Among the given populations, which population will exhibit the highest rate of increase?

Population D with an intrinsic rate of natural increase of 0.5

The intrinsic rate of natural increase is defined as the difference between the birth rate and the death rate, not the number of births minus the number of deaths.

The intrinsic rate of natural increase represents the growth potential of a population in the absence of any external factors. A higher intrinsic rate indicates that the birth rate exceeds the death rate, resulting in a positive population growth rate.

Therefore, among the given populations, the population with the highest intrinsic rate of natural increase will increase the fastest. This means that Population D with an intrinsic rate of 0.5 will experience the most rapid growth compared to the other populations (A, B, and C) with lower intrinsic rates. It is important to note that in real-world scenarios, populations are influenced by various factors such as resource availability, predation, competition, and environmental conditions, which can affect their actual growth rates.