SECONDARY ONE
GEOGRAPHY
(SUGGESTED ANSWERS ONLY)
2015 SA 1
Do note that these suggested answers are for reference only
Teachers are at their discretion to award or penalize students on other possible answers and
understanding.
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
Section A: Map Work Questions (10 marks)
Study Map A and answer the following questions.
Map A
1: 50 000
Mid-Year Examination 2015
2
Secondary One Express
Geography
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
1. What is the bearing of the fire station from the church in 7179?
[1]
27° (±1°) [1- no marks if degree symbol is missing]
2. What is the contour interval of this map?
[1]
50 metres [no marks if metres are not written]
3. Which 4-figure grid reference can the majority of Cora Town be found in?
[1]
7179 [1]
4. Describe the settlement pattern shown in Map A?
[1]
It is mainly found around the centre of the towns OR the they are mainly linear /found along
roads
5. What is the bearing of the school in 7280 from the community centre?
[1]
46° OR 100° (±1°)
6. What is the straight-line distance of the post office in grid square 7280 to the railway
junction at 7179?
[1]
1.85 km or 1850 m [± 50m , no marks for missing units]
7. Name the one main possible occupation of the people of Cere Town based on
evidence from the map.
[1]
Based on grid reference 7180,
a. Doctors
b. Factory workers
Mid-Year Examination 2015
3
Secondary One Express
Geography
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
c. Rubber plantation workers
8. What is the direction of Cere Town from Cora Town?
[1]
Northeast [1]
9. What is the main religion of the people of Cere Town and Cora Town?
[1]
Christianity [1]
10. Give one reason for the cultivation of rubber shown in Map A
[1]
The soil are more fertile in the area/land is flat and suitable for rubber plantation/near roads
for transportation of rubber/near the factories
Mid-Year Examination 2015
4
Secondary One Express
Geography
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
Section B: Structured Questions (30 marks)
Answer all questions.
2.
Study fig. 3, which shows the percentage use of water in different parts of the world.
Mid-Year Examination 2015
5
Secondary One Express
Geography
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
2a.
Using fig. 3, describe the variations in the percentage use of water in
Middle East and North Africa.
[3]
More than 80% of water used for agriculture, followed by 15% for
household, the remaining balance of about 5% is use for industrial
2b.
Why are there variations in the percentage use of water in North
America and Sub-Saharan Africa? Justify your answer.
[3]
North America is a developed country, higher percentage of water
is used in industrial, less in agriculture.
Whereas, in Sub-Saharan African, it is a less developed country,
most of the people work in agricultural sectors and are mainly
farmers, hence high percentage of water is used in the farms.
Elaboration required
2c.
Explain, with examples, how TWO demand factors can cause water
shortage to occur.
[4]
1) Population Growth – increasing world population > demand for
water cannot keep up.
- Most world’s population growth in less developed countries.
These countries already facing water shortage. Hence increase
population growth in these countries will even stress the water
shortage more.
- Give examples
2) Affluence – Affluent countries generally use more water than
less developed countries because of lifestyles that consumes
more water.
- Water used for ornamental and leisure purposes. And more water
intensive appliances used (eg washing machines)
- Students to give examples and elaborate
2d.
Using case studies you learned, discuss how supply factors can impact
people and countries.
[5]
1) Domestic Impact – Increasing difficulty in collecting water
2) Water rationing - water is available only at certain period of the
day
3) Economic Impact – Reduced agricultural yields.
4) Increased cost of industrial production
5) Political Impact – Conflicts between farmers and factories over
the use of water.
- Each factor to be supported by case study examples
Mid-Year Examination 2015
6
Secondary One Express
Geography
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
3.
Study fig. 4, which shows information about the Xayaburi dam project.
The completion of the second phase
is scheduled in June, and over 90%
of electricity produced by the 1,285megawatt dam — which could be
complete as soon as 2019, officials
say — will be exported to Thailand.
The villagers, especially fishermen in
Chiang Khan, about 160km
downstream from the Xayaburi dam,
have faced the toughest time in the last
five years — their Mekong fish harvest
has declined by half, they say.
From: Bangkok Post (16/2/2015)
From Bangkok Post (16/2/1015
“Earthquake experts have renewed concerns about the potential for a seismic disaster hitting
the massive Xayaburi dam, which is well under construction on the Mekong River in a quakeprone location in Laos….There have been a series of earthquakes near the project site in
recent years, and Dr Punya's warning comes after Phnom Penh expressed concerns about the
earthquake risk at Xayaburi to the Laotian government in 2011.
