Final answer:
The fertility rate refers to the average number of children born per woman throughout the childbearing years.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer is b) Fertility rate. The fertility rate refers to the average number of children born per woman throughout the childbearing years. It is a measure of the actual number of children born to women in a particular society. Sociologists use the crude birth rate, which is the number of live births per 1,000 people per year, to measure fertility.