Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Square, and I'm really excited that you've decided to learn geography with me today.

Today's lesson is in our unit of population: where do people live? And our lesson is titled population density.

By the end of the lesson, you will be able to explain why population density differs across the globe.

There are some keywords that we'll come across in today's lesson.

They are population density, sparse population, dense population and distribution.

Now, population density means the number of people living in a defined area.

For example, 300 people per kilometre squared.

A sparse population is an area with relatively few people living in it, whereas a dense population is an area with a high number of people living in it.

Distribution means how people are spread out across a geographic area.

So our lesson is split into two cycles.

The first, what is population density? And the second, what factors affect population density? So let's look first at what is population density.

So distribution, which is one of our keywords, describes how something is spread across an area.

Now, look at the two boxes with the purple circles in.

Are they the same? Are the purple circles spread in the same way? The circles are unevenly distributed in the left hand side.

The circles are evenly distributed in the right hand side.

Can you see the difference? So population distribution is how people are spread across an area.

So very similar to the circles, but this time, we're talking about people.

Do you think population is distributed evenly or unevenly across the globe? What do you think? So the answer is unevenly.

Population is distributed unevenly in the world due to a range of human and physical factors.

Have a look at the map that shows population distribution across the globe.

The darker the orange colour, the greater the number of people are living there.

So can you see the areas that have a higher number of people? They're the darker areas.

And the lighter colours have a small number of people, have a smaller number of people living there.

So let's check what we've learned so far.

What is population distribution? Is it how people are spread across the world, the number people in the world, or the resources available in an area? So pause the video, write your answer down, and then come back and let's see how you did.

Okay, how did you get on? What is population distribution? The answer is A, how people are spread across the world.

How did you do? Well done.

So here we go, here's the map again that's showing how people are spread across the globe.

Population density is the number of people living per unit of area, and that unit is generally kilometres squared that's used.

And that's what population density is, the number of people living per unit of area.

So India on the map has a high population density.

Can you see that it's really dark orange in colour? Means it's got a lot of people living there, so it's got a high population density.

Whereas Australia, that has a low population density.

Can you see that it has a lighter colour, the lighter yellow colour? And that shows that it's got a lower population density.

If a lot of people live in an area, it's described as being densely populated.

So India is densely populated because it has a lot of people living in that area.

If few people live in an area, it's described as sparsely populated.

So Australia is sparsely populated because it doesn't have a lot of people living there.

So densely means it's got lots of people living there, and sparsely means it doesn't have very many people living there.

Urban areas, which are areas of towns and cities tend to have a dense population.

If you have a look at that picture there, you can see all of those buildings really crammed together.

That suggests that there's a lot of people living in that area.

Also, the buildings are really, really tall.

So that means they've got lots of floors and people are able to get into a smaller area by going upwards.

Now, rural areas, which is the countryside, they tend to have a sparse population.

If you have a little look at this image here, you can see only a few houses and a lot of open green space.

Okay, let's check what we've done so far then.

So what does densely populated mean? Is it the number of people living per unit of area? Is it an area with relatively few people living in it? Is it an area with a high number of people living in it? Or is it the way people are spread across an area? So you pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you did.

Okay, how did you get on? So what does densely populated mean? The answer is C, an area with a high number of people living in it.

Well done.

Okay, so which areas of the world are densely populated? Here's that map again that we've been looking at.

The orange is densely populated, so a lot of people living there, and the yellow is sparsely populated, so not very many people living there.

So which areas of the world are densely populated? So Europe is densely populated.

We can see a lot of orange.

The East Coast of North America is also densely populated.

East Asia has got a lot of people living there, very densely populated.

And South Asia.

We looked earlier at India, that's in South Asia.

That's very densely populated.

Which areas of the world are sparsely populated? Have another little look at this map.

Which areas of the world can you pick out that are sparsely populated? Those yellow areas that don't have as many people living there.

So we've got North Asia, at the top there, we can see is got a low density of population, so it's yellow and there's not very many people living there.

South America is also a sparsely populated area of the world, as is much of Africa.

And Oceania, which is where Australia is, is sparsely populated.

Not a lot of people living there.

So let's check what we've learned again then.

