The Kenbrena Glossary

Capital Resources - The money a society has to invest in big equipment, factories and hiring people in order to produce wealth.

Cash Crops- farm crops raised in large amounts for export to earn great money.  Examples: tobacco, cotton, wheat, corn, rice.

Contiguous - connected all together in one piece.

Economics is the study of resources (natural, human and capital) that people use to make their living.

Exporting- selling goods to other countries

Fictitious- make-believe;  not truly real. (Related to fiction.)

Financial - related to banking and investments.  Supplying or controling "capital" resources.

Human Resources - the quantity of people, their skills, training, and human abilities that are used to produce wealth.

Importing- purchasing goods from other countries

Geography is the study of the interaction between humans and the earth’s land forms and resources.

Manual Labor - the hard physical work provided to do jobs in our economy such as running machinery or digging in mines.  This kind of work in factories and mines can be done by people without higher levels of education because it takes strength, not book learning.

Minority- a number less than 50% of the whole.

Natural Resources - the things NATURE gives a country:  minerals, vegetation, wildlife and energy resources that can be used to produce wealth.

Political Science studies the kinds of governments people set up within man-made borders.

Predominate - dominating; having more power, force, or numbers than others.

Rationale - a clear explanation of the reasons for a decision.

Refute- prove false

Rural - countryside-- far from cities, where population is thin.

Social Science - a science that studies an aspect of human experience.  Social Scientists might study one of these fields:  economics, geography, political science or sociology.

Sociology is the study of groups that humans form, for example, families and cultures.

Simile - a cleverly written phrase that vividly describes a comparison between two objects.  Similes use the word "like" or "as" in the phrase.  Poets and good writers use similes and metaphors to create images in the reader's mind.  Examples:  Her smile was as warm as sunshine.  His wounded elbow felt tingly like a thousand needles were pricking him.

Suburban- on the outskirts of cities but within driving distance. Characterized by single-family homes.

Superior - above and better

Truck Farming - small scale farming of fruits and vegetables.  Farmers who are not generally wealthy load their produce into trucks to take to market. Not a huge source of wealth.

urban - city-like.  Dwellings are usually apartment buildings close together with commercial buildings.

Viable - strong and able to survive