AP Environmental Science
Human Population Dynamics released AP questions (1999, 2003, 2008)
Name: _________________________________________________
Questions 1-3 refer to the table below, which shows population, area, and energy use of several countries.
Country
Population
(millions)
Australia
Bangladesh
China
Ethiopia
India
United States
19.7
144
1,295
70
1,000
300
Approximate Total
Land Area
(million km2)
8.2
0.14
9.6
1.12
3.29
9.63
Total Annual
Electricity Usage
(1010 kWh)
22
1.6
150
0.20
60
400
1) The country with the highest population density is
a. Australia
b. Bangladesh
c. China
d. Ethiopia
e. India
2) The country with a population about three times that of the United States is
a. Australia
b. Bangladesh
c. China
d. Ethiopia
e. India
3) Which of the following practices would have the biggest impact on achieving global sustainability?
a. Recycling aluminum cans
b. Using fuel-efficient vehicles
c. Replanting deforested areas
d. Reducing human population size
e. Developing ecotourism venues
4) As a country goes through the demographic transition, the greatest rate of population growth takes place during
which phase?
a. The preindustrial
b. The pretransitional
c. The transitional
d. The industrial
e. The postindustrial
5) Which of the following is a true statement about the total fertility of a society?
a. The total fertility of a society is the difference between the crude birth rate and the crude death rate.
b. The total fertility of a society is the number of children necessary for a couple to replace themselves in the
next generation.
c. The total fertility rate of a society is positively correlated with the average education of women.
d. The total fertility rate of a society is negatively correlated with the number of women of child-bearing age.
e. The total fertility of a society decreases as the society progresses through the demographic
transition.
6) Which of the following is the best description of a population that has a stable age distribution?
a. A large population that is growing at a constant rate
b. A large population with a negative growth rate
c. A population that is in the early stages of logistic population growth
d. A growing population in which the proportions of individuals in the different age classes remain
constant
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e. A small population that has not yet achieved exponential growth
7) Which of the following is generally true of K-strategist species as compared to r-strategist species?
a. They reach sexual maturity earlier.
b. They have more young.
c. They are more likely to be invasive species.
d. They have longer life spans.
e. Their population cycles are more rapid.
8) It has recently been estimated that the growth in world population has slowed in the past decade. Despite this
trend, environmentalists remain concerned about the environmental impact of world population, principally
because
a. the standard of living is increasing in many developing countries, leading to an increased per
capita use of natural resources
b. people are living longer in developed nations, putting a strain on the economies of those countries
c. life expectancy is still decreasing in Africa due to AIDS
d. the standard of living is poor in many developing countries, leading to a great deal of deprivation and
suffering
e. fertility is falling due to exposure to endocrine disruptors released into the environment
9) Factors contributing to the rise in world hunger include all of the following EXCEPT
a. unequal distribution of available food supplies
b. loss or decline in arable land
c. increasing rate of population growth
d. increasing poverty in developing countries
e. increasing consumption of vegetable protein in place of meat protein
Question 10-12 refer to the figure below. A, B, C and D represent population growth curves, E represents the
carrying capacity.
10) Represents the maximum number of individuals that can be supported by a particular ecosystem on a long-term
basis E
11) Represents the biotic potential of the species A
12) Represents the growth of a population predicted by the logistic model C
13) If a city of population 10,000 experiences 100 births, 40 deaths, 10 immigrants, and 30 emigrants in the course of
a year, what is its net annual percentage growth rate?
a. 0.4%
b. 0.8%
c. 1.0%
d. 4.0%
e. 8.0%
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AGE DISTRIBUTION
14) A country with an age distribution like that shown in the figure above, is most likely a country that
a. is experiencing rapid growth
b. is experiencing slow or no population growth
c. is experiencing a high death rate
d. has 40% of the population under age 15
e. is a less-developed country
15) The current global human population is about 6.1 billion and is growing at an annual rate of 1.35 percent. If world
population were to grow at this rate for the next year, approximately how many people would be added?
a. 8 X 105
b. 8 X 106
c. 8 X 107
d. 8 X 108
e. 8 X 109
8 X 106 6,100,000,000
x .0135 = 82,350,000 people added
16) If the population of a country grows at a rate of approximately 5 percent per year, the number of years required for
the population to double is closest to
a. 5 years
b. 10 years
c. 15 years
d. 25 years
e. 35 years
17) The increase in the size of Earth’s human population in the last century has been dramatic. Which of the following
identifies two major contributors to this increase?
a. New methods of agriculture and the identification of new food crops
b. The Industrial Revolution and modern medicine
c. Increased emigration/immigration and decreased warfare
d. New methods of birth control and decreased warfare
e. Increased education for women and the development of new pesticides
18) Which of the following is a true statement about replacement-level fertility?
a. It equals the average number of children a woman will give birth to during her child-bearing years.
b. It equals the annual number of live births per 1,000 people in a population.
c. It equals the natural increase of a population in one year.
d. It is found by subtracting the number of emigrants from the number of immigrants in one year.
e. It is greater in countries with high infant-mortality rates than in countries with low infant-mortality
rates.
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