Population and resources
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe the growth in demand for resources, understand its causes and consider different theories about the relationship between population and resources.
Key learning points
- Global and regional trends show increasing demand for food, energy and water resources.
- Increasing resource demand can be caused by population growth, rising affluence, urbanisation and industrialisation.
- Theories can help to explain relationships between population and resources, e.g. Malthus and Boserup.
Keywords
Industrialisation - where a mainly agricultural society changes and begins to depend more on manufacturing industries
Affluence - the wealth of individuals or societies, which rises with industrialisation and the creation of a middle class
Urbanisation - a rise in the proportion of people living in urban areas
Malthus - Thomas Malthus (born 1766) took a pessimistic view of the link between population growth and resources
Boserup - Ester Boserup (born 1910) took an optimistic view of the link between population growth and agriculture
Common misconception
Global resources are only running out because the global population is rising.
Population growth is just one of many factors contributing to increased demand for resources.
Teacher tip
There are opportunities for developing geographical skills (using graphs and maps showing global and regional trends). Some graphs, in particular may be explored using interactive versions online.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The biosphere provides us with a wide range of benefits known as ecosystem …
Q2.Nutrients cycle between three different stores in a forest ecosystem: the soil, biomass and __________ stores.
Q3.Decomposers play a key role in nutrient cycling. A number of different organisms may be decomposers in a forest ecosystem, including …
Q4.Decomposers not only return nutrients to the atmosphere, but also to the store, ready for plant uptake.
Q5.Put the letters below in the correct order to fill in the gap in the following sentence about sequestration: 'Green plants photosynthesise by removing __________ from the atmosphere.'
Q6.The biosphere plays a role in regulating the movement of water within the hydrological cycle. Which of these processes relate to this regulating role?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The United Nations (UN) predicts that the __________ population will continue to grow until the 2080s.
Q2.Growth in population will place greater demands on food, energy and water .
Q3.What is the process called by which a mainly agricultural society changes and begins to depend more on manufacturing industries?
Q4.People in newly emerging economies may experience a rise in as a result of exporting larger quantities of goods to other countries.
Q5.Malthus took __________ view of the relationship between population growth and the growth of resources such as food.
Q6.Boserup saw population growth as a driver for innovation in food production. She thus took a more __________ view of the relationship between population and resources than Malthus did.
To help you plan your 10 geography lesson on: Population and resources, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 geography lesson on: Population and resources, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 geography lessons from the Global biomes unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.