Answer: The carrying capacity.
- A The intrinsic rate of natural increase
- B The carrying capacity
- C The death rate
- D The initial population size
Correct answer: B. The carrying capacity
Explanation: In the logistic growth model, K represents the carrying capacity, the maximum population size the environment can sustain.
Exponential growth produces an ever-steepening J-curve with no limit, an unrealistic long-term model; logistic growth produces an S-curve that levels off at the carrying capacity K, as growth rate (K−N)/K shrinks to zero once resources are fully used.
Concept context
How organisms interact with abiotic factors and respond to stress, plus population attributes, growth models, and interspecific interactions such as predation, competition, and mutualism.