects it would have on religious society stating that the earth was not the center of the universe. After Copernicus released his theory, other key astronomers that supported and advanced Capernicus’ theory included Galileo, Keppler, Brahe, and Newton. Galileo Galilei, a contributed to astronomy and physics, advanced the use of the telescope towards use in astronomy. because of his invention, and ability to view the planets and starts, he identified four of Jupiters moons, and the phases of Venus which directly supported Copernicus’ theory, that earth, like the other planets, revolved around the sun, and moons, revolved around their planets. Tyco Brahe, an astronomer, under the support of King Frederick the II, established an observatory on the Danish island of Hveen. The establishment of this observatory was critical for the next 20 years in establishing observations...
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...Development A Basic Introduction to Geographical Development Development geography is a branch of geography with reference to the standard of living and quality of life of its human inhabitants. In this context, development is a process of change that affects people's lives. It may involve an improvement in the quality of life as perceived by the people undergoing change etc. Measuring Development Economic development is a measure of a country's wealth and how it is generated (for example agriculture is considered less economically advanced then banking). Human development measures the access the population has to wealth, jobs, education, nutrition, health, leisure and safety - as well as political and cultural freedom. Material elements, such as wealth and nutrition, are described as the standard of living. Health and leisure are often referred to as quality of life. There is no single way to calculate the level of development because of the variety of economies, cultures and peoples. Geographers use a series of development indicators to compare the development of one region against another. For example: Health- Do the population have access to medical care? What level of healthcare is available - basic or advanced? Is it free? Industry- What type of industry dominates? LEDCs focus on primary industries, such as farming, fishing and mining. MEDCs focus on secondary industries, such as manufacturing. The most advanced countries tend to focus more on tertiary or service...
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...hear “America and China have more similarities than differences.” We can’t blame them for being surprised. After all, China, which has a history of more than five thousand years, is in Asia; while the United States, which has a relatively short history, is in North America. However, the truth is, despite all these differences, China and America are more similar to each other in geography, economy, and culture diversity. One of the similarities lies in their land mass. Both China and the United States are large countries. China is a country with an area about 9.6 million square kilometers. Because China covers latitudes from about 8︒N to 53N, it’s quite common that when the northern part of China is snowing heavily, the southern part is warm and enjoying sunshine. In addition, people have different accents because they may live so far from each other. It’s not always that easy to understand one other even if we all speak the same language. Similarly, America-with a total area of 9.85 million square kilometers, and covers latitudes ranging from 25︒N to 50︒N-enjoys various climates. For example, in March, when people in New York State is still fighting with a lot of snow, residents in Florida can lie on a beach and enjoy sunbathing. American people also have different accents from one place to another. Some TV shows present accents in, say, west and east America, and “make fun of” a specific accent. Another similarity between China and America is their economic accomplishment...
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...Name: __________________________ World History Unit Two: Global Inequality [pic] An Overview of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel Why do some nations have so much material wealth while so many others have so little? This was the question Jared Diamond posed in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel. After identifying a point in time when all societies were roughly equal (over 13,000 years ago), Diamond identified the key variables that allowed some societies to develop highly complex, material-rich societies, while others developed at much slower rates. Guns, Germs, and Steel uncovers how Europeans came to dominate every other group on the planet by virtue of their access to what Diamond terms the “Agents of Conquest”: Guns, Germs, and Steel. Jared Diamond’s journey of discovery began on the island of Papua, New Guinea. There, in 1974, a local named Yali asked Diamond a deceptively simple question: "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo (material goods), but we black people had little cargo (material goods) of our own?" Diamond realized that Yali's question penetrated the heart of a great mystery of human history -- the roots of global inequality. Why were Europeans the ones with all the cargo? Why had they taken over so much of the world, instead of the native people of New Guinea? How did Europeans end up with what Diamond terms the Agents of Conquest: Guns, Germs and Steel...
