VCE Geography 2016-2020 - Specifications and Sample

VCE Geography
2016–2020
Written examination – End of year
Examination specifications
Overall conditions
The examination will be sat at a time and date to be set annually by the Victorian Curriculum and
Assessment Authority (VCAA). VCAA examination rules will apply. Details of these rules are
published annually in the VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook.
There will be 15 minutes reading time and 2 hours writing time.
The examination will be assessed by a panel appointed by the VCAA.
The examination will contribute 50 per cent to the study score.
Content
The VCE Geography Study Design 2016–2020 is the document for the development of the
examination. The study design includes a section on ‘Cross-study specifications’ (pages 9–13).
All outcomes in Units 3 and 4 will be examined.
All of the key knowledge and skills that underpin the outcomes in Units 3 and 4 are examinable.
Format
The examination will be in the form of a question and answer book.
The examination will consist of short-answer and/or extended-answer questions, which may
include sub-parts.
Questions may be based on stimulus material presented in a separate data book. Students will be
presented with a range of data formats. These formats will be drawn from the full range of
accepted geographical media that students may encounter in the course of their study, such as the
following:
•
•
•
•
•
tables
graphs
sketches
statistics
photographs
•
•
•
•
•
satellite images
topographic maps
aerial photographs
3D representations
other accepted data representations
All questions will be compulsory. The total marks for the examination will be 80.
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Approved materials and equipment
•
•
normal stationery requirements (pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, sharpeners and rulers)
coloured pencils, water-based pens and markers
Relevant references
The following publications should be referred to in relation to the VCE Geography examination:
•
•
•
VCE Geography Study Design 2016–2020
VCE Geography – Advice for teachers 2016–2020 (includes assessment advice)
VCAA Bulletin
Advice
During the 2016–2020 accreditation period for VCE Geography, examinations will be prepared
according to the examination specifications above. Each examination will conform to these
specifications and will test a representative sample of the key knowledge and skills from all
outcomes in Units 3 and 4.
Teachers and students should be aware of the cross-study specifications, including key
geographical concepts, geographical skills and fieldwork report, as described on pages 9–13 of the
study design.
The following sample questions provide an indication of the types of questions teachers and
students can expect until the current accreditation period is over.
The VCAA does not publish answers for sample questions.
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Sample questions
Question 1 (4 marks)
Using specific examples, define
• land use change
• land cover change.
Use Figure 1 on pages 2 and 3 of the data book when responding to Question 2.
Question 2 (4 marks)
The area outlined in red in Figure 1 is suitable for a fieldwork investigation into the processes of land use
change.
Consider the following list of investigative methods:
• interviews with existing site owners and workers
• a series of ground photographs taken every two weeks
• constructing annotated transects before and after the start of land use changes
• conducting research for the site on the internet
• use of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to record site characteristics
Which investigative method would you find most suitable for this task? Explain your choice.
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Question 3 (9 marks)
Name the location and the land use change for the selected area of fieldwork that you conducted
during the year.
a.
Describe one strength and one weakness of the main technique that was used to collect the
primary data for your selected area of fieldwork.
4 marks
b.
Discuss how one geographical characteristic of your selected area of fieldwork has influenced
the change in land use.
5 marks
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Question 4 (10 marks)
Tr o p i c o f Ca n c e r
Equator
Tr o p i c o f Ca p r i c o r n
N
0
2000 km
a.
Use the outline map above to map the distribution of the process of desertification at the
present period.
3 marks
b.
Indicate and name on the outline map above a place where the process of desertification is
presently occurring.
2 marks
c.
Describe the distribution of the process of desertification with reference to world regions and
the specific location you have indicated in part b.
5 marks
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Use Figure 2 on page 4 of the data book when responding to Question 5.
Question 5 (10 marks)
a. Describe the global distribution of forests.
5 marks
b.
5 marks
Explain why deforestation is occurring at one location shown in Figure 2.
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Use Figure 3 on page 5 of the data book when responding to Question 6.
Question 6 (10 marks)
a. Describe the overall trend in the change in global glacier thickness between 1960 and 2005.
b.
To what extent do volcanic eruptions, such as El Chichón in March 1982, appear to have had
an impact on the overall trend in global glacial thickness?
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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5 marks
5 marks
GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Question 7 (8 marks)
a. For one location, describe the impacts of either melting glaciers or melting ice sheets on the
local environment.
b.
Using an appropriate criterion, evaluate the effectiveness or likely effectiveness of a global
response to the impacts described in part a.
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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4 marks
4 marks
GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Question 8 (6 marks)
Describe how a spatial technology has been used to assess changes in land cover using a specific location
experiencing one of the following processes:
• deforestation
• desertification
• melting glaciers and ice sheets
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Use Figure 4 on pages 6 and 7 of the data book when responding to Question 9.
Question 9 (10 marks)
‘The global distribution of the human population is uneven and is likely to remain so in the future.’
Discuss the statement above.
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
Page 10
GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Use Figure 5 on pages 8 and 9 of the data book when responding to Question 10.
Question 10 (11 marks)
‘There is a strong spatial association between the source and destination of China’s internal
migrants and the level of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.’
a.
To what extent do you agree with the statement above? Justify your answer.
b.
Apart from GDP per capita, outline one push factor and one pull factor that could help explain
rural-to-urban movements. Use specific examples from at least one other part of the world in
your answer.
6 marks
Push factor and locational example
Pull factor and locational example
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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5 marks
GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Question 11 (12 marks)
Name a country whose population dynamics you studied during the year.
a.
