APPLY YOUR LEARNINGLOOKING BACK: CHAPTER 1

WHY CARE ABOUT

POPULATION PATTERNS

AND GROWTH?

In this chapter, you learned about population growth, distribution, and

density, and about how settlements develop. Many parts of Earth are not

suitable for human settlement. Settlements are concentrated in regions with

ideal conditions, such as arable land. Understanding population patterns

helps us plan for the future, since the world’s population is growing rapidly.

Stresses from overpopulation are increasing and need our attention.

Summarize Your LearningReflect on what you have read and discussed in this chapter. Select one of

the following tasks to help you summarize your learning:

• Work with a partner to create an interview with an expert on world population

growth. Develop questions and answers that will focus on five major patterns

and trends about population growth. Present the interview in front of the

class as a video or in a written format.

• Imagine you are an urban planner. Create an infographic explaining why

people have settled in some parts of the world and not others. Decide what

information you want to include. Present your infographic to the class.

LEARNING GOALSAs you worked through this chapter, you had opportunities to

• understand why humans settle more in some parts of the world

than in others

• examine patterns and trends in population distribution

and density

• determine how natural and human factors influence settlement

• create and analyze choropleth maps

UNIT1CHALLENGECHECK-IN

1. EVALUATE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS How old will you

be when Earth has 8 billion citizens? What do

you think the world will be like then?

2. GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE What solutions to

population growth might a person from Europe

suggest?

3. SPATIAL SIGNIFICANCE Examine Figure 1.7 and

look at Africa’s population distribution pattern.

Using the population distribution patterns you

learned about (clustered, linear, scattered, and

peripheral), create four statements that describe

where African settlements are concentrated.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS Find, in an atlas or online,

world maps that show physical patterns such as

landform regions, climate regions, and vegetation

regions. Use the population distribution patterns

in Figure 1.7 to look for interrelationships among

these maps that help to explain why the world’s

densest populations are found where they are.

5. FORMULATE QUESTIONS The Chapter Big Question is

Why care about population patterns and growth?

Read the ideas about formulating questions

on page 28. Use these ideas to write different

types of questions that may help to answer the

Chapter Big Question.

6. GATHER AND ORGANIZE Using reliable sources

of information, collect data comparing the

population growth of two countries in each of

the following regions: Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Organize your data into at least three categories,

such as birth rates, death rates, and population

growth rates. Write a statement about the data

for each region. What are the similarities and

differences between the data for these regions?

7. EVALUATE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS If you could settle

anywhere, where would you go and why? What

factors would you use to select the location?

8. PATTERNS AND TRENDS Use what you know about

your community and what you have learned

about population growth to predict the future

population trend where you live. Will your

community see positive population growth?

What factors affect the growth or decrease of

your local population? Write a short paragraph

summarizing your predictions.

1. Formulate a research question about your

community’s population patterns (distribution

and density). Use the Focus On: Formulate

Questions feature on page 38 as a guide. You

will need to decide which community you will

focus on.

2. With the help of your teacher, begin to research

data about your community. You will find data

in various locations, such as libraries, the local

planning department, local government and

school board offices and websites, and federal

government offices and websites.

3. You will need to create a map of your community

that shows how your community is arranged.

You can find maps in libraries, on government

websites, or in local archives. Look at the

roads, subdivisions, and landscape. Use online

mapping tools to help you create your map. If

possible, walk to some of the physical features

you will include in your map to get a better

understanding of your environment.

42 UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability 43NEL NEL CHAPTER 1: Looking Back