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Administrative Tasks

  • One Drive Folder: Establish a One Drive folder specifically for Year 12 Geography.

  • IA1 Folder Creation: Create a dedicated folder for the assessment IA1.

  • Glossary: Start a glossary using a Word document or similar format.

  • Save PLC: Ensure the PLC (Personal Learning Checklist) is saved for future reference.

  • Revision Material: Prepare a Word document or PowerPoint for rolling revision, incorporating class notes.

  • Ongoing Skills Practice: Continuously practice Datawrapper and Excel for data visualization and analysis.

Class Procedures

  • Welcome Back: Class begins with a welcome back announcement. Students should close their electronic devices unless instructed otherwise.

  • Note-taking Method: Notes for IA1 should be handwritten in a designated workbook. Electronic devices may be used at specific times as announced by the instructor.

Course Overview

Subject: Year 12 Geography

  • Unit 3 (IA1): Focus on Landcover Transformations and Climate Change.

Year 11 and Year 12 Learning Breakdown

Year 11 Work

Unit 1: Responding to Risk and Vulnerability in Hazard Zones

  • Natural Hazard Zones: Understanding various natural hazards.

  • Ecological Hazard Zones: Study of ecological vulnerabilities.

Unit 2: Planning Sustainable Places

  • Responding to Local Challenges: Focus on managing challenges in Australian megacities.

Unit 3: Responding to Land Cover Transformations

  • Understanding Land Cover Changes: Instruction on ecological impacts due to land cover changes and climate variations.

Unit 4: Managing Population Changes

  • Population Challenges in Australia: Overview of demographic shifts, global population trends, and associated challenges.

Assessment Overview

  • Formative Internal Assessments: Ongoing evaluations.

  • Summative Internal Assessments:   - Assessment 1: Examination with combination response (25%).   - Assessment 3: Investigation in data reporting (25%).   - External Assessment: Combination response field report (25%).

Unit 3: Responding to Land Cover Transformations

  • Overview: Focuses on biophysical changes over time, especially concerning land cover transformation linked with climate change.

  • Methodology: Students engage in case studies and fieldwork to assess geographical processes influencing Earth's land cover and climate transformations at global, regional, and local levels.

  • Action Proposals: Students recommend action plans to address local land and water management challenges through fieldwork.

  • Importance of Fieldwork: Emphasizes experiential learning through data collection, manipulation, and interpretation.

Unit Objectives

  1. Explain geographical processes and interactions affecting land cover changes and climate variations.

  2. Recognize spatial patterns of land cover and climate change, identifying the implications for communities.

  3. Analyze climate and land cover data to assess geographical challenges presented by climate change.

  4. Apply geographical understanding to assess the impacts of these challenges on natural and human systems.

  5. Propose actionable responses to enhance sustainability at a designated fieldwork site.

  6. Communicate knowledge effectively using appropriate geographical techniques.

Internal Assessment 1: Examination Structure

  • Form of Assessment: Combination response incorporating short and extended response questions (25%).

  • Focus Areas:   - Explain interactions between biophysical and anthropogenic factors leading to land cover changes and climate shifts.   - Recognize spatial patterns indicative of climate change on multiple scales (global, regional, local).

  • Question Format: Includes calculating, annotating, and drawing based on provided stimuli such as maps or diagrams.   - Aloud Specification: Supervised environment.

  • Specifications: Exam aligns with Unit 3, consists of varied question formats.

  • Mark Allocation: 10 marks for short responses, 8 marks for extended responses, and total 60 marks across the assessment.

Examination Conditions

  • Time Allowed: 15 minutes for planning, 120 minutes for answering.

  • Allowed Materials: QCAA-approved non-programmable calculator and basic rulers.

Key Questions for Understanding Land Cover and Climate Change

  1. What is land cover and its distribution?

  2. What processes influence Earth's physical systems affecting land cover?

  3. Identify different land cover types (e.g., vegetation biomes, anthropogenic biomes).

  4. Analyze the impact of population growth, affluence, and technology on land cover.

  5. Assess human activities (settlements, agriculture, forestry) on land cover transformation.

  6. What global climate systems exist? What is climate change and its implications?

  7. Strategies to respond to climate change impacts.

Concepts of Global Climate and Biome Distribution

  • Definition: Biomes are major ecological communities classified by predominant vegetation.

