to divide into smaller groups

  • 51Life Sciences — ▪ 2009 Introduction Zoology       In 2008 several zoological studies provided new insights into how species life history traits (such as the timing of reproduction or the length of life of adult individuals) are derived in part as responses to… …

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  • 52Europe, history of — Introduction       history of European peoples and cultures from prehistoric times to the present. Europe is a more ambiguous term than most geographic expressions. Its etymology is doubtful, as is the physical extent of the area it designates.… …

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  • 53Poland — /poh leuhnd/, n. a republic in E central Europe, on the Baltic Sea. 38,700,291; ab. 121,000 sq. mi. (313,400 sq. km). Cap.: Warsaw. Polish, Polska. * * * Poland Introduction Poland Background: Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around …

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  • 54Italy — /it l ee/, n. a republic in S Europe, comprising a peninsula S of the Alps, and Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, and other smaller islands: a kingdom 1870 1946. 57,534,088; 116,294 sq. mi. (301,200 sq. km). Cap.: Rome. Italian, Italia. * * * Italy… …

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  • 55Russia — /rush euh/, n. 1. Also called Russian Empire. Russian, Rossiya. a former empire in E Europe and N and W Asia: overthrown by the Russian Revolution 1917. Cap.: St. Petersburg (1703 1917). 2. See Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 3. See Russian… …

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  • 56Pakistan — /pak euh stan , pah keuh stahn /, n. 1. Islamic Republic of, a republic in S Asia, between India and Afghanistan: formerly part of British India; known as West Pakistan from 1947 71 to distinguish it from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).… …

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  • 57japan — japanner, n. /jeuh pan /, n., adj., v., japanned, japanning. n. 1. any of various hard, durable, black varnishes, originally from Japan, for coating wood, metal, or other surfaces. 2. work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner. 3. Japans,… …

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  • 58Japan — /jeuh pan /, n. 1. a constitutional monarchy on a chain of islands off the E coast of Asia: main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. 125,716,637; 141,529 sq. mi. (366,560 sq. km). Cap.: Tokyo. Japanese, Nihon, Nippon. 2. Sea of, the… …

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  • 59pre-Columbian civilizations — Introduction       the aboriginal American Indian (Mesoamerican Indian) cultures that evolved in Meso America (part of Mexico and Central America) and the Andean region (western South America) prior to Spanish exploration and conquest in the 16th …

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  • 60cañada — /keuhn yah deuh, yad euh/, n. Chiefly Western U.S. 1. a dry riverbed. 2. a small, deep canyon. [1840 50; < Sp, equiv. to cañ(a) CANE + ada n. suffix] * * * Canada Introduction Canada Background: A land of vast distances and rich natural resources …

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