4.2.2.5 Demographic trends in the UK since 1900 Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. What is meant by the crude birth rate?

   • The average number of children that a woman is expected to have over her lifetime
   • The number of births per 1,000 women of childbearing age in a given year
   • The number of live births per 1,000 of the population in a given year
   • The number of deaths per 1,000 of the population in a given year, adjusted for age

2. What is meant by the total fertility rate?

   • The number of deaths per 1,000 of the population in a given year, adjusted for the age of those who die
   • The number of people who migrate into the country in a single year, expressed per 1,000 of the population
   • The average number of children a woman would have over her childbearing years, given current age-specific birth rates
   • The total number of children born in the country in a single year, regardless of the size of the population

3. Which period is known as the 'baby boom' in the UK, when birth rates rose sharply after the Second World War?

   • Roughly 1900 to 1914, when birth rates first began to fall from their Victorian peak
   • Roughly 1946 to 1964, when birth rates were much higher than in the 1930s
   • Roughly 1970 to 1980, when the contraceptive pill became widely available to women
   • Roughly 1990 to 2000, when the number of births fell to the lowest level recorded

4. Which statement describes the general long-term trend in the UK birth rate since 1900?

   • It has fallen substantially, from high levels at the start of the twentieth century to lower levels in recent decades
   • It has risen only in the twenty-first century, after falling to its lowest level in the 1990s
   • It has risen steadily, so the UK now has far more births per 1,000 people than it did at the start of the century
   • It has remained exactly the same, with about the same number of births per 1,000 people in each decade

5. Which demographic trend has been most important for the increase in life expectancy in the UK since 1900?

   • Increases in migration from other countries, which have made the average age of the population fall
   • Increases in family size, which have led to more people living together and sharing their resources
   • Increases in the birth rate, which have caused more people to live to old age in the twentieth century
   • Declines in infant and child mortality, along with better nutrition, sanitation, medicine and living conditions

6. What is meant by an ageing population?

   • A population in which people live in the same households for the whole of their lives, without moving
   • A population in which most people are children, with few adults or older people in the population
   • A population in which the proportion of older people increases, as birth rates fall and life expectancy rises
   • A population in which all people are the same age, which arises from a single baby boom in one year

7. Which factor is most often identified as a cause of the fall in family size in the UK since 1900?

   • Greater availability of contraception and changing social attitudes to the number of children that couples want
   • A rise in the number of marriages, which has led to more children being born in each family unit
   • A rise in the number of extended families, which has encouraged couples to have fewer children in total
   • A decline in the level of medical care, which has caused more women to have fewer children in each family

8. Which statement about the death rate in the UK since 1900 is most accurate?

   • The death rate has remained at the same level, since improvements in health have been offset by population growth
   • The death rate has fallen considerably, although it is affected by the age structure of an ageing population
   • The death rate has risen steadily, because the population is now larger and more people die each year
   • The death rate has risen only among children, while the death rate of adults has fallen steadily since 1900

9. Which factor is most associated with net migration into the UK in the decades after the Second World War?

   • Migration from Commonwealth countries, followed later by migration from the European Union and beyond
   • Migration from Japan, which was driven by the expansion of Japanese car manufacturing in the UK after 1980
   • Migration from the United States, which was driven by a rise in the number of British students studying abroad
   • Migration from Canada, which was driven by the rise in the number of retired people moving to the UK

10. Which argument describes the relationship between migration and an ageing population in the UK?

    • Migration has no effect on the age structure of the population, because migrants are always the same age as citizens
    • Migration reverses population ageing completely, so the UK population has become younger overall since 1900
    • Migration can help to slow population ageing by adding younger people, although it does not stop the trend
    • Migration causes the population to age faster, because migrants always arrive in the UK as elderly people

11. Which statement describes the dependency ratio, as used in demographic analysis?

    • The ratio of working-age people to people who are in full-time education after the age of sixteen
    • The ratio of dependants, such as children and older people, to the working-age population
    • The ratio of men to women in the population, which affects marriage patterns and family formation
    • The ratio of births to deaths in a single year, which measures the natural increase of the population

12. Which evaluation of the view that an ageing population is a 'crisis' is most consistent with sociological debate?

    • It is entirely accurate, because an ageing population has no benefits and only creates costs for every society
    • It is irrelevant, because only the birth rate matters for the economy and public services, not the number of older people
    • It is entirely inaccurate, because population ageing has no effects on the economy, families or public services
    • It is a contested framing, since older people contribute in many ways and the economic effects depend on policy choices

13. Which trend in family size is consistent with a fall in the total fertility rate in the UK over recent decades?

    • More families with no children at all, but larger families among the small number who do have children
    • More families with one or two children, and fewer families with large numbers of children
    • More families with large numbers of children, as a result of the rise in the total fertility rate in each decade
    • No change in family size, because the total fertility rate has remained stable at the same level since 1900

14. Which concept describes the expansion of economic, social and cultural connections across national borders, which affects population movement?

    • Secularisation, which describes the decline of religious belief and institutions in modern societies
    • Urbanisation, which describes the growth of towns and cities as people move from rural areas
    • Industrialisation, which describes the shift from agricultural to manufacturing production within a country
    • Globalisation, which increases the movement of people, goods and ideas between countries

15. Which statement best describes the effect of increased life expectancy on family structure?

    • More people may live into old age with surviving family members, which can produce multi-generational families
    • More people die before having children, so family structures have become much smaller over the century
    • More people live in institutions, so families have disappeared from the everyday life of older people
    • More people have no family at all, because longer life means that people never marry or have children

16. A demographer finds that the UK's birth rate has fallen while life expectancy has risen. Which outcome is most likely for the age structure of the population?

    • The population will become younger, with a rising proportion of children relative to older people
    • The population will shrink to zero, because fewer children are born and older people do not live longer
    • The population will remain exactly the same, because birth and death rates always balance each other
    • The population will tend to age, with a rising proportion of older people relative to children

17. Which evaluation of demographic data is most consistent with sociological research?

    • Demographic data are irrelevant to sociology, because they describe biology rather than social relationships
    • Demographic data show exact and complete information about every individual in the population at all times
    • Demographic data are always inaccurate, so they cannot be used to make any inference about society at all
    • Demographic data show broad trends, but they may hide differences between social groups, regions and ethnic communities

18. Which trend in the UK population since the mid-twentieth century is most closely linked to changes in migration and globalisation?

    • A decline in the number of people born outside the UK, which has made the population more homogeneous
    • An increase in the proportion of people who live in the countryside, which has reduced urban populations
    • A decline in the number of people who speak English, which has resulted from the abolition of school subjects
    • An increase in the number of people born outside the UK, which has made the population more ethnically diverse

19. Which statement describes the concept of the 'demographic transition'?

    • A shift from low birth and death rates to high birth and death rates as societies become more traditional
    • A shift from rural to urban populations without any change in birth or death rates over the course of time
    • A shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as societies industrialise and develop
    • A shift from one religion to another, which has an effect on the number of births in a society each year

20. Which factor is most likely to lead to a rise in the proportion of older people in the UK population?

    • A fall in the birth rate combined with a rise in life expectancy
    • A rise in migration of young people combined with a rise in the death rate
    • A rise in the birth rate combined with a fall in life expectancy
    • A fall in the death rate of infants combined with a rise in the number of working-age adults

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