Unit 2 Review Quiz

Which of the following describes a concern for a country with an aging population?

• As a country’s population ages, the life expectancy for the younger population of the country decreases and healthcare costs decline.

• As a country’s population ages, the infant mortality rate decreases and there is an increased need for daycare centers.

• As the proportion of older people in the country increases, fewer young workers are available to contribute tax revenues to support programs that provide services to the older population.

• As the proportion of older people in the country increases, the sex ratio becomes disproportionally skewed toward males.

• As the proportion of older people increases, the total population decreases because older people do not have children.

Answer explanation

Correct. An imbalance between an aging population and a young population results in disproportionate numbers of working-age people needed to support the needs of an aging population through tax revenues. Countries with aging populations may need to develop innovative ways to support the nonworking population.

Based on the data provided, which of the following best describes how changing roles for women influence patterns of social values?

• Similar birth rates shown in the table for France, Russia, Brazil, and China indicate that women in these countries have access to similar levels of education.

• High death rates shown in the table for Nigeria and Russia reveal a similar lack of women’s rights and access to health care in these countries.

• Women living in France choose to have less children but die at higher rates than in Egypt due to greater pollution in industrialized countries such as France.

• Higher birth rates in African countries suggest that women in African countries have less access to education and employment than European women.

• All women in developing countries have higher fertility rates due to the lack of medical care and political rights.

Answer explanation

Correct. Access to education and employment for women tends to reduce birth rates. The table shows high birth rates for Nigeria and Egypt, suggesting that women in African countries have less access to education and employment than women in European countries.

Country A is a more developed country with a low birth rate, a low total fertility rate, a high life expectancy, and a high percentage of urban population. Based on this information, which of the following outcomes is most likely to occur in Country A?

• Guest workers from less developed countries are needed to fill the labor shortages in urban areas.

• Falling birth rates and declining youth populations result in an increase in school construction in urban areas.

• Pressures on pension and social security programs are at critical levels as the number of elderly increases.

• Provincial and national politicians must tailor their political campaigns to appeal to rural voters.

• Suburban house construction declines as elderly populations downsize and seek to be closer to urban amenities.

Answer explanation

Correct. National programs for old-age pensions in more developed countries are pressured to support a growing number of retirees, as the working-age population is declining. The working-age population contributes to pension funds, which make payments to retirees.

Which statement best describes population growth patterns in the world today?

• In the world as a whole, women have an average of five or more children, leading to Malthusian crises.

• Fertility rates in low- and middle-income countries worldwide are higher now than 25 years ago.

• In the world as a whole, fertility rates have fallen in the last 25 years.

• In sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific, fertility rates have doubled in the last 25 years.

• Fertility rates in most high-income countries have risen in the last 25 years.

Which of the following best explains a likely effect of Brazil’s population distribution?

• More uniform economic growth throughout the entire country as urban areas expand westward

• Increased cultural unity as more people live in close proximity to one another in eastern Brazil

• Uneven economic development as eastern Brazil experiences more growth than the sparsely inhabited western regions

• The expansion of available farmland as people move to the cities, allowing more rural land to be farmed

• More efficient political administration and improved governance as the population becomes more clustered

Answer explanation

Correct. With higher population densities in the eastern coastal regions economic growth is occurring unevenly. Less populated regions in the western interior are experiencing less economic growth than urban centers in the East.

In the century after the arrival of Europeans, which of the following changes occurred to the indigenous population of the Americas?

• It increased dramatically because of new trade routes and industries

• It increased slowly with the introduction of new crops

• It remained about the same, since very few Europeans actually moved there

• It decreased dramatically with the introduction of new diseases

• It decreased slowly due to increased competition for land

Which of the following explains a significant positive impact that the immigration of large populations of Chinese people had on places like Vancouver and Los Angeles?

• The increase of large populations of Chinese people established Cantonese as the lingua franca, allowing immigrants and local people to communicate.

• The assimilation of Chinese immigrants created stability in their new city neighborhoods, giving the immigrants political power.

• Most Chinese immigrants converted to the dominant religions of their new cities, prompting the construction of many new churches.

• Chinese immigrants established businesses and religious centers that provided their new cities with greater access to elements of Chinese culture such as arts, cuisine, and religion.

• Chinese neighborhoods were established on the outskirts of these cities as agricultural trade centers, introducing Asian crops to North America.

Answer explanation

Correct. Chinese immigrants had a positive impact on cities such as Vancouver and Los Angeles by establishing businesses and religious centers rooted in Chinese culture, increasing cultural diversity in these cities.

Which of the following explains the major effect of migration flow to Southwest Asia from other regions in Asia?

• Students migrate to attend school in the region, increasing the technology labor force.

• Guest workers migrate to the region for jobs in construction and the oil fields, increasing the volume of exports from the region.

• Women and children migrate to reunify with male relatives living in the region, forming permanent urban settlements.

• People with chronic illnesses travel as medical tourists to obtain medical care, growing the health care industry.

• Older adults migrate to areas with warmer climates after retiring from their jobs, growing the service industry.

Answer explanation

Correct. Southwest Asia, including the states located on the Arabian peninsula, has relied on imported labor to work in oil fields and construction. The majority of these workers have come from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Many parts of Southwest Asia lacked a large workforce and guest workers provided the necessary labor to expand capacity and infrastructure for the oil and gas industry.

Which of the following would be most likely to increase life expectancy in a less developed country, resulting in an aging population in that country?

• Improvements in access to health care and sanitation

• An increase in the country’s birth rate

• Rural-to-urban migration within the country

• Improvements in transportation and communication networks

• A decrease in the country’s total fertility rate

Answer explanation

Correct. Improvements in access to health care and sanitation can contribute to increased life expectancies in less developed countries. These types of improvements can help prevent deaths from infectious diseases.

The data in the table can be used to describe a high level of female empowerment for which of the following countries?

• Mexico

• India

• Nigeria

• France

• Egypt

Answer explanation

Correct. France’s birth rate of 12 is the lowest on the list. Low birth rates are one indicator of greater female empowerment within a country.