Earth Science Semester Final Part 2
Name:
Period:
Human Population Versus Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Graph
You will create one graph of both human population over time and the amount of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution and use them to make comparisons,
predict future growth and identify the factors that effect both population growth and carbon
growth in the atmosphere.
Time:
Directions: Place time on the horizontal axis. The dates should range from 1600 to 2060.
Make each box on your graph paper worth 20 years. Label the horizontal axis “Years.”
Human Population Graph:
Directions: Label the left vertical axis “Human Population” (billion) with the values ranging
from 0 to 12 billion. Make each box on the graph paper worth .5 billion. Do not forget to label
your axis and title your graph. Choose a different colored pencil to plot this data.
Human Population and Date
1650 .5 billion
1750 .7 billion
1800 .9 billion
1850 .978 billion
1900 1.6 billion
1910 1.7 billion
1920 1.83 billion
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2.01 billion
2.21 billion
2.4 billion
2.97 billion
3.7 billion
4.4 billion
5.1 billion
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
6.08 billion
6.9 billion
7.6 billion
8.2 billion
8.8 billion
9.85 billion
Carbon Dioxide In the Atmosphere Graph:
Directions: Label the right vertical axis “Carbon Dioxide Concentration in the Atmosphere”
(PPM) PPM stands for parts per million. Make each box worth 5 ppm and begin at 260 PPM.
Do not forget to label your axis and title your graph. Choose a colored pencil to plot this data.
Carbon Dioxide concentration in the atmosphere in parts per million
1600 280 ppm
1760 280 ppm
1920
1620 280 ppm
1780 280 ppm
1940
1640 280 ppm
1800 281 ppm
1960
1660 280 ppm
1820 282 ppm
1980
1680 280 ppm
1840 283 ppm
2000
1700 280 ppm
1860 282 ppm
2020
1720 278 ppm
1880 295 ppm
2040
1740 276 ppm
1900 297 ppm
302 ppm
308 ppm
318 ppm
340 ppm
340 ppm
395 ppm
405 ppm
Analysis: How long did it take for the earth’s population to double after it reached 1 billion?
______________. How long did it take to double after it reached 2 billion? _____________.
How long will it take to double after it reached 4 billion? ______________. How long do you
think it will take the population to double from the population right now? _______________.
Earth Science Semester Final Part 2
Name:
Period:
1
What similarities do you see between the two graphs?
2
List some reasons why you think the CO2 concentration has changed so radically
because of the human population going up?
3
What can be done to start a decrease in the amount of CO2 we are putting in the
atmosphere?
The Earth’s Carrying Capacity:
Prior to 1950, the death rate was high, which kept the numbers of humans from increasing rapidly. In the 19 th
Century, the agricultural revolution increased food production. The industrial revolutions improved methods of
transporting food and other good. In the 20th Century, advances in medicine, sanitation and nutrition have decreased
the death rates further. These factors combined to produce the rapid growth of the human population in the 20th
Century.
As with any population, humans are also limited by factors such as space, amount of food and disease. The carrying
capacity is the number of individuals that a stable environment can support. Authorities disagree on the maximum
number of people that the earth can support, through the numbers generally range for 8 to 10 billion. As the
population approaches its limit, starvation will increase. Some countries have a much higher growth rate compared to
others. Growth rate is the number of people born minus the number of people that die.
Most countries are trying to reduce their growth rate. Zero population growth means that as many people are being
born, as there is dying to achieve zero population growth, each couple would need to have no more than two kids
…and so forth. The United States reached zero population growth in the 1980’s, and yet the overall population of the
US still increases.
1. What factors contributed to the world’s overall population growth in the last 150 years?
2. What will happen when the human population exceeds the earth’s carrying capacity?
3. If carrying capacity of the earth was 9 billion people, when would this number be reached
(according to your graph)?