Chapter 8 - Human population

Question 1

What is population density?

Answer 1

Population density is the population per area. Figures provide an average value.

Question 2

What is population distribution?

Answer 2

Population distribution is how the population is spread over an area.

Question 3

Population graph

Answer 3

Question 4

What is population?

Answer 4

Population is all the organisms of one species living in a defined area at the same time.

Question 5

What is the lag phase?

Answer 5

Lag phase is the period in population growth when an organism is adapting to its new environment and the growth is slow.

Question 6

What is the log/exponential phase?

Answer 6

Log/exponential phase is when the growth rate of a population increases over time as all requirements are in superabundance.

Question 7

What is the stationary phase?

Answer 7

Stationary phase is when the growth rate of a population has slowed down to zero as the carrying capacity is reached.

Question 8

What is carrying capacity?

Answer 8

Carrying capacity is the maximum size of a population that an environment can support in terms of food, water, and other resources.

Question 9

What is birth rate?

Answer 9

birth rate is the number of live births per one thousand of the population per year.

Question 10

What is death rate?

Answer 10

Death rate is the number of deaths per one thousand of the population per year.

Question 11

What is natural increase?

Answer 11

Natural increase is the difference between the birth rate and the death rate.

Question 12

What are four factors affecting the birth and death rates in a country?

Answer 12

In countries with a high death rate for the very young (high infant mortality) birth rates are also very high.
In farming economies of many LEDC’s, more people are needed for manual labour, hence families tend to be larger.
In MEDC’s, it is expensive to have children and pensions are provided by the state. As pensions are provided, they do not need children to take care of them in their old age.
Many social and political factors result in the low use of birth control in LEDC’s, whereas in MEDC’s, birth control is widely used, so both birth and death rates are lower.

Question 13

What is migration?

Answer 13

Migration is the movement of people into (immigration) or out of (emigration) a region, country, or area.

Question 14

What is the formula for population growth?

Answer 14

Population growth = (birth rate + immigration) – (death rate + emigration)

Question 15

What are push factors and some examples?

Answer 15

Push factors are factors that encourage people to move away from an area. e.g. Drought/famine, Poverty, Poor links with the outside world, Poor services, Works on the land only, subsistence, Desertification, Sea level rise and Seasonal weather events

Question 16

What are pull factors and some examples?

Answer 16

Pull factors are factors that encourage people to move into an area. e.g. Good supplies of food, whatever the weather, Well paid jobs, Good roads
Hospitals, schools, water, and electricity, Factory, shops, and office work for a wage, No comparable pull factors

Question 17

What are population pyramids?

Answer 17

Population pyramids are diagrams that show the proportion of the population that is male and female in different age groups.

Question 18

What are expanding populations?

Answer 18

Expanding populations like Afghanistan in 2015, are typical for LEDCs with a high proportion of young people due to a high birth rate. Commonly, LEDC’s have a high birth rate to help with manual labour. Many social and political factors result in the low use of birth control in LEDC’s, also they are uneducated and do not have adequate healthcare.

Question 19

What are stationary populations?

Answer 19

Stationary population like the USA in 2016, is a population that is almost stationary, with a rectangular shape at the top when older adults die.

Question 20

What are contracting populations?

Answer 20

Contracting populations like Japan in 2016, means that the population is declining because of low birth rates and its pyramid is top heavy because the low death rate.

Question 21

What are dependants?

Answer 21

Dependants are those people in the population who are not economically active. In most countries this is people under 16 and over 65. Thus, these people rely on those who are working for their needs.

Question 22

What are independents?

Answer 22

Independent are those people in the population who are economically active. In most countries, these people are between 16 and 64.

Question 23

How do the taxes from independent people help the dependent people?

Answer 23

Taxes from the independent population are used for education of the young/dependants and provision of school places for the children yet to reach school age and creating care home places and hospitals for the aging population.

Question 24

What are three ways to manage human population size?

Answer 24

family planning, improved health and education, national policies (pronatalist and antinatalist)

Question 25

What is family planning and how does it manage population size?