  • The Earth consists of several climatic zones determined by seasonal temperature and precipitation patterns.

Global Population Dynamics

  • Current Statistics: Global population approaches 8 billion, growing by approximately 80 million annually, or 120,000 daily.

  • Implications: Increased demands for resources like food, water, shelter, and industrial goods ensue, posing sustainability challenges.

Environmental Impacts of Population Growth

  • Resource Exploitation: Leads to heightened exploitation of finite resources (land/water/minerals), necessitating balancing demand and sustainability.

  • Increased Climate Variability: More frequent severe weather, rising temperatures, catastrophic wildfires, coastal inundation due to rising sea levels are observed.

Management of Earth's Physical Systems

Earth’s Physical Systems

  • Four Systems:   1. Atmosphere: Mix of gases enveloping Earth.   2. Lithosphere: Comprises Earth's crust and landmasses.   3. Hydrosphere: Bodies of water (oceans, rivers, glaciers).   4. Biosphere: Supports all forms of life.

Dynamics of Systems Interaction

  • Interactions can occur within the systems affecting each other; for example, an increase in carbon emissions leads to more atmospheric water vapor.

  • Systems exhibit complex interconnections through energy and matter cycles, most notably water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles.

Impact of Human Activity on Systems

  • Overexploitation Links: Changes like increased emissions, urban expansion, and resource extraction disrupt natural cycles.

  • Practices like fertilizer use can cause pollution and lead to algal blooms, affecting water bodies.

Cycles and Ecosystem Health

The Water Cycle

  • Definition: Describes the movement of water from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back, driven by solar energy.

  • Concerns: As climate changes, significant modifications to the water cycle patterns are anticipated; e.g., changes in rainfall distribution affecting ecosystems.

The Carbon Cycle

  • Planetary Importance: Carbon plays a vital role in ecosystems, cycling through various forms (gaseous, solid, liquid).

The Nitrogen Cycle

  • Definition: Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere and is essential for biological organisms, absorbed by plants in various forms ( nitrate, ammonium).

  • Key Processes: Includes nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification, which are essential for ecosystem functioning.

Global Climate Systems

Definition of Climate

  • Climate vs. Weather: Climate is defined as the long-term average of weather conditions, typically over 30 years; weather is short-term atmospheric conditions.

  • Global Influences: Climate results from a multitude of interacting systems, including atmospheric circulation and heat transfer.

Wind Patterns and Heat Transfer

  • Air Movement: Inequality in Earth's heating due to its spherical shape causes air density differences, creating various pressure zones that lead to global wind systems.

  • Hadley Cells: Regions near the equator experience upward movement of warm air, leading to significant precipitation patterns, impacting ecosystems.

Understanding Ocean Currents

  • Heat Energy Transfer: Ocean currents distribute thermal energy, crucial for maintaining climate balance across the globe.

  • Coriolis Effect: Influences ocean and atmospheric circulation, affecting weather systems globally.

The Role of El Niño and La Niña

  • El Niño Conditions: Characterized by warming sea surface temperatures in Eastern Equatorial Pacific, affecting weather globally by altering jet streams.

  • La Niña: Contrasts with stronger trade winds, causing opposing effects in climatic conditions, enhancing drought in some regions while promoting rainfall in others.

Variability in Statistically Analyzing Climate Change

  • Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming: Involves understanding the dynamics of greenhouse gases and their influence on surface temperatures and climate systems.

  • Human Impact: Economic and technological development contribute to enhanced greenhouse conditions leading to global temperature rise.

Anthropogenic Influences on Biomes

Land Use Changes and Their Impacts

  • Meaning of Land Use: Refers to how land is utilized for economic, social, or cultural activities (e.g., agriculture, urbanization).

  • Anthropogenic Biomes: Understanding human-dominated environments (urban areas, croplands, etc.) affecting biodiversity and ecological health.

Biological and Environmental Importance

  • Forests and Biodiversity: Essential for maintaining ecological balance, supporting myriad species, and acting as significant carbon sinks.

  • Deforestation Trends: Human activities contribute significantly to forest loss, impacting CO2 levels and leading to biodiversity loss.