Pre-Lecture Reading Assignment

Biology Unit
Perak Matriculation College

PRE-LECTURE READING ASSIGNMENT

CHAPTER 13.0: POPULATION ECOLOGY
13.1

Population Growth

Learning Outcomes
When you have completed the exercise in this chapter you will have accomplished the following
objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Explain biotic potential (r) and environmental resistance and their effect on population growth.
Explain carrying capacity and its importance.
Describe natality and mortality and their effects on the rate of population growth.
Explain population growth curves: Exponential and Logistic.
Explain the limiting factors affecting the population size: Density dependent and Density
independent factors.
Directions: Use your notes and reference books to answer the following questions.

Before You Read

Use the What I Know column to list three things you know about above topic. Then list
three questions you have about above topic in the What I Want to Find Out column.
K
What I know

W
What I want to find out

1. ____________________________________ 1. ____________________________________
2. ____________________________________ 2. ____________________________________
3. ____________________________________ 3. ____________________________________
4. ____________________________________ 4. ____________________________________
5. ____________________________________ 5. ____________________________________

Page 1 of 8

Pre-Lecture Reading Assignment

Biology Unit
Perak Matriculation College

QUESTIONS
1. How do scientists define a population?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. What is population growth?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
3. Define each following terms:
Natality

________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
Motality

___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
Biotic potential (r) ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Environmental resistance _______________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
4. List and describe THREE factors that limit and control population growth.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
5. How does a population change?
____________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Page 2 of 8

Pre-Lecture Reading Assignment

Biology Unit
Perak Matriculation College

6. What is carrying capacity?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
7. Explain carrying capacity and its importance?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
8. Give FOUR examples of limiting resources that can influence carrying capacity.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
9. What happens to the amount of resources available for an individual as the
population approaches the carrying capacity?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
10. What is the relationship of births to deaths in a population before the population
reaches the environments carrying capacity? What happens when the population
exceeds the carrying capacity?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
11. How do birth and death rate affect population size?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Page 3 of 8

Pre-Lecture Reading Assignment

Biology Unit
Perak Matriculation College

12. State THREE types of population growth curves.

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
13. Draw and explain population growth curves below:
Exponential Growth Curve

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Page 4 of 8

Pre-Lecture Reading Assignment

Biology Unit
Perak Matriculation College

Logistic Growth Curve (Paramecium)

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
14. What does it mean for a population to be in exponential population growth?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
15. Under what conditions might a population undergo exponential growth?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Page 5 of 8

Pre-Lecture Reading Assignment

Biology Unit
Perak Matriculation College

16. Name at least TWO reasons why the human population has increased so rapidly in
the last 300 years.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
17. Why dont populations of organisms grow indefinitely?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
18. Define density dependent and density independent factors that affect population
size. Give examples.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
19. Explain the difference between density independent and density dependent limiting
factors.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
20. When does competition decrease the size of a population?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Page 6 of 8

Pre-Lecture Reading Assignment

Biology Unit
Perak Matriculation College

POPULATION ECOLOGY

CHAPTER WARP-UP

In the What I Wanted to Find Out column, copy the questions you listed in the Chapter
Preview. In the What I Learned column, write down the answers you discovered as you
worked through the chapter.

W
What I want to find out

L
What I have learned

1. _______________________________

1. _______________________________

2. _______________________________

2. _______________________________

3. _______________________________
4. _______________________________
5. _______________________________
6. _______________________________
7. _______________________________
8. ______________________________

3. _______________________________
4. _______________________________
5. _______________________________
6. _______________________________
7. _______________________________
8. _______________________________

Page 7 of 8

Pre-Lecture Reading Assignment

Biology Unit
Perak Matriculation College

SUMMARIZE
Create a mind map to tie together what you learned in this chapter.

Page 8 of 8