Understanding Population Density
AUTHOR: Jean M. Smith
SUBJECT: World Geography
GRADE LEVEL: 8-10
SUMMARY: Students work in small groups to create a simple model of population density in a particular country and to discuss the factors that influence the population density of that country.
OBJECTIVES: Students will demonstrate an understanding of: 1. what population density is and how to determine it or a particular country 2. the idea that not all land within a country is equally "livable." 3. the factors which determine why certain areas are/are not considered "livable," such as climate, terrain, location of natural resources, availability of transportation, location of major cities, etc.
MATERIAL NEEDED: pieces of paper cut into 1 square foot each
any geography textbook, or atlas/encyclopedia showing population figures, population density, resources, physical features, total area, major cities, infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.) for a particular country.
PC/Mac Globe computer program (helpful but not required)
PROCEDURES:
Introduction: Discuss with the class the definition of population density and how it is determined. Explain that the number can be misleading since a nation's population is not evenly distributed.
Phase One: Students will determine the overall population and population density for a country and will demonstrate that the population is not evenly distributed.
Divide the class into groups, and assign each group one (1) country. Select countries with varying populations, sizes, resources, etc. Examples: Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Japan.
Students must find the following information for their country: 1. total population 2. total area in square kilometers(1 sq. mile = 2.59 sq. kilometers) 3. overall population density(persons per square kilometer) 4. approximate percentage of land area which has a population density of 10 or more people per square kilometer. (students must make their best guess here, based on a population density map)
Students will then make a simple model to represent their country and its population and population density: 1. Select one (1) square foot of paper for every 390,000 square kilometers in each country to represent the total area. Cut paper into halves, thirds, or fourths in order to round to the nearest 390,000 square kilometers. Place these squares on the floor and label them with the country's name. 2. Select one (1) student to represent 10 million people. Determine the total number of students necessary to represent the total population. Have these students stand on the squares to show the number of people living in the entire country. 3. Reduce the total number of squares for each country by stating what approximate percentage of land has a population density of at least 10 people per square kilometer. Have the students who represent the total population crowd together into the smaller space. 4. Discuss how this illustrates how misleading population density figures can be, especially for countries such as Australia and Brazil.
Example: Australia
1. Total area = 7,686,848 square kilometers = 19.75 squares 2. Total population = 16,452,000 people = 2 students (round up) 3. Look at a population density map of Australia. The vast majority of the country has less than 10 people per square kilometer. Estimate that only 5% of Australia has a population density of at least 10 people per square kilometer. Then eliminate the remaining 95% of the total area, which will leave only 1 paper square left to represent the total area with a population density of at least 10 people per square kilometer. The two (2) students representing the total population should then move onto the one (1) remaining square. 4. Overall population density for Australia is two (2) people per square kilometer. This is very misleading since the entire population is concentrated on only 5% of the total land area.
Phase Two: Students will learn why populations are unevenly distributed.
Student groups must identify the following:(use PC/Mac Globe if available) 1. land features which influence population density(desert, mountains, rivers, coast, jungle, forest) 2. distribution of natural resources which influence population density(fossil fuels, minerals, arable land, livestock, fishing) 3. location of infrastructure(roads, bridges, navigable rivers, railroads, major industries) 4. distribution of cities with populations of 1 million or more.
Using a wall map or other large map of their country, students will then explain to the class: 1. Which areas of their country have a high population density/low population density. 2. The reasons why the population density varies, based on the items immediately above.
SOURCES: Baerwald, Thomas and Celeste Fraser, World Geography: a Global Perspective, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1994.
PC/Mac Globe Teacher's Guide, Broderbund Software for Education.
Rand McNally Illustrated Atlas of the World, Rand McNally & Company, Chicago, 1987.
Jean Smith jmsmith@.ilstu.edu University High School Social
Science Department 7100 Illinois State University Normal, IL 61761-7100 ph (309) 438-8350
fax (309) 438-5198
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