Year 8 2020-2021 Diagnostic Evaluation

OBJECTIVE 5 Data Analysis and Making Conclusions

Read through the information below. You may use a highlighter pen to make the most important
information stand out. Add your own notes if you wish.

Population growth from 1850-2000

The human population has grown quickly over the last thousand years and especially fast
over the last 100 years. In 1800, the world's population was about 1 billion people. By the
year 2000, the world’s population was nearly 6 billion and today in 2020, it has reached
7.8 billion. Plotted on a graph, you can see that the rate of growth of the human
population is not a straight line. This form of accelerating growth curve on a graph is
called exponential.

Graph of the growth of the world’s population, from 1800 until 2020, also showing low and high future estimates. Data from
the United Nations projections in 2019

In modern times, fewer children and infants die, and people are living longer because:
 Better medicines & health care stop diseases spreading and extend life
expectancy.
 Cleaner water & better sewage disposal stop diseases spreading
 Modern agriculture provides more food
The industrialised world and the developing world
People in the industrialised world (eg. USA, Europe, Japan, etc), only count for 25% of
the world’s population, but they use 80% of the world’s resources and drive 90% of the
world’s cars!

The majority of the world's population live very different lives in the developing world
(eg. parts of Africa, some countries in South and Central America, and Asia). Billions live
in poverty or are affected by famine. The World Bank defines extreme poverty as when a
family income is less than $1.90 a day and thinks that nearly 1 billion people live in
extreme poverty. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 22,000
children die every day directly from the effects of poverty.

Population growth means:

As the world’s population increases, more land is needed for agriculture (for food) and
construction (for homes, business, highways & industry). Forests are cut down as wood is
needed for building, furniture and paper. This is called deforestation.

More people need more energy to sustain their lives. Non-renewable energy resources,
such as coal, gas and oil have been severely depleted.

More people need more water and the world's useable water supplies are now seriously
threatened.

More people leave more wastes and pollution in the environment. This contamination
leads to major global problems, such as climate chnage, acid rain, ozone depletion and
plastics choking the oceans.

More farming means:

 Reduced habitat for wildlife
 Herbicides are used to kill weeds, but they also kill wild plants which are food for
animals and the larvae of some insects. Butterfly numbers have fallen dramatically
in all countries of the world.
 Pesticides kill animals which eat crops, but also kill harmless insects which are
food for birds or, in the case of bees, pollinators for flowers. Bird and insect
diversity is falling all over the world.
 Fertilisers wash into rivers and lakes causing an increase in water plant growth.
These plants choke waterways which leads to the death of fish and wildlife.

More building means:

 Quarries which extract the raw materials for building reduce habitat for wildlife.
These resources are non-renewable.
 Hydroelectric power plants (HEP) are built to supply electricity where countries
are too poor to import fossil fuels. HEP dams cause flooding, which destroys more
habitat
 Abandoned mines, from which have been collected mineral resources, often leave
behind severely polluted and poisoned landscapes.
  Landfill sites for the disposal of rubbish are filling up rapidly
 Most of the world’s people live in cities. Cities import most of their food, fuel,
building materials and water. Cities also produce much more waste per person than
rural communities which tend to be more self-sufficient

Fewer trees means:

 Less habitat for wildlife
 Less carbon dioxide being removed from the atmosphere, so enhancing the
Greenhouse Effect. Plants use carbon dioxide, which they react with water in
photosynthesis, to make sugars.
 More soil erosion, which can lead to more flooding and desertification