Year 9 NSW Geography Revision Flashcards

Comprehensive revision flashcards for Year 9 NSW Geography covering Changing Places, Sustainable Biomes, Environmental Change and Management, Human Wellbeing, and Stage 5 Geography Skills.

What is a place?

A location with meaning, characteristics and features that make it different from other places.

What is place perception?

The way a person or group views and feels about a place, based on their experiences and opinions.

What is liveability?

How suitable and enjoyable a place is to live in, considering factors such as safety, services, housing and the environment.

What is urbanisation?

The increasing proportion of people living in towns and cities.

What is urban growth?

An increase in the size or population of an urban area.

What is migration?

The movement of people from one place to another to live, temporarily or permanently.

What is rural–urban migration?

The movement of people from rural areas to towns or cities.

What is a push factor?

Something that encourages people to leave a place, such as unemployment, conflict or lack of services.

What is a pull factor?

Something that attracts people to a place, such as jobs, education or better healthcare.

What is urban sprawl?

The outward spread of a city into surrounding rural or undeveloped land.

What is a megacity?

A city with a population of $10\text{ million}$ or more.

What is a place's identity?

The distinctive character of a place, shaped by its people, culture, history and environment.

What is sense of place?

The feelings, meanings and attachment people have towards a place.

Name two ways places can change.

Population change and changes to buildings, land use, services or the natural environment.

What is a field sketch?

A labelled drawing of features observed in a real place, showing their relative positions.

What is a biome?

A large region with a similar climate, vegetation and animal life.

What is an ecosystem?

A community of living organisms interacting with each other and their non-living environment.

What is biodiversity?

The variety of living things in an area, including different species and ecosystems.

What is vegetation?

The plant life that grows in an area.

climate

The long-term pattern of weather conditions in a place.

What is a tropical rainforest biome?

A hot, wet biome with dense vegetation and very high biodiversity.

desert

A biome with very low rainfall, where plants and animals are adapted to dry conditions.

What is a grassland biome?

A biome dominated by grasses, with few trees in many areas.

What is sustainability?

Using resources in ways that meet current needs without preventing future generations from meeting theirs.

What is sustainable management?

Managing environments and resources to protect them over the long term.

What is deforestation?

The large-scale removal of forests, often to clear land for farming, logging or development.

What is desertification?

The degradation of land in dry areas, making it less productive.

What is an adaptation?

A feature or behaviour that helps an organism survive in its environment.

What is conservation?

Protecting and maintaining natural environments, species and resources.

Name two threats to biomes.

Examples include deforestation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and overgrazing.

What is environmental change?

A change to the natural environment caused by natural processes, human activities or both.

What is an environmental issue?

A problem affecting the natural environment, such as pollution, habitat loss or climate change.

What is an ecosystem service?

A benefit people receive from ecosystems, such as clean water, food, pollination or climate regulation.

What is pollution?

The introduction of harmful substances or energy into the environment.

What is climate change?

Long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns; recent warming is mainly caused by human greenhouse gas emissions.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The process where gases in the atmosphere trap some heat and keep Earth warm.

What is a renewable resource?

A resource replenished naturally within a human timescale, such as sunlight or wind.

What is a non-renewable resource?

A resource that forms much more slowly than people use it, such as coal, oil or natural gas.

What is land degradation?

A decline in the quality or productivity of land.

What is habitat loss?

When an organism's natural home is damaged, reduced or destroyed.

What is environmental management?

Planning and taking action to reduce environmental harm and care for natural systems.

What is rehabilitation?

Repairing a damaged environment to improve its condition and function.

What is mitigation?

Action taken to reduce or prevent the severity of an environmental problem.

What is adaptation to climate change?

Adjusting systems or behaviours to reduce harm from actual or expected climate impacts.

What is a stakeholder?

A person or group affected by, or interested in, an issue or decision.

What is a management strategy?

An action or plan used to address an issue and achieve a desired outcome.

What is human wellbeing?

A person's quality of life, including health, safety, education, income, relationships and life satisfaction.

What is quality of life?

A person's overall level of comfort, health, opportunity and satisfaction with life.

What is an indicator?

A measure used to show or compare a condition, such as life expectancy or school enrolment.

What is life expectancy?

The average number of years a person is expected to live.

What is infant mortality rate?

The number of deaths of children under one year of age per $1{,}000$ live births in a year.

What is literacy rate?

The percentage of people in a population who can read and write at a specified age level.

What is GDP per capita?

A country's gross domestic product divided by its population; an average measure of economic output per person.

What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?

A measure combining life expectancy, education and income to compare human development.

What is inequality?

When resources, opportunities or outcomes are not shared equally among people or groups.

What is absolute poverty?

A condition where people lack the basic resources needed for essentials such as food, safe water and shelter.

What is relative poverty?

Poverty measured in relation to the living standards of others in the same society.

What is access to services?

How easily people can reach and use services such as healthcare, education, transport and clean water.

What is a developed country?

A term often used for a country with high income and strong health, education and infrastructure outcomes; countries vary within these categories.

What is a developing country?

A broad term for a country working to improve income, services and living standards; it does not describe every person's circumstances.

What is a quality-of-life indicator?

A measure such as health, education, housing, safety or access to clean water.

Why use more than one wellbeing indicator?

No single measure shows every part of wellbeing, so several indicators give a fuller picture.

What is a BOLTSS checklist?

Border, Orientation, Legend, Title, Scale and Source.

What is a map scale?

The relationship between a distance on a map and the actual distance on the ground.

What is a grid reference?

A method of locating a place using grid lines on a map.

How do you read a four-figure grid reference?

Read eastings first, then northings, to identify a grid square.

How do you read a six-figure grid reference?

Read eastings first, then northings, estimating tenths within the grid square for a more precise location.

What is an easting?

A vertical grid line or coordinate that increases towards the east; read it before the northing.

What is a northing?

A horizontal grid line or coordinate that increases towards the north; read it after the easting.

What is a choropleth map?

A map using different shades or colours to show data for areas.

What is a dot distribution map?

A map using dots to show the location or distribution of a feature.

What is a proportional symbol map?

A map where symbol size represents the amount of a variable.

What is a transect?

A line along which observations or measurements are recorded across an area.

What is primary data?

Information collected first-hand by the researcher, such as through surveys, interviews or fieldwork.

What is secondary data?

Information already collected by someone else, such as census data, reports or published maps.

What is a hypothesis?

A testable prediction or proposed explanation for an investigation.

What is a variable?

A factor that can change or be measured in an investigation.

What is a spatial distribution?

The way a feature or phenomenon is spread across an area.

What is a pattern?

A repeated or recognisable arrangement in data or on a map.

What is a trend?

A general direction of change in data over time or across places.

What is a correlation?

A relationship between two variables; it does not necessarily mean one causes the other.

What is an outlier?

A data value that is noticeably different from the others.

What is a fieldwork conclusion?

A statement that answers the inquiry question using evidence collected and analysed.

What does 'describe' mean in a geography question?

State the main features or patterns, using specific evidence where possible.

What does 'explain' mean in a geography question?

Give reasons for how or why something happens, using links and examples.

What does 'compare' mean in a geography question?

Identify similarities and differences between two or more things.

What does 'assess' mean in a geography question?

Make a judgement about importance, success or impact and support it with evidence.