Answer 25

Family planning are the methods used by couples to decide the number of children to have and when, which is mostly encourages by the government. Contraceptives are used to prevent pregnancies.

Question 26

What is improved health and education and how does it manage population size?

Answer 26

Improved health and education makes people more aware of methods to limit family size. Educated women may plan a career as well as having children which would limit the number of children being born. Educated women also have a tendency for later marriages and thus having children later.

Question 27

What are pronatalist policies and how do they manage population size?

Answer 27

Pronatalist policies are national or region policies that aims to encourage couples to have children. They may be provided with lower taxes, subsidised daycare, or higher pay just to have more children.

Question 28

What are antinatalist policies and how do they manage population size?

Answer 28

Antinatalist policies are national or regional policies that aim to discourage couples from having children. Especially in LEDC’s where population exponentially increases, these policies try to reduce the rate of children being born.

Question 29

Suggest the impacts on natural resources for countries with an increase in population of more than 1000%. Give reason for your answer (3)

Answer 29

impact - greater demand for natural resources which reduces the availability of resources
reasons - shortage of water due to industrial / domestic use / pollution
shortage of food causes soil erosion / soil exhaustion
increased deforestation / land use due to increase demand for land for agriculture / housing / industry
shortage / increased demand for energy due to increase use of fuel resources / power

Question 30

State one example of a pronatalist strategy (1)

Answer 30

financial incentive
awards

Question 31

Suggest one negative impact of pronatalists strategies on the economy of a country (1)

Answer 31

increase financial burden on services

Question 32

Describe the typical population pyramid of a MEDC (3)

Answer 32

similar shape / width for males and females ;
narrow base ;
wider in the middle ;
tall / high ;

Question 33

51% of the population of Uzbekistan live in urban areas. Suggest two reasons why the population is not evenly distributed across the country (2)

Answer 33

mainly desert;
soil is infertile (most of country) / (only) fertile in east or valleys;
availability of jobs;
availability of stated resource e.g. water / food / agriculture / energy;
availability of infrastructure or named example e.g. roads;
availability of education;
availability of healthcare / sanitation or named example e.g. hospitals;
risk of natural disasters e.g. drought;

Question 34

The birth rate of Uzbekistan has decreased in the past 30 years. Suggest two reasons why there are fewer people aged 10–14 than people aged 25–29 (2)

Answer 34

education, use or access to or lower cost of, birth control/contraceptives;
stated or described government policy that limits or discourages number of children born e.g. anti-natalist;
idea of change healthcare;
reduction in availability of stated resource e.g. food, (clean) water;
improved education / increased opportunities for women;
disease;

Question 35

Suggest how a reduction in birth rate affects the economy of a country in the future (2)

Answer 35

reduced, economy / GDP;
less taxation / less income, (for government or country);
reduction in, work force / economically active people / less people available to work;
idea of increase in share of cost to workers or younger people for, healthcare / education / pensions / elder care;
less spending on, schools / education;

Question 36

Suggest the benefits and negative impacts of introducing Bukhara deer to a new location (4)

Answer 36

benefits:
increases number of deer / increases population of the deer / reintroduction where deer had been extinct;
increases area or geographical range (deer found);
less risk of a whole deer population being affected by disease;
manage plant growth through grazing;
provide food source for predators;
AVP e.g. ecotourism;

negative effects:
may not be adapted to conditions;
displacement of other species;
changes to the food chain / not enough food;
overgrazing / damage agriculture / eat trees or crops;
may become an invasive species or non-native species;
disease (to native species or deer);
risk of hunting (in new location);

Question 37

Suggest three reasons why the mean number of children born per woman is decreasing in many countries (3)

Answer 37

availability of contraception / family planning ;
education ;
opportunities for women ;
health care / lower mortality ;
antinatalist policies ;

Question 38

Locust populations increase after rainfall and in warm weather. Suggest reasons why locust populations may increase in the future (2)

Answer 38

enhanced greenhouse effect / climate change / global warming;
increased rainfall / / longer rainy season / increased temperatures / improved conditions / optimal conditions;
more habitable areas / countries (for locusts);
increase in photosynthesis;
more food available (for locusts);
less predators;

