BIO 220 TOPIC STUDY GUIDE 2026
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ Carrying capacity. Answer: - the number of organisms of a given
species that can be sustained indefinitely in a given area.
- Physical carrying capacity = "packing density, limited only by space
and resources"
- Cultural carrying capacity is always less
⩥ Malthus vs. Marx. Answer: 1. Malthus
a) Human population growth causes environmental degradation
b) Thomas Malthus (1798) wrote An Essay on the Principle of
Population in which he showed that human populations increase
exponentially.
2. Karl Marx
a) Human population growth results from poverty and resource depletion
⩥ Demography. Answer: Two demographic worlds
1. First is young and rapidly growing
a) Less developed country
i. 80% of the world's population
ii. Accounts for 90% of projected growth
, iii. Africa, Asia, Latin America
2. Second is wealthy and mostly shrinking
a) North America, Japan, Western Europe
i. Average age is about 40
ii. Populations expected to stabilize or decline
iii. Humans can raise the environmental carrying capacity through
technology
⩥ Demographic transitions. Answer: A model of economics and cultural
change to explain declining death and birth dates in industrializing
nations
⩥ Crude Birth Rate. Answer: Number of births in a year per thousand.
(Not adjusted for population characteristics such as number of women of
child bearing age.)
⩥ Crude Death Rate. Answer: Number of deaths per thousand persons in
a given year
a) Poor countries average about 20 while wealthier countries average
about 10.
b) Some rapidly growing countries have very low crude death rates due
to a high proportion of young people
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ Carrying capacity. Answer: - the number of organisms of a given
species that can be sustained indefinitely in a given area.
- Physical carrying capacity = "packing density, limited only by space
and resources"
- Cultural carrying capacity is always less
⩥ Malthus vs. Marx. Answer: 1. Malthus
a) Human population growth causes environmental degradation
b) Thomas Malthus (1798) wrote An Essay on the Principle of
Population in which he showed that human populations increase
exponentially.
2. Karl Marx
a) Human population growth results from poverty and resource depletion
⩥ Demography. Answer: Two demographic worlds
1. First is young and rapidly growing
a) Less developed country
i. 80% of the world's population
ii. Accounts for 90% of projected growth
, iii. Africa, Asia, Latin America
2. Second is wealthy and mostly shrinking
a) North America, Japan, Western Europe
i. Average age is about 40
ii. Populations expected to stabilize or decline
iii. Humans can raise the environmental carrying capacity through
technology
⩥ Demographic transitions. Answer: A model of economics and cultural
change to explain declining death and birth dates in industrializing
nations
⩥ Crude Birth Rate. Answer: Number of births in a year per thousand.
(Not adjusted for population characteristics such as number of women of
child bearing age.)
⩥ Crude Death Rate. Answer: Number of deaths per thousand persons in
a given year
a) Poor countries average about 20 while wealthier countries average
about 10.
b) Some rapidly growing countries have very low crude death rates due
to a high proportion of young people
