VJC 2025 H1 Geo Prelim answers

VICTORIA JUNIOR COLLEGE JC2 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2025 H1 GEOGRAPHY PAPER 1 8834/01 MARK SCHEME Section A 1 In Singapore, residential areas with a high proportion of elderly have been designated as Silver Zones. As of end-2024, more than 40 Silver Zones have been implemented across Singapore. A group of six students decided to investigate the effectiveness of Silver Zones in meeting the needs of elderly residents. The students agreed to investigate the following hypothesis: Silver Zones in Singapore have met the needs of elderly above the age of 65 years old. Prior to their fieldwork, the students researched on the internet on some generic information of features of a Silver Zone. They decided on 2 streets with Silver Zones in Singapore which were in Ang Mo Kio Street 61 and Hougang Street 61. They also did a site recce 2 days before the fieldwork at both streets. During their fieldwork, students used a questionnaire to survey 100 residents from each street. They conducted their questionnaire at 9am to 6pm at 4 sites of each street and took a total of 2 days in the December holidays to complete their questionnaire. They student identified elderly-looking people who were walking by, verified their age, sought their consent before beginning the questionnaire. Resource 1 shows the two streets and eight sites where students conducted their onsite investigations. Resource 2 shows p hotographs of two of the sites where the students conducted their questionnaire. Resource 3 shows the questionnaire that the students used. Resource 4 shows the results of the questionnaire. 1 (a) Explain two weaknesses of the students’ hypothesis. [4] Award 1 mark for each explanation on the weakness of the hypothesis. Award a maximum of 1 additional mark for further development of each explanation, where applicable. Possible responses include: • The hypothesis is not at a suitable scale because it intends to research the whole of Singapore. [1] This is not manageable for the 6 students to study the whole of Singapore in two days. [+1] • The variable in terms of ‘needs of the elderly’ is not clearly defined. [1] The needs of the elderly are diverse and without a clearly defined need such as social need, students may find it hard to pinpoint the exact needs that they are investigating, and thus have difficulties in gathering valid data to test to hypothesis. [+1] • The variable in the hypothesis which is “nee ds of the elderly” is not measurable because the questionnaire alone is unable to collect the required data . [1] The needs of the elderly are high varied and subjective but questionnaire only collects quantitative data. [+1] AO1

5 1 (b) Using Resource 1 and 2, explain the strengths and weaknesses of the student’s choice of locations and sample sites where the elderly residents were surveyed. [6] Award 1 mark on a strength or weakness of the students’ choice of location and sample s