The following units are studied at Higher :

1
The following units are studied at Higher
ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS
PHYSICAL CORE
HUMAN CORE
Lithosphere
Rural
Rural Land Resources
Hydrosphere
Population
Biosphere
Industry
Development and health
Atmosphere
Urban
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
Please note!
As from August 2007, half marks will no longer be
awarded at Higher. The marks for all Higher
questions will be doubled, and you should adjust
the marks when working on older past paper
questions accordingly.
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
Three compulsory internal assessments
PHYSICAL CORE Core(20)(20)GMT (10)
Each 1 hour in length
HUMAN CORE Core(20)(20)GMT (10)
ENVIRONMENTAL (60) INTERACTIONS
Internal pass mark 50
ONE Re-sit allowed
Overall award cannot be given if any one
assessment is failed.
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
CORE paper 1 (1h30m)
INTERACTIONS paper 2 (1h15m)
SECTION A 4 Compulsory Questions (8,9,10 mks) 2
physical cores 2 Human cores
1 Question (physical) Rural Land Resources
1 Question (human) Development and Health
SECTION B 1 Physical from 2 (7mks)
SECTION C 1 Human from 2 (7mks)
100 marks
100 marks

Total 200 marks
5
BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
Physical Geography
ATMOSPHERE
HYDROSPHERE
BIOSPHERE
LITHOSPHERE
6
BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
LITHOSPHERE
This core has 4 main topics
1. Glaciated landscapes
2. Coastal landscapes
3. Limestone landscapes
4. Mass Movements, included in other three.
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
HYDROSPHERE
The Hydrosphere core studies the following
water topics
1. The hydrological cycle (water cycle)
2. The Water budget (areas of surplus and deficit)
3. River Basin systems (throughflow, run-off)
4. Stream Hydrographs
5. River processes (erosion, transport,
deposition)
6. River landforms and their formation
7. O.S. Mapwork on rivers.
Image from FreeFoto.com
8
BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
BIOSPHERE
This core looks at the following topics
1. Types of soil Podsols,Brown Earths and Gleys
2. Vegetation succession
3. Psammoseres vegetation development - sand dunes
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
ATMOSPHERE
There are 5 main topics to know and understand in
this core
1. Global Heat budget (vertical energy transfers
between Earth and space)
2. Global Heat budget (horizontal energy
transfers between the latitudes)
3. Atmospheric circulation (global wind patterns)
4.Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in Africa
5. Reasons for climatic change, e.g. greenhouse
effect
Image from FreeFoto.com
10
BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
Human Geography
RURAL
POPULATION
INDUSTRY
URBAN
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
RURAL
This is a farming topic. Three types of farm
systems are studied
1. Shifting Cultivation in Rainforests
2. Intensive Peasant padi rice farming
3. Commercial arable farming
Image from FreeFoto.com
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
POPULATION
This topic re-visits standard grade work. Main
topics are
1. Problems with the census.
2. Population structure - population pyramids
3. Demographic transition model
4. Migration
13
BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
INDUSTRY
This topic re-visits standard grade work. Main
topics are
1. Industrial systems,e.g. the location of
industry
2. Industrial Landscapes old and new
3. Industrial change
4. O.S. mapwork
Case study eg. South Wales
Image from FreeFoto.com
14
BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
URBAN
Topics studied are
1. Urban Models
2. Growth of cities
3. Land use in cities
O.S. maps
Case study Glasgow
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
Environmental interactions
Rural Land Resources
Development and Health
CASE STUDIES
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH
This application studies World Development
Health issues. Topics studied are
How is development measured?
Problems of measuring development
Development within countries
Development between countries
Health issues in the Less developed countries
(LDCs)
Malaria
Disease
Cholera
Primary Health Care
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BALFRON HIGH SCHOOL
GEOGRAPHY
RURAL LAND RESOURCES
Where are the UKs special areas ?
How were the landscapes created?
What are the social and economic opportunities
there?
Are there conflicts over its use?
Are there UK and EU policies governing its use?
END