ESE 200 - Midterm 1 Exam Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2026/2027
Which systems are included in the usual three-part model of a sustainable earth? (Select all that
apply)
Select one or more:
a.Its Ecosystems
b.Its Economies
c.Its Societies
d.ts Environment - Answers b, c, d
Sustainable systems (check all that apply)
Select one or more:
a.Can be natural
b.Can be human
c.Allow future systems to flourish
d.Don't change over time - Answers a, b, c
What is meant by "sustainable development"?
Select one:
a.Development that forces people to revert to the lesser technology of the past and give up their
desired quality of life in the present
b.Development that continues to reinvent itself
c.Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs
d.Development that only uses renewable resources - Answers c
In the IPAT equation the environmental impact (I) of human activity is modeled to increase
when the following increases:
Select one:
a.Air Quality
b.Population
,c.Pollution
d.Technology
e.Parameter
f.Time
g.Affluence
h.Attitude
i.Transportation - Answers b
According to this lecture, when is an IPAT analysis most likely to fail?
Select one:
a.When thinking about the future
b.When thinking about the present
c.When thinking about the past - Answers a
Cells in a petri dish grow fastest when (s-shaped growth pattern):
Select one:
a.Close to carrying capacity
b.Far from carrying capacity
c.Just above carrying capacity - Answers b
According to the lecture, what happens to a system where population exceeds the carrying
capacity?
Select one:
a.The population slowly falls
b.The population slowly returns to carrying capacity
c.The population stops growing
d.The population drops below carrying capacity - Answers d
Select one:
a.extinction: the population dies out
, b.loss of total wealth: the population does not produce as much as beforeloss of total wealth:
the population does not produce as much as before
c.explosion in population: growth rates become exponential
d.drop in efficiency: each individual in the population becomes less efficient
e.starvation: there is not enough food for the entire population - Answers e
Which of the following most accurately describes a Neo-Malthusian attitude?
Select one:
a.Believing that population growth is unsustainable today
b.Thinking that population growth was unsustainable in the past
c.Arguing that Malthusian ideas have been discredited
d.Wishing that agricultural production was more efficient
e.Observing that the modern world population is at the highest level ever - Answers a
What is the approximate world population today?
Select one:
a.7.5 billion
b.9.5 billion
c.11.5 billion
d.13.5 billion
e.15.5 Billion - Answers a
The demographic transition model predicts that
Select one:
a.reductions in birth rates lag reduction in death rates
b.reductions in population lag reeducations in death rates
c.child mortality lags reduction in death rates
d.all of the above
e.none of the above - Answers a
Which systems are included in the usual three-part model of a sustainable earth? (Select all that
apply)
Select one or more:
a.Its Ecosystems
b.Its Economies
c.Its Societies
d.ts Environment - Answers b, c, d
Sustainable systems (check all that apply)
Select one or more:
a.Can be natural
b.Can be human
c.Allow future systems to flourish
d.Don't change over time - Answers a, b, c
What is meant by "sustainable development"?
Select one:
a.Development that forces people to revert to the lesser technology of the past and give up their
desired quality of life in the present
b.Development that continues to reinvent itself
c.Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs
d.Development that only uses renewable resources - Answers c
In the IPAT equation the environmental impact (I) of human activity is modeled to increase
when the following increases:
Select one:
a.Air Quality
b.Population
,c.Pollution
d.Technology
e.Parameter
f.Time
g.Affluence
h.Attitude
i.Transportation - Answers b
According to this lecture, when is an IPAT analysis most likely to fail?
Select one:
a.When thinking about the future
b.When thinking about the present
c.When thinking about the past - Answers a
Cells in a petri dish grow fastest when (s-shaped growth pattern):
Select one:
a.Close to carrying capacity
b.Far from carrying capacity
c.Just above carrying capacity - Answers b
According to the lecture, what happens to a system where population exceeds the carrying
capacity?
Select one:
a.The population slowly falls
b.The population slowly returns to carrying capacity
c.The population stops growing
d.The population drops below carrying capacity - Answers d
Select one:
a.extinction: the population dies out
, b.loss of total wealth: the population does not produce as much as beforeloss of total wealth:
the population does not produce as much as before
c.explosion in population: growth rates become exponential
d.drop in efficiency: each individual in the population becomes less efficient
e.starvation: there is not enough food for the entire population - Answers e
Which of the following most accurately describes a Neo-Malthusian attitude?
Select one:
a.Believing that population growth is unsustainable today
b.Thinking that population growth was unsustainable in the past
c.Arguing that Malthusian ideas have been discredited
d.Wishing that agricultural production was more efficient
e.Observing that the modern world population is at the highest level ever - Answers a
What is the approximate world population today?
Select one:
a.7.5 billion
b.9.5 billion
c.11.5 billion
d.13.5 billion
e.15.5 Billion - Answers a
The demographic transition model predicts that
Select one:
a.reductions in birth rates lag reduction in death rates
b.reductions in population lag reeducations in death rates
c.child mortality lags reduction in death rates
d.all of the above
e.none of the above - Answers a
