Which statement about limiting factors in population growth is true?

• A. They are always physical barriers that block movement.
• B. They can limit how fast a population increases by restricting resources such as food or space.
• C. They are only related to abiotic factors.
• D. They never affect carrying capacity.

Answer: (B)

Limiting factors are conditions or resources that prevent a population from growing without bound. They influence how fast a population can increase by restricting essential resources like food or space, which can slow birth rates or raise death rates when those resources are scarce. This idea ties into carrying capacity—the largest population an environment can support over time given these limits.

That’s why the statement about limiting factors being able to slow growth by restricting resources such as food or space is the best fit. If food, water, shelter, or space run short, the population can’t keep increasing at the same rate, and growth levels off as resources become the bottleneck.

Not all limiting factors are physical barriers; many are biotic, like predation, disease, or competition, and some are abiotic, like climate. And limiting factors do affect carrying capacity, since the environment’s capacity depends on what resources are available.