© Pearson Education Ltd 2009 Edexcel GCSE Geography A Geographical Foundations

Unit 1 Topic 7

Chapter 2: Answers

Skills Builder 1 (a)<F> Temperatures were well below average until around 8000 BC, when they rose sharply. They were above average, with two warmer spells, until a cooler period about 2000 BC. They were higher again between 0 and AD 1000. (b)<F> Temperatures were at or just below average between 1000 and 1400, followed by a colder period when they stayed mostly below average, until the 20th century when they started to rise again, rising very sharply in the last 30 years or so.

Skills Builder 2 (a)<F> Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, nitrous oxide, CFCs, ozone. (b)<H> (They ‘trap’ radiation as it is returned to space from Earth. (c) <H> Because animals that ‘chew the cud’ such as cows produce large quantities of gas in their gut which they ‘emit’ into the atmosphere.

Skills Builder 3 (a)<F> It has risen from 290 ppm to 370 ppm over the period, with the rate of increase accelerating. (b) <F and H> Burning fossil fuels in land transport. Industrial processes. The growth of air flight. Consumer lifestyles that produce waste. Removing forests that absorb carbon dioxide.

Skills Builder 4 (a)<F> Power stations. (b)<F> Agricultural by-products. (c)<H>Power stations, transport and industry produce 70% of CO2 emissions, whereas agriculture and fossil fuel retrieval account for 70% of methane emissions. Residential and land mass sources are similar.

Skills Builder 5 (a)<F> USA. (b)<F> Egypt. (c)<H> Africa consumes almost all the wheat it produces. In many regions the climate is unsuitable for wheat. Other cereal crops are more important. It is a very poor continent, with regions that need food but cannot afford to import it.

Skills Builder 6 (a)<F> 22 million. (b)<F> 40 million. (c)<F> Population is likely to rise in fertile coastal regions. With climate change, events such as cyclones might become more common, and some rivers may flood more often.

Skills Builder 7 (a)<F> Estimated population, without collapse. (b)<F> Rise at an increasing rate until the 2030s, when it falls rapidly back to about 1960’s levels. (c)<F and H> Increases are tied to rising agricultural and industrial output and population growth. Fall is associated with the collapse of these as limits to

growth are reached. In other words the decline is triggered by the system breaking down.

Activity 1 1)<F> Changes in the solar constant, the Earth’s orbital geometry or catastrophes creating dust in the atmosphere. 2)<H> Volcanic eruptions, the impact of large extra-terrestrial objects (meteors, etc.). 3)<H> Large collision at the end of the Jurassic period (‘death of dinosaurs’). Eruption of Mt Toba 75,000 years ago. Mt Krakatoa’s eruption in 1883.

Activity 2 1)<F> Very low lying, very high population density, on floodplain of two major rivers both of which are unpredictable and liable to flooding, cyclones a constant threat. 2)<H> Build levees for people to retreat to. Strengthen coastal defences. Warning systems. 3)<F and H> Very high costs. Aid not always politically popular. Economic problems of their own.

Activity 3 1)<F and H> In a desert, high summer temperatures, an area of water shortages, tourism needs so much water/power, very low density, little public transport.

Activity 4 1)<H> Trying to become more sustainable through improvements in: Connections with customers; manufacturing systems, Building/product design,

2)<H> Nike are using materials, energy, and resources that can be recycled, renewed or reabsorbed; eliminating all substances suspected to harm human health or natural systems; taking full responsibility for products at all stages of the lifecycle, including their diposal; developing financial structures promoting greater product stewardship in manufacturing, design, engineering.

Activity 5 1)<F and H> Industrialism was very wasteful but developed when the world was less populated/ exploited than today. It is an ‘old’ model. 2)<H> The last industrial revolution changed the world. A new one is needed to save the world. If we don’t change our methods, our existence is threatened.

Activity 6 1)<F and H> Easier for richer cities, those with a denser population, clearly defined CBD. 2)<H> They are often low density and have limited public transport, making them dependent on motor transport – which may become more expensive.

