Category: Activities
PG7. Can We Limit Human Population Growth?
Chapter 7 { Population Growth Contents } CAIRO — Years ago, when the water buffalo gave plenty of milk and the pigeons and chickens were paraded nightly to the dinner table, Om Mahmoud was healthy and happy with the annual ritual of giving birth to a new baby: another pair of hands in the lush […]
PG5.1. How Much Land Does It Take to Produce Your Food?
{ Population Growth Contents } { All GSS Books } Investigation by David Masterman In this Investigation, you calculate the amount of land required to produce the food eaten by an individual for one year and compare the amount of land required to produce animal versus plant products. Background Humans require energy and their energy […]
PG5. The Environmental Impact of Populations
Chapter 5 { Population Growth Contents } More humans means more demands of nature. The demand for wood, wood products, and additional space for agriculture has resulted in worldwide loss of forests. What people all over the world are beginning to recognize is that the world’s resources are finite. There is just so much land, […]
PG4. The History of Human Population Growth
Chapter 4 { Population Growth Contents } All living things have evolved with the capacity to reproduce at very high rates. What would happen if this were not so? What if a maple tree produced only one seed in a year? What are the chances that a single seed would find a hospitable patch of […]
PG3.7. Earlobes: A Study of Human Gene Frequencies
{ Population Growth Contents } { All GSS Books } All of us have genes in pairs. We received one gene of each pair from each of our parents. For example, whether or not you have lots of room for earrings is determined by the pair of genes you received from your parents. In the […]
PG3. Population Reproduction, Growth, and Change Over Time
Chapter 3 { Population Growth Contents } Unfortunately, neither the Spanish nor the English sailors were terribly interested in taking a census of the number of goats or dogs on the island during any of their visits, and they did not do a mark-recapture that we know of. We can only guess at the number […]
PG2.7. Grasshopper Mark and Recapture
{ Population Growth Contents } { All GSS Books } This investigation involves a method of estimating the population size of grasshoppers and other animals. This activity is conducted outside in the fall, in an open field that will remain undisturbed for 1-2 weeks. We capture grasshoppers and mark them in a way that will […]
PG2. Patterns in Populations
Chapter 2 { Population Growth Contents } Understanding the patterns of population change has become possible by creating mathematical models, or equations, that have the same characteristics as actual populations. An equation that successfully models population growth must display some of the same patterns that we saw on Goat Island. Making a graph that is […]
PG1. What is a Population?
Chapter 1 { Population Growth Contents } The word “population” can refer not only to people, but to groups of beetles, or cacti, or even fireflies! A population is a group of individuals of one species living in an area and occupying a particular ecological niche. This book is about the impacts of populations on […]
Population Growth
POPULATION GROWTH addresses a fundamental problem: even if we can change our habits to use only clean and efficient sources of energy such as solar, wind, and water power, global environmental problems will continue to worsen if the world’s population continues to grow at the present rate. See Overview. Contents Chapters Investigations Stay Current 1. […]