Notes: Human Populations (pg. 10-11)
1. How does the size of the human population
change with time?
•
Increase
2. Why did the population grow slowly for most of
human existence?
•
Life was harsh and there were many limiting factors
such as disease.
3. Circle the letter of each reason why the human
population began to grow more rapidly about
500 years ago.
•
•
•
A. improved sanitation and health care reduced the death rate
B. industry made life easier and safer
C. the world’s food supply became more reliable.
• 4. Why can’t the human population keep
growing exponentially forever?
– Limited resources
• 5. What is demography?
– Study of human populations
• 6. What factors help predict why the populations
of some countries grow faster than others?
– Birthrates, death rates, and age structure of a
population.
• 7. The hypothesis that explains why population
growth has slowed dramatically in the US, Japan
and much of Europe is called the…
– Demographic transition
• 8. Throughout much of human history,
what have been the levels of birthrates
and death rates in human societies?
– High death rates and birthrates
• 9. What factors lowers the death rate?
– Improved sanitation, nutrition and medicine
• 10. Is the following sentence true or false?
Population growth depends, in part, on
how many people of different ages make
up a given population?
– True
• 11. Complete the following flowchart about the
demographic transition.
• Changes brought about by modernization lower
the death rate  Births greatly exceed deaths,
resulting in rapid population increase  as
modernization continues, the birthrate
decreases and population growth slows  the
birthrate falls to meet the death rate, and
population growth stops
• 12. Circle the letter of each sentence that is true
about human population growth.
– B. the worldwide human population is still growing
exponentially
– C. most people live in countries that have not yet
completed the demographic transition
– D. the demographic transition has happened in the
United States
• 13. What do age-structure diagrams graph?
– Number of people in different age groups within a
population
• 14. What do age structures of the US and
Rwanda predict about the population
growth of each country?
– US is showing slow and stable growth while
Rwanda’s population should double in 30
years.
• 15. By 2050, the world’s population may reach
how many people?
– 9,078,850,714
• 16. What may cause the growth rate of the world
population to level off or even slow down?
– Countries growing exponentially will move
toward demographic transition
• 17. What do many ecologists suggest will
happen if the growth in human populations does
not slow down?
– There will be serious damage to the
environment and global economy.
Pg. 12 Human Population Review
• 1. The human population size has
increased over time.
• 2. Birthrates, death rates and age
structure population are factors that help
predict population growth rates.
• 3. Describe the birth
and death rates of
this population.
– High birthrate and
death rate.
• 4. Has this population
undergone the
demographic
transition? Explain.
– No because they are
still growing rapidly.
(Many young people)
5. The approximate human population of Earth in the year 2000 was:
500,000,000
6. Agriculture began in about:
8500 BC
7. The most rapid increase in population was caused by the:
Industrial Revolution
8. In the past 5000 years, the event that temporarily halted population
increase was:
Bubonic Plague
9. The steepest climb in population occurred approximately between
the years ______________ and the present.
1500 AD