Question 1

Why do growth rates appear to be declining in many human populations?

Accepted Answer

A)   Families are choosing to have fewer children.
B)   Death rates are increasing due to disease epidemics and famines.
C)   Birth rates are decreasing due to famine.
D)   The carrying capacity has been reached. A

Question 2

Students studying a population of salamanders in a vernal pool mark each salamander caught as it's entering the pool. During the first spring migration to the pool, the students mark 200 salamanders. The following year, they again capture 200 salamanders. Of these, 20 were from the previous year. Students use this information to calculate that they captured ________ of the total population and that the total salamander population in their pool is about ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   20%; 200
B)   10%; 2000
C)   20%; 2000
D)   10%; 200 B

Question 3

True or false: The human population may continue to increase even though it surpasses carrying capacity.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 4

Which factor is density-dependent?

Accepted Answer

A)   decrease in temperature
B)   increase in waste production
C)   decrease in frequency of hurricanes
D)   increase in rainfall

Question 5

What results as the size of a population approaches the carrying capacity of its environment?

Accepted Answer

A)   The growth rate increases.
B)   A graph of population growth resembles a "J."
C)   The population stabilizes at its maximum size.
D)   Birth rates become proportionally much greater than the death rates.

Question 6

Which factor is directly involved in calculating NPP?

Accepted Answer

A)   the change in growth of the human population
B)   the amount of solar energy converted to chemical energy by plants
C)   the amount of chemical energy required by plants to support themselves
D)   the number of births and deaths in a population over one year

Question 7

-According to this plot, how are growth rate and doubling time related?

Accepted Answer

A)   directly proportional
B)   inversely proportional
C)   not related to one another
D)   equally proportional to one another

Question 8

When considering the growth of the human population, how is the annual growth rate determined?

Accepted Answer

A)   The average number of births for the whole population is subtracted from the average number of deaths for the whole population.
B)   The average number of deaths for the whole population is subtracted from the average number of births for the whole population.
C)   The number of births for the whole population over an entire year is averaged together.
D)   The number of births for the whole population is averaged and added to the number of immigrants for the year.

Question 9

New England salt marshes experience a greater amount of plant growth in a given area in one year than any other temperate ecosystem. What characteristic do these salt marshes have?

Accepted Answer

A)   low net primary productivity (NPP) 
B)   high biodiversity
C)   high NPP
D)   an unlimited carrying capacity

Question 10

When does a population reach the carrying capacity of the environment?

Accepted Answer

A)   The environment can't support a further increase in the population.
B)   The environment can't support the current population.
C)   It has entered an extended period of exponential growth.
D)   The food supply in that particular environment begins to decrease.

Question 11

Which factor explains a uniform distribution of individuals in a population?

Accepted Answer

A)   soil nutrients available to a species of plant
B)   territoriality in a species of bird
C)   oxygen levels in a pond, where an oxygen-dependent bacterial species lives
D)   food availability for humans living in a certain geographic area

Question 12

When you look at the spacing of humans on a global level, what type of distribution does the population follow?

Accepted Answer

A)   clumped
B)   uniform
C)   random
D)   indescribable

Question 13

True or false: A population can be clumped at one scale and uniform at another.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Although Americans make up less than 5% of the total human population, what percentage of the world's resources do Americans generally use?

Accepted Answer

A)   51%
B)   24%
C)   73%
D)   82%

Question 15

True or false: Net primary productivity refers to all the energy in the plants and animals in a food chain at any particular time.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Approximately how many people are on Earth today?

Accepted Answer

A)   7 million
B)   70 million
C)   700 million
D)   7 billion

Question 17

True or false: Global human population growth rates have declined since the 1960s by about 1%.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

How does exponential growth appear on a graph?

Accepted Answer

A)   as a straight line
B)   as an "S" curve
C)   as a "J" curve
D)   as a wavy line that goes up and down regularly

Question 19

Which mathematical symbol represents the carrying capacity of a population?

Accepted Answer

A)   K
B)   r
C)   J
D)   S

Question 20

Driving along a rural two-lane highway, you notice a kestrel perched on a telephone line approximately every mile or so. This pattern continues for quite a few miles. What type of distribution applies to this example?

Accepted Answer

A)   clumped
B)   uniform
C)   random
D)   normal

Exam 14: Is the Human Population Too Large Population Ecology

Why do growth rates appear to be declining in many human populations?

True or false: The human population may continue to increase even though it surpasses carrying capacity.

Which factor is density-dependent?

What results as the size of a population approaches the carrying capacity of its environment?

Which factor is directly involved in calculating NPP?

-According to this plot, how are growth rate and doubling time related?

When considering the growth of the human population, how is the annual growth rate determined?

New England salt marshes experience a greater amount of plant growth in a given area in one year than any other temperate ecosystem. What characteristic do these salt marshes have?

When does a population reach the carrying capacity of the environment?

Which factor explains a uniform distribution of individuals in a population?

When you look at the spacing of humans on a global level, what type of distribution does the population follow?

True or false: A population can be clumped at one scale and uniform at another.

Although Americans make up less than 5% of the total human population, what percentage of the world's resources do Americans generally use?

True or false: Net primary productivity refers to all the energy in the plants and animals in a food chain at any particular time.

Approximately how many people are on Earth today?

True or false: Global human population growth rates have declined since the 1960s by about 1%.

How does exponential growth appear on a graph?

Which mathematical symbol represents the carrying capacity of a population?

Driving along a rural two-lane highway, you notice a kestrel perched on a telephone line approximately every mile or so. This pattern continues for quite a few miles. What type of distribution applies to this example?