AP Environmental Science : The Human Population
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Example Questions
Example Question #161 : Ecosystems And Biology
The United States has a birth rate of 
The formula for the national population growth rate is:
We can substitute in the provided values in order to determine the population growth:
Example Question #22 : Population Ecology
Who first theorized that the human population would eventually exceed the capacity of the Earth's resources to sustain it?
Charles Darwin
Alfred Russel Wallace
E.O. Wilson
Ruth Patrick
Thomas Malthus
Thomas Malthus
In his seminal work An Essay on the Principle of Population, Thomas Malthus theorized that eventually the human population would be halted by either famine, disease, or both. While his estimates on when this would occur proved dramatically incorrect, his work was very influential, and he has been studied by such critically important figures as Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.
Example Question #161 : Ecosystems And Biology
Of the following, which can significantly influence the size of a population?
All of the other answers are correct.
Access to education
Access to medical care
Religions that discourage sexual education and the use of contraceptives
All of the other answers are correct.
All of these can potentially influence the growth of human population. When people have access to more medical care, they both live longer and have higher rates of survival. Religions that oppose the use of contraceptives can also influence the size of a population; they are often found in areas or countries experiencing higher rates of population increase. In societies where women have access to more education, they are less likely to become pregnant at a young age, and also likely to have fewer children than women who do not have access to similar educational opportunities.
Example Question #161 : Ecosystems And Biology
A town of 20,000 people experienced a birth rate of 25 per 1,000 per year and a death rate of 7 per 1,000. There were 600 immigrants into the town and 200 people emigrated from the town. Using these values, calculate the population size for the following year.
To calculate the city population for the following year, we take the initial population (20,000 people), add the annual rate of natural population change, add the number of immigrants and subtract the number of emigrants.
Now, we need to multiply this percentage of of population change by the original population size (20,000 people).
The population will naturally grow by 360 individuals. Now, add these individuals, subtract emigrants, and add immigrants to to the starting population size in order to calculate the new population for the next year.
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