GLOSSARY OF GEOGRAPHY (UNIT 8)

Mechanization: The use of machinery in the production process

Mining: The process of extracting minerals from the ground

Mineral: a naturally occurring solid chemical substance such as bauxite. Most minerals need to be transformed to enable them to be used for manufacturing products


Fossil fuels: fuel that is formed by the decomposition of buried organic material, and exposure to heat and pressure, producing substances such as coal, oil and gas.

Industry: any economic activity that produces a service or transforms raw material into consumer goods.

Irrigated farming: is the artificial application of water to the land or soil.

Energy: power that comes from the utilization of physical or chemical resources to provide light and heat or to work machines.

Biomass: organic material used as a fuel that releases energy when burned

Management: the people that run a company and ensure that goods and services of a high enough quality are produced and sold at competitive prices.


Workforce:  the employees required to produce goods and services.

Wind turbine: a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy to drive machinery or generate electricity.

Solar panel:  is a set of solar photovoltaic modules electrically connected and mounted on a supporting structure.


Renewable energy: is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished on a human time-scale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.  

Non-renewable energy: is a resource that does not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction in meaningful human time-frames.

Traditional energy: refers to the energy sources that are most commonly used

Alternative energy: is any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel. These alternatives are intended to address concerns about such fossil fuels.

Dam: is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams.

Guild: is an association of artisans or merchants who control the practice of their craft in a particular town. 

Heavy industry: does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production.

Light industry:  is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented (most light industry products are produced for end users rather than as intermediates for use by other industries).

Cutting-edge industries: industries that employ advanced technology

Craftspersons: a person who makes products using basic tools and manual labour.