Population - Competency-Based Question Bank (with Answers)

Section A: Case-Based Questions

Case Study 1: Country with high birth rate and declining death rate.

1. Effect on population size?
   • Answer: Population Explosion (Rapid increase).
2. Define "Growth Rate".
   • Answer: The difference between the birth rate and the death rate per unit time.
3. Designing: Age pyramid shape.
   • Answer: Triangular (broad base), indicating a large proportion of young individuals.
4. Analysis: Why death rate declined faster?
   • Answer: Improved sanitation, control of epidemics, and better medical facilities reduce deaths quickly, but social/cultural factors keep birth rates high for longer.
5. Measures to reduce birth rate.
   • Answer: Education, family planning awareness, and raising the legal age of marriage.

Case Study 2: City with doubled population density. 6. Define "Population Density".

• Answer: The number of individuals per unit area at a given time.

7. Three problems.
   • Answer: Lack of housing (slums), increased pollution, and pressure on public resources like water and transport.
8. Creating: Slogan.
   • Answer: "Small Family, Happy Family" or "Plan your family, secure your future."
9. Critical Thinking: Urbanization and growth.
   • Answer: Yes, it leads to rapid growth mainly through immigration (people moving from rural to urban areas for jobs).
10. Education of women impact.
    • Answer: Educated women tend to marry later, seek careers, and have better knowledge of family planning, leading to lower birth rates.

Section B: Assertion-Reasoning Questions

Directions: (a) Both A/R true, R explains A; (b) Both true, R doesn't explain A; (c) A true, R false; (d) A false, R true.

11. Assertion (A): India launched Family Planning in 1952. Reason (R): First country to do so.
    • Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation.
12. Assertion (A): Age pyramid of developed country is bell-shaped. Reason (R): Pre-reproductive and reproductive counts are equal.
    • Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation.
13. Assertion (A): Education is best contraceptive. Reason (R): Educated couples marry later.
    • Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation.
14. Assertion (A): Tubectomy is reversible. Reason (R): Tubes can be reconnected.
    • Answer: (d) A is false but R is true (it is technically possible but usually considered permanent). Correct: (d) A is false.
15. Assertion (A): IMR has decreased in India. Reason (R): Better healthcare/vaccination.
    • Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation.

Section C: Creating and Designing (Application & Analysis)

16. Designing: Survey form.
    • Answer: [Fields: Name, Age, Number of children, Occupation, Awareness of family planning].
17. Creating: Bar graph data.
    • Answer: [Description: Steady climb from 360 million in 1951 to over 1.2 billion in 2011].
18. Analysis: Natality vs Mortality.
    • Answer: Natality: Birth rate. Mortality: Death rate. Population grows if Natality > Mortality.
19. Designing: Contraceptive table.
    • Answer: [Barrier: Condom (blocks sperm). Hormonal: Pill (stops ovulation). IUD: Copper-T (prevents implantation). Surgical: Vasectomy (blocks sperm transport)].
20. Visualisation: Red Triangle.
    • Answer: Symbol for family planning/welfare services in India.
21. Application: Legal marriage age.
    • Answer: To ensure physical/mental maturity and to reduce the total reproductive span of a couple.
22. Creating: Government strategy.
    • Answer: Financial incentives for sterilization after two children, free education for the first child.
23. Analysis: Population and Pollution.
    • Answer: More people -> More consumption -> More waste generation and resource depletion.
24. Designing: Skit script.
    • Answer: [Focus on dividing a single loaf of bread among 2 children vs 10 children].
25. Creating: Sex education letter.
    • Answer: [Arguments for scientific knowledge to prevent STDs, unwanted pregnancies, and myths].

Section D: Competency & Critical Thinking

26. Demography.
    • Answer: The statistical study of human populations (size, density, distribution, and vital statistics).
27. Scenario: Equal birth and death rates.
    • Answer: Zero Population Growth (ZPG). The population remains stable.
28. Critical Thinking: Malthusian theory.
    • Answer: Population grows geometrically (2,4,8...) while food grows arithmetically (1,2,3...). Leads to "Malthusian catastrophe" (famine/war).
29. Application: IUD (Copper-T).
    • Answer: Inserted into the uterus by a doctor; releases copper ions that suppress sperm motility and prevent implantation.
30. Immigration vs Emigration.
    • Answer: Immigration: People coming in. Emigration: People leaving.
31. Diagram Based: Age Pyramids.
    • Answer: Expanding (triangular) pyramid represents developing nations with high birth rates.
32. "Son Preference" role.
    • Answer: Couples may continue to have children until they have a boy, leading to larger family sizes.
33. Analysis: Low Sex Ratio.
    • Answer: Caused by social bias, female foeticide (selective abortion), and neglect of female children.
34. Competency: Oral Contraceptive mechanism.
    • Answer: High levels of estrogen/progesterone suppress FSH and LH secretion from the pituitary, preventing the follicles from maturing (no ovulation).
35. Case: Factory migration.
    • Answer: No, it is growth due to "Pull factors" of migration, not natural increase.
36. Creating: Demographic Transition.
    • Answer: As a country develops, it moves from high birth/death rates to low birth/death rates.
37. Designing: Resource-Population balance.
    • Answer: [Diagram: Seesaw with Population on one side and Resources on the other].
38. Application: Deforestation link.
    • Answer: Growing population needs more land for housing and agriculture, leading to clearing of forests.
39. Critical Thinking: "One Child Policy" ethics.
    • Answer: Effective for rapid control but leads to aging population, skewed sex ratios, and human rights concerns.
40. Analysis: Census.
    • Answer: Official count of the population. Conducted every 10 years in India.

Section E: Advanced Competency

41. Scenario: Barrier method dual advantage.
    • Answer: Prevents pregnancy and protects against Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) like HIV/Syphilis.
42. Designing: World Population Day poster.
    • Answer: [Slogan: "Invest in People, Stabilize the Future"].
43. Application: Amniocentesis.
    • Answer: A test of amniotic fluid for chromosomal abnormalities; misused for illegal prenatal sex determination.
44. Creating: Crossword.
    • Answer: [Terms: Vasectomy (Male), Tubectomy (Female)].
45. Case Study: Aging Population.
    • Answer: Higher medical costs for the elderly and a smaller working-age population to support the economy.
46. Carrying Capacity.
    • Answer: The maximum number of individuals that an environment's resources can sustain indefinitely without degradation.
47. Critical Thinking: Technology and food.
    • Answer: Technology (Genetically Modified Crops) increases yield, but over-exploitation of soil and water has sustainable limits.
48. Analysis: Density comparison.
    • Answer: Metro cities have high density (thousands per sq km), rural areas have low density.
49. Designing: Literacy-Birth rate graph.
    • Answer: As literacy (especially female literacy) goes up, the birth rate goes down.
50. Creating: Girl Child slogan.
    • Answer: "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter).