CHAPTER 6—THE HUMAN POPULATION AND URBANIZATION
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following statements about China is not accurate?
a.
In the 1960’s, the population was growing so fast there was a serious threat of mass
starvation.
b.
It is the most populous country in the world.
c.
The average number of children born per woman is currently 2.1.
d.
Over a 20 year period, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been reduced
by almost 500 million.
e.
Couples pledging to only have one child receive financial incentives and rewards.
2. China has
a.
enough natural resources to support continued population growth of any size.
b.
a smaller population than India.
c.
a current population just under one billion people.
d.
the world’s most extensive and intrusive family planning and birth control program.
e.
a family planning program that is widely accepted and acclaimed as successful and yet
minimal in its control over citizens’ lives.
3. How many people are estimated to live in acute poverty today in developing countries?
a.
1.4 billion
b.
1.4 million
c.
140,000
d.
82 million
e.
1.8 billion
4. Which of the following is a major factor in human population increase in the last 200 years?
a.
Humans have developed the ability to expand into almost all of the planet’s climate zones.
b.
Early and modern agriculture has allowed more people to be fed per unit of land area.
c.
Improved health and sanitation has lowered the death rate.
d.
All of these are correct answers
e.
Only two of these choices are correct answers
5. The cultural carrying capacity is the
a.
number of humans the planet can support with consumptive lifestyles
b.
maximum number of people the Earth can support at a reasonable level of comfort and
freedom without impairing the planet’s ability to sustain future generations in the same
way
c.
the maximum number of people that can be supported in a fashion that allows them to
pursue culturally satisfying forms of social interaction
d.
the degree to which an urban area can support a variety of cultural entities such as
museums and symphony orchestras
e.
same thing as the standard, typical carrying capacity in any population of plants or animals
in nature
6. How extensive are the effects of human activities on the planet?
a.
Humans have indirectly affected about 75% of the earth’s land surface.
b.
Humans have caused great harm in the world’s oceans, but not so much on land surfaces.
c.
Humans have directly affected about 75% of the earth’s land surface.
d.
Humans have directly affected about 83% of the earth’s land surface, including Greenland
and Antarctica.
e.
Humans have directly affected about 83% of the earth’s land surface, excluding Greenland
and Antarctica
7. Which of the following statements are true about China’s one-child population policy?
a.
Government officials say the alternative was mass starvation.
b.
The fertility rate dropped from 5.7 to 5.5 over a period of about 40 years.
c.
The policy has reduced the population by as much as 400 million people.
d.
The government say the alternative was mass starvation and the fertility rate dropped from
5.7 to 1.5 over about 40 years.
e.
Government officials say the alternative was mass starvation, the fertility rate dropped
from 5.7 to 1.5, and the population was reduced by as much as 400 million people.
8. The crude birth rate is the number of live births per _____ persons in a given year.
a.
50
b.
100
c.
500
d.
1,000
e.
10,000
9. Over a period of 100 years, life expectancy in the United States change in which of the following
ways?
a.
It increased from 47 years to 77 years.
b.
It remained stable at 65 years.
c.
It increased from 50 years to 65 years.
d.
It actually declined because of all the environmental problems on the planet in the year
2000.
e.
There is no real accurate count of life expectancy in the United States
10. The average number of children born to women in a population during their reproductive years is the
a.
crude birth rate
b.
total birth rate
c.
total fertility rate
d.
crude fertility rate
e.
population’s natural rate of increase
11. Between the years 1955 and 2011, the total fertility rate in the world
a.
increased from 2.8 to 6.5
b.
decreased from 5.0 to 2.5
c.
decreased from 2.5 to 1.6
d.
increased from 1.6 to 2.5
e.
increased from 2.5 to 2.8
12. The actual average replacement-level fertility for the whole world is slightly higher than
a.
one child per couple
b.
two children per couple
c.
three children per couple
d.
four children per couple
e.
six children per couple
13. Which of the following would decrease the likelihood of a couple having a child?
a.
The child is part of the family labor pool.
b.
Contraceptives are not available.
c.
They have no public or private pension.
d.
Women have many opportunities to participate in the work force.
e.
Infant mortality rates are high.
14. Two useful indicators of overall health in a country or region are
a.
birth rate and death rate
b.
replacement-level fertility rate and total fertility rate
c.
life expectancy and infant mortality rate
d.
life expectancy and death rate
e.
life expectancy and population growth rate
15. A high infant mortality rate is usually associated with
a.
a high standard of living
b.
Undernutrition
c.
Malnutrition
d.
undernutrition or malnutrition
e.
Affluence
16. Infant mortality rate refers to the number of children out of 1,000 that die
a.
before birth
b.
in their first month
c.
in the first half-year of life
d.
by their first birthday
e.
by their fifth birthday
17. All of the following reasons help explain why the United States has one of the highest infant mortality
rates of developed countries except
a.
lack of health care for children of the poor after birth
b.
the older age of pregnant women as a result of many women delaying having children
c.
lack of health care for poor women while they are pregnant
d.
high birth rate for teenage women
e.
drug addiction among pregnant women
18. Currently, legal and illegal immigration account for _____ of U.S. population growth.
a.
16%
b.
26%
c.
36%
d.
46%
e.
56%
19. Which of the following countries has the fastest growing population?
a.
China
b.
United States
c.
France
d.
Great Britain
e.
Germany
20. The age structure of a population is the number or percentage of
a.
females under reproductive age
b.
females at reproductive age
c.
males age 15 to 44
d.
persons of each sex in young, middle, and older age groups
e.
persons of each sex age 15 to 44
21. Population age structure diagrams can be divided into all of the following categories except
a.
Infant
b.
Prereproductive
c.
Reproductive
d.
Postreproductive
e.
The choice of answers does not represent age structure diagram categories.
22. Age structure diagrams
a.
show only two age groups: reproductive and not reproductive
b.
show the number of males and females in the reproductive age categories only
c.
are strictly for present use and do not provide insight into future trends
d.
are useful for studying developing countries but not developed countries
e.
are useful for predicting population momentum
23. Rapidly growing countries have an age structure that
a.
forms an inverted pyramid
b.
has a broad-based pyramid
c.
shows little variation in population by age
d.
has a narrow pyramid
e.
has a relatively large postreproductive population
24. Which of the following implies the greatest built-in momentum for population growth?
a.
a large population size
b.
a large number of people age 29 to 44
c.
a large number of people under age 34
d.
a large number of people under age 15
e.
a large number of people over the age of 45
25. As the number of working adults in the United States declines in proportion to the number of senior
citizens so will
a.
the process called the graying of America
b.
the tax revenues necessary for supporting the growing senior population
c.
the need for Medicare
d.
the crude birth rate
e.
the crude death rate
26. The term demographic transition refers to
a.
a requirement for a population to reach a specific size before it becomes stable
b.
the slowing down in the growth of a population as it approaches the carrying capacity
c.
the decline in death rates followed by decline in birth rates when a country becomes
industrialized
d.
the decline in death rates followed by a decline in birth rates that occurred when the germ
theory of disease was discovered
e.
a stabilization of crude birth rates
27. The demographic transition model helps to explain why
a.
Death rates rise in industrializing nations.
b.
Industrialization leads to population growth.
c.
Development requires large populations.
d.
Birth rates fall before death rates.
e.
Death rates fall before birth rates.
28. In the demographic transition model, death rates fall while birth rates remain high during
a.
the preindustrial stage
b.
the industrial stage
c.
the postindustrial stage
d.
the transitional stage
e.
the pre and postindustrial phases
29. In the demographic transition model, birth and death rates are high during
a.
the preindustrial stage
b.
the industrial stage
c.
the postindustrial stage
d.
the transitional stage
e.
the preindustrial stage and the transitional stage
30. Scientific studies and experience have shown that the most effective ways to slow or stop population
growth are
a.
government intervention such as seen in China
b.
reduction of poverty
c.
elevating the status of women
d.
elevating the status of women and family planning and reproductive health care
e.
reduction of poverty, family planning and reproductive health care, and elevating the
status of women
31. Which of the following statements about women’s employment/economic status is false?
a.
Women do more than half of the work gathering fuelwood.
b.
Women do more than half of the work involved in producing food.
c.
Women have more than half of the world’s assets.
d.
Women provide more of the world’s health care than all of the world’s organized health
services put together.
e.
Women do almost all domestic work and child care.
32. Women possess ____ of the world’s land.
a.
less than 2%
b.
10%
c.
25%
d.
