S1 Geography Notes

Year 1GeographyChapter 1: IntroductiontogeographyChapter 3: Water anditsspatial distributionChapter 4: Management of water resourcesChapter 5: Distributionof rainforestsandmangrovesChapter 6: Management of tropical rainforestsandmangrovesOthers GeographyIntro●Physical geographyisthebranchof geographyfocusingonthestudyof thephysical environment●ThePhysical environment consistsof all livingandnonlivingthingsfoundnaturally, aswell asnatural processesandhas4components1. Atmosphere●Thisreferstothelayer of gasesandtinyparticlessurroundingtheearth,withexamplesincludingnitrogen,oxygenandcarbondioxide●Thisisfurther dividedinto5layers, troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,thermosphereandexosphere●Theconditionof atmosphereknownasweather includestemperature,humidity, andwind2. Hydrosphere●Referstoall water foundontheearthandintheatmosphere, whichincludeswater insolid,liquidandgaseousstates●TheHydrological cycleenableswater tomovecontinuouslybetweentheearth'ssurface, atmosphereandunderground3. Lithosphere●Thisreferstothesolidlayer of rockformingtheearth'ssurface, uptoafewhundredkminthickness●Magnificent landformssuchasmountainsarealsocreatedbymovement oflargelayersof rockinthelithosphere4. Biosphere●Thisreferstoall livingthingsonearth, includingplant andanimal lifefoundonlandandsea●It isalsodependent onother componentsof thephysicalenvironment ●For example, plant growthrequiressuitabletemperatureWhat is humanGeography?●It isthebranchof geographyinvolvingthestudyof humanlifeinthebuilt environment ●Thebuilt environment iscreatedthroughhumanmadechangestothephysical environment andit providessettingfor varietyofhumanactivities, withmanyaspectssuchashousingandtransportsystems1. Housing●Structures/buildingsdevelopedbypeopletoshelter themselvesfromthe

elements, whichcanbetemporaryor permanent●Anexampleof temporaryhousingisatent, whileanexampleofpermanent housingisHDBflats2. Transport systems●Equipment,infrastructureandnetworkssupportingmovement of peopleandgoods, suchaspublictransport andairportsGeographical concepts●Important ideausedtounderstandtheworld1. Space●Physical areaontheearth'ssurface●LocationisanideacloselyrelatedtoPlace●Expressedusingcoordinateswhicharebasedonlatitudeandlongitude●Locationof geographical featuresarrangedacrossanareainaparticularway, knownasspatial pattern, identifiedaslinear or cluster2. Place●Areaof theearth'ssurfaceholdingspecial meaningfor people, egmyclassroom●Spacecanbeplaceandviceversa●Placehasattachedmeaning, likeSingaporevBorkumor Maastricht3. Environment●Physical andbuilt environment andprocessesoccurringnaturally/result ofhumanaction●Geographersinterestedinstudyingtheinteractionsbetweenhumansandenvironment 4. Scale●Level of detail at whichgeographersstudysomething●3typesof scale, mapscale, timescaleandgeographicscale4a.Mapscale●Relationshipbetweenadistanceonamapandactual distanceontheground4b.Timescale●Periodof timeduringwhichsomethinghappens●Processesandchangesinenvironment occur at varietyof timescale4c.Geographic scale●Spatial extent of something, dividedintolocal, national, regionalandglobal scaleGeographical inquiry●Posingquestionsandcarryingout investigations,using5W1H●ThesecanbeusedwiththegeogconceptstoposegeogquestionsonanythingStages1. Askkeyquestions2. Formulatehypotheses3. Collect sources(primaryandsecondary)4. Analyseandpresent data(present usingmaps, graphs, tables)5. Drawconclusions6. Reflect andtakeaction(improveinvestigation) 3.Water andits spatial distributionPhysical states of water