Which of the following statements correctly describes Northern Asia's population density? For which of the following statements correctly describes Northern Asia's population density? So have a little look at the map, remember what population density is, and have a look at where North Asia is.

So is Northern Asia, does it have a low population density for A, Northern Asia has a low population density? Is it B, Northern Asia is sparsely populated? Or is it C, Northern Asia is densely populated? So have a little look at that map, pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and see how you did.

Okay, how did you get on? So which one is it? How can we describe the population density of Northern Asia? And the answer is A and B.

So well done if you've got both of those.

Northern Asia has a low population density and Northern Asia is sparsely populated.

They mean the same thing.

So they are both the correct answer.

Well done.

If you have a look at the map, you can see that Northern Asia is that yellow colour, which means it doesn't have a lot of people there, so it's a low population density or sparsely populated.

Well done.

Okay, so now we're onto our first task of the lesson.

So question one, write a definition for the following key terms: A, population density, B, distribution, C, sparse, and D, dense.

So write down a definition, pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and we'll move on to the second part of the task and then we'll look at the answer.

So pause the video and write down your answer.

Okay, let's look at question two, which is the second part of the task.

This question is describe the global population distribution.

So have a look at the population density map and the continents map to help you.

So we've got a map there which shows the population density of the globe, and we've been looking at that with the orange meaning high density and the yellow meaning low density.

Then we've also got a map which shows you the names of all of the continents to give you a hand with writing down the locations.

So you should try to include continent names and compass points, so north, south, east, and west in your answer.

Now use those two maps to describe global population distribution.

So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and we'll see how you got on.

Okay, let's see how you got on then.

So the first part of the task was to write a definition for some key terms. So population density is the number of people living per unit of area.

Distribution is the way people are spread across an area.

Sparse, an area with very few people living in it.

And dense, an area with high number of people living in it.

How did you get on with those definitions? Let's have a look at the next part then.

So we were describing the distribution across the world using those two maps that you got, and you needed to include the names of continents and some compass points in your answer.

So you might have written this: "Population is unevenly distributed across the globe.

Areas of the world with high population density include Europe, the East Coast of North America, East Asia, and South Asia.

Areas of the world with a low population density include North Asia, South America, Africa, and Oceania." How did you get on? Did you write all of those in your answer? Well done.

Okay, let's move on to the second learning cycle of the lesson.

So what factors affect population density? So both human and physical factors affect where people live and how crowded places are.

So human and physical factors, they're things, factors that are caused by humans, and physical factors are those natural factors.

So both human and physical factors can influence how many people live in an area.

Human factors include things such as industry, jobs, transport links, and accessibility.

And physical factors include climate, soil, natural resources, and water supply.

And let's have a look at those in a little bit more detail.

So how does climate affect population density? Climate's a physical factor.

How does climate affect population density? And you can see we've got two maps there.

We've got the population density map and we've also got a map of the world, which shows different climates.

So higher population densities are found in the temperate and continental climates.

So can you see on the map at the top where we've got the orange, which is the high levels of population density.

If you compare that to the map at the bottom, which shows you the climates of the different areas, we found that the most people live in the areas with temperate climate and continental climate.

And temperate climate are those that are green on the map at the bottom.

So they tend to be the areas where we find the most people and the higher population density.

Now, areas with a moderate climate where it's not too hot and not too cold, not too wet or dry, often have higher population densities.

For example, in the US and the UK.

So where we live in the UK, it's not too hot, it's not too cold, not too wet, and not too dry, and we have high population density.

And it's a similar sort of climate in the USA, and they also have a high population density.

Areas with more extreme climates where they're very hot or very cold conditions, they have lower population densities.

They don't have as many people living there, such as areas like Central Africa where it's very, very hot, and Northern Asia where it's very, very cold, they don't have as many people living there.

Okay, what about soil? How does soil affect population density? So fertile soil means people can grow food.

So areas with rich, fertile soil usually have higher population densities.

And that makes sense, doesn't it? If people are gonna be able to grow food, there's gonna be a lot of people living there.

But poor soil or infertile soil means it's difficult to grow crops.

So areas with less fertile soil usually have lower population densities.

And again, that makes sense.

People are gonna live in the places where they're gonna be able to grow food to eat and to be able to survive.

What about natural resources? How does that affect population density? So Lucas says, "Areas with lots of water or wood attract more people, they have higher population densities." That's right.

