Lesson Plan for Activity #9
Impact of a Growing Population


Lesson for
Additional Explorations

Overview:

Students examine the impact that population growth has on world resources.

Objectives: 

  • Determine the limiting factors of population growth
  • Examine the impact of population on resource consumption and environmental conditions
  • Determine what is meant by carrying capacity
Notes to Teacher: 

In this activity, students will examine the environmental impact of population growth. In the first example with the bacteria and the Petri dish, you might ask students what the growth rate (%) is for the bacteria in this example. The example states that the population of bacteria doubles every minute. An easy formula for determining the doubling time of a population is shown below. This formula can also be used to determine the growth rate if the doubling time (in years) is known.

Doubling Time (in years) = 70 / growth rate (in %) 

Example: How long will it take for a population to double if its growth rate is 2.2%?

Doubling time = 70 / 2.2 = 31.8 years

Map links that indicate population density are provided in this lesson. Note that the first one (Visible Earth Images) shows light intensity as seen from space. You might ask your students if this map is a true representation of population density. This map might be an indication of population density but there are other factors to consider such as the industrial development of a country. For example, there could be a region in a less developed country that is very densely populated but doesn't have easy access to electricity.