The New Wider World Foundation Edition (Second Edition) Teachers Resource CD-ROM, Grant Westoby, Nelson Thornes

s 2005
pages 4 and 5
1.1
Population density
Northern Canada
Too cold for people
Frozen ground makes settlement
and communications difficult
Poor, thin soil unsuitable for crops
Sparsely populated
Europe
Low-lying and gently sloping
Pleasant climate
Good water supply and soil for
farming
Easy communications and many
resources for industry
Densely populated
Himalayan mountains
Too cold for people
Steep slopes are bad for settlement
and communications
Poor, thin soil unsuitable for crops
Sparsely populated
Amazon rainforest
Too hot and wet for people
Dense forest makes settlement
and communications difficult
Sparsely populated
Bangladesh
Low-lying and flat
Hot and wet with rich, fertile soil
makes ideal farming conditions
Densely populated
Central Australia
Too hot and dry for people
Too dry and too little soil for
crops to grow
Sparsely populated
1 dot represents
100,000 people
On the map, colour the densely populated areas in red, and the sparsely
populated areas in green.
Compare the reasons for dense and sparse population. Complete a copy of
the table below, which has been started for you.
Worl d popul ati on di stri buti on
Places with
few people have a
low population density.
They are sparsely
populated.
Vast areas have
hardly any people living
in them whilst other
areas seem to be very
crowded.
Places that are
crowded have a
high population density.
These places are
densely populated.
Location Reason Sparse population Dense population
Amazon Climate Too hot and wet.
rainforest Terrain Dense forest makes
settlement and
communications difficult.
Q
1
Q
2
The map above shows how unevenly people are spread around the world.
pages 4 and 5
There are reasons why an area has a sparse or dense population. The reasons why
so many people live in densely populated places are called positive factors. There
are negative factors which have made other places sparsely populated.
These are all factors in population distribution. Shade the positive factors in red, and
the negative factors in green.
Some of these factors are opposites, e.g. Lack of investment is a negative factor and
Money available for investment is a positive factor. Find five other pairs of opposites
and complete the table.
1.2
Positive and negative factors
The New Wider World Foundation Edition (Second Edition) Teachers Resource CD-ROM, Grant Westoby, Nelson Thornes 2005

Pleasant climate

Lack of investment

Industry and jobs

Too hot or too cold

Too wet or too dry

Poor water supply

Dense forest

Good soil for growing crops

Good food supply

Little industry and few jobs

Flat or gently sloping land

Few natural resources

Poor transport links

Steep slopes

Good water supply

Good roads, railways, ports, etc.

