Definitions

Question 1

Define population momentum

Answer 1

The tendency for a population to continue growing even after the time that fertility has fallen to replacement level. Population momentum occurs
when a population contains quite high proportion of people at or before their childbearing years.

Question 2

Define demographic dividend

Answer 2

It refers to the growth in a country’s economy that has taken place when its dependency ratio declines as a result of its changing population structure whereby a relatively higher working-age population yields significant improvements in economic growth.

Question 3

Define ecological footprint

Answer 3

Ecological footprint refers to the approximate area of land and water needed to provide a person with the resources needed to live and to absorb their waste.

Question 4

Define doubling time

Answer 4

The length of time it takes for a population to double in size assuming constant growth rate. Formula = 70 / Population growth rate.

Question 5

Define forced migration

Answer 5

It occurs when people have no effective choice but to relocate for reasons such as escaping from political conflict, consequences of so-called development projects, or because of environmental disasters.

Question 6

Define refugees

Answer 6

People who ‘seek refuge’ from a hazard or persecution. Refers to a person who has been forced to cross an international boundary and move to a different country

Question 7

Define asylum seekers

Answer 7

Asylum seekers are people who have crossed an international border in the hope of being recognised as a refugee, but their claim to be a refugee is still being considered.

Question 8

Define internally displaced persons (IDP)

Answer 8

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are people who have been forcibly relocated within their own country

Question 9

Define human trafficking

Answer 9

Human trafficking occurs when people are forcibly moved as a result of deception or coercion in the false hope of financial gain.

Question 10

Define fertility rate

Answer 10

Fertility rates are defined as the average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years.

Question 11

Define enhanced greenhouse gas effect

Answer 11

The warming that occurs due to additional heat being retained by the atmosphere as a result of increases in greenhouse gases that humans have released.

Question 12

Define biome

Answer 12

A biome is a large collection of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.

Question 13

What are the 3 sectors of a society?

Answer 13

1. Government
2. Businesses (Corporate Sector)
3. Civil society

Question 14

What are the corporate strategies in combatting climate change?

Answer 14

1. Adapting production processes to make them more energy efficient, updating technology to make them less reliant on hydrocarbon fuels.
2. Companies diversify or shift their core product range in anticipation of the impact of climate change. (Example: Toyota pioneering the retail sale of hybrid cars).

Question 15

What are the civil society strategies in combatting climate change?

Answer 15

1. Awareness raising — simplifying climate change research, and then communicating it to the general public to inform them about the issues and risks. Awareness raising is often linked to advocacy through petitions and lobbying.
2. Corporate boycotts used to place pressure on companies that are fueling climate change.
3. Call on governments to sign up for international agreements on conservation of forests and reduction of emissions.

Question 16

Define poverty

Answer 16

The state of being extremely poor, lacking material possessions or money.

Question 17

Define biocapacity

Answer 17

An ecosystem’s capacity to produce resources that are used by people and to absorb the waste that humans generated.

Question 18

Define global hectares

Answer 18

Biologically productive land. Includes cropland, forest and fishing grounds. Doesn’t include deserts, glaciers and open ocean.

Question 19

Define embedded water

Answer 19

Embedded water is the quantity of water used in the entire process of producing, transporting and consuming a product.

Question 20

Define conservation

Answer 20

Conservation means protecting or preserving valuable resources.

• Hard conservation is the preservation of a resource by prohibiting, as far as possible, any adverse human impact on the resource whatsoever.
• Soft conservation allows resources to be used, but insists that there should be no waste of the resource.

Question 21

Define greenhouse effect

Answer 21

Greenhouse gases allow the short-wave radiation from the sun to pass through the atmosphere and heat up the Earth, while trapping the long-wave radiation from the Earth, warming the atmosphere.

Question 22

Define global dimming

Answer 22

Polluted air contains more particles than clean air, such as ash and sulphur dioxide. Thus, there are more sites for water to bind to, forming more droplets that are smaller than natural droplets. The increased, smaller water droplets means polluted clouds reflect more sunlight back into space, reducing the sun’s heat reaching the Earth.

Question 23

Define the steric effect

Answer 23

Water expands when it gets warmer, so sea levels rise.

Question 24

Define carbon cycle

Answer 24

It is a process by which carbon travels from the atmosphere into the Earth and organisms and then back into the atmosphere.

Question 25

Define biosphere

Answer 25

The regions of the surface and the atmosphere of the Earth occupied by living organisms.

Question 26

Define resource stewardship

Answer 26

A concept that suggests that humans can use resources in such a way that they will be available to future generations, a situation where there is environmental sustainability and social equity over accessing resources.

Question 27

What are 5 significant SDGs?

Answer 27

1) Responsible consumption and production (circular economy) 2) Industry, innovation and infrastructure 3) Zero Hunger 4) Quality education 5) Gender Equality

Question 28

Define crude birth rate

Answer 28

The ratio between the number of live births in a population during a given year and the total mid-year population for the same year, usually multiplied by 1,000.

Question 29

Define general fertility rate

Answer 29

Number of children per 1000 women of child bearing age

Question 30

Define age-specific fertility rate

Answer 30

Number of children born to women of each age group, per 1000 women of that age group

Question 31

Define total fertility rate

Answer 31

Average number of live births each female would have during her reproductive years

Question 32

What is replacement level fertility?

Answer 32

It is the total fertility rate at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, without taking into account migration.

Question 33

Define infant mortality rate

Answer 33

Measures the number of infants who die in their first year per 1000 live births in a population

Question 34

Define natural increase

Answer 34

The difference between the number of births and the number of deaths recorded in an area over a period of time

Question 35

Define dependency ratio

Answer 35

Age-population ratio of the economically inactive population to the economically active population.