7d. Global Citizen | Math | Grades 9-12

Teachers explain that the world’s population continues to expand, but there are variables that can impact the number of people on the planet. For this activity, teachers put students in group of three, and each group is to identify the ideal total population of people on the planet in 100 years and explain their rationale. In addition, each group will have to explain their plan for reaching that number in 100 years. Specifically, they will need to run models based on life expectancy, number of children per woman, and the ratio of children by gender. They will also need to explain if and how the world can sustain their estimated population based on food, housing, educational, and medical needs, among others. When finished, students can present their population estimates along with the availability of the resources needed to sustain that population.

EdTech Resources for Estimating and Modeling the World’s Future Population

Imagine the Population of Tomorrow

Students can use this tool to model population growth or decline by adjusting key variables.

U.S. and World Population Clock

Students can search for information about the current population of the world and United States.

Search All

Students can use this tool to locate information about sustainability by entering key terms into the search engines and then reviewing the results returned to them.

EdTech Resources for Creating Presentations

Prezi

After running different simulations of population growth and decline, students can use this tool to create a presentation to share their estimation along with the resources needed to sustain the population.

Instructions