Well done, Lucas.

And Jacob adds to this, "This is because these resources are needed for farming, business and daily life." Yeah, so if we've got a place where we've got lots of wood and water, they're attracting people because they're gonna need to use these resources to live and survive.

Well done.

Okay, let's check what we've done so far then.

So which of the following would lead to a dense population? Is it A, areas with moderate climates where it's not too hot or cold? B, areas with extreme climates such as deserts? C, areas where the soil is infertile and crops don't grow well? And D, areas with fewer natural resources? So have a look and see what you think the answer is.

Pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Which of the following would lead to a dense population? The answer is A, areas with moderate climates where it's not too hot or cold.

Well done.

Okay, so cities such as London, which is the capital of England, have very high population densities.

And if you have a look at this map, the darker colours, the darker blue shows higher population density.

And as the colours get lighter, that shows a lower population density.

So you can see in the centre of London, we've got the most people, the higher population densities.

And as you move further out, that density of the population decreases and we get less people living there.

What human factors encourage people to live in London and lead it to having a high population density? Think about human factors, these are things that humans influence.

What do you think encourages people to live in London? So things like motorways, airports, railways, and the tube give easy access to jobs and services.

So humans have built those things, which is why they're human factors, and that's gonna mean people are gonna be able to access their jobs and services easily.

So that's gonna attract people to London.

As you can see on the map, the blue, these are big motorways, and the M25 is a motorway that runs all the way around London.

So people are able to access London from all different areas.

We can also see that we've got airports, so there's three airports, they're highlighted on the map.

So people are able to get to London from other places in the UK on an aeroplane, but also internationally.

And then we've also got railways, which also means that it's able easy to be able to access London.

And this image here at the bottom is an image of the tube, which is a very quick way of being able to get around London.

Jobs in a variety of industries like banking, finance, and tourism also attract people to the city.

So there are lots of jobs in London in lots of different industries, and that attracts people to the city.

So let's check out what we've done so far.

True or false, good transport links can encourage high population densities? Good transport links can encourage high population densities.

Is that true or false? So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you do? Good transport links can encourage a high population density.

Is that true or false? That's true.

Well done.

That's because they can lead to, good transport links can lead to high population density because they give easy access to jobs and services, making an area more attractive for people to live and work.

So people are able to access the things that they want easy because we've got good transport links, and that's gonna mean that people are going to want to live there.

Well done.

Okay, so now we're onto our second task of the lesson.

Categorise these factors into sparse population and dense population in the table.

So we've got a number of factors there, and you have to decide whether they're gonna lead to a sparse population, which means not very many people, or a dense population, which is a lot of people.

So let's look at the different factors.

We've got moderate climates, extreme climate, poor, infertile soil, fewer natural resources, plenty of water, rich, fertile soil, lack of jobs, and good transport links.

So you've got to decide whether they're gonna lead to a sparse population or a dense population and add them into the table.

So pause the video, write down your answer, and then we'll come back and see how you got on.

Okay, so now we're onto the second part of the task.

Question two, choose one of those factors and explain how it influences population density.

So choose one factor that you've just written about and explain how that influences population density.

So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and we'll see how you got on.

Okay, let's see how you got on.

So you had to categorise the factors into sparse and dense population.

So the answers for sparse population and the factors that lead to a sparse population are extreme climate, poor, infertile soil, fewer natural resources, and a lack of jobs.

The factors that lead to a dense population are moderate climates, plenty of water, rich, fertile soil, and good transport links.

Well done.

So you then have to choose one of your factors and explain how it influences population density, and he's an example of one of those.

So fertile soil means people can grow crops to provide food or to sell.

Therefore, areas with rich fertile soil usually have a more dense population.

Well done.

Okay, so let's summarise our lesson on population density.

What have we learned today? Population distribution is uneven across the world.

Population density can be affected by the climate, soil, and distribution of resources.

A sparse population means that there are few people in an area relative to its size.

Rural areas tend to have a sparse population.

A dense population means that there are a large number of people in an area relative to its size.

Cities have dense populations.

And human factors such as jobs and transport links, and physical factors like climate and soil affect population density.

Thank you for joining me for our lesson today.

I look forward to seeing you next time.