Final answer:
Unchecked growth of the human population is expected to significantly increase waste generation and resource depletion while leading to a decline in biodiversity due to environmental pressures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question, which environmental characteristic is likely to increase if the human population continues growing unchecked, can be approached by examining the various impacts of human activity on the environment. One of the most critical impacts is the increase in the amount of waste generated by human activities. As the human population grows exponentially, the waste generated also increases exponentially, leading to environmental stress. Additionally, biodiversity is also likely to be affected, with many experts predicting a decline rather than an increase due to habitat loss, pollution, and climate change pressures resulting from human activities.
Furthermore, the availability and distribution of resources such as water resources and land area for food production are already challenged, and these issues could become more severe with an unchecked population growth. These stresses could potentially lead to decreased birth and death rates and even a population crash if the carrying capacity of Earth is exceeded. Therefore, we can conclude that environmental characteristics likely to increase due to rising human population include waste production and resource depletion, while biodiversity is expected to decrease.