Poor soils for farming

Money available for investment

Natural resources for industry

Open grassland for animals

Negative factor Positive factor
Lack of investment Money available for investment
Q
1
Q
2
pages 4 and 5
Many different factors affect the way people are spread across the world. Factors such as
relief, climate, vegetation, water supply, raw materials and employment structures can mean
areas have a sparse or dense population.
Working with a partner, read the list of features in the box below and say how each
feature affects population density.
mountain low land very cold very hot dense forest
desert grassland fertile soil very wet no industry
infertile soil very dry coastal no river remote
inland many natural resources transport no transport
gentle slopes few natural resources industry river
high rainfall poor communications warm very steep slopes
The information below lists different types of area around the world and the
percentage of the earths surface that each one covers.
G Colour each box on the key with a different colour to represent each area.
G Using the appropriate colour, shade the correct number of blocks on the grid to
represent the percentage of the earths surface each area covers.
G When you have finished, all the blocks should be coloured.
Type of area Earths Key
surface
Water 70%
Desert 6%
Too cold 6%
Mountains 5%
Forest 5%
Cannot grow food 5%
Ideal for people 3%
Total 100%
Use all the work you have done on this worksheet to help you complete this sentence:
People are crowded into small areas of the world because
1.3
Physical and human factors
The New Wider World Foundation Edition (Second Edition) Teachers Resource CD-ROM, Grant Westoby, Nelson Thornes 2005
Q
1
Extra
Q
2
pages 6 and 7
Place each of the following statements in the most appropriate place on the graph below.
1 Fewer children share a bedroom.
2 There are more golden weddings.
3 Parents begin to think more about family planning.
4 Doug Spade loses his job as a gravedigger.
5 Children are warmer in bed at night as they have many more brothers and sisters.
6 A mother sobs over the grave of the last of her five children who died in a typhoid
epidemic.
7 A public health inspector smiles as the building of another new sewer is finished.
8 Grandparents are very rare.
9 Many more houses are being built.
10 People are encouraged to emigrate to the colonies.
Explain why you placed any three statements where you did.
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1.4
Population growth
The New Wider World Foundation Edition (Second Edition) Teachers Resource CD-ROM, Grant Westoby, Nelson Thornes 2005
Extra
Stage
Birth and
death
rates (per
1000
people
per year)
40
30
20
10
0
2
Early expanding
1
High stationary
3
Late expanding
4
Low stationary
Death rate
Birth rate
Natural
increase
Total population
pages 8 and 9
The New Wider World Foundation Edition (Second Edition) Teachers Resource CD-ROM, Grant Westoby, Nelson Thornes 2005
The birth rate, death rate and life expectancy all affect the population structure of a country.
Read what people have to say about living in a poor, rural village in India. Colour the
sentences about a high birth rate in red and about a short life expectancy in yellow.
Read what people have to say about living in the UK. Colour the sentences about a
low birth rate in green and about a long life expectancy in blue.
1.5
Population structures
My father caught cholera
from dirty water. There was
no hospital near and we
could not afford medicine.
We have many children
because so many die from
disease; four of my eight
children died as babies.
The children help
us work on the
land and to carry
wood and water.
They will care for us
when we are too old
or ill to work.
One child might get
a job in the city and
send us money.
My religion forbids
birth control.
Having a big family
makes me important
in the village.
Both my parents died
when they were quite
young. My mother died
during a famine.
Birth control limits
the size of our
family. We only
wanted two children.
We expect the
children to have a
long life, free
from disease.
There is enough money
for a car, holidays and
entertainment.
We have pensions
for when we are old.
I wanted to return to
my career and not
stay at home.
Both my parents are
still alive. They live
near to a doctor and
not far from a
hospital. Their home
has central heating.
They are comfortable.
Why do people in the UK have a longer life expectancy than people living in a poor,
rural village in India?
Q
1
Q
3
Q
2
We have lots of
children to continue
the family name.
There is only
just enough to eat;
sometimes we have to
go without food.
Our home is
overcrowded with
poor hygiene and
sanitation.
The National Health
Service cares for
everyone.
We live in poverty.
We have enough to
eat and a good diet.
We have a good
quality of life.
Having a small
family leaves us
more spare money.
Both my parents are
still alive. They live
near to a doctor and not
far from a hospital.
My parents home
has central heating.
They are comfortable.
pages 10 and 11
The worlds population is increasing at a very rapid rate. Growth is very much faster in the
poorer countries than in the richer ones. Population changes in a country depend mainly on
the birth and death rates.
Study the factors that can affect birth and death rates around the diagram below.
Copy and complete the table below by sorting the factors that affect birth and death
rates into the correct columns. Some factors may fit in more than one column.
1.6
Population trends
The New Wider World Foundation Edition (Second Edition) Teachers Resource CD-ROM, Grant Westoby, Nelson Thornes 2005
Q
1
Q
2
Birth rate Death rate
High Low High Low
Explain four of the reasons behind your answers. Extra
Improved
water supply
Less smoking and
alcohol consumption
Safer working
conditions
Poor hygiene
and starvation
Overcrowding
Lack of
clean water
Education
Later
marriages
Food shortages
and starvation
Innoculations
and vaccinations
Diseases
Good
harvest
New
hospitals
Poor
health care
Less polluting
environment
War
Poverty
Birth control
available
Traditions for
larger families
Family
planning
Children needed
to help with work
Better diets
pages 12 and 13
Chinas population is very unevenly distributed. It has a low birth rate and an ageing
population.
Read what people say about the Chinese governments one child per family policy.
Working with a partner, colour the statements for population control in red and
against population control in green.
In your opinion was the Chinese government right to introduce its one child per
family policy?
How would you feel if the British government adopted the same one child per
family policy?
1.7
Changing population structures
The New Wider World Foundation Edition (Second Edition) Teachers Resource CD-ROM, Grant Westoby, Nelson Thornes 2005
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Extra
Without the one child per family
policy, Chinas population would
be much higher than it is now.
Families with only one
child enjoy a higher
standard of living.
Couples may have no one to care
for them when they get older.
With few retirement homes the government expects
families to look after their own elderly relatives.
The one child per family policy has
introduced a new problem to China
the spoilt, overweight little emperors.
Rich farmers are able and willing to
pay fines or bribes to get permission
to have more children.
The quality of education
will suffer if there are too
many children.
Couples living in the countryside
want large families to help with
work in the fields and to look
after them in old age.
Countryside couples prefer boys
to girls and some are willing to
kill their daughters to make sure
their one child is a boy.
Men will have difficulty later finding
partners because of the shortage of
women.
We get a pension
because we only have
one child.
Poor families have ignored the one
child per family policy because
they have nothing to lose.
The government pays for our
childs schooling. If we had more,
we would have to pay.
We have good health
care. Our child will live
to grow up.
The government gives us
money because we only have
one child.
If two only-children get married
they are allowed to have two
children of their own.
There are 300 million
fewer Chinese people
than there would have
been without the one
child per family policy.
In some Chinese communities, girls
go to live with their husbands
family when they get married. If the
girl were an only child, this would
leave her parents with no one to
look after them in their old age.