1. Solid–ice(under coldtempwater freezesintoice)2. Liquid-water (flowsfreely,noset shape,fixedvolume)3. Gas-water vapour+steam(alwaysintheair aroundus)Whereis water found?●Foundinwater stores●Water storesareplaceswherewater iscontainedinandcanbecategorisedasfreshwater andsaltwater●Glaciers,riversetccontainfreshwater,andcanbeusedeasilyunlikeoceans●Unevenlydistributedontheearthssurface●Water canmovefrom1storetoanother andthesemovementsareknownasflows1. Oceans●Largemassesof water connectedtooneanother●Pacific(biggest), Atlantic, Indian, ArcticandSouthern2. Glaciers●Massesof icerestingonland/float insea●Foundinplacessnowingalot●Moveslowlyduetomass3. Lakes●Water bodiessurroundedbyland●Receivewater fromrain,snowandrivers4. Rivers●Natural wideflowsof freshwater acrossland●Storewater temporarilybeforewater flowsintoanother body●Flowfromhigher elevationstolower elevationduetogravity●River sourcemarkswhereariver begins●River mouthmarkswhereariver flowsintoanother body5. Soil●Loosetopmost layer of earth'ssurfacewhereplantsgrow●Hasdierent names,containsdierent material●Water passesthroughthesoil throughsmall openingsknownaspores●Water storedinsoil calledsoil moisture6. Groundwater●Foundbelowsurfaceof theearth●Water entersthegroundthroughporesinthesoil+gravityHydrological cycle1. Precipitation●Input●Water fallsasrain,snowor hail2.Groundwater●Water that seepsintothegroundabsorbedbyplantsor storedasgroundwater 3.Surfaceruno●Water flowsfromthehighlandsandover thegroundsurfaceintostreamsandrivers●Whengroundwater increases,surfacerunodecreases

4.Evaporation●Thesun’sheat causeswater toevaporate●Water changesintowater vapour●Output5.Transpiration●Plantsgiveout water throughtheir leaves6.Condensation●Warmmoist air coolsasit rises●Water vapour changesintowater droplets●Small dropletscombinetoformbigger dropletsandcloudsWater budget●Describesflowof water inandout of acatchment area●Processesincreasingamt of water inacatchment calledinput andviceversafor output ●Wheninput morethanoutput thisiscalledawatersurplus(morewater thanneeded) ●Whenoutput morethaninput thisiscalledwater deficit (lesswater thanneeded) ●NETchangeinstore=Input(precipitation) - Output (surfaceruno, evaporation, transpiration) 4.Management of waterHowdovariations inprecipitationaect availabilityof water?1. Floods●Overflowof water ontodryland●FlashfloodsandRiver floods1a. FlashFloods●Causedbyheavyrainfall over short periodsof time●Occur indryareawithout enoughsoil andvegetationallowinginfiltration●Most rainwater becomessurfacerunofloodinglowlyingareas1b. River Floods● Caused by sustained heavy rainfall/meltwater produced throughmelting in spring ● Large amount of rain/melt water enters streamsand tributaries, flowing into rivers ● Water level in river rises rapidlyandoverflowsthebanks2. Droughts●Longperiodof littletonorainfall inanarea●Maylast months/years●Not enoughwater availabletoreplenishamount usedforhumanactivitiesHowdoes water support river ecosystems?●Water supportsriver ecosystemasprecipitationprovidesregular supplyofwater torivers●Foodchainsshowrelationshipsamongorganismsasenergyistransferred●Bottomof foodchainareaquaticplants,zooplankton,insects,fish,humansHowdopeopleusewater?●Developedcountriesusemorewater thandevelopingcountriesduetoindustrializationanditemssuchasdishwashers

●Usewater for 4mainpurposes1. Howis water usefor Domestic Purposes?●Householdactivitiessuchasbathing,cooking,cleaning●AverageSingaporeanuses131litresof water/day2. Howis water usedfor recreational purposes?●Enablespeopletocarryout water sportsegkayaking,sailingandfishing●Thesesportsarehighlydependent onwaterconditionsandquality3. Howis water usedfor agriculture?●Largest useof water worldwide●Usedtogrowcropsandrear animalsfor consumption●Dierent animal andplantsrequiredierent amountsof water4. Howis water usedfor industry?●Manyindustriesrequirewater tofunction●Usedtocool equipment infactoriesandpower plantsastheygeneratealot of heat ●Alsousedtogenerateelectricitypassingthroughturbinesindams●Usedasacleaningagent inwafer fabrication,whichistheprocessofcreatingelectronicsHowdohumanactions leadtowater pollutionanditsimpact?●Humanactivitiescausewater pollutionsduetovariousreasonseglitter indrains●Water pollutioniswhenharmful substanceenter water bodiesandcausewater qualitytofall●Posesathreat toaquaticecosystems●Pollutantslikepesticidesandleadkill plantsandpoisonanimals●Excessfertilisersfromfarmswashedintoriversprovidenutrientsforgrowthof algae, gettingdecomposed, takinginoxygenandthereislessoxygen, causingfishtodie●Rhineriver 1986c