Skill 1: percentage and percentage change

In order to calculate % change use the following formula. You will not be given the
formula in the exam so you must know how to do it from memory.

Percentage Change = (New Value - Old Value) / Old Value X 100

For example, let's say the old value is 100 and the new value is 120. The
percentage change would be calculated as follows:

Percentage Change = (120 - 100) / 100 * 100 = 20%

This means that the value has increased by 20%.

If the new value is less than the old value, the percentage change will be negative.

For example, if the old value is 100 and the new value is 80, the percentage
change would be calculated as follows:

Percentage Change = (80 - 100) / 100 * 100 = -20%

This means that the value has decreased by 20%.

Black rhino populations

Global Black Rhino population (source = Our World in Data)

Year Population
2013 4,880
2014 4,700
2015 4,540
2016 4,660
2017 5,050
2018 5,180
2019 5,300
2020 5,420
2021 6,195
2022 6,320
The recent increase in the black rhino population is due to a number of factors,
including increased conservation e orts, a reduction in poaching, and the creation
of new protected areas. However, the future of the black rhino is still uncertain.
Poaching remains a major threat, and climate change could also have a negative
impact on the species.

What is the percentage di erence in the population of rhinos from 2013 to 2022?
A. 29.5%
B. 26%
C. 25%

What is the percentage di erence in the population of rhinos from 2018 to 2022?
A. 25%
B. 22.01%
C. 23%

What is the percentage di erence in the population of rhinos from 2014 to 2015?
A. 34%
B. 30%
C. 3.4%
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US energy
• Coal has been the most dominant energy source in the United States over the past
5 years, but its use has been declining.
• Oil is the second most dominant energy source, and its use has remained relatively
stable over the past 5 years.
• Natural gas is the third most dominant energy source, and its use has been
increasing slightly over the past 5 years.
• Nuclear power has remained relatively constant over the past 5 years.
• Renewable energy sources have been increasing in use over the past 5 years.

Renew
Year Coal Oil Natural Gas Nuclear
ables

2017 23.8 38.8 27.9 12.2 7.3

2018 21.9 37 29.1 11.8 10.2

2019 20.2 35.2 30 11.1 13.5

2020 18.7 33.6 31.2 10.8 15.7

2021 17.3 32.2 32 10.4 18.1

1.What was the percentage change in the use of coal in the United States from 2017 to 2021?
2.Which energy source has had the most consistent percentage of use in the United States over
the past 5 years?
3. What was the percentage change in the use of coal in the United States from 2017 to 2021?
 Global Fish Stocks
With an area chart, you are able to combine the visual representation of both line and bar charts
to give you a chart that has the ability to compare a large scale of data from one or several data
subsets over an extended period of time. An area chart has the plotted data points that are
connected by lines, much like a line chart, but also has the space between the line and the
baseline lled in, similar to a bar chart. Here is a video to explain how to read a stacked area
chart
In this example using global sh stocks you can help understand the graph by comparing it to the
numerical data below. At the top of the graph the red area displays the percentage of over shed
stocks since 1975, the slightly darker blue shows the sh stocks harvested at their maximum
sustainable yield and the lighter blue area at the bottom shows the under shed percentages. You
can also see that every year adds up to 100%
You have to be careful when calculating gures from these graphs. In fairness, although they
make for good overall understanding it is quite di cult to get very accurate gures from the graph
alone. It is also easy to make a mistake and misinterpret the gures. The amount of over shing
going on, for example, is actually increasing as can be seen from how much "red" is taking up
space in the graph.

1. What is the trend for over shing over the period from 1975-2015?
2. What is the trend for under shing over the period from 1975-2015?
3. What are some of the ways to improve sustainable shing? Describe 3.
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 Ecological Footprints

Ecological footprint and biocapacity comparison graphs are very common in both
paper 1 and 2. In order to be able to analyse the data you must have a good
understanding of both terms. Use this link to revise the concepts before going any
further.
At rst glance you may have thought I made a mistake and used the same graph
twice in the below example. Look carefully at the Y axes of both graphs to spot the
di erence!
Graph 1: Line graph comparing ecological footprint (global hectares per person)
with biocapacity (global hectares per person) in the USA from 1961-2015
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ESSGraph 2: Line graph comparing ecological footprint (global hectares )
with biocapacity (global hectares ) in the USA from 1961-2015

Normally, these type of questions need a population pyramid to add context.

Source: footprint network
1. Describe the trend in the ecological footprint over the period shown in graph
1.
2. Describe the trend in the ecological footprint over the period shown in graph
2.
3. Describe the trend in the biocapacity over the period shown in graph 1.
4. Describe the trend in the biocapacity over the period shown in graph 2.
5. Outline why the ecological per person in the USA has decreased during the
period shown in graph 1 .
6. Outline one reason for the trend in biocapacity during the period shown
in graph 1.
7. Outline one reason for the trend in biocapacity during the period shown in
graph 2.