Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Choose the correct option: Assertion (A): Population growth can be measured in absolute numbers and percentage change per year. Reason (R): Measuring growth only in absolute numbers provides detailed insights into population trends over time.

Correct — C. A is true. Population growth can be stated as an absolute increase, the later population minus the earlier one, or as a rate, the percentage change per year.

R is false. Absolute numbers alone hide the pace of change. A large population can add more people each year even while its growth rate falls, so both measures are needed to read trends.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — R is false, so it cannot explain A. Absolute numbers alone miss the growth rate, which is why A lists two measures.
• (b)
  Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A — Needs R to be true. The word only sinks it: an absolute increase without the percentage rate gives an incomplete picture of trends.
• (d)
  A is false, but R is true — Reverses the truth values. Measuring growth both in absolute numbers and as a percentage per year is standard, so A is true.

Two populations can add similar numbers of people while growing at very different speeds.

Take 2% a year on 100 crore: 2 crore added. Take 3% a year on 50 crore: 1.5 crore added. The slower-growing population adds more people.

That is why growth is reported both as the absolute increase and as the annual growth rate: one gives the size of the change, the other its pace.

Key facts

• Absolute increase = later population − earlier population.
• The annual growth rate is the increase per year expressed as a percentage of the base population.
• A falling growth rate can still add more people each year when the base population is large.

Common traps

• Choosing option (a) because both statements mention absolute numbers, when R's word 'only' makes it false.

No directly related past PYQ was found.