Assignment:
Before class you read "An introduction to Population Dynamics" (see link for this module). Use that article to answer the next 6 questions.
1. Define exponential growth.
2. Define carrying capacity. What are the units?
3. Under what circumstances related to sustainability is exponential growth a relevant consideration? Explain.
4. How do you distinguish exponential growth from logistic growth? Under what circumstances are each at play in a population?
5. Consider Figure 6. Point out the salient features of the figure.
6. Looking at Figure 6, how long does it take to get to the first 10 million people? How about the first billion?
Read the following link to answer the next 2 questions:
https://www.learner.org/series/the-habitable-planet-a-systems-approach-to-environmental-science/human-population-dynamics/online-textbooks/
Use the "WORLD POPULATION GROWTH THROUGH HISTORY" Section
7. How long has it taken for humans to go from one to two billion? Two to four billion? How long did it take to add the last billion (hint: the reading does not answer all of these questions, you will have to google for your answer to the most recent growth)?
8. What aspects of human culture have led to this human exponential population growth?
9. Populations of people and other animals sometimes differ in how their total numbers are limited (i.e. total population size). What factors tend to limit human population numbers compared to other animals population?