AP Human Geography Unit 2 - Vocab

Population Distribution

the pattern of human settlement; the spread of people across the earth. representing it on a map highlights places that are crowded, sparsely settled, or empty

Population distribution examples

crowded, sparsely settled, empty

population density

a measure of the average population per square mile or kilometer of an area

population density examples

measures how crowded a place is; arithmatic density, physiological density, agricultural density

social stratification

the hierarchical division of people into groups based on factors such as economic status, power, and/or ethnicity

social stratification examples

rich vs. poor, black vs. white, CEO vs. janitor

arithmatic density

calculated by dividing a region’s population by it’s total area

arithmatic density examples

in 2019, the US had a population of 328,239,523 in a total area of 3,841,999 mi². Therefore its arithmatic density would be 35.9 people per square kilometer

physiological density

calculated by dividing population by the amount of arable land

physiological density examples

Egypt (with 2.8% arable land) recently had a physiological density of 8,078 mi² compared to an arithmetic density of 226 mi²

agricultural density

compares the number of farmers to the area of arable land; more developed countries have lower percentages

agricultural density examples

netherlands has an agricultural density of 31/mi²

arable land

land suitable for growing crops

infrastructure

the term used to refer to the facilities and structures that allows people to carry out their typical activites

infrastructure examples

swer systems, electrical grids, roads and bridges, etc.

carrying capacity

the number of people a region can support without damaging the environment

population pyramid

a tool used to study population; based on age and gender data, but can provide information on birth rates, death rates, average life expectancy, economic development; can also give evidence of past events such as environmental hazards, wars, political changes, and epidemics; also called age-sex composition graph

birth deficit

when men and women are separated during a war, or decide to hold off on children until after the war and there's a slowdown of births

baby boom

when hostilities end and peace resumes, the birth rate often spikes, causing this to happen

baby bust

when a baby boom ends and birth rates lower for several years

echo

with a high number of boomers in the population having children, there can be a significant increase in births that shows up as a bulge on a pyramid; this increase reflects and earlier baby boom

dependent population

people under 15 or over 64; considered this because they’re too young or too old to work full-time and therefore assumed to rely on the economically active workforce to keep society running. 

dependency ratio

the comparison between the dependent population and the potential workforce

crude birth rate (CBR)

the number of live births per year for each 1,000 people

total fertility rate (TFR)

the average number of children who would be born per woman of that group in a country, assuming every woman lived through her childbearing years

life expectancy

the average number of years people live

Infant mortality rate

the number of children who die before their first birthday

infant mortality rate examples

in Massachusetts, the infant mortality rate of 130/1,000 births in 1850, to about 4 today

crude death rate (CDR)

the amount of deaths per year for every 1,000 people

rate of natural increase (NIR)

the percentage at which a country’s population is growing or declining, without the impact of migration; formula is :RNI=(CBR-CDR)/10

doubling time

for any quantity growing exponentially, the time it takes to double in size; estimated using an equation known as the rules of 70 of 70/NIR

doubling time examples

in 2014, Ivory Coast had a population growth rate of about 2.0 since 70 divided by 2 equals 35, and assuming growth rate remains about a 2.0, the population of Ivory Coast will double in 35 years.