Deck 15: Population, Urbanization, and Environment

Question 1

Fecundity refers to

A) the incidence of childbearing in a nation's population.
B) the maximum number of children a woman can have.
C) the study of women who have had children.
D) life expectancy for a nation's newborn children.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

According to Emile Durkheim, while traditional, rural societies are held together by_____ , modern urban societies are held together by_____ .

A) money; morals
B) difference; likeness
C) likeness; difference
D) choice; conformity

Answer 2

likeness; difference

Question 3

Demography is defined as the study of

A) human culture.
B) the physical environment.
C) democratic politics.
D) human population.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In which of the following global regions do people have the highest life expectancy?

A) North America
B) Asia
C) Latin America
D) Africa

Question 5

Which global region has BOTH the world's highest birth rate and the world's highest infant mortality rate?

A) Africa
B) Latin America
C) Europe
D) Asia

Question 6

Read the following four statements about migration. Which statement is NOT correct?

A) Migration may be voluntary or involuntary.
B) Migration does not affect population size.
C) Movement out of a territory is called "emigration."
D) Movement into a territory is called "immigration."

Question 7

Today, the world is home to about _____people.

A) 1.8 billion
B) 3.8 billion
C) 6.8 billion
D) 180 million

Question 8

Due to migration within the United States, the region of the country where a number of counties have actually lost population in recent years is the

A) Great Plains, from North Dakota down to Texas.
B) West Coast, from Washington down to California.
C) South, including Florida.
D) Northeast, especially New Jersey.

Question 9

The region of the United States where a number of counties have lost population due to out-migration is

A) the West Coast, from Washington down to California.
B) the South, including Florida.
C) the Great Plains, from North Dakota down to Texas.
D) the Northeast, especially New Jersey.

Question 10

Fertility refers to

A) the incidence of childbearing in a nation's population.
B) the maximum number of children a woman can have.
C) the study of women who have had children.
D) life expectancy for a nation's newborn children.

Question 11

Mounting evidence suggests that human society is causing the average temperature of the planet to

A) remain steady.
B) rise.
C) fall.
D) change with the seasons.

Question 12

_____refers to the number of live births in a given year for every 1,000 people in a population.

A) Crude birth rate
B) Fecundity
C) Fertility
D) Refined birth rate

Question 13

The population of the world began to rise rapidly about

A) 25 years ago.
B) 250 years ago.
C) 250,000 years ago.
D) 2.5 million years ago.

Question 14

The United States is a high income country; its population growth is likely to result from

A) natural increase only.
B) immigration only.
C) emigration only.
D) both immigration and natural increase.

Question 15

In global perspective, North America's crude birth rate is

A) about average.
B) below average.
C) slightly above average.
D) well above average.

Question 16

Among which of the following categories of the U.S. population is fertility especially low?

A) single women
B) the Amish
C) people over the age of thirty-five
D) Asian Americans

Question 17

Which global region has BOTH the world's highest birth rate and the world's highest infant mortality rate?

A) Europe
B) Latin America
C) Africa
D) Asia

Question 18

In global perspective, fertility in North America is

A) much higher than average.
B) somewhat higher than average.
C) about average.
D) low.

Question 19

Demography is defined as the study of

A) the physical environment.
B) human culture.
C) human population.
D) democratic politics.

Question 20

Which of the following accounts for most of the water use in the world today?

A) industry
B) golf courses and other recreational settings
C) households
D) agriculture

Question 21

Thomas Robert Malthus argued that

A) societies would steadily raise living standards in decades to come.
B) population would increase in geometric progression.
C) food production would increase so fast that future generations would be condemned to lives of obesity.
D) food and other resources would increase in geometric progression.

Question 22

Typically, low-income nations grow mostly from_____ , while high-income nations grow from _____.

A) emigration; natural increase
B) immigration; natural increase
C) internal migration; natural increase
D) natural increase; a mix of immigration and natural increase

Question 23

The basic idea behind demographic transition theory is that

A) both birth rates and death rates will steadily rise.
B) population increase is now greatest in rich nations with high technology.
C) population increase will outstrip the planet's ability to support us.
D) population patterns reflect a society's level of technological development.

Question 24

Compared with the United States, Mexico has a population that

A) is increasing more slowly.
B) is increasing more rapidly.
C) has a larger share of people over age sixty-five.
D) is, on average, older.

Question 25

To obtain a society's "doubling time," divide its annual population growth rate in percent into the number

A) 7700.
B) 700.
C) 70.
D) 7.

Question 26

In the United States, the birth rate is currently

A) slightly below the replacement level.
B) at about the replacement level.
C) slightly above the replacement level.
D) well above the replacement level.

