Question 1:
Why are people considered a resource?
Answer:
People are a nations greatest resource as natural resources can be made useful and significant only when man applies his/her technical know-how. Human resource is the ultimate resource and it is called so by developing human skills. Resources are not, but they become by man.
Question 2:
What are the causes for the uneven distribution of population in the world?
Answer:
The causes for the uneven distribution in the world are:
(i) Topography, (ii) Climate, (iii) Fertile soil, (iv) Mineral deposits, (v) Water.
Question 3:
The world population has grown very rapidly. Why?
Answer:
The world population is increasing very rapidly due to increase in the natural growth rate. Natural growth rate is the difference between the birth rate and the death rate of a country. With the recent development in medical and health care services, the death rate has declined drastically, although the birth rate is still high.
Question 4:
Discuss the role of any two factors influencing population change.
Answer:
The population change refers to change in the number of people during a specific time. The
world population has not been stable. Two factors which influence population change are
(i) Birth and death rate and (ii) Migration.
(i) Birth and death rate: Population change is the result of birth and death. The natural growth rate
is the difference between the death rate and the birth rate of a country.
(ii) Migration: The other way in which population size changes is migration. It is a process in which
people move out of a particular country or move to a different part of the same country. The
people leaving the country are called Emigrants and the people who arrive in the country arecalled Immigrants.
Question 5:
What is meant by population composition?
Answer:
Population composition refers to the structure of the population. It helps to bring to light elements such as male-female ratio, age-group, literacy level, occupation, income levels and health conditions. In brief, population composition tells about almost each and every thing regarding population of a country.
Question 6:
What are population pyramids? How do they help in understanding about the population of a country?
Answer:
Population pyramids, also called age-sex pyramids, are demographic structures based on the division
of population of a country into different age groups.
(i) Population pyramids help in understanding the various age groups, e.g., 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years etc.
(ii) They also help us in understanding the percentage of the total population, subdivided into
males and females, in each of these groups.
(iii) It tells us how many dependents (young and elderly) are there in a country.
(iv) It also tells about birth and death rates.
Question 7:
What does the term population distribution refer to?
Answer:
The way in which people are spread across a given area.
Question 8:
Which are three main factors that cause population change?
Answer:
Births, deaths and migration
Question 9:
In 1999, the world population reached
Answer:
6 billion.
Question 10:
What is a population pyramid?
Answer:
A graphical presentation of the age, sex composition of a population.