Compare two stages of the demographic transition
Three steps, the way the exam actually works: work through the lab, write down your own measurements, then answer a 6-point free response. What you recorded goes to the grader with your writing, so a conclusion that does not follow from your own numbers will cost you the point — exactly as it would with a real reader.
Run the investigation
- 1Set the model to Stage 2 and record the crude birth rate and crude death rate it reports.
- 2Switch to Stage 4 and record both rates again.
- 3Switch to Stage 5 and record the two rates one more time.
- 4Look carefully at how the shape of the population pyramid differs between Stage 2 and Stage 4.
Booting the lab…
Record what you measured
These are your numbers, not ours. The grader sees them, so your conclusions have to follow from what you actually recorded.
| Stage 2 crude birth rate | per 1,000 |
|---|---|
| Stage 2 crude death rate | per 1,000 |
| Stage 4 crude birth rate | per 1,000 |
| Stage 4 crude death rate | per 1,000 |
| Stage 5 crude birth rate | per 1,000 |
| Stage 5 crude death rate | per 1,000 |
Answer the free response
The demographic transition model describes how vital rates change as a society develops. (a) Calculate the rate of natural increase for Stage 2 and for Stage 4 from your recorded rates, expressing each as a percentage per year. Show your method. (b) Using the rule of 70, calculate the doubling time implied by your Stage 2 rate, and explain why that figure matters for a government planning schools and clinics. (c) Stage 2 and Stage 3 both involve a falling rate, but for very different reasons. Explain what causes the death rate to fall entering Stage 2 and what causes the birth rate to fall entering Stage 3. (d) Your Stage 5 figures produce a negative rate of natural increase. Describe the shape of the population pyramid this produces and identify one specific economic challenge it creates.
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