Question 27

During the twentieth century, the population of the world

A) quadrupled.
B) doubled.
C) stayed about the same.
D) declined.

Question 28

For the first time, the world's population reached one billion by

A) 1900.
B) 1800.
C) 1700.
D) 1600.

Question 29

Throughout most of human history, families had many children. Which statement below is NOT a reason for families favoring a high number of children?

A) Schooling was both readily available and free.
B) Infectious disease kept death rates high.
C) Birth control was unreliable, at best.
D) Children were a needed source of labor.

Question 30

In general, what is the relationship between average level of income and population increase for countries around the world?

A) The lower the average income, the higher the rate of population increase.
B) All nations, regardless of income levels, have populations that are increasing at about the same rate.
C) The higher the average income, the higher the rate of population increase.
D) There is no clear pattern at all: Nations vary for many reasons.

Question 31

The demographic measure called "sex ratio" refers to

A) how effectively couples conceive children.
B) the ratio of children to adults in a population.
C) the number of females for every 100 males in the population.
D) the number of males for every 100 females in the population.

Question 32

Currently, about_____ of the global population increase is taking place in low-income nations.

A) 33 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 75 percent
D) 98 percent

Question 33

Read the following statements about population decline in high-income nations. Which statement is CORRECT?

A) The population pyramid for these countries will become less a pyramid and more like a square.
B) As population declines, the average age of the population will steadily decrease.
C) As average age increases, there will not be enough younger people to support the elderly population.
D) With fewer people to feed and clothe, these nations will save money.

Question 34

Why are sex ratios usually below 100?

A) Because many societies abort male fetuses.
B) Because more women than men are born.
C) Because women typically outlive men.
D) Because men typically outlive women.

Question 35

Which of the following nations would you expect to be most concerned about declining population?

A) a landlocked country such as Chad
B) a large country such as Brazil
C) a low-income country such as Bangladesh
D) a high-income country such as Japan

Question 36

According to demographic transition theory, in the preindustrial stage of economic development, population

A) increases very slowly.
B) increases very rapidly.
C) reaches a higher level than at any other point in history.
D) decreases rapidly.

Question 37

For societies at the postindustrial level of economic development, population

A) decreases rapidly.
B) falls to a lower level than at any other point in history.
C) increases very rapidly.
D) increases very slowly.

Question 38

Thomas Robert Malthus believed that

A) the world could support an ever-larger population.
B) industrialization would reduce the birth rate and reduce global population.
C) population increase would outstrip food production and eventually bring chaos to the world.
D) food production would increase faster than population.

Question 39

If a society has a sex ratio of 110, it is very likely that people there

A) attach little value to children.
B) value children of both sexes equally.
C) value daughters more than sons.
D) value sons more than daughters.

Question 40

"Zero population growth" refers to the level of reproduction that

A) maintains population at a steady state.
B) keeps the sex ratio at 100.
C) produces a perfect age-sex triangle.
D) will take the population steadily downward to zero.

Question 41

Which of the following is Emile Durkheim's concept that parallels Tönnies's Gesellschaft?

A) mechanical solidarity
B) organic solidarity
C) Gemeinschaft
D) the blasé urbanite

Question 42

Looking back in history, the first city we know of was

A) New York, in North America.
B) Jericho, in the Middle East.
C) Beijing, in Asia.
D) London, in Europe.

Question 43

The first permanent settlements emerged about _____ago.

A) 2,000 years
B) 6,000 years
C) 8,000 years
D) 10,000 years

Question 44

According to Ferdinand Tönnies, social organization in which people come together only on the basis of individual self-interest is called

A) organic solidarity.
B) mechanical solidarity.
C) Gesellschaft.
D) Gemeinschaft.

Question 45

Which of the following characterized the medieval cities of Europe?

A) a central business district
B) sprawling suburbs
C) winding streets and defensive walls
D) major roads that were wide and straight

Question 46

What is the study of the interaction of living organisms and the natural environment?

A) sociobiology
B) urban studies
C) demography
D) ecology

Question 47

If you were to compare Sunbelt cities, such as Houston, to Snowbelt cities, such as Chicago, what differences would you find?

A) Sunbelt cities have larger populations and are larger in physical size.
B) Sunbelt cities are typically smaller in size.
C) Sunbelt cities have smaller populations.
D) sunbelt cities lack the sprawl typical of Snowbelt cities.

Question 48

A third urban revolution is now taking place in

A) high-income nations.
B) middle-income nations.
C) low-income nations.
D) the United States.

Question 49

The concept "megalopolis" refers to

A) the "mother city."
B) the largest city in any country.
C) urban decay.
D) a vast urban region containing many cities and suburbs.

Question 50

In low-income countries, most population increase is due to

A) high fertility and falling death rates.
B) low fertility.
C) low fertility and rising death rates.
D) immigration.