Describe one major change to the total fertility rate that has occurred in the country named
above since the 1950s.
3 marks
b.
Discuss one major factor that has contributed to the change in the total fertility rate described
in part a.
3 marks
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
c.
Outline one issue and the related challenges that have developed as a result of the major
change in the total fertility rate described in part a.
Use Figure 6 on pages 10 and 11 of the data book when responding to Question 12.
Question 12 (4 marks)
Identify where Country A and Country B would be on the Demographic Transition model. Explain
your choices.
Country A
Country B
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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6 marks
GEOGRAPHY (SPECIFICATIONS & SAMPLE)
Question 13 (10 marks)
Assess the relevance of Malthus’s ideas in meeting the challenges of a rapidly growing population today.
© VCAA 2016 – Version 3 – April 2016
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Victorian Certificate of Education
Year
GEOGRAPHY
Written examination
Day Date
P
Reading time: *.** to *.** (15 minutes)
Writing time: *.** to *.** (2 hours)
S
M
A
E
L
DATA BOOK
Instructions
• A question and answer book is provided with this data book.
• Refer to the data in this book for each question as indicated in the question and answer book.
• The data contained in this book is drawn from current real-world case studies.
Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic
devices into the examination room.
© VICTORIAN CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY 2016
Version 3 – April 2016
Figure 1
2
3
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Figure 2
Source: © FAO 2010 (www.fao.org/forestry/fra/80298/en/)
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Figure 3
Global glacier thickness change
annual change
cumulative changes
0
0.1
0
–2
–0.1
–4
–0.2
–6 cumulative
glacier
thickness
change
–8 (vertical metres)
annual
thickness
–0.3
change
(vertical metres)
–0.4
–10
–0.5
–12
–0.6
Mt Agung,
Feb. 1963
–0.7
1960
Mt St Helens,
summer 1980
1970
El Chichón,
Mar. 1982
Mt Pinatubo,
June 1991
1990
1980
2000
–14
2010
year
Source: Mark Dyurgerov, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder;
in J Salinger, B Fitzharris, T Chinn, ‘New Zealand’s Southern Alps have lost a third of their ice’,
The Conversation (website), 29 July 2014
5
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Figure 4
A r c t i c Ci r c l e
ASIA
EUROPE
MIDDLE
EAST
Tr opi c o f Ca n c er
AFRICA
E quat o r
I ndi an
AUSTRALIA
Tr opi c o f Ca p r i c orn
O c ean
N
0
500
1000
1500
2000 km
Figure 4a: World population distribution
Key to map
Number of persons per square kilometre (km2)
100 and over
50–100
10–50
river
lake
international boundary
6
1–10
less than 1
Arc tic Oc e a n
NORTH
AMERICA
A t l ant i c
O c ean
Pa c ific
Oc e a n
SOUTH
AMERICA
North America
Asia
57.4%
5.0%
5.2%
4.8%
1900
2000
2050
Europe
24.7%
1900
1900
60.5%
2000
Africa
57.3%
2050
Latin America and the Caribbean
8.1%
13.4%
1900
2000
21.7%
2050
Australia and the Pacific
11.9%
7.2%
4.5%
8.5%
8.4%
0.4%
0.5%
0.5%
2000
2050
1900
2000
2050
1900
2000
2050
Figure 4b: Percentage of world population by region
7
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Figure 5
Beijing
Tianjin
Shanghai
SICHUAN
Shenzhen
Guangzhou
N
0
500 km
Figure 5a: China, number of internal migrants
Key to map
over 2 500 000
1 000 000–2 500 000
150 000–1 000 000
major city
administrative boundary
SICHUAN name of administrative region
areas not included
8
Data: National Bureau of Statistics China
Figure 1
HEILONGJIANG
JILIN
INNER MONGOLIA
AR
NINGXIA HUI
AR
LIAONING
XINJIANG UYGHUR
AR
BEIJING
HEBEI
SHANXI
QINGHAI
GANSU
SHANDONG
JIANGSU
HENAN
SHAANXI
TIBET
AR
TIANJIN
SHANGHAI
ANHUI
HUBEI
SICHUAN
ZHEJIANG
CHONGQING
HUNAN
JIANGXI
GUIZHOU
YUNNAN
FUJIAN
GUANGXI
ZHUANG
AR
GUANGDONG
MACAU
SAR
N
HONG KONG
SAR
HAINAN
0
500 km
Figure 5b: China, GDP per capita, US dollar, 2014
Data: IMF WEO
Key to map
administrative boundary
over 15 000
10 000–15 000
7500–9999
YUNNAN
name of administrative region
areas not included
5000–7499
under 5000
9
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Figure 6
Country A – 2015
male
female
100+
95–99
90–94
85–89
80–84
75–79
70–74
65–69
60–64
55–59
50–54
45–49
40–44
35–39
30–34
25–29
20–24
15–19
10–14
5–9
0–4
3
2.4
1.8
population (in millions)
1.2
0.6
0
0
age group
0.6
1.2
1.8
2.4
3
population (in millions)
Source: US Census Bureau International Data Base
Figure 6a
10
Country B – 2015
male
female
100+
95–99
90–94
85–89
80–84
75–79
70–74
65–69
60–64
55–59
50–54
45–49
40–44
35–39
30–34
25–29
20–24
15–19
10–14
5–9
0–4
15
12
9
population (in thousands)
6
3
0
0
age group
3
6
9
12
15
population (in thousands)
Source: US Census Bureau International Data Base
Figure 6b
END OF DATA BOOK
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