PJC_H2_GEO_P1_Marking_Guide

2017 Preliminary Exams H2 Geography Paper 1 Marking Guide All essays to be marked according to these generic level descriptors:

2    Section A – Tropical Environments Answer one question from this section. 1 (a) Explain the climatic characteristics of tropical desert (BWh) climates. Indicative content:  Climatic characteristics: temperature, rainfall, to look at annual amount and fluctuation patterns  Temperature o Description: Annual temperature: fluctuating, Large diurnal temperature range o Explanation: due to shift in position of overhead sun, high sun vs low sun season, cloud cover to explain the diurnal temperature range  Rainfall o Description: Low annual rainfall, episodic rainfall o Explanation: dominance of STHP, episodic rainfall due to localised convectional activity, unexpected roaming of low pressure cells which could be triggered by climate change  Higher level responses to show spatial differences in the different tropical desert characteristics where some deserts may experience higher rainfall due to orographic rainfall at windward side or lower rainfall due to cold ocean currents [12] (b) To what extent does climate affect the formation of aeolian landforms in the arid tropics? Indicative content:  Candidates should ONLY focus on Aeolian erosional and depositional landforms and not the fluvial ones.  Aeolian erosional landforms: yardangs, desert pavement, ventifacts and Aeolian depositional landforms: sand dunes and loess deposits  Climatic factors would include wind, rain and temperature  Other factors: rock geology, mass movements, climate change and anthropogenic activities  Higher level responses will evaluate the role of wind (in relation to other factors) with spatial and temporal variations in the landforms created, i.e. in terms of scale and morphology (shape and size of landforms)  Opportunities for synoptic link: Theme 2.2 Development of Extractive industries and impact on landform formation, Theme 3.2 Urbanisation and impact of landform formation [20] Commented [CKL1]: Should this entire page be in Font Size 12?

3    2 (a) Explain the effects of tropical deforestation in countries at lower levels of development. Indicative content:  Candidates should explain effects of deforestation on developing countries such as landslides, soil erosion and sedimentation, disruption of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity, disruption of biogeochemical cycles and release of stored carbon.  Good examples to utilize will be rapi d deforestation which has taken place in Indonesia and countries traversing the Amazon rainforest such as Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.  Higher level responses will include an analysis of why countries at lower levels of development are more likely to suffer from the LT impacts of such widespread deforestation and acknowledge the balance that must be reached between development and the