Population Growth Lesson

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the role of demographers?

• They study the composition and predict changes in population size.

• They only count the number of individuals in a population.

• They focus solely on animal populations.

• They manage resources in an environment.

Open Ended

Why is it important to study population growth in the context of environmental science?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the purpose of a population model?

• To exhibit key characteristics of a real population and predict changes

• To count the exact number of individuals in a population

• To track only the birthrate of a population

• To ignore changes in population size

Open Ended

Explain how birthrate and death rate together determine the growth rate of a population.

Multiple Select

Which of the following statements about survivorship curves is correct? You may select more than one answer.

• Type I curves show high survival rates for the young and most individuals die late in life.

• Type II curves show a constant death rate over the organism's life span.

• Type III curves show high death rates for the young and lower death rates for survivors.

• None of the above.

Open Ended

Based on the diagram, what are two ways a population size can increase and two ways it can decrease?

Multiple Choice

What is the main characteristic of an exponential growth curve in population growth?

• The rate of population growth stays the same, leading to a steady increase in population size.

• The population size decreases over time.

• The rate of population growth fluctuates unpredictably.

• Population size remains constant.

Multiple Choice

What happens to a population's per capita growth rate as it approaches the carrying capacity?

• It increases rapidly

• It remains constant

• It gets smaller and smaller

• It fluctuates unpredictably

Open Ended

Explain how predators, disease, and resource availability can limit population growth.

Multiple Select

Which of the following are density-dependent factors that can affect population growth?

• Food

• Water

• Temperature

• Natural disasters

Open Ended

Describe how shortages or absences of specific factors can restrict the success of a species. Provide an example.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea behind limiting factors in ecology?

• They increase the population size indefinitely

• They limit the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism

• They only affect plant species

• They are always caused by human activity

Open Ended

Explain how limiting factors can affect the population of a species in an environment.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of an abiotic limiting factor?

• Temperature

• Predation

• Disease

• Competition

Open Ended

Compare and contrast density-dependent and density-independent limiting factors, providing examples of each.

Multiple Select

Select all the density-independent limiting factors from the list below.

• Climate

• Food

• Natural disasters

• Shelter

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a density-dependent limiting factor?

• Food

• Water

• Shelter

• Climate

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a density-dependent limiting factor that can affect population growth?

• Predators

• Natural disasters

• Temperature

• Sunlight

Open Ended

How do limited resources in an environment affect population growth?