MI H2 GEO 9751 P1 Answers

2017 Promotional Examination II Pre-University 2 GEOGRAPHY (HIGHER 2) 9751/01 Paper 1 Structured Essay Questions 20 September 2017 3 Hours Additional Materials: Answer Booklet/Paper 1 Insert INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES Write your name, admission number and class on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams, graphs, or rough working. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Answer three questions. You should make reference to appropriate examples studied in the field or classroom, even where such examples are not specifically requested by the question. Diagrams and sketch maps should be drawn whenever they serve to illustrate an answer. You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. ___________________________________________________________________ This document consists of 2 printed pages. [Turn over Name: ______________________ Admission No: Class:

2 Answer three questions. Section A – Tropical Environments 1 (a) Explain the similarities and differences in climatic characteristics between tropical monsoon (Am) climate and tropical desert (BWh) climate. [12] Tropical Monsoon (Am) and Tropical Dese rt (BWh) climates are both tropical climates located within the tropics, but due to the differences in climatic characteristics, Am is a type of humid tropical climate wh ile BWh is an arid tropical climate. Though similar in having high mean annual temperatures, Am and BWh climates differ in the annual temperature range, total annual precipitation and precipitation pattern. Am and BWh climates both have high mean annual temperature as the regions experiencing these climates are located wi thin the tropics where thermal uniformity prevails throughout the year. As the tropics is located within 0° to 30° N/S of the equator, the low latitude result in this region to be an area of radiative surplus where the average temperature of the coldest month is above 18°C. Due to the earth’s tilt, as the earth revolves around the sun, the position of the overhead sun shifts north and south of the equator but mainly within the tropics. The high angle of incidence of the sun causes insolation to be concentrated on a small ar ea which heats up the earth’s surface and causes temperature to be relatively high. This explains why both Am and BWh climates have high mean annual temperature. For example, Monrovia in Liberia that experiences Am climate has a mean annual temperature of about 26°C while Cairo, Egypt that experiences BWh climate has a mean annual temperature of about 21°C. Due to their geographical location of low latitude within the tropics, both Am and BWh climates have high mean annual temperature. Despite having high mean annual temperature, Am and BWh climates differ in their annual temperature range due to the differe nce in their latitudinal locations within the tropics. For Am climate, they are usua lly located about 5° to 20°N/S of the equator and there is very little variation in monthly temperature throughout the year. All months are characterised by high monthly temper ature of about 25°C. Variation may exist where the warmest months occur just prior to the onset of the wet season due to presence of little cloud cover that allows a high amount of insolation to reach the earth’s surface. During this period, temperature can reach up to 32°C. With the onset of the wet season, monthly will be brought down to within 20°C to 30°C. This results in the annual temperature range of Am climate to be approximately 2°C to 11°C. For example, Akyab, Myanmmar experiences an annual temperatur e range of 7.8°C. On the other hand, BWh climate has higher annual temperature r ange that is approximately 17°C to 22°C. BWh climates are found close to 30°N/S of the equator and their monthly temperature is heavily influence by the position of the ov erhead sun. During summer, the combination of the overhead sun, clear skies and lo w humidities causes ground temperature to become extremely high, where average tem perature during this period can be between 30°C to 35°C. However, as the position of the overhead sun shift to the other hemisphere, average monthly temperatures can be close to 10°C due to the combined effect with low cloud cover that allows heat to escape easily. For example, in Baghdad, Iraq, monthly temperature during the summe r is 35°C which is 25°C higher than its average January temperature of 10°C. This shows how Am and BWh climates differ in their annual temperature range due to their latitudinal locations within the tropics. In addition, the total annual precipitation of Am and BWh climates differ due to the influence of the Inter-Tropical Convergenc e Zone (ITCZ) for Am climate and subsiding limb of the Hadley cell for BWh climate. The ITCZ is a zone of convergence of the trade winds (as a result of the Hadley cells) and is characterised by bands of clouds with high rainfall. The ITCZ moves with the overhead su n. Due to the shifting of the ITCZ, the ITCZ brings rainfall to Am climate from 6 to 12 months of the year. Under the influence of the ITCZ, monthly rainfall can reach up to as high as 600mm, as evident in Yangon, Myanmar. Due to the high amount of rainfa ll during the wet season, Am climate has high total annual precipitation of more than 2000mm. This is the opposite for BWh

3 climate. In regions experiencing BWh climat e, rainfall is rare as the ITCZ does not extend/reach this higher latitude. Furthermo re, this region is associated with the subsiding limb of the Hadley cell where air subsidence inhibit the formation of cloud and thus rainfall. Rainfall only occurs when unu sual conditions move moist air into the region. Thus, as the sky is clear for mo st period of the y ear, the total annual precipitation is low, such as in Yuma, Arizona, where it is only 75mm. Because of their latitudinal locations, the influence of various factors such as the ITCZ and the subsiding limb of the Hadley cell result in differing total annual precipitation for the Am and BWh climates. Precipitation patterns also differ between Am and BWh climate due to varied precipitation mechanism in regions experiencing these 2 climates. For the Am climate, it has a very distinct wet and dry season, with high precipitation brought about by the onset of warm and moist monsoon winds duri ng the wet season. During the northern hemisphere summer, the shifting of the ITCZ up north in latitude brings about the onset of moist southwest monsoon winds in the Asia region that brings about high amount of rainfall to the India sub-continent and southea st Asia. However, as the position of the overhead sun shifts to the southern hemispher e, places like the India sub-continent will receive cold dry northeast monsoon winds that bring little rain. Regions experiencing Am climate feature a dry season that lasts 1 or more months, hence is characterised with distinct wet and dry seasons, such as those experienced in Dhaka, Bangladesh. However, for BWh climates, they are characterised by no rainfall for most months of the year with scant precipitation occurring in some months. Precipitation that occurs are usually in the form of localised showers due to convection during the summer period. Though precipitation events that occur may be of high intensity that can cause flash floods, they are usually not frequent or strong as the moisture supply is usually too low to