Question 51

Among rural places in the United States, the greatest population increase has generally been those areas where people find

A) striking natural beauty.
B) the fewest available jobs
C) the greatest use of mass transit.
D) large central cities nearby.

Question 52

With the beginning of urban decentralization, which of the following trends were evident?

A) Edge cities disappeared.
B) Rural areas have steadily lost population.
C) Old industrial cities in the Northeast and Midwest stopped increasing in population.
D) People began moving from the suburbs to the central cities.

Question 53

Which of the following concepts refers to the optimistic approach to environmental issues that claims science can promote progress and solve environmental problems?

A) the sustainability thesis
B) the Malthusian thesis
C) the limits of growth
D) the logic of growth

Question 54

According to Emile Durkheim, while traditional rural societies are held together based on_____ , modern urban societies are based on_____ .

A) choice; conformity
B) money; morals
C) difference; likeness
D) likeness; difference

Question 55

The concept "environmental deficit" refers to

A) long-term harm to the environment caused by a short-sighted focus on material affluence.
B) the fact that too few people are engaged in the study of the natural environment.
C) the fact that natural scientists do not appreciate the social dimensions of environmental problems.
D) humanity's success in protecting the environment for future generations.

Question 56

A majority of the U.S. population lived in urban places by

A) 1985.
B) 1960.
C) 1920.
D) 1880.

Question 57

The Industrial Revolution influenced urbanization in many ways, including where cities were cited. If you were to look back in history, you would find that almost every U.S. city was founded

A) on a waterway.
B) in the West.
C) on an island.
D) in a valley.

Question 58

With the Industrial Revolution, how did cities change?

A) Their populations became much smaller.
B) Broad and straight boulevards gave way to winding streets.
C) Street life became much more personal.
D) The dominant buildings were no longer cathedrals but businesses and factories.

Question 59

In the United States, the industrial metropolis reached its peak about

A) 1975.
B) 1950.
C) 1925.
D) 1900.

Question 60

Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A) The state of the natural environment reflects how society is organized.
B) Environmental damage is reversible, to some degree.
C) Humans are the only species that does not depend on the natural environment to survive.
D) Much environmental damage is unintended.

Question 61

The crude death rate for North America is very high by world standards.

Question 62

Which of the following activities consumes the largest amount of Earth's water?

A) agriculture
B) drinking and other household uses
C) industry
D) putting out wildfires

Question 63

Rich nations typically grow much less from immigration as from natural increase.

Question 64

The infant mortality rate for African Americans is much higher than it is for white people.

Question 65

Within U.S. society, all racial and ethnic categories of people have the same patterns of fertility.

Question 66

The gradual loss of the world's rain forests is a source of concern because they are

A) an important tourist attraction.
B) necessary grazing lands for cattle.
C) a source of air pollution.
D) vital to maintaining the planet's biodiversity and climate.

Question 67

Demography studies the size and composition of a society's population.

Question 68

Most people migrate due to a combination of "push" and "pull" factors.

Question 69

The average life expectancy of U.S. children born in 2007 is about 65 years.

Question 70

An annual growth rate of about two percent will cause a society's population to double in about thirty-five years.

Question 71

In general, low-income countries grow more from immigration than they do from natural increase.

Question 72

The crude birth rate for North America is lower than that for the world as a whole.

Question 73

The forced transport of 10 million slaves from Africa to the Americas is an example of involuntary immigration.

Question 74

Which of the following statements expresses the "limits to growth" thesis?

A) Whatever problems technology creates, technology can solve.
B) We are rapidly consuming Earth's finite resources.
C) Growth makes sense because material wealth is good.
D) Quality of life on Earth is steadily improving.

Question 75

Mounting evidence suggests that the average temperature of the planet is

A) lower now than it has ever been.
B) falling.
C) rising.
D) now steady.

Question 76

Which of the following regions of the world is currently facing the most serious lack of fresh water?

A) Oceania
B) the Middle East
C) South America
D) North America

Question 77

To calculate a crude birth rate, divide the number of live births in a year by the total population and multiply the result by 1,000.

Question 78

The crude death rate is a good measure of a society's overall fertility.

Question 79

Read the following statements. Which statement is CORRECT?

A) More than half of all solid waste in this country is recycled.
B) Solid waste is not really a problem because almost everything quickly decomposes in landfills.
C) People living in rich societies use hundreds of times more energy and other resources than people living in poor societies.
D) People living in rich nations generate only a small share of the world's refuse.

Question 80

Based on what you know of sociology's theoretical approaches, environmental racism is an issue based on

A) the social-conflict approach.
B) the structural-functional approach.
C) the symbolic-interaction approach.
D) the sociobiology approach.