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...------11 North America---------------------------------------------------------------------------12 Latin America---------------------------------------------------------------------------23 The Caribbean--------------------------------------------------------------------------27 Sub-Saharan Africa-------------------------------------------------------------------31 Southwest Asia and North Africa------------------------------------------------32 Europe------------------------------------------------------------------------------------34 The Russian Domain-----------------------------------------------------------------39 Central Asia-----------------------------------------------------------------------------42 East Asia---------------------------------------------------------------------------------45 South Asia-------------------------------------------------------------------------------47 Southeast Asia-------------------------------------------------------------------------50 Australia and Oceania---------------------------------------------------------------57 Conclusion------------------------------------------------------------------------------60 Bibliography----------------------------------------------------------------------------61 Introduction Diversity Amid Globalization Project is organized to describe and explain the major world regions of Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and so on. The content is of world regional geography that explicitly...
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...Physical Geography Chapter 1: The Discipline of Geography Principles of Geography Geography is the study of the distributions and interrelationships of earth phenomena. Geography is different from other disciplines in that it doesn't have a particular "thing" it studies. Botanists study plants, while geologists are interested in rocks. Geography is defined by its approach or methodology. Geographers describe their discipline as a spatial science. By "space" we aren't talking about celestial space. Geographers are concerned with answering questions about how and why phenomena vary across the surface of the Earth. For instance, geographers investigate patterns of vegetation as they relate to distributions of climate, soils, and topography. Geographers recognize the dynamic nature of Earth's physical systems. The physical geography of Earth changes in response to variations in weather and climate, the shifting of continents, and and the sculpting of coastlines by wave action. By recognizing the Earth system is dynamic, geographers take time into consideration when looking at the spatial patterns of Earth phenomena. Therefore, geographers are playing important roles in understanding the effects of climate change on earth systems. The role of geographers in assessing patterns of environmental change is a theme that reoccurs throughout this book. Figure 1.1 Folded Appalachian Mountains Linear folds of the Appalachian Mountains can be easily seen in this satellite image. (Source: NASA/GSFC/JPL...
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...When English colonists began settling in North America they died at a startling rate. Jamestown, settled in 1607, was the first English colony that lasted, but it nearly did not. Of the 104 men and boys who landed on May 1607, only 38 were still alive by January 1608, when 100 new colonists arrived. Things continued to be so grim that in the winter of 1609-1610, later known as the "starving time," survivors resorted to cannibalism (Ghose), and the population of settlers in Virginia shrank from 300 to 90 (60 in Jamestown) ("Jamestown Chronicle Timeline"). Yet in 1620 the Pilgrims voluntarily left England for Virginia. During their first winter in the New World, half of them died. Meanwhile, hundreds more settlers came to Virginia. What...
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...more than 150 years ago. The herbal tea is popular in southern China. It is made from herbs and is believed to be able to lower internal heat and relieve inflammation. With a sharp business sense, Chan positioned Wong Lo Kat as a healthy, mass market soft drink and packaged it in eye-catching red aluminum cans emblazoned with bold golden Chinese characters. The company also built large production lines and established a widespread sales network through supermarkets, grocery stores and restaurants in Guangdong. The efforts paid off as annual sales of Wong Lo Kat grew rapidly to reach 100 million Yuan in 2000. From 2003, the company started to expand beyond Guangdong. It built plants in Beijing, Zhejiang and Fujian, and invested heavily in marketing and television advertising, making the sweet-tasting beverage known across the country. Sales shot up to 600 million Yuan in 2003. Four years later, JDB surpassed Coca-Cola as the biggest seller of canned drinks on the mainland, with annual sales of 17 billion Yuan, according to statistics from the China Industrial Information Issuing Centre. Introduction of America Geography United States of America is from the Atlantic to the Pacific, America area after Russia, Canada and the People's Republic of China, ranking fourth. Its territory also includes the edge of the Arctic in Alaska and Hawaii in the Pacific equatorial region. America area is 4,500 km from east to west, north-south width of 2700 km coastline of 22,680 kilometers...