In 2011, two quakes hit 48 kilometres from the dam site, one of 5.4 magnitude and one of 4.6.
A month later a quake of 3.9 occurred 60 kilometres from the site. In 2007, a 6.3-magnitude
quake hit the Xayaburi area.”
From South China Morning Post (5/3/2015)
Mid-Year Examination 2015
7
Secondary One Express
Geography
3a.
Based on figure 1, what is the main reason for the construction of
[2]
Xayaburi dam.
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
1) Generate hydropower
2) Increase revenue from royalties and taxes from the dam
3) Larger ship will be able to ply the river lake for shipping
purposes
3b.
Explain how the building of the Xayaburi dam will benefit the people
living along the Mekong.
[4]
1) Potential tourism growth surrounding the dam
2) Improve industrialization in the long run
3) Breaking out from the poverty trap with availability of work
4) Increased fishing opportunities in the dam lake
Elaboration required
3c.
Based on examples you have studied, to what extent the dam may
pose problems to the people and environment?
[4]
Students demonstrate sound reasoning on whether the
construction of dam for hydropower justifies the impacts
downstream or not.
1) Affect the livelihood of fishermen living downstream.
2) Potential for a seismic disaster at the dam that may destroy
lives.
3) Affect the availability of fresh water to some of the other
countries downstream.
4) Reduce crop yields that depend heavily on water supply.
Elaboration required
3d.
Besides building dams, evaluate ONE method Singapore has used to
manage its water resources.
[5]
1) Pricing of Water
Advantages
 Encourages people to reduce their water consumption
 People are more careful with their water consumption
Water pricing shows how much it costs to produce clean water and
people can better appreciate the value of clean water
Disadvantages
 Industries use a lot of water so when the price of water increase,
the industries can simply add the costs to their product and the
consumers will pay for it instead.
Those who can afford the higher price will not be bothered by the
increase and thus water pricing will not affect them.
2) Public Education
Advantages
 Public education can teach many people about the importance of
water in their lives.
 Public education has potential to make lasting positive changes in
people/s use of water
Mid-Year Examination 2015
8
Secondary One Express
Geography
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
Disadvantages
 Changing a person’s behaviour takes time.
 That change of behaviour is very dependent on whether people
want to change or not
3) Local Catchment Area
Advantages
 Singapore’s high rainfall throughout the year can be collected and
use for our consumption at home or at the industry
Local Catchment areas can also become recreational places. For eg:
As the water in the Marina Basin is unaffected by the tides, its water
level will be kept constant all year round. This is ideal for all kinds of
recreational activities such as boating, windsurfing, kayaking and
dragon boating etc. Another example is Bukit Timah that is part of the
central catchment nature reserve is also a good recreational area for
walks.
Disadvantages
 Land used for local catchment implies less land is available for
other uses such as housing and industry
 Recently our rainfall is not as reliable and last year 2014, we
experienced drought and an all time low. So local catchment areas
are ineffective.
4) Imported Water
Advantages
 Importing water doesn’t used up land and so we can have more
land to develop housing and industry
 It is also a cheaper source of water compared to NEWater or
desalinated water.
Disadvantages
 Imported water may not be enough to meet water demands
 Water agreements eventually expire and there are no guarantees of
future agreements.
5) Newater
Advantages
 NEWater is not dependent on rainfall because it is produced from
used water
NEWater is ultra pure and of high quality which the wafer fabrication
industry in Singapore has found suitable for their use.
Disadvantages
 NEWater is expensive to produce
The public may find it difficult to fully accept this new technology of
obtaining water from used water due to lack of knowledge about the
treatment process
6) Desalination
Advantages
 Like NEWater, desalinated water is not dependent on rainfall and
can be used to supplement our water supply during a long dry spell
 We are an island and surrounded by the sea. Thus seawater is an
Mid-Year Examination 2015
9
Secondary One Express
Geography
Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)
abundant resources for our country and we should use it.
Disadvantages
 Desalinated water comes with a high price. The technology is very
expensive and it also uses a lot of energy to produce desalinated
water.
 Large amounts of chemicals and salt solutions are produced during
the desalination process. These waste must be disposed properly
or else it will become another problem to the environment, resulting
in pollution.
Mid-Year Examination 2015
10
Secondary One Express
Geography