The Human Population Game

from The Science Teacher, April 2004, Idea Bank.
by Mark Keegan, The City College of New York, mkeegan{at}hsme.org

The following game is a simple but effective activity in which students strive to create a sustainable civilization. In the process, students learn how birth and mortality rates affect population growth and how population affects the availability of resources.

The future of civilization and the biosphere depend partly on what is accomplished in the classroom today. Population, resource use, and
population's impact on the environment are often studied separately and passively. In life, however, these variables are intertwined, so it's useful for learners to see how these variables are connected.

I created "The Human Population Game" to promote thinking about the choices humanity makes, whether by intention or neglect (Figure 1, p. 60). The game asks students to think about how much population, consumption of resources, and impact on the environment should be allowed. When students make personally meaningful choices and see the consequences, much can be learned. Many questions can be generated to motivate further study. The activity is suitable for science, math, or social science classes. Students can even play the game at home with their families.

Population and resources
The Human Population Game is a simple but accurate mathematical exercise, exploring population and resources. Players choose birth rates ranging from 0.5 to 3 children per fertile person (1 to 6 children per fertile couple). A roll of the die determines child mortality rates in a range from 0.0 to 0.2, corresponding to real life mortality rates of 0, 100, or 200 deaths per 1000 live births. The adult mortality rates range from 0.2 to 0.4, corresponding to 200, 300, and 400 deaths per 1000 population over the course of a generation. "Resources" represent availability of land, food, water, energy, minerals, and so on. (Advanced students can be challenged to create a more complex version of the game, for example, differentiating between types of renewable and nonrenewable resources, levels of consumption, and kinds of technology.)

How to play
The game requires no equipment other than pencil or paper and one die and is non-competitive. The game can be played alone, or by many players, and can be played for as short or long a period as desired.
As play proceeds, teachers should check for understanding of the concepts involved and remind students they are modeling human civilization. Students should think about the strategies they employ and how well the strategies sustain the civilization. After the game ends, teachers should ask the class, "What advice would you give humankind? What is the optimal level of population compared to available resources? Does more population mean more happiness? Should population be as large as possible, as small as possible, or in some specific balance with resources? What birth rate achieves zero population growth? What portion of nature should be set aside, in perpetuity, and never exploited?" The ensuing discussion can lead to further research. Players can be asked to draw graphs of the variables over time. Students can also write a short narrative-a demographic history of the civilizations they modeled.

What students learn
The Human Population Game not only practices math skills, it fosters interest about the future and human choices. This activity builds a small but vital knowledge base of several concepts-population, mortality rates, and resources-and how these variables interact. Students are inspired to acquire more knowledge and deepen their understanding of human civilization and the biosphere.
Mark Keegan is a science teacher at the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering at The City College of New York, New York, N 10031; e-mail: mkeegan{at}hsme.org.

FIGURE 1
The Human Population Game.

Object: The object is to make a sustainable civilization.

Set up: A "civilization" can be managed by one person, or by a team of two. Each civilization needs a chart as shown below. Civilizations begin at generation 1, with a population of 15 (10 of whom are of "fertile" age). Natural resources begin at 85.

Play: A civilization decides what its birth rate should be, and carries out calculations or actions as shown in the table. (Remember to round births and deaths to nearest whole number.)
Ending the game: The game ends after 10 generations, or when either "final population" or "final resources" falls to O or negative. (A population that exhausts its resources is not sustainable.)