AP Human Geography › Density, Distribution, & Scale
Which of these definitions best describes a “primate city”?
The biggest city in a region that is disproportionately larger than surrounding urban areas
A city that owes much of its existence and prosperity to the wealth of a nearby, much larger city
A city whose cultural significance greatly exceeds its economic output
An isolated city that developed independently of the rest of the region
None of the other answers are correct
A “primate city” is the largest city in a region. In order to be a “primate city” it must be disproportionately bigger than other cities in the region, primarily because those people who live in the surrounding area migrate to the “primate city” in search of work, education, or entertainment.
Which of these statements about the growth of world population throughout the history of civilization is most accurate?
For many thousands of years the population climbed consistently and slowly, until the Industrial Revolution, when the population skyrocketed
For many thousands of years the population remained static, until the Industrial Revolution, when the population skyrocketed
Disease and natural disasters caused the population to steadily decline, until the Scientific Revolution, when this trend was reversed
Population has always grown most dramatically in the wealthiest countries
Population has always grown most dramatically in the poorest countries
Since roughly eight to ten thousand years ago, the population of humanity has climbed consistently, but gradually; however, beginning in the late eighteenth century in England, the Industrial Revolution changed everything. Technological, medical, and economic innovations have greatly increased the number of people that the planet can reasonably support. In the last two hundred years, the population has grown from one billion to over seven billion people.
Population density is a measure of the number of people that live in a given geographical area. The United States population is now approximately 320 million. The land area of the United States is approximately 9 million square kilometers.
Which of the following answers best approximates the population density of the United States?
35 persons per square kilometer
30 persons per square kilometer
40 persons per square kilometer
38 persons per square kilometer
25 persons per square kilometer
The population density of the United States is closest to 35 persons per square kilometer. To arrive at this answer choice, divide the population of the US (320 million people) by the geographic land area of the US (9 million kilometers).
320 million people /9 million square km = 35.56 or approximately 35 persons per square km.
With a population of more than , Tokyo is by far the world's most populous city. As of 2015, which city comes in second?
Jakarta
New York City
Shanghai
Beijing
Delhi
Jakarta, Indonesia is the world's second most populous city, with a population of close to . New York city has a population of over
. Shanghai has just a slightly larger population than New York. Beijing has an estimated population of about
. Delhi has a population of just under
. All of these cities are continuing to grow rapidly in size.
In terms of population density, which of these regions is notably different than the others?
Sub-Saharan Africa
Western Europe
East Asia
The Indian subcontinent
The East Coast of the United States
Apart from Sub-Saharan Africa, all of the listed regions are considered to be some of the most densely populated on Earth. The Indian subcontinent (which generally includes Bangladesh), East Asia (which includes Eastern China and Japan), Western Europe (which includes the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), and the East Coast of the United States (which includes New York City, Philadelphia, Miami, and Washington D.C.) are the four regions of the world that are the most densely populated. South-Eastern Brazil and South-East Asia could also be added to this list.
The geographic term “ecumene” is used to describe __________.
permanently populated land
arable land suitable for farming
industrial sectors of a society
patterns of migration around the world
a prolonged situation of zero population growth
The geographic term “ecumene” is used to describe land that is permanently populated by human society. It can also refer to industrial and agricultural land that is permanently used to sustain the human population.
A country with a large amount of arable land and a small number of farmers will have a __________.
low agricultural density
high agricultural density
high physiological density
low physiological density
Since the question speaks specifically of farmers in relation to the viable or arable land, we can rule out the answers dealing with physiological density, which deals with people in general in relation to the land. Agricultural density measures the number of farmers per unit area of farmland. If there is more land than farmers, the density of farmers in that land will be low, and thus more sustainable and efficient. If there are more farmers than land, land will be scarce and the density of farmers working on it will be high, and agricultural production will be inefficient. Thus this question of a small amount of farmers on a large amount of land is measured as a low agricultural density.
Which two continents currently have in excess of one billion people living in them?
Asia and Africa
Asia and Europe
Europe and Africa
Europe and North America
North America and Asia
More than half of the world’s seven billion people live in Asia. The next highest continent is Africa, with a little over a billion people. Approximately seven hundred million people live in Europe; four hundred million in South America; five hundred million in North America.
Which of these continents is the least heavily populated?
Oceania
South America
Europe
Africa
North America
Oceania (which includes Australia, New Zealand, and many of the surrounding Pacific Islands) is by far the least heavily populated continent on Earth—excluding, obviously, Antarctica. Oceania has less than fifty million people living there. The next lowest—South America—has a population of four hundred million people.
The vast majority of population growth is taking place in __________.
the developing world
the developed world
the Americas
the Middle East
Western Europe
The vast majority of population growth is taking place in the developing world. In recent years, more than ninety percent of population growth can be accounted for by countries in the developing world. These countries continue to grow to represent a larger and larger share of the world’s population.