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Unit 03
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Test 2 Feedback

Population

Here is the feedback and answers to the Test in Unit 02.
1 Questions like this are common on many exam papers. They show the value of learning key definitions clearly. Either make a list of the main definitions that you need for your syllabus, or ask your teacher to provide you with one. Then learn them. In this case:
  (i)
birth rate - the number of children born in a country, in one year, for every thousand population.
  (ii)
infant mortality rate - the average number of children, out of every thousand born alive, who die before their first birthday.
  (iii)
dependency ratio - the number of people who are too old or too young to work, and who have to be supported by each person of working age.
  (iv)
emigration - the migration of people out of a country.
  (v)
rural-urban migration - migration from the countryside into a town or city.
  The first three definitions are fairly complex. You gain two marks for a full definition and one for a partly correct one. When you see that two marks are available for a definition you know that you must develop your answer in some detail.


2

'Name a country where the death rate has fallen rapidly since the 1960s.'
When you read this first line it should have automatically have made you think: 'Naming a country is quite easy, but the question will ask more about that country. I must read all parts of the question before I choose my country.'

Suppose that you chose India, you could have written the following answer for part (i):
  1. They are able to grow more food because of the changes brought about by the Green Revolution.
  2. Many parts of the country have introduced inoculations for babies so that diseases such as smallpox are not common.
  3. The death rate in the cities - such as Calcutta - is falling, because better sewage systems are being built.
 

Note that three very different reasons are given. Each point is developed and elaborated, so that the answer gained the full six marks. This answer does not just say 'there is better health care, there are better sewage systems and there is a better food supply.' That answer is so vague that it would probably only have gained one or two marks.

In part (ii) the answer is clear - 'Life expectancy has increased because people are living longer.'


3 (i) What was happening to the population total in Stage 2?
It was going up, because the birth rate was higher than the death rate.
  (ii) What was happening to the population total in Stage 3?
It was still going up (1 mark), but in this stage the birth rate was falling, so the rate of population increase was slowing down (1 mark).
  (iii) Name a country that has developed a policy to reduce its birth rate. China is the most obvious answer, and one which many people study. India, Thailand, Singapore and other countries in Asia are also useful examples.
  (iv) Why was this policy needed?
There are three marks available here, so obviously the answer needs to be developed quite carefully. If it is marked using Levels of Response, full marks will only be awarded if the answer uses some statistics to support the answer, and develops at least one idea in some detail. For instance:
'China had a rapidly growing population. In the 1960s it was increasing by 55 million people (the size of UK's total population) every three years. The government realised that if this went on the country would suffer from food shortages and famine by the early years of the third millennium.'
  (v) Describe this policy.
'The first policy was summed up as 'later, longer, fewer'. Chinese people were encouraged to marry later, have longer gaps between children, and have fewer children altogether. Later they brought in the One Child Policy, which gave free education and other benefits to families with one child. They lost these benefits if they had more than one child. Contraception was made available, and women were encouraged to be sterilised after their one child was born.'
  (vi)

How successful has the policy been?
Mention any problems that the policy has caused, as well as its successes.
When you are asked to say how successful something has been you should really give clear figures or examples to support your answer. In the case of China's policy it has clearly worked fairly well, because famine has been avoided. In fact the birth rate has fallen to about 15‰ and the country has almost entered Stage 4 of the demographic transition. The total population has risen to 1.25 billion, but without the One Child Policy it would have been much higher.

However, problems include:
• Shortage of people to work the land in some rural areas
• Female infanticide in some cases, when families need a son to work on the land, and to carry on the family name
• Women having forced abortions.

4 Once again, in part (i) of this question you must choose an example that you are able to carry on writing about in parts (ii) and (iii).
  (ii)

Explain what caused the migration.
Always try to plan and structure your longer answers. In this case you have a ready-made start to your plan if you refer to the 'Push-Pull Model'. Start by describing the 'pushes' that made people want to leave their original home. You should go on to say whether these are enough to call the migration 'forced'.

Then go on to write about the 'pulls' in the new area. The pulls almost always include the possibility of work. However, you will not get high marks if that is all you say. What type of work? Was it skilled or unskilled? Was it in factories, services, mines, transport, or some other kind of work? Perhaps you can name one or more of the companies who were major employers? (for example, Fiat and Volkswagen had car factories in São Paulo which attracted many workers.) Was the prospect of work real or just imagined? … and so on.

  (iii) How has the movement of people affected:
• the area which the migrants left?
• the area that they moved to?

There were 9 marks available for this question. It obviously needed a detailed answer. The question already divides your answer into two parts. However, it is quite easy to see at least one more sub-division. In the second part you should try to write about how the migration affected people who lived there already and the people who had moved there.

Be very careful when writing about how migration has affected areas that have received migrants. You must avoid racist comments. However, that does not mean that you must avoid writing about racism. For example, migrants into the UK have suffered from racism. It can make finding a job difficult. Prejudice may also stop people moving to certain areas. You should report such examples of racism in your answer, but do not write as a racist. You should also report that many of the original inhabitants are worried that migrants might take their jobs - but be aware that most migrants into the UK came to do jobs that the original inhabitants were no longer willing to do. That is why many migrants have ended up in poor, low-paid jobs.