Set 1 - AP Human Geography - Population Distribution, Density, Composition, and Dynamics Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering population distribution factors, density calculation methods, composition indicators, population growth dynamics, and the Demographic and Epidemiological Transition Models.

Ecumene

The habitable areas of the world where human populations permanently settle.

The Five Toos

Refers to the harsh environmental conditions that people generally avoid for settlement: environments that are too hot, too cold, too wet, too hilly, or too dry.

Norilsk, Siberia Case Study

A city of nearly 200,000 people located north of the Arctic Circle that serves as an example of economic factors (holding the world's largest known nickel deposits) overcoming extreme environmental limitations.

Arithmetic Population Density

The total population divided by total land area, calculated as $\frac{\text{Total population}}{\text{Land area (sq. mi)}}$. It provides a general average density but does not reveal population clustering or dispersal.

Physiological Population Density

The total population divided by arable land area, calculated as $\frac{\text{Total population}}{\text{Arable Land (sq. mi)}}$. It reveals the pressure that a population exerts on its agriculturally productive land.

Agricultural Population Density

The number of farmers divided by arable land area, calculated as $\frac{\text{Farmers}}{\text{Arable Land (sq. mi)}}$. Low agricultural density typically indicates high technological mechanization in MDCs, whereas high density reflects hand farming in LDCs.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size that an environment can sustain using available resources without causing environmental damage or unsustainably depleting natural resources.

Redistricting

The political process of redrawing electoral district boundaries every 10 years following the Census to ensure districts maintain roughly equal population sizes.

Population Structure / Composition

The breakdown of a population by age groups and biological sex, such as the proportions of children, the elderly, males, and females.

Population Pyramid

A bar graph showing the distribution of population by age groups and gender, used to evaluate growth or decline trends and predict future market demand for goods and services at various spatial scales.

Dependency Ratio

A demographic metric calculated as $\left(\frac{\text{Population under 15 + Population 65 and over}}{\text{Working-age population (ages 15 to 64)}}\right) \times 100$, measuring the pressure placed on the working population.

Sex Ratio

The proportion of males to females in a given population, influenced by factors such as military conflict, female healthcare accessibility, migration, and sex-selective practices.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The total number of live births occurring within one year for every 1,000 people in a population.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman is projected to give birth to throughout her childbearing years.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years a person is expected to live based on current mortality patterns.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The total number of deaths occurring within one year for every 1,000 people in a population.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

The number of infant deaths under one year of age occurring for every 1,000 live births.

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI / NIR)

The annual percentage rate of population growth or decline determined solely by the difference between birth rates and death rates, excluding migration.

Population Growth Rate

A holistic measure of annual population change that incorporates both natural increase (CBR minus CDR) and net migration (immigrants minus emigrants).

Doubling Time

The projected number of years required for a population to double its total size, assuming a constant rate of natural increase.

Pro-Natalist Population Policies

Government initiatives and incentives designed to encourage citizens to have more children and increase total fertility rates.

Anti-Natalist Population Policies

Government initiatives, policies, or disincentives implemented to reduce birth rates and lower overall population growth.

Baby Boom

A marked spike in birth rates, such as the post-World War II period in the United States between 1946 and 1965 driven by peace, economic expansion, and traditional cultural roles.

Demography

The statistical study of human populations, including their size, structure, growth, distribution, and vital statistics.

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

A spatial model comprising five distinct stages that explains and predicts historical and future trends in population growth, decline, birth rates, death rates, and natural increase rates over time.

Zero Population Growth (ZPG)

A condition in Stage 5 of the Demographic Transition Model where crude birth rates decline to equal crude death rates, resulting in an RNI of zero or replacement-level TFR ($2.1$).

Epidemiological Transition Model (ETM)

A model describing the primary causes of death and changing life expectancy patterns that societies experience as they undergo economic development, corresponding directly to DTM stages.

Pestilence and Famine (ETM Stage 1)

The initial stage of epidemiologic transition defined by high death rates caused by infectious diseases, epidemics, animal attacks, malnutrition, and widespread mortality from conditions like Cholera and Bubonic Plague.

Reemergence of Infectious Diseases (ETM Stage 5)

A theoretical stage of the epidemiological transition model where drug-resistant bacteria, parasite evolution, and global travel lead to the resurgence of infectious diseases such as Ebola and COVID-19.