A3. Understanding Geographic Context: Patterns in the Physical Environment
Specific Expectations
A3.1
identify the location and describe the physical characteristics of various landforms (e.g., mountains, plateaus, plains, valleys)
- Where are mountains located in the world? What are the characteristics of a mountain? Are there different types of mountains? What characteristics make each type unique?
- What type of landform is represented in this photograph? Does the landform in the photos have any unique characteristics that might suggest where it is located?
A3.2
describe some key natural processes and human activities (e.g., tectonic forces, weathering and erosion, deposition, glaciation, mining, land-reclamation projects) that create and change landforms
- Why are there mountains along the west coast of North and South America?
- How do tectonic forces create volcanoes? Are all volcanoes mountains?
- How do land-reclamation projects affect the landscape?
A3.3
demonstrate the ability to extract information from and analyse topographical maps (e.g., construct a cross-section of a landform based on the information from a topographical map)
- What are some uses for topographical maps?
- What conventions about topographical maps do you need to understand before being able to extract information from such maps?
- What type of landform is represented by contour lines that are very close together on a topographical map?
A3.4
describe patterns and physical characteristics of some major water bodies and systems around the world (e.g., river systems, drainage basins, lakes, oceans)
- What are the patterns of the world’s major ocean currents?
- What is the difference between an ocean and a body of fresh water? Are all lakes fresh water?
- What are wetlands? Why are they important?
A3.5
describe some key natural processes and human activities (e.g., changes in rainfall, melting of glaciers, erosion, rising sea levels, climate change, constructing dams, irrigation, bottling water from aquifers) that create and change water bodies and systems
- How do land formations affect drainage patterns?
- How has the Three Gorges dam project affected the flow of the Yangtze River?
- What effect has irrigation had on the Aral Sea?
- Why are some rivers straight and fast while others are meandering and slow?
A3.6
describe patterns and characteristics of major climate regions around the world (e.g., characteristics and location of tropical, dry, temperate, continental, and polar climate regions)
- What are the characteristics of a continental climate region? Where are the major continental climate regions on the globe?
A3.7
describe some key natural processes and other factors, including human activities (e.g., ocean currents, wind systems, latitude, elevation, bodies of water, landforms, deforestation, human activities that result in greenhouse gas emissions) that create and change climate patterns
- Why are continental climate regions particularly susceptible to drought?
- What are El Niño and La Niña? Why do meteorologists study ocean currents to make seasonal weather predictions?
- How do latitude and elevation influence climate patterns?
- How do greenhouse gasses affect global climate?
A3.8
analyse and construct climate graphs to gather information on and illustrate climate patterns for a specific location (e.g., to analyse the trend in precipitation and temperature in Singapore, Khartoum, or Warsaw over the course of a year)
- What conclusions can you make about the climate of this city based on the climate graph you are reading?
A3.9
describe patterns and characteristics of major natural vegetation regions around the world (e.g., the location and characteristics of grasslands, boreal forests, tropical rain forests, tundra)
- What are the characteristics of a tropical rainforest region? What are the main tropical rainforest regions of the world?
- In what vegetation region do you think this photograph was taken? Why do you think that?
A3.10
describe some key natural processes and human activities (e.g., natural and human-influenced climate change, erosion of top soil, deforestation, the use of chemical fertilizers and practice of monoculture, grazing of domestic animals, activities that introduce invasive species into an environment) that create and change natural vegetation patterns
- What impact has deforestation in Indonesia or the Amazon region had on local soils and vegetation? What can we learn from these regions about the importance of vegetation to an ecosystem?
A3.11
describe how different aspects of the physical environment interact with each other in two or more regions of the world (e.g., the interrelationship between vegetation, landforms, and climate in desert regions; between landforms and vegetation in a volcanic region)
- How do different aspects of the physical environment interact on the Hawaiian Islands?