Human Geo Unit 2

Identify 4 physical factors that influence the distribution of human populations.

Four physical factors that influence the distribution of human populations are:

• Climate: Mild or temperate climates attract people, while extreme heat, cold, or dryness limits settlement.

• Water Supply: Proximate access to fresh water is required for drinking, farming, and transportation.

• Topography: Flat plains and low-lying valleys are easier to build on and farm than steep mountains.

• Soil Quality: Fertile soils support agricultural productivity and food production, sustaining larger populations.

Identify and define arithmetic, physiological, and agricultural density.

The three types of population density are defined as follows:

• Arithmetic Density: The total number of people divided by the total land area. It measures the average number of people living in a specific unit of area (such as per square kilometer).

• Physiological Density: The total number of people divided by the total area of arable land (land suitable for agriculture). It shows how much pressure a population puts on its food-producing land.

• Agricultural Density: The total number of farmers divided by the total area of arable land. It indicates the economic efficiency of farming, where a lower number usually signifies highly mechanized, commercial agriculture.

How do you calculate arithmetic population density?

Total population

divvied by total land area

Which country likely has a higher physiological population density, Egypt or the US? Why?

Egypt has a higher physiological density because 95% of its territory is desert, forcing its entire population to pack into the tiny fertile strip along the Nile River. In contrast, the US has vast expanses of farmable land, spreading its population out more safely.

Which types of countries have a lower agricultural population density: more developed

countries or less developed countries? Why?

More developed countries have a lower agricultural density.

• High Mechanization: They use advanced machinery (like tractors and combines), allowing a very small number of farmers to manage massive amounts of land.

• Economic Structure: Most people work in technology, industry, or service jobs rather than farming.

In contrast, less developed countries rely on intensive manual labor, requiring many more farmers per acre.

Define carrying capacity.

Carrying capacity is the maximum population size of a species that a specific environment can sustainably support over time without degrading its available resources (such as food, water, and habitat).

. Review how to read a population pyramid. Using the following, identify:

- Which country will not have enough jobs for people in the future?

- Which country will not have enough workers?

- Which country has the lowest NIR?

- Identify the stage of the DTM for each country.

• ot enough jobs in the future: Country A (Wide base means a massive wave of future job seekers).

• Not enough workers: Country D (Narrow base and top-heavy pyramid mean fewer working-age people to support the elderly).

• Lowest NIR: Country D (Narrowest base, indicating lowest birth rates and slow/negative growth).

• DTM Stages:

  • Country A: Stage 2 (Rapid growth: wide base)

  • Country B: Stage 3 (Moderate growth: base starts narrowing)

  • Country C: Stage 3/4 (Slow growth/Stable: straight or slightly constrained sides)

  • Country D: Stage 4/5 (Low/Negative growth: inverted or top-heavy pyramid)

What is NIR, and how do you calculate it?

NIR stands for Natural Increase Rate, which is the percentage by which a population grows or declines in a year, excluding migration.

To calculate NIR, use the following formula: NIR=CBR-CDR/10

What is TFR

TFR stands for Total Fertility Rate.

What is IMR, and how is it related to TFR

MR stands for Infant Mortality Rate, which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births in a given year. IMR and TFR are strongly positively correlated: when IMR is high, TFR tends to be high, and when IMR drops, TFR typically declines.

What is population doubling time?

Population doubling time is the projected number of years it takes for a population to double in size, assuming its current growth rate remains constant.

Identify the stages of the DTM, and what we see for: birth rate, death rate, and NIR

The Demographic Transition Model (DTM) consists of 5 stages tracking how a country's population changes as its economy develops:

Stage	Birth Rate (CBR)	Death Rate (CDR)	Natural Increase Rate (NIR)
Stage 1: High Stationary	Very High	Very High	Low / Negligible (Stable)
Stage 2: Early Expanding	Very High	Plummeting Rapidly	Very High (Rapid Growth)
Stage 3: Late Expanding	Declining Sharply	Declining Slowly	Moderate / Slowing
Stage 4: Low Stationary	Very Low	Very Low	Low / Zero Growth (Stable)
Stage 5: Declining	Extremely Low (Below CDR)	Low / Rising Slightly	Negative (Population Shrinking)

Identify what causes us to move from Stage 1 -> 2, 2 -> 3, 3 -> 4, and 4 -> 5 of the DTM.

• Stage 1

  →right arrow

  →

  2: Medical & Industrial Revolutions. Clean water, sanitation, and vaccines cause death rates to plummet, while birth rates stay high.

• Stage 2

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  3: Urbanization & Women's Education. Moving to cities makes children expensive, while rising female literacy and contraception lower birth rates.

• Stage 3

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  4: Gender Equality & Service Economies. Women prioritize higher education and careers, causing birth rates to permanently drop and match low death rates.

• Stage 4

  →right arrow

  →

  5: High Living Costs & Aging Populations. Career-focused lifestyles lower birth rates below replacement level, while a large elderly population slightly raises death rates.

What is the ETM? Describe the 5 stages

The ETM (Epidemiological Transition Model) tracks how primary causes of death shift from infectious to chronic diseases as a society develops:

• Stage 1: Pestilence & Famine: High deaths from infectious diseases, epidemics (e.g., Black Plague), and food shortages.

• Stage 2: Receding Pandemics: Rapidly dropping death rates due to improved sanitation, nutrition, clean water, and medicine.

