FTCE Social Science 6-12 key terms

Conditions that drive people away from a place (push) or attract them to a new place (pull), such as war, famine, or job opportunities. These forces help explain patterns of migration.

A model describing population change over time as a society moves from high birth and death rates to low ones. It typically has four or five stages tied to economic development and health care.

The average number of people living per unit of area, usually expressed per square mile or square kilometer. It reveals how crowded or sparse a region is relative to its land area.

The growing share of a population living in cities rather than rural areas. It usually accompanies industrialization and reshapes land use, infrastructure, and social life.

The theory that Earth's outer shell is broken into large plates that move slowly over the mantle. Their collisions and separations cause earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building.

A horseshoe-shaped belt around the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. It marks boundaries where tectonic plates collide or slide past one another.

Broad regions grouped by typical temperature and precipitation patterns, such as tropical, arid, temperate, and polar. Latitude, elevation, and proximity to water largely determine them.

A dry area on the leeward side of a mountain range. Moist air rises and drops precipitation on the windward slope, leaving the opposite side much drier.

The spread of ideas, customs, technologies, or languages from one society to another through trade, migration, or conquest. It often produces blended cultural forms.

The increasing interconnection of economies and cultures worldwide through trade, investment, communication, and migration. It spreads goods and ideas while creating interdependence and debate over its effects.

The basic economic problem that human wants exceed the limited resources available to satisfy them. It forces individuals and societies to make choices about what to produce and consume.

The value of the next best alternative given up when a choice is made. It is the true cost of any decision because resources used for one purpose cannot be used for another.

The relationship in which the quantity sellers offer and the quantity buyers want interact to set price. Prices tend to rise when demand exceeds supply and fall when supply exceeds demand.

A measure of how much quantity demanded or supplied responds to a change in price. Goods with many substitutes tend to be elastic; necessities tend to be inelastic.

The ability of a person or country to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another producer. It explains why specialization and trade can benefit both parties.

An economic system in which prices and production are guided mainly by private decisions and competition rather than government planning. Also called capitalism or a free-market system.

An economic system in which the government owns or directs key resources and decides what, how, and for whom to produce. The former Soviet Union is a classic example.

The total market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. It is a common measure of the size and growth of an economy.

A sustained rise in the general price level, which reduces the purchasing power of money. It is often measured by changes in a consumer price index.

Actions by a central bank to manage the money supply and interest rates in order to influence inflation, employment, and growth. In the United States this is the Federal Reserve's role.

The use of government spending and taxation to influence the economy. It is set by legislatures and executives rather than by a central bank.

The recurring pattern of expansion and contraction in economic activity over time. Its phases include growth, peak, recession, and trough.

The idea that people consent to be governed in exchange for protection of their rights, and that legitimate authority rests on that consent. It underlies modern democratic theory.

Rights believed to belong to all people by virtue of being human, such as life, liberty, and property. They are held to exist independently of any government's grant.

The principle that political power ultimately comes from the people. It is expressed through elections, constitutions, and consent of the governed.

A system in which power is divided between a central government and regional governments, each with its own authority. The U.S. Constitution distributes powers this way.

The division of government authority among separate branches, typically legislative, executive, and judicial. The aim is to prevent any one branch from dominating.

Arrangements that let each branch of government limit the powers of the others, such as a veto or judicial review. They reinforce the separation of powers.

The power of courts to determine whether laws or government actions violate the constitution and to strike them down if they do. It was established in the United States by Marbury v. Madison.

The body of electors chosen by states that formally selects the U.S. president and vice president. Each state's elector count equals its total members of Congress.

Protections against government interference in individual freedoms, such as speech, religion, and due process. In the U.S. they are mainly guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

Guarantees of equal treatment and protection under the law regardless of characteristics such as race, sex, or religion. They concern participation in public life and protection from discrimination.

A region of the Middle East often called the cradle of civilization, where early farming and cities emerged. Its river valleys supported some of the first complex societies.

The transition from hunting and gathering to settled agriculture, beginning around 10,000 years ago. It enabled permanent villages, surplus food, and specialized labor.

Early urban societies that developed along major rivers such as the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Indus, and Yellow. River floods provided fertile soil and supported dense populations.

A medieval social and political order in which lords granted land to vassals in return for military service, with peasants working the land. Power was decentralized and tied to landholding.

A European cultural and intellectual revival from roughly the 14th to 17th centuries that emphasized classical learning, humanism, and artistic achievement. It helped set the stage for the Reformation and Scientific Revolution.

The 16th-century movement that challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and led to the creation of Protestant denominations. Printing and calls for reform fueled its spread.

The shift beginning in 18th-century Britain from hand production to machine manufacturing in factories. It transformed economies, cities, and social classes worldwide.

The extension of a nation's power over other territories through conquest, colonization, or economic control. European empires expanded sharply in the 19th century.

A strong identification with and loyalty to one's nation, often tied to shared language, culture, or history. It has driven both unification movements and conflicts.

An economic doctrine holding that a nation's wealth depends on accumulating precious metals and maintaining a favorable trade balance. It encouraged colonies to benefit the mother country.

The Atlantic trading network linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas, exchanging manufactured goods, enslaved people, and raw materials. It shaped colonial economies and caused immense human suffering.

The practice of one country establishing settlements and governing territory elsewhere. European colonies in North America laid foundations for later U.S. institutions and conflicts.

The 1776 document in which the American colonies declared separation from Britain and asserted natural rights and consent of the governed. It drew heavily on Enlightenment ideas.

The first U.S. constitution, in effect from 1781 to 1789, which created a weak central government with limited taxing and regulatory power. Its shortcomings led to the Constitutional Convention.

The 1787 meeting in Philadelphia where delegates drafted the U.S. Constitution, resolving disputes through compromises over representation and slavery. It replaced the Articles of Confederation.

The 1787 agreement creating a two-house Congress with representation by population in the House and equal state representation in the Senate. It balanced large and small states' interests.

The 19th-century belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent. It justified westward settlement and territorial acquisitions.

Loyalty to a particular region's interests over those of the whole nation, especially the North-South divide over slavery before the Civil War. It contributed to secession and conflict.

The period after the Civil War (roughly 1865-1877) when the federal government worked to rebuild the South and secure rights for formerly enslaved people. It produced key constitutional amendments.