AP Environmental Science

Marking Period Two Project

HISTOGRAMS - AGE PYRAMID ACTIVITY


Population growth is affected by age structure - the number of individuals in different age groups - as well as by the numbers of births and deaths. Age structure is usually illustrated by an age pyramid; a graph in which horizontal bars represent the percentage of the population in each age group. Males are shown on the left and females on the right. The ages (or in some cases, the years of birth) for each bar are listed along the vertical axis of the graph, usually in five-year intervals. Each age group is called a cohort. The longer a bar is, the greater the proportion of individuals in that age group.

Age pyramids are useful for tracing the history of a population and for projecting future population trends. An age pyramid with more long bars for the younger age groups would indicate a growing population; when these large numbers of young begin to reproduce, they will add even more offspring to the population than did the older age groups.

In this activity you will use the data provided for a specific country to produce an age pyramid diagram (histogram) and answer questions that relate to the world’s population and your country's population structure. This will help you to interpret age pyramids and understand the relationship between age structure and population growth.

Begin by going to the first website and following the steps.

Useful Websites:

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/pyramids.html (Select one country, Select 2008 for the "Years" and submit. You are given much of your needed information under the Demographic Indicators tab, however to make your histogram select the Tables tab and Download all countries and tables as an Excel file. Wow, an easy to use website and great data!

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/ Country Summary Data

http://www.prb.org/ Population Reference Bureau

Part A (20 points): Creating a histogram using Excel:

The Excel file you downloaded has total numbers for each cohort (age group) you need to change these to percentages (see Table 1 on page 3 as an example and be sure to make the male percentages negative).

Excel chart wizard steps:

Step 1 of chart wizard select Tubes (Custom Types).

Step 2 of chart wizard, name series 1 as males and series 2 as female.

Step 3 of chart wizard, complete labels for the Title tab (Title should include the name of your country), under the Gridlines tab select major gridlines for the X and Y axis, under the Data Table tab, unselect Series name label.

Step 4 of chart wizard, select As a new sheet. Formatting the final graph: Feel free to right click on your completed chart and Format Chart Area. Also, add your name by selecting Page Setup and adding a header that includes your name and class period. Print – color would be nice!

Part B Written Summary (25 points)

In addition to your graph should be a written summary describing the population demographics of your selected country. You may use charts, tables, maps, graphics, lists, etc. Your summary should be typed. Be sure to answer the following questions. Use your completed histogram and useful websites listed above to answer the questions.

1.  Provide general information about your country including:

Geography

Total population

Percentage of the world population

Population density

Gross domestic product

Per capita income

Form of government

Quality of medical services

Major industries

Natural resources

2.  What is the CBR (crude birth rate)? What is the CDR (crude death rate)? What is the life expectancy of the male and female portions of the population? What is the infant mortality rate? How do these values compare to the United States? Explain.

Part C. Answer all that apply to your histogram (population pyramid). (20 points)

1. What can you tell about your country’s growth rate by looking at your histogram (population pyramid)? Explain

2. If birth and death rates remain the same, what will your pyramid look like in 25 years?

3. Discuss two factors that could change the shape of the population pyramid for your country. How would it change?

4. Does your country have a baby boom in it? (A bulge somewhere in the middle of it) What could account for this?

5. If you had a business and you wanted to capitalize on your information about the population age distribution, what would you sell? (Your answer should be specific to the needs and / or wants of your assigned country)

6. What % of your population is above age 65? What is the percentage of the population under 15?

Part D. Bibliography (10 points)

Three difference sources are required. The bibliography should be completed using MLA format.

Table 1: World Population Example

Table 1: World Population Data 2007, by age and sex, including percent data for the male and female portions of the population
Age Groups / Percent of Males / Percent of Females
0-4 / -4.82% / 4.54%
5-9 / -4.66% / 4.37%
10-14 / -4.63% / 4.35%
15- 19 / -4.69% / 4.44%
20- 24 / -4.43% / 4.23%
25- 29 / -4.07% / 3.90%
30- 34 / -3.84% / 3.69%
35- 39 / -3.74% / 3.60%
40- 44 / -3.40% / 3.33%
45- 49 / -2.74% / 2.74%
50- 54 / -2.50% / 2.54%
55- 59 / -2.03% / 2.10%
60- 64 / -1.51% / 1.60%
65- 69 / -1.24% / 1.38%
70- 74 / -0.93% / 1.10%
75- 79 / -0.62% / 0.82%
80+ / -0.51% / 0.91%