Introduction
Worries about human population growth are not a new phenomena. A little over 200 years ago (1798) Thomas Malthus published An Essay on the Principle of Population. He identified the fact that the human population growth was faster than human's ability to grow enough food to feed the population.
In 1804 the human population of Earth reached 1 billion, it topped 2 billion by 1927, 3 billion by 1959, 4 billion in 1972 and 5 billion by the late 1980's. On October 12th, 1999, the human population of Earth reached 6 billion. We are now currently over 7 billion people on Earth.
Prior to 1950, the death rate was high, which kept the numbers of humans from increasing rapidly. In the 19th Century, the agricultural revolution increased food production and the industrial revolution improved methods of transporting food and other goods. The 20th Century produced advances in medicine, sanitation and nutrition. All factors that have contributed to the rapid increase in human population.
In this webquest you will explore different aspects of human population on earth and how it is changing.
Task
In this webquest you will use a variety of websites to locate specific information to answer the questions I give you on the hand out. Follow the links indicated for each set of questions to find the answers. Explore each website thoroughly to find the information you need to answer each question.
You will find the links in the next section: Process
Process
Click on each link to take you to the website you will need to answer the questions on your worksheet.
Answer #1-9 based on this website: http://www.census.gov/popclock/
Answer #10-13 based on the following website: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/interactive/2011/oct/24/how-big-worlds-population-born
Answer #14-16 based on the following website: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/countryprofile/profile.htm
Choose 2 countries (not the USA) and find the information for each. USE information for 2005
Answer #17-23 based on the following website: http://www.census.gov/popclock/
Evaluation
When you complete the activity, you will receive conclusion questions to answer based on the information you gathered. Think carefully about your information and answer as completely as you can. I will be collecting your conclusion questions.