Unit 2 Exam Review

The map shows the number of people per unit of land. Which of the following types of data are shown in the map?

• • Arithmetic density

• • Physiological density

• Agricultural density

• • Urban density

• • Suburban density

Answer explanation

Physiological population density differs from crude population density in that physiological density

• • examines only the population of cities, while crude density includes the population of cities and rural areas

• • is a measure of how density is perceived, while crude density is a measure of specific density

• • explains density in terms of people per arable square land unit, while crude density explains density in terms of people per total square land unit

• • explains the density of a single housing unit while crude density explains the density of  a group of houses

• • is the number of people per housing unit, while crude density is the number of people per square mile

Physiological population density is viewed as a superior measure of population density for which of the following reasons?

• • It is more reflective of population pressure on arable land.

• • It yields the average population density.

• • It is more reflective of the world’s largest population concentrations.

• • It measures the average by dividing total land area by total number of people.

• • It best reflects the percentage of a country’s population that is urbanized.

Which of the following describes information a geographer could identify from the map of urban populations in Brazil?

• • Urban areas with rapid population growth

• • Distribution of high and low incomes

• • Areas with negative population growth

• • Patterns of arithmetic density within specific regions

• • Urban areas most at risk for overpopulation

Which of the following explains why a country with a high physiological density (e.g., Japan, Egypt, or the Netherlands) risks exceeding its carrying capacity?

• • The population is clustered in key areas, so rural populations will not have easy access to public services such as schools and hospitals.

• • The population places a large amount of pressure on the arable land to produce enough food without risking severe environmental degradation.

• • The population is evenly dispersed throughout the country, so it is difficult to maintain infrastructure such as roads and telecommunication networks for the entire country.

• • There is a large number of people per unit of total land area, so there is no available land for farmers to raise crops and other food products.

• • The amount of farmers per unit of land area in these countries is too low to be able to support their populations.

The increasing percentage of urban dwellers in more-developed countries is best explained by

• • greater access to job opportunities, resources, and facilities

• • a critical need for workers in the primary economic sector

• • an abundance of arable land for agricultural use

• • a desire for more living space and a slower lifestyle

• • inadequate health care and few educational resources

Based on the population pyramid above, which of the following will pose the greatest demographic challenge to China beginning in 2029?

• • Providing for the needs of its aging population

• • Finding enough teachers to educate the young

• • Limiting out-migration of the 60- to 64-year-old age cohort

• • Providing prenatal medical care

• • Controlling population growth

Which of the following best explains a possible limitation of the trends assumed from the population pyramid and estimates in the data table?

• • A period of war followed by a baby boom, similar to that of the 1940s and 1950s, is likely to occur within a generation, increasing the youth-aged cohorts.

• • Modernization of health-care systems may result in improvements in women’s health and pregnancy and result in more children being born, increasing the youth-aged cohorts.

• • Labor shortages may cause the government to reduce the legal barriers to immigration, and immigrant populations could increase the working-age cohorts.

• • Decreasing populations may cause an economic decline, prompting many citizens to emigrate to other more developed countries and decreasing the working-age cohorts.

• • Production efficiencies gained from computerization and robotization of manufacturing may free parents from long work hours and result in more time to have additional children, increasing the youth-aged cohorts.

What is the likely impact of the numerical change by 2050 of the total population on the eventual shape of Japan’s population pyramid?

• • Since the impact will be gradual over a 40-year period, the 2050 population pyramid likely will not change.

• • Because of low birth rates over many years, by 2050 Japan will likely attain a column-shaped population pyramid.

• • Owing to the large numbers of pregnancies in the growing reproductive-age cohorts, in 2050 the population pyramid will likely have the shape of a pentagon.

• • Because of an increasing death rate due to an older population, in 2050 the population pyramid will likely have the shape of an equilateral triangle.

• • Because of low birth rates over many years, the 2050 population pyramid will likely be an inverted pyramid.

Which of the following best describes a country with a rate of natural increase of 0.4 ?

• • Negative population growth

• • Low life expectancy

• • Slow population growth

• • Increasing fertility rates

• • Decreasing percent elderly population