These questions mix the five lessons of the population and settlement evidence module. All data is invented for practice.
They run from straightforward reading of figures to short written judgements. Attempt each on paper, then open the answer.
Log each slip in the mistake log and retest queue and return to the matching lesson. You can check calculations with the statistics and distribution explorer.
Questions
1. (Easy) Country G, 2030 projection: 0 to 14 is 18%, 15 to 64 is 66%, 65 and over is 16%. Calculate the dependency ratio to the nearest whole number.
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Dependants = 18 + 16 = 34. Then 34 ÷ 66 = 0.5152, so about 52 dependants per 100 people aged 15 to 64.2. (Easy) A pyramid for a country of 8 million people has a bar for females aged 15 to 19 reading 4.2 on an axis labelled ”% of total population”. How many females is this?
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4.2% of 8,000,000 = 0.042 × 8,000,000 = 336,000 females. The unit is a percentage, so it must be converted using the total.3. (Easy) Name what you must read before describing any pyramid, and why.
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The title and date, and the axis label. The date tells you which year the structure describes, and the axis tells you whether bars are counts or percentages.4. (Medium) In a year, 15,600 people move into Town H and 12,100 leave. Its population is 175,000. Calculate net migration and the rate per 1,000.
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Net = 15,600 − 12,100 = +3,500. Rate = 3,500 ÷ 175 = 20 per 1,000. This is a net gain.5. (Medium) Classify as push or pull, and explain one: (a) a hospital opens in the destination; (b) a drought reduces harvests in the origin.
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(a) Pull factor: it is an attraction at the destination, offering health care. (b) Push factor: it is a condition at the origin that lowers farm output and income, which may encourage some households to leave.6. (Medium) Rewrite this to avoid stereotyping, using the evidence “origin: 60% of jobs in a declining mine; destination: new jobs in tourism”. Original: “Miners are lazy and just follow easy money.”
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"The decline of the mine, which provides 60% of jobs at the origin, is a push factor, and new jobs in tourism at the destination are a pull factor, so some people may move for work." This names conditions, uses cautious wording and stays inside the evidence.7. (Medium) Town E has 9,000 people and 45 shops. Town F has 30,000 people and 90 shops. Compare shops per 1,000 people.
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Town E: 45 ÷ 9 = 5 per 1,000. Town F: 90 ÷ 30 = 3 per 1,000. Town E has more shops for its size, even though Town F has more shops in total.8. (Medium) City M’s built-up area was 30 km² in 1995, 48 km² in 2005 and 60 km² in 2015. Calculate the absolute and percentage change in each decade.
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1995 to 2005: 18 km², 18 ÷ 30 = 60%. 2005 to 2015: 12 km², 12 ÷ 48 = 25%. Growth was faster, in both senses, in the first decade.9. (Harder) A map of City M shows new housing built in a long strip on both sides of the main road to the north. Write two sentences describing the pattern, using one figure from question 8.
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"New housing in City M is concentrated in a strip along the northern main road, a ribbon pattern. Built-up area rose by 18 km² from 1995 to 2005 and by 12 km² from 2005 to 2015, so growth slowed in the second decade." The map shows where, the table shows how much.10. (Harder) Populations of six villages (invented): 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 5,500. Find the mean and the median, and say which is closer to a typical village.
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Total = 8,000, so the mean = 8,000 ÷ 6 = 1,333 (to the nearest whole number). Median = (500 + 550) ÷ 2 = 525. The median is closer to a typical village, because the 5,500 village pulls the mean above five of the six.11. (Harder) Regions P and Q both have a mean of 50 on a measure. P ranges 48 to 52 and Q ranges 10 to 90. Write a two-sentence comparison.
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"Both regions have a mean of 50, but P has a range of 4 while Q has a range of 80. Q is far more varied, so its mean tells us little about any single place in it." The comparison uses both figures and says what the mean cannot show.If you got these wrong
| Where you slipped | Go back to |
|---|---|
| Units, dates, dependency ratio (questions 1 to 3) | reading a population structure diagram |
| Net migration, push and pull, stereotyping (4 to 6) | explaining a migration factor |
| Shops per 1,000, comparing towns (7) | comparing settlement functions |
| Absolute and percentage change, map patterns (8, 9) | interpreting an urban-growth pattern |
| Mean, median, range (10, 11) | averages and distributions |
If errors keep returning in one row, ask a teacher to work through them with you. See IGCSE Geography one-to-one tuition.