50%
e.
75%
33. Women receive about ____ of the world’s income.
a.
1%
b.
10%
c.
25%
d.
50%
e.
75%
34. One of the cultural preferences driving couples to continue having children in India is
a.
the preference for female children
b.
the desire to have both male and female children
c.
the preference for male children
d.
the perceived need for children to care for them in old age
e.
more than one of these answers
35. India ____ family-planning program.
a.
had the world’s first national
b.
has the world’s most successful
c.
has the world’s only national
d.
has the world’s largest
e.
all of these answers
36. China’s population policy has included all of the following except
a.
encouraging later marriages
b.
health, pension, and employment benefits for a one-child pledge
c.
urging couples to have no more than one child
d.
free access to birth control
e.
banning abortion
37. Between 1850 and the present time, the global urban revolution resulted in urban population increasing
from
a.
2% to 50%
b.
7% to 62%
c.
14% to 43%
d.
15% to 92%
e.
25% to 95%
38. There are currently a number of megacities on the planet, with populations greater than 10 million.
The most populous hypercity on the planet, with a population of 35 million people, is
a.
Mumbai in India
b.
Tokyo in Japan
c.
New York City in the United States
d.
Moscow in Russia
e.
Montreal in Canada
39. The urban growth occurring in the developing countries is
a.
generally well planned and orderly
b.
helping to eliminate urban poverty
c.
generally offset by migration to rural areas
d.
caused by both immigration and natural increase
e.
stabilizing and expected to decline in the next decade
40. It can be said that poverty is becoming _____ urbanized, mostly in _____ countries.
a.
less, developing
b.
increasingly, developed
c.
increasingly, developing
d.
less, developed
e.
somewhat, both developed and developing
41. Since 1980, the U.S. population has
a.
shifted to the north and east
b.
shifted to the north and west
c.
shifted to the south and east
d.
shifted to the south and west
e.
shifted to the north as people seek cooler areas because of global warming
42. Which of the following factors can be said to favor urban sprawl?
a.
cheap gasoline
b.
affordable land and increased prosperity
c.
increased prosperity, affordable land and cheap gasoline
d.
poor urban planning
e.
cheap gasoline, affordable land, increased prosperity and poor urban planning
43. Urban populations occupy only about 2% of Earth’s land area, but they consume ____ of its resources.
a.
10%
b.
20%
c.
45%
d.
55%
e.
75%
44. The world’s most populous cities, in order, from largest to smallest are:
a.
Mumbai, Beijing, Mexico City, New York City, Sao Paulo
b.
Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Mumbai, Beijing, Seoul
c.
Cairo, Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbae, Mexico City
d.
Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Mexico City, New York City
e.
Mexico City, Beijing, Seoul, New York City, Tokyo
45. Which of the following climate conditions are generally higher in urban areas than in suburbs and rural
areas?
a.
cloud cover
b.
temperature
c.
fog and precipitation
d.
cloud cover, fog and precipitation
e.
temperature, fog, cloud cover and precipitation
46. A city can be described as a
a.
cool pocket
b.
dust bowl
c.
heat island
d.
wind tunnel
e.
heat island and wind tunnel
47. “Fecal snow” is characteristic of
a.
Sao Paulo
b.
Mexico City
c.
Calcutta
d.
Rio de Janeiro
e.
Bombay
48. Breathing the air of Mexico City is like smoking _____ pack(s) of cigarettes each day.
a.
One
b.
Two
c.
Three
d.
Four
e.
Five
49. In the future, coastal cities will likely be faced with
a.
severe water shortages when the mountaintop glaciers that feed the watersheds coming
into these cities are reduced by global warming
b.
flooding as sea levels rise secondary to global warming
c.
higher populations as people move from arid areas because of droughts
d.
no major changes in water availability or population size
e.
changes in water availability, but no changes in population size
50. In the United States, ____ of all urban transportation is by car.
a.
68%
b.
78%
c.
88%
d.
98%
e.
48%
51. Which of the following statements are false?
a.
The United States is a car-centered nation.
b.
One-third of the world’s passenger cars and commercial vehicles are in the United States.
c.
Three of every four United States residents drive alone to work every day.
d.
All Americans, combined, drive about the same distance in a year as all other drivers in
the world combined.
e.
About 10% of United States residents drive to work alone every day.