Free Social Change and Development MCQs with Answers

• A. the first stage
• B. the second stage
• C. the third stage
• D. the first and third stage

Explanation: In the first, preindustrial stage of demographic transition, high fertility is offset by high mortality, so population growth remains low. Death rates fall first in the second stage, while birth rates decline later.

• A. human populations tend to increase more slowly than their ability to increase the food supply.
• B. agricultural production increases in a geometric fashion.
• C. people could use "moral restraint" to reduce the birth rate.
• D. famine war and pestilence are social problems that a population can overcome.

Explanation: Malthus argued that population tends to grow geometrically while food supply grows arithmetically, creating checks such as famine and disease. He also recognised 'moral restraint', meaning delayed marriage or abstinence, as a preventive check on births.

• A. crude death rate
• B. age-specific death rate
• C. infant mortality rate
• D. targeted mortality rate

Explanation: The age-specific death rate measures deaths per 1,000 people within a specified age group. The crude death rate covers the whole population, while infant mortality is limited to deaths among infants.

• A. Demography
• B. Ecology
• C. Popology
• D. Stratification

Explanation: Demography systematically studies population size, composition, distribution and changes over time. Ecology examines relationships between organisms and their environment, so it is broader and not the precise term here.

• A. High birth rate and low death rate in its first phase
• B. High death rate and low birth rate in its first phase
• C. High birth rate and high death rate in its first phase
• D. None of theseDeath & Tragedy

Explanation: The first phase of demographic transition combines high birth rates with high death rates, so population growth remains limited. Death rates fall before birth rates in the second phase, creating rapid population growth.

• A. Malthusianism
• B. demography
• C. forecasting
• D. official statisticsDemographics

Explanation: Demography measures and explains population size, structure and distribution, including changes in these features. Malthusianism is a theory about population growth and its relationship with resources, not the general science of population measurement.

• A. a reduction in population size caused by a higher rate of emigration than immigration
• B. a change in the principal causes of death and disease since industrialization
• C. increased birth and death rates resulting in a relatively young population
• D. a decline in the birth rate greater life expectancy and an ageing populationDeath & Tragedy

Explanation: Demographic transition involves falling death rates followed by falling birth rates, increased life expectancy and an ageing population. It does not mean that both birth and death rates increase together.

• A. China
• B. Bangladesh
• C. Iran
• D. Tunisia

Explanation: China has experienced a negative natural population growth rate in recent years because deaths have exceeded births. The other listed countries have not been the standard example of a negative birth or natural growth rate in this question’s context.

• A. deindustrialization
• B. downsizing
• C. post industrialization
• D. "banana time"

Explanation: Deindustrialization means the systematic decline or withdrawal of investment from manufacturing capacity such as factories and plants. Downsizing usually refers to reducing an organisation’s workforce, while post-industrialisation describes a broader shift toward services.

• A. Its population exceeds set limit
• B. Its resources fail to cope with its requirement
• C. None of these
• D. Both of these

Explanation: Overpopulation is determined by the relationship between population and available resources, especially when resources cannot meet people’s needs. A population exceeding an arbitrary set limit is not by itself sufficient because carrying capacity differs between societies.