EARTH’S HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Population Notes

As You Go Through This PowerPoint:• Don’t write this, just read it and remember it!• All titles in ORANGE and text in BLACK needs to be

written down!!• These are your notes

• All titles or text in GREEN do not need to be written down• These are examples or extra information

Before Taking the Notes:• Is your vocabulary done?

• Write the terms and definitions after the 5 Themes of Vocabulary notes

• The 8 terms are:• Birthrate, death rate, green revolution, life expectancy, population,

population density, population distribution, population growth• You can get the definitions from Quizlet• See my example notebook for help if you need to

What are the 10 most populated countries in the world?

Write down the names of the countries in order. You do NOT need their populations.

Why is Population Distribution Uneven?• People are picky. They want to live in nice

places!• What determines a good location

1. Rivers and Lakes 2. Flat, fertile soil3. Flat plains and coastal areas4. Reasonable climate5. Adequate rainfall6. Natural resources for building and producing

• Why do you think the western US has so few people?

Because of the Geography!!• Mountains• Deserts

To the Same Effect:• 89% of people on the planet live on 3 continents

• Asia, Europe, and North America • They total only 53% of the world’s land, but it’s the

BEST land• Continents with low populations have:

• Bad climate• Little rainfall• Poor land quality

Example: Australia

•Roughly size of USA• Population of Australia: 19 million• Population of USA: 301 million

*Population of Australia is about the population of New York (State)*

•Australia’s Physical Features• Mostly dessert• Dry Grassland• Little Rainfall and Few Rivers

Africa• 20% of the world’s land• 13% of the worlds population

• What type of land and climate does Africa have?

Population Density• = the average number of people in a unit area (in this

class we’re going to use square miles)• It is calculated by dividing the number of people in the

area by the size of the area• For example, 15068 people = 3767 people/mi2

4mi2

• You would find that type of population density in an urban area

High v. Low Density • High density: people are crowded together

• Example: Japan: 25,000 people per mi2

• Low density: people are not crowded• Example: Canada: 9 people per mi2

Studying Population Density • Be Careful! Population Density is an average

• Example: New York City: very dense population• New York State: many fewer people per mi2

Studying Population Density • World population map

• Darker colors: heavy population• Lighter colors: less population

Continued from Before • People tend to live on level areas near bodies of water• Example: Nile River

• Location: Africa• Land around the Nile: high population• Land not near the Nile: Low population

Why do you think this is?

Continued • Some people do choose to live in “uncomfortable areas”• Examples:

• Inuit and Sami live in frozen Arctic Regions• Herders in desert regions of Africa and Asia• These people have developed ways of life suited to their

environments

Population Growth• = a change in the total population of an area

• Can be either positive (population going up) or negative (population going down)

• When positive, birthrate is higher than death rate• When negative, death rate is higher than birthrate• Life expectancy also plays a critical role• What types of events could cause a negative population

growth?

Population Growth is Worldwide • 1960: World Population was 3 billion• 2000: World Population was 6 billion• 9/22/14 at 9:52 AM: World Population is: 7,262,453,115

As the global population continues to grow, what types of problems do you think we may encounter?

Life expectancy timeline• Analyze the moving timeline of the world’s life expectancy

and think about the following questions: • Did life expectancy steadily increase throughout history?• Why?

Why is the population growing so quickly?• Birthrate increased and Death Rate slowed• US: average life expectancy for women is 80 and men is 73• Reasons for this:

• New Farming Methods• Scientific advancement in medicine and health

• How do we stack up? You don’t need to copy the chart.

What are challenges of rapid population growth?

1. Inadequate public transportation and sanitation

2. Shortage of fresh water, food, jobs, and energy

3. Overcrowded schools and housing

4. Decent housing is scarce and expensive

Where is rapid population growth most common?

• Most visible in South and Southest Asia

• Home to ¼ of world’s population

• Also home to ¼ of world’s poor

• 1 out of every 14 children born will die before age

one

• What would the world look like with equal proportion for land mass and population?

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY REVIEW QUESTIONSCopy the questions onto the next page and then write your answers. You MUST answer in complete sentences.

Review Questions

1. How do physical characteristics of a country (land type, access to water) affect its population distribution?

2. Why is it important to understand population density as an average?

3. A large percentage of the world’s population lives on a small percentage of the worlds land. Why is this?

4. Would you rather live in a place where the population density is high or low? Explain.

5. Name a city, country and continent with a dense population

6. Why has the world’s population increased so dramatically in the last four or five decades?

7. How have science and technology contributed to the growing population?

8. The world’s population has been growing at a fast rate. What are some of the dangers of a rapidly increasing population?

9. World Hunger is one of the major concerns caused by rapid growth population. Write one or two suggestions to help solve the problem.

10. How do you think rapid population growth in Asia might affect people here in the United States?