Geography

Core Declarative Knowledge
What should students know?

• Ocean Currents
• Climate events including El Nino and La Nina
• Hurricanes
• The Coastal System and Sediment Cell
• Erosion landforms
• Depositional landforms
  

Core Procedural Knowledge
What should students be able to do?

• Can I explain the operation of ocean currents, including their distribution, nutrient and energy transfers and the importance of oceanic conveyor belts?
• Can I explain the atmospheric-ocean interactions associated with ENSO cycles and their climatic, environmental and economic effects?
• Can I explain the formation, distribution and physical impact of hurricanes on coastal margins, including storm surges?
• Can I explain the changing role of oceans as a store and source of carbon dioxide (CO2) and impacts of ocean acidification on coral reefs?

Core Declarative Knowledge
What should students know?

• How do physical processes link to the Earth’s atmospheric and ocean systems?
• How are coastal places shaped by their interaction with the ocean?
• How powerful are different stakeholders in relation to coastal margin management?
• What are the future possibilities for managing the oceans as a Global commons?
  

Core Procedural Knowledge
What should students be able to do?

• Can I explain operation of ocean currents, including their distribution, nutrient and energy transfers and the importance of oceanic conveyor belts?
• Can I explain the atmospheric-ocean interactions associated with ENSO cycles and their climatic, environmental and economic effects?
• Can I explain the formation, distribution and physical impact of hurricanes on coastal margins, including storm surges?
• Can I explain the changing role of oceans as a store and source of carbon dioxide (CO2) and impacts of ocean acidification on coral reefs?

Core Declarative Knowledge
What should students know?

• Mechanisms of plate movement
• Volcano characteristics
• Earthquake Characteristics
• Classification of mass movement types
• Special distribution of geophysical hazards
• The relevance of hazard magnitude and frequency
• Geophysical hazard risk as a product of economic factors
• Geophysical factors affecting geophysical hazard event impacts.
• Geophysical hazard event profiles
• Varied impacts of hazards on different aspects of human wellbeing.
• Reasons why levels of vulnerability vary between and within communities, including special variations in hazard perception, personal knowledge and preparedness.

Core Procedural Knowledge
What should students be able to do?

• How do geophysical processes give rise to geophysical events of differing types and magnitudes?
• How do geophysical systems generate hazard risks for different places?
• How does the varying power of geophysical hazards affect people in different local contextx?
• Can I explain the possibilities for lessening human vulnerability to geophysical hazards?

Links to TOK

• Discuss the limitations of the data used in Table 0.9 (Hint lenghth of drought/ flood versus a landslide; magnitude/ strength.)

Links to Assessment

• Outline the main methods of slope stabilisation.
• Identify the main differences between short-term and long-term responses to natural hazards.
• How can GPS systems help to manage the impacts of natural hazards?

Core Declarative Knowledge
What should students know?

• Physical and human factors affecting population distribution at a global scale
• Global patters and classification of economic development in low-income countries (LICs), middle-income countries (MICs) and emerging economies.
• Global patters and classification of economic development in high income countries (HICs)
• Population distribution and economic development at a national scale, including voluntary internal migration, core-periphery patterns and megacity growth.

Core Procedural Knowledge
What should students be able to do?

• How does population vary between places?
• What are the processes of population change and what is their effect on people and places?
• What are the population possibilities and power over the decision-making processes.

Links to TOK

• A megalopolis like Boston- Washington in the USA is a similar concept to China’s mega-region.
• Birth rates can be referred to as crude rates, if they do not take into account the age structure of the population.
• What’s in a name?
• How does the language related to migration influence the way in which some migrants are perceived by certain groups?
• Is an ageing world an advantage or disadvantage?
• Should all governments have policies to dictate family size in order to control population numbers?

Links to Assessment

• Outline the economic benefits of family planning.
• Explain two reasons why family planning may lead to economic benefits for a family.
• ‘No population policy has ever been successful’ Discuss this statement.
• Examine the importance of the demographic dividend.

Core Declarative Knowledge
What should students know?

• The atmospheric system, including the natural greenhouse effect and the energy balance .
• Changes in the global energy balance, and the role of feedback loops, resulting from solar radiation variations, including global dimming due to volcanic eruptions.
• Changes in the global energy balance resulting from terrestrial albedo changes and methane gas release and feedback loops.
• The enhanced greenhouse effect and international variations in greenhouse gas sources and emissions, in relation to economic development, globalisation and trade.
• Climate change and the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, including water stored in ice and oceans, and changing sea levels; and carbon stored in ice, oceans, and the biosphere.
• The incidence and severity of extreme weather events, including drought.
• Spatial changes in biomes, habitats and animal migration patterns; and changes to agriculture, including crop yields, limits of cultivation and soil erosion.
• The impacts of climate change on people and places , including health hazards, migration and ocean transport routes.
• Disparities in exposure to climate change risk and vulnerability, including variations in people’s location, walth, social differences and risk perception.
• Government-led strategies for global climate change: geopolitical efforts, recognising that the sources of greenhouse gas emissions may be specially distant from countries most affected.
• Civil society and corporate strategies, and the actions of non-governmental stakeholders, to address global climate change.

Core Procedural Knowledge
What should students be able to do?

• Define and explain the concepts of global climate vulnerability and resilience.
• Identify factors contributing to global climate vulnerability, such as:
  • Physical factors (e.g., location, climate, topography)
  • Social factors (e.g., population density, poverty, access to resources)
  • Economic factors (e.g., GDP, economic structure, infrastructure)
  • Environmental factors (e.g., biodiversity, ecosystem services)
• Discuss how climate change exacerbates vulnerability in different regions.
  Evaluate strategies for building resilience to climate change impacts, including:
  • Adaptation strategies (e.g., land use planning, water management, infrastructure development)
  • Mitigation strategies (e.g., reducing greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable resource management)
  • International cooperation and agreements (e.g., Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol)
• Analyze case studies of communities or regions that are particularly vulnerable to climate change and assess their resilience strategies.
• Discuss the role of government policies, international organizations, and NGOs in addressing global climate vulnerability and building resilience.
• Understand and critically evaluate different perspectives on climate change vulnerability and resilience, considering factors such as socioeconomic status, political ideology, and cultural context.

Links to TOK

• Discuss how knowledge claims about climate vulnerability and resilience are constructed.
• How do scientists, policymakers, and communities create and validate knowledge in this area?
• Explore counterclaims related to climate change, vulnerability, and resilience.
• How do different stakeholders interpret and respond to climate data and predictions?

Links to Assessment

• Mock Examination