Population Ecology is one of 10 topics in the Grade 11 Life Sciences CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. Population density refers to:
The number of individuals per unit area (or volume)
The total number of individuals in a population, regardless of area
The birth rate of a population
The rate at which individuals emigrate from a population
Answer: The number of individuals per unit area (or volume) — Population density is the number of individuals per unit area (or volume, for aquatic organisms), which is often more ecologically meaningful than population size alone.
Easy
2. What is the maximum population size that a particular environment can sustainably support, given its available resources, called?
Carrying capacity
Population density
Natality
Emigration
Answer: Carrying capacity — Carrying capacity is the maximum population size that a given environment can sustainably support over the long term, based on its available resources.
Medium
3. Which four factors directly determine how a population's size changes over time?
Natality, mortality, immigration, and emigration
Predation, competition, symbiosis, and mutualism
Carrying capacity, density, exponential growth, and lag phase
Light intensity, temperature, carbon dioxide, and water availability
Answer: Natality, mortality, immigration, and emigration — Population size increases with natality (births) and immigration, and decreases with mortality (deaths) and emigration; these four factors together determine net population change over time.
