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 sites. Award 1 additional mark for further development of each explanation. Note: This question allows the discussion or risks, ethics , and whether the fieldwork can lead to RAV data. Possible responses include: Strengths • Students can gather responses from elderly who have used different features of the Silver Zones along the entire stretch of each street , making the data collected more accurate. [1] o R1 shows that students surveyed different parts of the Silver Zone on each street . Silver Zone features will differ at each location like speed signs at traffic junctions and low kerb along the streets. [+1] • Students can gather responses from diverse group of elderly in terms of place of residences, making the data more representative of elderly. [1] o R1 shows that all sites are near different public housing blocks. Site 1 is near Block 621 while Site 3 is near Block 639 and the residents could have different experiences with the Silver Zone despite being on the same street. [+1] • The sites are safe for the students to conduct questionnaire as they provide shade from the sun and shelter from the rain. [1] o R2 shows Site 3 is near HDB blocks and shops at the void deck and Site 2 is also under a very huge shelter . Students can easily seek shelter if it rains. [+1] This is especially so when students are conducting fieldwork for long periods of time even at midday when the temperature is hot. [+1] • The sites are safe for the students because all sites are along wide sidewalks, thereby leading to less collision with bicycles or other pedestrians. [1] • The sites are all located in public spaces and does not trespass into any private property, making it ethical. [1] o R1 shows that they are all located along the public street in Ang Mo Kio Street 61, while in Hougang Street 61, 3 sites are found along the street and 1 is at a neighbourhood park. [+1] Weaknesses • However, the students may not be able to survey a representative sample of the elderly population in Singapore because both streets are not widely distributed throughout Singapore. [1] o The preamble sites that there are 40 streets with Silver Zones but students only did fieldwork at 2 streets so the limited data would not allow them to collect sufficient data to test their hypothesis. [+1] o R2 shows that there are no sites for investigation in the north, west of southern parts of Singapore. Different neighbourhoods

5 have different Silver Zone features and responses might differ. [+1] • The data collected by be biased because all sites are located next to roads that have Silver Zones features. Thus, respondents would have more awareness of it. [1] o It may not represent the perception of elderly living away from that street such as along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6. [+1] • There might be an underrepresentation of elderly with mobility issues because all sites are located near the road and public spaces. [1] o All the sites chosen are along the street and in public spaces. Elderly who were surveyed would be more mobile as they can leave their house. However, elderly with severe health issues or are immobile will not have a chance of being surveyed as they are more likely to be at home. [+1] AO2 1 (c) Explain why the sequence of the student’s data collection was useful for their investigation. [5] Award 1 mark for each explanation on why the sequence was useful. Award 1 additional mark for further development of each explanation. Possible responses include: • By searching for secondary data on the internet on the Silver Zone before the fieldwork, the students have a better idea what features to look out for during their site recce and fieldwork so that they can collect valid data. [1] • By doing the site recce before the fieldwork, students can visualise the site how the features of the Silver Zone look like in real life and familiarise themselves with the site. [1] o This allows them to identify where to stand to conduct the questionnaire such as places with higher footfall to get more respondents efficiently. [+1] o The students can identify survey sites that are near to shelter so that they can stay safe if it rains heavily. [+1] o The students can take photos and use them in the questionnaire to help respondents visualise the features. [+1] • Doing the site recce 2 days before the fieldwork gives sufficient time to students to edit their questionnaire based on their observations at both streets, thus ensuring that their questions in the questionnaire aligns with what can be found at both streets. [1] o This may include information that was not previously found in their secondary research but are found from the site recce. [+1] • By doing a site recce relatively close to the actual day of the fieldwork, it ensures that there will not be major changes to the roads and Silver Zone features during the time period, so tha