NCHS 2025 GEOG(E) MS Prelim

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2025 SECONDARY FOUR HUMANITIES 2260/02 Paper 2 Geography MARK SCHEME This document consists of 10 printed pages including the cover page. 1

Section A 1 Cluster 1: Geography in Everyday Life (a) Briefly describe two ways that people enquire a sense of place. [2] ● One way could be where individuals repeatedly encounter people and objects along familiar paths or roads during regular travel. (1 mark) ● Another way would be when individuals experience significant or memorable events at local landmarks and gathering places. (1 mark) (b) Using Fig. 1.1 (Insert), explain how spatial arrangements of the amenities make Tampines a livable estate. [3] ● There are bustops at regular intervals that makes commuting convenient for residents. (1 mark) ● Spatial association is also evident where the bus interchange is strategically in close proximity between two MRT stations which allow residents to easily transit from one mode of transportation to another. (1 mark) ● Tampines hub along with other amenities like OCBC,UOB and NTUC Income are clustered together such that residents are able to access all of these amenities easily in the same area. (1 mark) (c) With reference to Figs. 1.2 and 1.3 (Insert), explain how the features of the Punggol Digital Distict contribute to social and environmental sustainability. [3] ● The presence of car-lite streets encourages the use of vehicles that do not contribute to carbon emissions. (1 mark) ● The incorporation of green technologies and energy-efficient systems in the building design allows for a decrease in the overall use of energy ,contributing to environmental sustainability. (1 mark) ● The flexible land use feature promotes social sustainability by allowing people from the business parks and university to come together to interact in the common shared space. (1 mark) ● The presence of the rooftop urban farms and lush green spaces also could also allow for interactions among residents living in the vicinity. (1 mark) *Accept any 3 points (d) A group of students decided to conduct an investigation examining the relationship between age of visitors and the choice of attraction in 2

Sentosa. They conducted surveys with 20 visitors at the locations X and Y shown in Fig. 1.4 (Insert) on a Sunday morning. Evaluate the reliability of their investigation process and suggest improvements to the data collection method. [6] Possible points for unreliable ● The reliability of the investigation was compromised as the students interviewed only 20 visitors which is too small a sample size to form conclusions. (1 mark) ● They should interview a minimum of 50 visitors across various age groups. (additional 1 mark) ● In addition, having conducted the interview only once on a Sunday would not make the data reliable as the students would not be able to check if their data is consistent over time. (1 mark) ● Hence they should consider conducting the interviews over a longer period- eg. Weekly for a month to cancel out the effects of anomalies. (additional 1 mark) ● The students only stationed themselves at the monorail stations at sentosa which results in them not being able to interview visitors who may have commuted via other modes of transport. (1 mark) ● An improvement to the investigation would be to station themselves at the entrances of main attractions in order to reach out to those who would have gotten around the island via other modes of transport (Eg. By car) (additional 1 mark) Possible point for reliable ● The students conducted their interviews at points X and Y which are monorail stations at Sentosa which are areas with high foot fall thus enabling them to have access to a variety of profiles. (1 mark) *Reserve 1m for reliable & reserve 1m for unreliable 2 Cluster 2: Tourism (a) Describe two characteristics of the Venturer-type tourist.[2] ● Spends money more readily(1 mark) ● Guided by personal judgement rather than authority in decision making(1 mark) ● Prefers to be spontaneous and have a diversity of activities(1 mark) ● Tends to travel alone(1 mark) ● Explores less developed unique places that offer new experiences though it may be less convenient(1 mark) ● Set travel trends for others(1 mark) ● Likely to visit new places each time they travel(1 mark) ● Prefer to make their own travel plans and often opt for niche tourism(1 mark) 3

*Any two points accepted (b) Study Fig. 2.1(Insert) which shows a news extract on tourism in Thailand.[1] (i) ● With reference to Fig. 2.1, identify the stage of tourism development that Thailand is in. (1 mark) Decline Stage (ii) Give reasons for your answer in (ii). [2] ● Tourist arrivals have started to decline significantly as seen in Fig.2 where foreign arrivals to Thailand dropped for the fourth straight month in May 2025, slipping 14 per cent to 2.6 million. (1 mark) ● Also, Thailand has started to lose its attractiveness in view of competition from other destinations like China and Japan thus resulting in fewer tourists. (1 mark) ● A strong baht has also caused its price competiveness to decline thus causing tourism to be on a decline. (1 mark) (c) Explain how globalization gives rise to the growth of international tourism.[4] ● It has resulted in the ability of people to search for and purchase tourism-related goods and services from any part in the world. (1 mark) ● This has resulted in greater competition among businesses which creates an incentive for them to provide value-for-money travel experiences for people (Additional one mark) ● People have greater access to ideas on tourism destination and experiences due to online media thus motivating them to travel(1 mark) ● As places become more connected due to various transport modes, travelling becomes more convenient thus increasing tourists’ mobility to travel. (1 mark) (d) ‘Community-based tourism is the most effective approach to achieving sustainable tourism development.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer using examples. [9] Suggested Essay: Community-based tourism (CBT) aims to be socially sustainable, including respect for local culture, heritage and traditions. Tourism activities are developed and operated mainly by the local communities with high participation. Revenues are directed towards the local 4

communities through various ways including small-scale tourism enterprises, joint-venture community associations or businesses that employ locals. Homestays provide tourists opportunities to experience local culture and heritage through living with the locals, including indigenous people, in their homes. For example, in the government funded Malaysia Homestay Programme, tourists experience local living through cooking traditional food, celebrating festivities and farming crops. Locals were also given skills trai