Question 39

Suggest why the 65+ age group is predicted to increase between 2020 and 2100 (2)

Answer 39

due to better health care;
better nutrition / quality of drinking water;
better sanitation;

Question 40

State two strategies a country can use to limit the size of the national population (2)

Answer 40

use national population policies, e.g. antinatalist / reduce early marriage;
increase availability of contraceptives;
education of women (so they remain in the workforce);

Question 41

Suggest three reasons why the actual number of global migrants in 2025 may be different to the number estimated by the student (3)

Answer 41

changes in, national population / migration, policies;
effect of climate change / sea level rise;
extreme weather events;
disease / epidemic;
natural disaster / named natural disaster;
famine;
war / conflict;
data was only estimated:

Question 42

Suggest three reasons why young people live in urban areas (3)

Answer 42

better jobs;
higher wages;
education opportunities;
better infrastructure;
improved healthcare;
internet access / communication network;

Question 43

State three reasons for migration (3)

Answer 43

economic / jobs;
education;
social ties / closer to family;
escape from, political persecution / war / ethnic or religious intolerance or persecution;
environmental / natural hazards / drought;
food or water insecurity ;

Question 44

Suggest two reasons why only a small number of people live in rural areas (2)

Answer 44

not many jobs / risk of being unemployed;
only agriculture as available work / mechanisation of agricultural;
migration;
lack of services or infrastructure / fewer stated services e.g. medical care / education / communications;

Question 45

Describe the shape of this population pyramid (2)

Answer 45

wide(r) at base / narrow(er) at top / triangle shape;
similar shape for males and females;

Question 46

Suggest reasons why Laos has a rapidly increasing population (3)

Answer 46

Laos is an LEDC;
economic growth (of country or for people);
lack of, contraception / family planning resources;
improved or good healthcare;
improved or good, access to safe drinking water / sanitation;
improved or good, infrastructure / access to electricity;
migration (into Laos) / immigration;
job opportunities;
pronatalist policies / policies to encourage large families / financial incentives to have children;

Question 47

Suggest three reasons why people migrate to The Bahamas (3)

Answer 47

conflict / refugees;
economic;
employment;
family;
favourable climate;
health care / hospitals;
education / schools;

Question 48

Suggest reasons why the death rate of a population decreases (2)

Answer 48

improved health services, e.g. vaccinations, availability of doctors, medicine;
improved nutrition;
improved sanitation / potable water supply / housing;
lack of wars / peace;
improved standard of living;

Question 49

State three pronatalist policies (3)

Answer 49

tax incentives;
free schooling;
other incentives, e.g. free housing;
government promotion / public information / advertising;
banning abortion / contraception;

Question 50

Suggest the problems this causes for the country (4)

Answer 50

greater proportion of dependants;
increased need for medical care;
more of the working population needs to be carers;
reduced numbers of people in work;
increased burden on country for pensions;
reduction to GDP / economy;
reduced money for other services (for young people);

Question 51

Suggest problems an urban area experiences when there is a sudden increase in population (3)

Answer 51

development of unplanned housing / shanty towns / lack of housing;
spread of disease / lack of sanitation / shortage of clean water;
pressure on schools / hospitals;
unemployment;
crime / illegal activity;
traffic congestion;
increase in air / water pollution / waste;

Question 52

Suggest why average life expectancy might change in the future (2)

Answer 52

increase due to:
improved healthcare / medicine;
improved food / food supply;
improved water supply / sanitation;

decrease due to:
disease / epidemic;
famine;
war;
climate change / climate hazards;
air pollution;

Question 53

Suggest how a decreasing population can benefit the natural environment of Bulgaria (5)

Answer 53

rewilding / recolonisation;
more habitats;
maintained / increased biodiversity / wildlife undisturbed;
less use of fossil fuels / fewer vehicles;
(so) less air pollution;
less water pollution;
more water available;
less soil erosion;
(as) less agriculture;
less urbanisation;
reduced habitat destruction;
less industrialisation/factories;