Which of the following best describes the growth of the global, human population?

Question

a. S- shaped curve
b. exponential growth curve
c. logistic growth curve
d. the carrying capacity
e. boom and bust cycles

17. The average age at which women in the U.S. have their first child has increased from about 20 years old to about 27 years old. How does that affect the population growth rate?

a. not at all if they still have the same total number of children
b. slows it down
c. speeds it up

18. Organisms can change the carrying capacity of their own ecosystem.

a. True.
b. False.
c. True but only for humans

20. Your personal "ecological footprint" (the area of earth’s surface needed to support your lifestyle) depends on __________.

a. the size of your house, how well it is insulated, and the climate where you live
b. what transportation you use, how much you travel, and whether you travel alone
c. the types and amounts of foods you eat
d. what you consume and the waste you produce
e.all of the above

Answer 1

1. probably logistic, since it was low and really peaked exponentially in modern times, but will eventually have to level off again. I say probably because currently world growth is linear (in the past 50 years as well as the predicted next 50 years)

17. A, if a woman has 4 kids when shes in her 20's, are those children just as able to have kids of their own than say if that same woman had those 4 kids from when she was in her 30's?

18. True. humans do it all the time with crop planting and harvesting. i would guess that other animals are capable of doing it, but im more of a human type of biologist ;)

20. E

Answer 2

1) I think B but double check

2) Not sure

3) False, an ecosystem can carry what it can carry no more. Humans cannot really change the carrying capacity. It might seem we have but in reality we have just put an enormous strain on it. Eventually we will exhaust the carrying capacity in some way.

4) E all of the above. Everything we do that affects the environment is our ecological footprint.

Answer 3

c) Logistic is probably right based on limited resources.

17.
b

18. c

20
e

Answer 4

b. The rate of increase keeps growing, so that the population doubles in less and less time.