1.
Read the following Geographic Concepts. Include specific references to them, as
well as to a named country or region when answering
Geographic Concepts
Patterns may be spatial and refer to the arrangement of features on the
earth’s surface. Patterns are a result of processes; some processes encourage
concentration, some encourage dispersal.
Location is the position of features in terms of direction and distance.
Fully explain how natural (physical) factors have influenced where the
population is located in your named country or region.
Most people like to live near the coast because you can
use the water for recreation or transport. The coast
also tends to have a better climate as it does not get too
hot or too cold. Most people will live where the climate
is pleasant to live in. They avoid areas that are too hot,
too cold, too wet or too dry. They will also avoid places
that are too hilly. Living on top of a mountain creates
problems such as accessibility or making people feel
isolated. Instead flat plains are favoured. Here it is
much easier to build on and get from place to place.
Especially popular are the plains alongside rivers.
Rivers deposit silt in times of flood that make the
floodplains more fertile. This makes them good places to
live as it is easy to grow crops and farm here. The only
exception you get to people living in hilly regions is if
they have valuable mineral deposits there such as gold
or oil.
Overall Mark – Not Achieved
Main Reason: No reference to a case study
2.
Read the following Geographic Concepts. Include specific references to them, as
well as to a named country or region when answering
Geographic Concepts
Patterns may be spatial and refer to the arrangement of features on the
earth’s surface. Patterns are a result of processes; some processes encourage
concentration, some encourage dispersal.
Location is the position of features in terms of direction and distance.
Fully explain how natural (physical) factors have influenced where the
population is located in your named country or region.
Most people in New Zealand live in the North Island
with 50% of the population living north of Taupo. The
main reason that the North Island is more favoured is
because it offers more jobs. The North Island is closer to
other countries such as the USA and Asia for trade.
Therefore the biggest ports are in the North Island such
as Auckland and Tauranga. This trade then attracts
industries and in turn this stimulates more jobs. New
Zealand’s largest city is Auckland that has 1.4 million
people or over a third of New Zealand’s total
population. People are attracted to cities like this for
many reasons. The larger it is the more opportunities
occur. Auckland offers a wide variety of recreational,
educational, shopping and health opportunities. Since
most migrants arrive in Auckland they tend to stay
here. This has not always been the case. Over 100 years
ago the South Island was more heavily populated. This
was a result of the Maori wars that made the North
Island less favourable. It shows that history also helps
determine the population distribution.
Overall Mark – Not Achieved
Main Reason: Does not answer question – not natural reasons.
3.
Read the following Geographic Concepts. Include specific references to them, as
well as to a named country or region when answering
Geographic Concepts
Patterns may be spatial and refer to the arrangement of features on the
earth’s surface. Patterns are a result of processes; some processes encourage
concentration, some encourage dispersal.
Location is the position of features in terms of direction and distance.
Fully explain how natural (physical) factors have influenced where the
population is located in your named country or region.
Most people in New Zealand like to live near the sea
with 80% of the population living within 10km of the
coastline. They do this because the coast offers fun
things to do such as swimming, sailing and canoeing.
The reason few people live in the centre of New
Zealand is due to its height. The Southern Alps are
mountains that cover much of the South Island. These
are not popular places to live in as they are cold and
isolated. Thick bush in parts of fiord land makes the
region hard to reach. The only part of the South Island
that has lots of people is the Canterbury plains. Plains
are easy to build on and for roads. The silt left by
rivers like the Rakaia has made the soils good and easy
to farm. This also makes them attractive for people to
live in. The North Island has a lot more flat land that
is the reason more people live here. Over 50% of New
Zealand’s population of 4.3million live north of Taupo.
The main reason for this is to do with the climate. The
top of the country has a much nicer climate as it is
warm and not too wet.
Overall Mark – Merit
Main Reason: Lots of factors covered but concepts are inferred and not
clear. Also lacks good terminology.
4.
Read the following Geographic Concepts. Include specific references to them, as
well as to a named country or region when answering
Geographic Concepts
Patterns may be spatial and refer to the arrangement of features on the
earth’s surface. Patterns are a result of processes; some processes encourage
concentration, some encourage dispersal.
Location is the position of features in terms of direction and distance.
Fully explain how natural (physical) factors have influenced where the
population is located in your named country or region.
One of the main natural reasons that influences where
people live is relief. People do not like to live in
mountains for many reasons. This can be seen in the
case of the Southern Alps that cover much of the South
Island of New Zealand as well as the Kashmir region of
India. In both places the population density is less than
1 person per km2 compared to over 100 people per km2
in more densely populated areas. Mountains are very
hard to build on and for this reason they have poor
access. Because they are difficult to get to people feel
more isolated that live there. In Kasmir the mountains
rise up to over 4,000m and it is over 1,000km to the
sea. The few people who live there live in small isolated
villages that are cut off from modern technology. In
the Southern Alps in New Zealand it is not as isolated
since many areas are favoured for skiing. However,
few people live there permanently.
Overall Mark – Not Achieved
Main Reason: Only one natural factor is given when asks for plural.
5.
Read the following Geographic Concepts. Include specific references to them, as
well as to a named country or region when answering
Geographic Concepts
Patterns may be spatial and refer to the arrangement of features on the
earth’s surface. Patterns are a result of processes; some processes encourage
concentration, some encourage dispersal.
Location is the position of features in terms of direction and distance.
Fully explain how natural (physical) factors have influenced where the
population is located in your named country or region.
In New Zealand there are several clear patterns that
describe where people live. Areas that have a lot of
people are said to be densely populated and areas with
few people are described as sparse. The population is
peripheral with 90% of the population living within
20km of the coast. 96% of the population lives on 12
plains of which the Canterbury plain is the largest.
Other densely populated plains are Auckland, Hauraki
and Manuwatu. 75% of the population lives in the
North Island because of the relief and 50% of the
population lives above Taupo because of the climate.
Auckland is the most densely populated area in New
Zealand where almost one third of the countries
population lives. This is because it has all of these
important factors – flat land, by the sea and a good
climate.
Overall Mark –Achieved
Main Reason: Several natural factors are mentioned but patterns are
described and not explained to take to a Merit level.
Interpret the Question:
Read the following Geographic Concepts. Include specific references to them, as
well as to a named country or region when answering
Geographic Concepts
Patterns may be spatial and refer to the arrangement of features on the
earth’s surface. Patterns are a result of processes; some processes encourage
concentration, some encourage dispersal.
Location is the position of features in terms of direction and distance.
Fully explain how natural (physical) factors have influenced where the
population is located in your named country or region.
What is required at each level:
Achieved
Must be at least 2 natural
factors mentioned that
effect population
distribution
Merit
Must be at least 2 natural
factors mentioned that
effect population
distribution
Excellence
Must be at least 2 natural
factors mentioned that
effect population
distribution
Factors are described as
to how they effect
population distribution
Factors are explained as
to how they effect
population distribution
Factors are explained in
detail as to how they
effect population
distribution
At least one reference to
a case study
Several references to a
case study (names, dates
and/or statistics)
Several references to a
case study (names, dates
and/or statistics) used
throughout.
Shows clear
understanding of the
concept of pattern
and/or location.
Uses geographic terms
Based on what you have learnt write an excellence answer to this question.