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...Colonizing the West 1496 Words Comparing Colonization After the establishment of the United States, explorers continued the expansion of the nation by organizing new settlements to the West. Settling a new town is an incredibly hard task. I have examined three articles by historians who discuss the experiences of two very different settlements and the task they undertook to settle new colonies in different locations for very different reasons. The Mormon settlement in Utah had a different reason for colonization than the settlement at Jamestown as shown through their financial pursuits, leadership examples, basic resources and differences in geography. One of the historians, Karen Kupperman, writes about the settlement of Jamestown. She writes that “even the most privileged [suffered] from food shortage, disease, absence of family and friends, opposition from inhabitants of the land, and sheer exhaustion” (pg. 19). Not every place is similar with the same resources. Each comes with unique characteristics and conditions. She starts off by explaining how organizing settlements in the Northern hemisphere was very different than in the Southern hemisphere. The only model the British had to follow for colonizing was South America. In the North there was no gold or silver to mine for profit nor a large number of natives to enslave. Because of these lacking traits it was difficult to find people who would finance the trip to colonize Jamestown. This brings up the most...
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...the troposphere. An air mass is designated as cold air mass when its temperature is lower than the underlying surface while an air mass is termed warm air mass when its temperature is higher than the underlying surface. * The boundary between two different air masses is called front. Source Regions * The extensive areas over which air masses originate or form are called surface regions whose nature and properties largely determine the temperature and moisture characteristics of air masses. * An ideal source region of air mass must possess the following essential conditions: * There must be extensive and homogenous earth's surface so that it may possess uniform temperature and moisture conditions * There should not be convergence of air; rather there should be divergence of air flow so that the air may attain the physical properties of the region. * Atmospheric conditions should be stable for considerably long period of time so that the air may attain the characteristics of the surface. * * * Regions of Air Masses * There are six major source regions of air masses on the earth's surface: 1. Polar oceanic areas (North Atlantic Ocean between Eurasia and North America, and Arctic region during winter...
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...Jared Diamond disputes this by stating that evidence that “human differences in intelligence…parallel human differences in technology is lacking” (19). He also states that, in example, New Guineans who were raised in remote villages and were unschooled may seem stupid to Westerners in large cities. In contrast, when Westerners who visit remote villages in New Guinea seem stupid to the local population (20). The varying definitions and types of intelligent make it unreasonable to compare intelligence of genetically varying people, especially from different environments. Another commonly espoused answer is the differences in climate stimulate human energy and creativity to develop technology. Cold climates encourages one to build a warm home and clothing, while in hotter climates, simpler homes and less clothing(22). Diamond, however, states that, also in example, the people of northern Europe did not create anything important to the Eurasian civilizations until the last couple thousands of years, and simply had the luck to live in an environment that would receive...
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...characteristics that shape the culture make up of the country Yemen. Yemen is an Arab country that is based on Islamic beliefs. In Yemen, the Muslim population is for the most part evenly divided between Sunni and Shi’a. In southern Yemen, the population is predominantly Sunni to where as the northern part of the country the Shi’a. Within Islam there are different religious beliefs that socially divide Muslim groups. Each religious group follow basic Islamic beliefs however, interpret the historical pass of leadership within the religion differently. This difference has placed strain amongst the two groups for hundreds of centuries (Shi’a vs Sunni). In ancient times, the area around Yemen was known by the name of Arabia Felix which meant happy or prosperous (Nyrop). The area was well known for the trade of indigenous goods such as spices, silks, precious stones and a variety of goods. The country was divided into tribal communities. During the 7th century, the prophet Mohammad began to preach leading to the majority of the populace to embrace the Islamic faith. Between the 7th and 19th Centuries, control over Yemen bounced back and forth between descendants of the prophet Mohammad and the Ottoman Empire better known as Turkey. During the 18th century, the British became a big influence on the southern part of...
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...Foundations of Geography 1) Geography is described as A) an Earth science. B) a human science. C) a physical science. D) a spatial science. Answer: D 2) The word spatial refers to A) the nature and character of physical space. B) items that relate specifically to society. C) things that are unique and special. D) eras of time. Answer: A 3) A principal methodology governing geographic inquiry A) is behavioral analysis. B) involves spatial analysis. C) uses chronological organization. D) is field work. Answer: B 4) Which of the following best describes the current emphasis in the field of physical geography? A) understanding soil development B) modeling economic interrelationships among countries C) studying weather D) understanding how Earth's systems interact to produce natural phenomena Answer: D 5) Which of the following most accurately characterizes the goal of geography? A) the production of maps B) memorization of the names of places on world and regional maps C) memorization of the imports and exports of a country D) understanding why a place has the characteristics that it does Answer: D 6) Which of the following terms characterizes the discipline of geography? ...
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