• Stage 3: Degenerative Diseases: Deaths shift from infections to chronic, age-related conditions like heart disease and cancer.

• Stage 4: Delayed Degenerative: Medical advances (chemotherapy, surgeries) delay the fatal impacts of chronic illnesses, extending life expectancy.

• Stage 5: Reemergence: Infectious diseases return or mutate due to antibiotic resistance, global travel, and urbanization.

What is Malthus's theory?

Malthusian Theory states that human population grows exponentially, while food production grows arithmetically.

What is Esther Boserup's refutation of Malthus's theory?

Esther Boserup refuted Malthus by arguing that population growth drives technological innovation in agriculture, rather than being limited by it.

What is sustainability?

Sustainability is the practice of meeting our current economic, social, and environmental needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Identify two pro-natalist and two anti-natalist policies, and define what pro/anti natalist is.

Pro-natalist policies are government programs designed to encourage citizens to have more children to combat declining populations or aging workforces.

Anti-natalist policies are government programs designed to discourage citizens from having children to slow down rapid population growth that strains resources.

Describe an effect of China's one-child policy.

An effect of China's one-child policy is a severe gender imbalance, resulting in a significant shortage of women

What is the effect of women on TFR?

The increasing empowerment, education, and employment of women is the primary driver behind the decline in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) globally.

What is the dependency ratio?

The number of people under the age of 15, and the number of people over the age of 64 compared to the number of people actively in the workfroce.

Give one each of ESPeN (economic, social, political, enviornmental) for push and pull

factors of migration

Category	Push Factors (Why people leave)	Pull Factors (Why people arrive)
Economic	High unemployment or low wages in the home country.	Job opportunities and higher earning potential elsewhere.
Social	Religious persecution or discrimination against a minority group.	Proximity to family or access to better education and healthcare.
Political	Civil war or oppressive government regimes threating personal safety.	Political stability, civil liberties, and democratic freedoms.
Environmental	Severe droughts or natural disasters ruining local crop fields.	Temperate climates and stable, resource-rich land conditions.

What are Ravenstein's laws of migration?

E.G. Ravenstein's Laws of Migration are a series of generalizations formulated in the 1880s that describe recurring patterns and trends in human migration.

What are IDPs, Refugees, and Asylum seekers?

The three categories of displaced individuals are defined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as follows:

• Refugees: People who have been forced to flee their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution, war, violence, or human rights violations. They have crossed an international border and are legally protected by international law.

• Asylum Seekers: People who have fled their country and crossed an international border, but whose claim for refugee status has not yet been officially validated. They are waiting for a foreign government to legally review their request for sanctuary.

• IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons): People who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, violence, or natural disasters, but remain within their country's borders. They do not cross an international boundary, meaning they do not receive international legal protections and must rely on their own government for safety.

Define step migration and chain migration

• Step Migration: A migration pattern that occurs in a series of smaller, progressive moves rather than one long journey. For example, a migrant might move from a rural village to a nearby town, then to a regional city, and finally to a major metropolis over time.

• Chain Migration: A pattern where people migrate to a specific destination because family members, friends, or members of their home community have previously moved there, creating a "chain" of support, information, and housing for newcomers.

Define transhumance, and identify what kind of agriculture works best with transhumance.

• Transhumance: The seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures, typically driven by pastoral herders moving between high-altitude mountains in the summer and lower valleys in the winter.

• Best Agricultural Type: Pastoral Nomadism (or Nomadic Herding) and Extensive Livestock Ranching. It works best with pastoral agriculture in arid, semi-arid, or mountainous environments where crops cannot easily grow year-round.

Define forced migration and give a US historical example.

• Forced Migration: A permanent move forced by cultural, political, or environmental factors where the migrant has no choice but to relocate.

• U.S. Historical Example: The Trail of Tears (1830s), where the U.S. government forcibly removed Native American nations (including the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole) from their ancestral homelands in the Southeast to designated "Indian Territory" (present-day Oklahoma). Another major example is the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which forcibly brought millions of enslaved Africans to the U.S.

What is xenophobia?

Xenophobia is the fear, hatred, or prejudice against people from other countries, cultures, or ethnic backgrounds.

What are remittances?

Remittances are money, goods, or funds that migrants send back to their families or friends in their country of origin.

What is a developed country vs. a developing country

• Developed Country (MDC): Highly industrialized with high incomes, advanced infrastructure, low birth/death rates, and high life expectancy (DTM Stage 4/5). Examples: USA, Japan, Germany.

• Developing Country (LDC): In the process of industrializing with lower incomes, higher birth rates, lower life expectancy, and a heavy focus on agriculture (DTM Stage 2/3). Examples: Kenya, Guatemala, Afghanistan.

What are two current refugee crises, and what is causing them?

• Syria: Driven by a long-running civil war, political instability, and widespread violence that began in 2011.

• Sudan: Driven by intense military conflict and power struggles between armed forces that broke out in 2023, leading to extreme violence and food shortages.

What are the social, political, and economic impacts of refugees on a receiving country?

• Social: Adds cultural diversity, but can strain public services (schools, healthcare) and lead to social friction or xenophobia.

• Political: Sparks debate over border policies/elections and forces changes to immigration and asylum laws.

• Economic: Fills labor shortages and boosts long-term growth (taxes, spending), but requires high short-term initial aid costs.