Deck 5: Geography, Demography, Ecology, and Society

Question 1

Some pollution is an inevitable consequence of production, presenting society with a:

A) tradeoff involving both costs and benefits.
B) standoff with no losers.
C) problem which can only be solved by technology.
D) clear choice without any debate.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Human ecology applies some of the findings of:

A) the humanities to the physical sciences.
B) the social sciences to the arts.
C) the exact sciences to astronomy.
D) the biological sciences to the problems of social science.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In 2010 the approximate population of the world was just under:

A) 3 billion people
B) 7 billion people.
C) 10 billion people.
D) 20 billion people.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Individual success depends on:

A) only biological factors.
B) only social factors.
C) one factor - genetics.
D) both social environment and biological inheritance.

Question 5

In 1798 "an Essay on the Principle of Population as It Affects the Future Improvement of Society" was written by:

A) Diderot.
B) Thomas Jefferson.
C) Charles Darwin.
D) Thomas Malthus.

Question 6

What do demographers believe to be true of worldwide birthrates?

A) Birthrates will continue to rise as they have since 1909.
B) Birthrates will continue to decline as they have since 1909.
C) Birthrates will continue to elude demographers as counting births is nearly impossible.
D) Birthrates will only increase in prosperous Westernized nations.

Question 7

The science concerned with the interactions between living things and their environment is called:

A) soil science.
B) political science.
C) physics.
D) ecology.

Question 8

World population has grown rapidly since the 1800s because:

A) the death rate has declined.
B) per capita output of food has declined.
C) per capita output of manufactured goods has declined.
D) sanitation has not changed since ancient times.

Question 9

Birthrate and death rate are:

A) secondary factors in population growth.
B) key determinants of population.
C) not influenced by government policies.
D) always equal.

Question 10

The elements in our surroundings that are human or of human origin are called:

A) the social environment.
B) the physical environment.
C) the material environment.
D) the supernatural environment.

Question 11

Large and rapid increases in population in the developing areas of the world often occur:

A) and lower standards of living.
B) with only positive economic consequences.
C) and reduce the danger of food shortages.
D) without social consequences.

Question 12

Some fear a serious deterioration of the biological quality of the human population because:

A) intelligent individuals will choose careers over family leaving the less advantaged and less educated to bear the majority of children.
B) the birth rates are declining meaning the chances of healthy offspring is decreasing.
C) the birth rates are increasing meaning the available talent of a society is being spread more thinly.
D) of the limited interchange between people with different enough genes.

Question 13

The U.S. Census Bureau (1990 census) has reported that:

A) everyone was counted in 1990.
B) no double counting occurred in 1990.
C) it actually missed about 12 million people.
D) there were no disputes about its count.

Question 14

The decline in birthrate in the United States and Western Europe may:

A) not last.
B) lead to more multiple births.
C) make people less willing to accept the responsibility of raising large families.
D) lead to more adoption.

Question 15

The study of the number and characteristics of a population is called:

A) anatomy.
B) biodiversity.
C) demography.
D) geology.

Question 16

Geography considers all of the following except:

A) why cities are located where they are.
B) why some areas develop while others don't.
C) why rivers flow in certain directions.
D) how technology can affect development.

Question 17

Most species depend on:

A) other species for food or other needs.
B) themselves.
C) the lack of interdependence in nature to survive.
D) inability to adjust to changing environments to survive.

Question 18

Julian Simon argues that:

A) there is an optimal population size.
B) there are limits to population growth.
C) people are an unlimited resource.
D) people cannot support through technology larger populations.

Question 19

Population growth in the United States and Western Europe has slowed because of:

A) population decline due to higher death rates.
B) birth control.
C) population migration away from these areas.
D) government policies of forced deportation.

Question 20

Industrial pollution, depletion of water table and smokestack emissions are all:

A) threats to the ecological balance.
B) signs of improved environmental conditions.
C) evidence of human progress without environment costs.
D) ways of stabilizing the ecological balance forever.

Question 21

Census statistics are very accurate and reliable with low amounts of error.

Question 22

The Malthusian Theory is the idea that the means of subsistence tends to outrun the growth of population.

Question 23

What is the leading cause for the increase in energy cost?

A) Saddam Hussein's torching of oil wells during the Gulf War.
B) The on-going conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.
C) The extremely fast growth of the Chinese economy demanding energy and causing a shortage worldwide.
D) The greed of a few oil moguls who control the resources and the political machines that regulate the oil markets worldwide.

Question 24

The most important U.S. government antipollution agency is the:

A) Coast Guard.
B) Environmental Protection Agency.
C) Federal Reserve Board.
D) Food and Drug Administration.

Question 25

Emissions reduction to control global warming is:

A) not a controversial issue.
B) equally applied to both developed and developing nations.
C) a much debated issue.
D) no longer a political problem.

Question 26

It is less important to know which social science has had a particular idea than it is to know the idea itself.

Question 27

The birthrate in Europe and the United States has been rising since the year 1800.

Question 28

In the early 2000s, the National Geographic-Roper study found that just about half of U.S. citizens could find New York on a map.

Question 29

A census is an official, systematic count of the number of people who live in an area.

Question 30

Birth control has not been effective in slowing population growth in the United States.

Question 31

Environmental issues:

A) are limited to internal affairs of nations.
B) are exclusively domestic policy issues.
C) involve both national and international dimensions.
D) can all be solved without any legislation.

Question 32

The current world death rate is more than 50.0 per thousand, which is higher than in the past.

Question 33

Demographic problems are:

A) constantly changing.
B) the least important problems in developing countries.
C) without influence on political issues.
D) only important in geography.

Question 34

China has the largest population of any country with about 1.3 billion people.

Question 35

Demographers classify and count people on the basic of characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, occupation, income, nationality, and race.

Question 36

The first reliable census of a European country was taken by Sweden in 1749.

Question 37

North America has the largest population of people in the world.

Question 38

Thomas Malthus was interested in the relationship of population to the means of human subsistence.

Question 39

The decline of the death rate has resulting in the great increase in world population since 1800.

Question 40

Sanitation and improved health care have increased rates of population growth.

Question 41

Julian Simon argues that there can be no such thing as too many people.

Question 42

What is geography? What questions does geography consider?

Question 43

How do geography, demography and environment interact? What is the importance of the ecological balance, pollution, and conservation?

Question 44

"NIMBY" refers to a way of thinking where citizens fight against the building of nuclear waste facilities near where they live.

Question 45

China and India would not have had to comply with the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions.

Question 46

Any statements about optimal population are inevitably culturally determined.

Question 47

The United States met the year 2000 deadline for emission control set by the Kyoto Protocol.

Question 48

Modern times have brought about stability in the ecological balance.

Question 49

What is demography? What key factors determine the population of any country?

Question 50

Some societies have attempted to control the genetic qualities of their population by offering bonuses to college educated women for having children and to less educated mothers who opt to be sterilized.

Question 51

Compare and contrast the theories of Thomas Robert Malthus and Julian Simon.

Question 52

The optimal population is the population that would maximize welfare for its members.

Question 53

As a country gets richer demographic problems increase while ecological problems decline.

Question 54

The increase in the price of gas has caused American consumers to conserve energy by traveling less.

Question 55

How has the growth of population changed over time? Why has world population grown rapidly but unequally since the 1800s?