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Year 10
Edexcel B

Population and resources

I can describe the growth in demand for resources, understand its causes and consider different theories about the relationship between population and resources.

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New
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Year 10
Edexcel B

Population and resources

I can describe the growth in demand for resources, understand its causes and consider different theories about the relationship between population and resources.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Global and regional trends show increasing demand for food, energy and water resources.
  2. Increasing resource demand can be caused by population growth, rising affluence, urbanisation and industrialisation.
  3. 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 running out because the global population is rising.

Population growth is just one of many factors contributing to increased demand for resources.

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.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
The biosphere provides us with a wide range of benefits known as ecosystem …
components.
features.
flows.
Correct answer: services.
stores.
Q2.
Nutrients cycle between three different stores in a forest ecosystem: the soil, biomass and __________ stores.
bedrock
fungi
groundwater
Correct answer: litter
Q3.
Decomposers play a key role in nutrient cycling. A number of different organisms may be decomposers in a forest ecosystem, including …
animal waste.
Correct answer: bacteria.
Correct answer: fungi.
dead plant matter.
trees.
Q4.
Decomposers not only return nutrients to the atmosphere, but also to the store, ready for plant uptake.
Correct Answer: soil, humus
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.'
1 - c
2 - a
3 - r
4 - b
5 - o
6 - n
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?
decomposition
Correct answer: evapotranspiration
Correct answer: infiltration
Correct answer: interception
weathering

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
The United Nations (UN) predicts that the __________ population will continue to grow until the 2080s.
Correct answer: global
local
national
UK
Q2.
Growth in population will place greater demands on food, energy and water .
Correct Answer: resources, sources, supplies
Q3.
What is the process called by which a mainly agricultural society changes and begins to depend more on manufacturing industries?
affluence
Correct answer: industrialisation
a newly emerging economy
urbanisation
Q4.
People in newly emerging economies may experience a rise in as a result of exporting larger quantities of goods to other countries.
Correct Answer: affluence
Q5.
Malthus took __________ view of the relationship between population growth and the growth of resources such as food.
an altruistic
an optimistic
Correct answer: a pessimistic
a positive
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.
altruistic
negative
Correct answer: optimistic
pessimistic