A Geography blog, supporting the learning of my year 11 students taking AQA Geography B
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Monday, 28 April 2008
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Tectonic Activity: What you need to know!
The Earth.s crust is unstable and creates hazards:
Global distribution of continental plates. Tensional and compressional margins. The processes of plate movements should be understood and their role in the formation of fold mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes.
Characteristic features and formation of fold mountains, earthquakes (focus, epicentre) and volcanoes (composite and shield volcanoes).
Occurrence and measurement of earthquakes:
The link between earthquakes and plate boundaries to be understood.
The interaction between people and the environments and hazards created by tectonic activity.
Description and explanation of human activity in one range of young fold
mountains. Study of one range of fold mountains e.g. tourism, farming, and HEP in the Alps or Rockies.
Case study of effects and responses to a volcanic eruption and an earthquake to include primary and secondary effects and the short medium and long term responses. Two case studies are required, a volcanic eruption e.g. Montserrat and an earthquake eg. Kobe. Study to include the short, medium and long term responses of different interest groups e.g. local and national government, aid agencies etc.
Settlement issues in areas of tectonic activity . the advantages and disadvantages of settlement in areas of tectonic activity. Students should appreciate that areas affected by tectonic activity present both advantages and disadvantages for settlement e.g. the threat of a volcanic eruption versus the fertile soils for farming as on the slopes of Mount Etna or the threat of avalanches and difficulty of communications versus the valuable minerals able to be mined in the Andes mountains.
Variations in the effects of and responses to tectonic activity between rural and urban areas, and between MEDCs and LEDCs. A consideration of the values and attitudes of different interest groups. Choice of earlier case studies from both an MEDC and LEDC will make it easier for students to appreciate these variations. Consideration may be given to differences in population densities, building materials, availability of emergency services, quality of communication networks, relative wealth etc. Values and attitudes to tectonic activity may include the unwillingness of some people to accept the hazard or the need to use the fertile soils through to those who would advise abandonment of areas prone to tectonic activity.
There are a significant number of earlier posts on the management of tectonic activities. Use the spec. to 'traffic light' your knowledge & understanding. Remember that the questions can highlight VERY specific areas of the spec. e.g. shield volcanoes!
Global distribution of continental plates. Tensional and compressional margins. The processes of plate movements should be understood and their role in the formation of fold mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes.
Characteristic features and formation of fold mountains, earthquakes (focus, epicentre) and volcanoes (composite and shield volcanoes).
Occurrence and measurement of earthquakes:
The link between earthquakes and plate boundaries to be understood.
The interaction between people and the environments and hazards created by tectonic activity.
Description and explanation of human activity in one range of young fold
mountains. Study of one range of fold mountains e.g. tourism, farming, and HEP in the Alps or Rockies.
Case study of effects and responses to a volcanic eruption and an earthquake to include primary and secondary effects and the short medium and long term responses. Two case studies are required, a volcanic eruption e.g. Montserrat and an earthquake eg. Kobe. Study to include the short, medium and long term responses of different interest groups e.g. local and national government, aid agencies etc.
Settlement issues in areas of tectonic activity . the advantages and disadvantages of settlement in areas of tectonic activity. Students should appreciate that areas affected by tectonic activity present both advantages and disadvantages for settlement e.g. the threat of a volcanic eruption versus the fertile soils for farming as on the slopes of Mount Etna or the threat of avalanches and difficulty of communications versus the valuable minerals able to be mined in the Andes mountains.
Variations in the effects of and responses to tectonic activity between rural and urban areas, and between MEDCs and LEDCs. A consideration of the values and attitudes of different interest groups. Choice of earlier case studies from both an MEDC and LEDC will make it easier for students to appreciate these variations. Consideration may be given to differences in population densities, building materials, availability of emergency services, quality of communication networks, relative wealth etc. Values and attitudes to tectonic activity may include the unwillingness of some people to accept the hazard or the need to use the fertile soils through to those who would advise abandonment of areas prone to tectonic activity.
There are a significant number of earlier posts on the management of tectonic activities. Use the spec. to 'traffic light' your knowledge & understanding. Remember that the questions can highlight VERY specific areas of the spec. e.g. shield volcanoes!
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Lets get back to basics! Skills needed here.....
There are several areas of skills outlined in the spec. that may be specifically tested on Paper 1. They are:
- Basic Skills
Labelling and annotation of diagrams, maps, graphs, sketches etc.
Drawing sketches from photographs and in the field.
Photographs: candidates should be able to use and interpret aerial/oblique and satellite photographs of rural and/or urban landscapes. - Cartographic (map) Skills
Atlas maps: recognising and describing distributions and patterns of both human and physical features.
Sketch maps: draw, label, understand and interpret sketch maps. - Ordnance survey maps: 1:25 000 or 1:50 000 scale, recognise symbols, four and six figure grid references, straight line and winding distances; direction, draw and annotate cross-sections, height and degree of slope, simple contour patterns, patterns of vegetation and land use; patterns of communications; location, shape and pattern of settlement; different land use zones of settlements; infer human activity from map evidence; using maps in association with photographs
- Graphical Skills (In coursework AND in the exam)
Construct line, bar, scattergraphs and pie diagrams.
Complete a variety of graphs and maps including choropleth, isoline and proportional symbols.
Interpret a variety of graphs including those located on maps and topological diagrams.
*Additional enquiry and ICT skills are outlined in the specification but are covered principally in learning activities and in the coursework specifically.
We will spend the first couple of lessons of the revision programme practicing these skills. The subject specific material will be drawn from a full range of topics to give you a feel for what specific topics you need to give most attention to.
We will start with the big picture, drawing them to be precise. There are a number of excellent websites that remind you how to draw a 'fieldsketch'. It is unlikely that you will have to draw one from scratch in the exam but you may well be asked to annotate one (label it IN DETAIL).
This website is a great place to start as it also covers River Landforms & Flooding, plus Tourism.
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