Activity 7 1) <H> For: local residents along main roads (especially those without cars), local government, public transport groups, environmental

© Pearson Education Ltd 2009 Edexcel GCSE Geography A Geographical Foundations

Unit 1 Topic 7

campaigners. Against: motoring organisations, commuters poorly served by public transport. 2)<H> The various reasons can be divided into self-interest and principles.

Activity 8 1)<F and H>One that is easily damaged because of its complexity, its physical characteristics or both. 2)<H> Complex, many species mutually interdependent. If the trees are removed, the soils are infertile and easily removed, making recovery very slow. 3)<H> The matrices should include: local peasants, local landlords, the government, employees of the companies, and their shareholders (owners).

Extension activities 1. The causes, effects and responses to climate change

Support

1)(a) Between 1850 and 1920 there is little change with temperatures staying within a 0.6° C range below the average of 15°C. Since that time the trend has been upwards, slowly to begin with but more sharply since the 1970s.

(b) There are different forecasts of how much greenhouse gas emissions may or may not be controlled; there are difficulties in establishing how much other factors will affect climate; forecasting is always an inexact science and changes in one factor may lead to unexpected changes in other factors.

(c) 0.8° C if the low forecast proves to be accurate.

4.6° C if the high forecast proves to be accurate.

(d) Because this represents the best forecast of greenhouse gas emissions based on current trends and policies.

(e) There is a very long list to choose from, but popular answers will involve car-ownership, emission controls for buildings and vehicles, switching power sources away from coal/oil and other fossil fuels, developing nuclear. Recycling policies are also likely to be mentioned.

2)(a) 2,088 million cars in India and China minus the existing ones equals the staggering figure of 2,017 million.

(b) The shortage of resources to manufacture them; changing laws because of global warming fears; oil shortages.

Stretch

3)(a) Rice and maize would be the best choices here. (b) A really good link to generate answers is http://mps.grida.no/go/graphics/climate-scenarios-for-cereal-production.

(c) Northern Europe and Canada are both thought to be possible beneficiaries with warmer summers extending the Thermal growing Season 2. Sustainable development for the planet

Support

1)(a) Social development: Improves people’s standard of life – their education, health, security and ultimately their contentment and happiness.

Economic development: Improving people’s income, work opportunties and their ability to purchase material goods without.

Environmental development: Improving the natural environment to prevent further loss of biodiversity.

(b) Economic development is measured using GDP per capita and other similar measures. Social devlopemnt can be measured both directly by asking people how content they or indierctly by measuring educational levels, life expectancy and other variables. Environmental development is hard to evaluate but loss of species and the ‘health’ of ecosystems can be assessed.

(c) There are a large number of possible answers to this. The obvious one that is hinted at is that using resources is bound to have an imapct on non-renewables and to stimulate further rises in greenhosue gas emissions. Making the very poor richer almost ineviatbly leads to higher consumption and thus can be damaging to the environment.

(d) Many schools recycle and several have environmental days when awareness is heightened. Some are looking very carefully at their transport policies and the way they run their canteens.

2) Many companies use the word ‘sustainable’ in mission statements and it is often unclear what they mean. There is no doubt that some companies and organsitions strive very hard to reduce their costs and this may help drive towards useful economies that are evironmentally ‘friendly’. Others are less clear in this aim.

Stretch

3)(a) The Club of Rome saw population pressure combined with rising indutrial output abd pollution a sprimary causes of the forecast collapse.

(b) New ways of: generating power, producing food; new discoveries of natural resources or discovery of substitutes; could be a long list.

4) Polluter pays: That there is a charge placed on all toxic emissions and the damge they cause should be paid by the ‘polluter’.

Social cohesion: That society is united with people trusting and helping one another.

Sound science: Science based on good principles of scientific method that is peer reviewed and supported withing a chosen field of expertise.

© Pearson Education Ltd 2009 Edexcel GCSE Geography A Geographical Foundations

Unit 1 Topic 7

Biodiversity: The variety of species and thus the complexity of ecosystems on which we depend.

5) This will give rather miserable results, for despite a lot of words and some occasional effort by the rest of the world to help, the sub-Saharan countries have suffered considerably in the past few decades. On the other hand European countries have enjoyed increasing wealth and most health indicators are also improving.