Embedded Files
Learning intentions
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Define population density.
Identify some of Australia’s densely populated areas.
Evaluate why some areas within Australia become more densely populated than others.
But first! How the world went from 170 million people to 7.3 billion…..
Task
Task
Copy the following down into your workbooks.
Population density describes the number of people per unit of land area. It's typically measured by the number of people per square kilometre.
Remember…..
Places with lots of people per square km are densely populated. But, places with few people per square km are sparsely populated.
Task
Task
View the map to the right and use this to consider the spatial distribution of Australia’s population - in other words – where in Australia people live.
Use this to complete a see - think - wonder in your books, that is:
What do you see?
What does it make you think?
What does it make you wonder?
(Teachers access the collapsible box below)
What can we see?
What can we see?
The areas with the largest growth in population (dark green) are also the areas with the largest population size (largest circles).
People live along the coast, rather than inland.
More people live on the east coast than the west coast.
More people live in the south than in the north.
A small number of people live right in the centre of Australia.
The highest concentrations of people occur in three places.
Now that we've looked at the map, we know the main locations in Australia where people live.
Many Australians live in urban areas (80%).
Around 20% choose to live in a mixture of regional, rural and remote locations. Why?
We will look at some of the main reasons for these patterns……
TEA Paragraph - Trend, Evidence, Anomaly
Reason 1: Australians love the beach
Reason 1: Australians love the beach
Australians live on the smallest continent and in the sixth largest country on Earth. With a population of 26 million and an area of 7 690 000 square kilometres, our population density is 3.5 people per square kilometre. We may think of ourselves as an outback-loving, farming nation, but we mostly live near the coast.
Most Australians currently live within a narrow coastal strip which extends from Brisbane in the north to Adelaide in the south. Over 80 per cent of Australians live in towns that have more than 1000 residents and are located within 50 kilometres of the coast.
Reason 2: Rainfall
Reason 2: Rainfall
This map shows the distribution of rainfall within Australia – when compared with the previous map, it shows there is a strong interconnection between rainfall of more than 800mm per year and higher population density.
Rainfall makes life easier – growing crops, watering plants, drinking water for people and animals, washing cars, washing clothes, keeping things clean, swimming and water sports, having lakes and rivers to look at and enjoy....
...so therefore, more people want to live where there is enough rainfall to make life easier (but not too much).
Other Reasons
Other Reasons
Not everyone lives by the coast.... some people choose more inland and/or remote locations. Reasons include:
Availability of mineral resources (mining)
Irrigation schemes to enhance farm production – allowing people to operate large farms in remote areas despite low rainfall.
Cheaper land away from the coast – more of it!
Remote and stunning tourist destination (Uluru!)
Ancestral history and/or connection to the land
Task
Task
Create a spider diagram of all the reasons for Australia's population distribution. Circle the one you think has the biggest impact.
Amount of rainfall
Proximity to the coast
Mineral resources
Farming (using irrigation schemes)
Cheaper and more available land
Stunning and/or tourist locations
Connection to place/country
Extension Task
Extension Task
Write a paragraph to explain (cause and effect) the possible change in the distribution of Australia's population over the next 50 years if one of the following situations occurs:
The current regions of high population density continue to expand unchecked.
OR
A 20-year-long drought occurs in South-Eastern Australia.
Google Sites
Report abuse