Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

The sample material presented has been prepared to support teacher professional development. It offers a broad

indication of types and formats of assessment items that might be used to assess the learning outcomes in the Junior

Cycle Geography Specification at common level, but it is not a complete set of the types and formats that may be used.

The items included should be read as examples of individual pieces of assessment material; they do not constitute full

or partial examination papers. They are not full or partial questions from an examination paper, neither do they attempt

to replicate how the examination paper might be laid out, for example, as an integrated booklet that includes the

questions and the space for the student’s responses.

The Junior Cycle Geography Specification and Assessment Guidelines can be found on www.curriculumonline.ie.

Introduction

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Sample 1

1. WhatdoestheDemographicTransitionModelasseenaboveshow?Ticktheboxbelow

A. Theglobalpopulation

B. Therelationshipbetweendevelopmentandpopulation

C. Apopulationpyramid

D. Thedeathratesinagivenyear

Lorem

The Demographic Transition Model

High Fluctuating

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4 STAGE 5

Early Expansion Late Expansion Low Expansion Decline

Birt

h Ra

tes a

nd

Dea

th R

ates

per y

ear p

er 1

00

in a

Pop

ulat

uon

HIGH

LOW

TIME

BIRTH RATE

DEATH RATE

POPULATION

Natural increase

Natural decrease

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

2. Outlinehowthebirthratechangesfromstage 3 and stage 4 oftheDemographicTransitionModel.

3. AccordingtotheDemographicTransitionModel,birthratesanddeathratesaredecreasinginstage 3. Outline

THREEreasonsforthispossibledecrease.

1.

2.

3.

4. In stage 2ofthemodelweseeanaturalincreasewhileinstage 5weseeanaturaldecrease.Whatismeantby

theseterms?

Natural increase:

Natural decrease:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

5. ExplainTWO waysagovernmentusestheinformationintheDemographicTransitionModeltosupportits

citizens.

1.

2.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

BelowisaphotographofthecityofBarcelonainSpainandagraphillustratingthepopulationgrowthsince

1.5M

1950.Thepopulationisestimatedtobe5.5millionin2020.

Barcelona Population 2020 5,585,556

3M

4.5M

6M

7.5M

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

YEAR

POPU

LATION

2020

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

6. Describe the environmental challenges a high population density poses to a city like Barcelona.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

7a. Choose ONEofthefollowingwordstodescribethepopulationdensityinyourlocalareaandgivereasonsfor

yourchoicecitingevidenceinyourlocalareatosupportthedescription.

SPARSLEY POPULATED or DENSLEY POPULATED

Descriptionoflocalarea:

Reasonsforyouranswer:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-urli/urbanandrurallifeinireland2019/

7b. DescribeTWO economic OR socialopportunitiesposedbyyourlocalpopulationdensity.

YoumayusetheinfographicfromtheCentralStatisticsOfficeshownabovetoinformyouranswer.

1.

2.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

7c. Describeusingexamplestherelationshipbetweenlanduseandpopulationdensityinyourlocalarea.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

8. Accordingtothesocialjustice.ieIreland'sgrowingandageingpopulationisasuccessstory.

WehaveoneoftheyoungestpopulationsinEurope,withacomparativelyhighbirthrate.Advancesin

healthcareprovisionandhealthierfood,anincreasedawarenessofwellbeing,andimprovedstandardsofliving

moregenerallyhaveledtolowinfantmortalityratesandincreasedlifeexpectancy.(www.socialjustice.ie)

Source:SocialJusticeIreland

8a. Theinfographicaboveispredictingthepercentageofthepopulationagedover65by2051.

Whatpercentageofthepopulationispredictedtobeover65in2051?

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

b. TheinformationpresentedaboveoutlineshowIrelandwillexperienceanincreaseintheagingpopulation.

ExplainTWOconsiderationsnecessaryinpreparingforthistrend.

Consideration1:

Consideration2:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Sample 2

BelowisaphotographtakenfromthetopofCroaghPatrick,amountaininWestportCo.Mayoandamapofthearea

seen in the photograph.

TakenfromCroaghPatrick

Source:Scoilnetmaps

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

1. Thereisevidenceoferosionanddepositioninthephotographabove.

Circle THREEexamplesofevidencefromthephotographthatsupportthestatement above.

Waterfall Beach Scree

Meander Sandbar

2. Identifythefollowingstatementsastrueorfalse

True False

a. Ariversourceisgenerallyfoundinhighmountainousareas

b. Anarrow,fastflowingriverwouldgenerallymeanitisinayouthfulstage

c. Itisuncommontofindasettlementalongariver

d. Soilsfoundclosetoriversarerichandfertile

e. Freezethawactionisatypeofweathering

f. Abrasionisatypeofdeposition

g. Beachesareexamplesofdeposition

h. 20,000yearsago,icecoveredmostofthecontinentofEurope

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

3. ThephotographandmapaboveshowevidenceofGlacial,Weathering,MarineandFluvialprocesses.

Using THREEofthesenamed processes,describehowthelandscapehaschangedovertime.

Process1:

Process2:

Process3:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

4. Identify TWOfeaturesorlandformsinthephotographormapandexplainhowtheprocessesformedthe

feature.Supportyouranswerusingdiagrams.

Feature 1:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Feature 2:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

5a. Youmustsetupaneconomicactivityintheareashowninthephotographandmap.Whateconomicactivity

i.e.business,industryetc.wouldyousetup?Useevidencefromthephotographormaptoexplainthefactors

thatwouldmakethistypeofeconomicactivitypossible.

Typeofeconomicactivity:

Explanation:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

5b. DescribeONEpossible positiveandONEpossible negativeimpactoftheeconomicactivity you have listed above onthearea.

Positive impact:

Negative impact:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Sample 3

Theworldmapbelowshowscountriescategorisedbyincomegroup.

1. UseanAtlasorGlobetolisttwocountriesasshowninthemapaboveineachofthecategoriesofincome

outlined.

Lowincome:

Lowermiddleincome:

Upper middle income:

High income:

INCOME GROUP

LOW INCOME UPPER MIDDLE INCOME NALOW MIDDLE INCOME HIGH INCOME

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

2. Describethepatternofdistributionofwealthglobally.RefertotheAtlasorglobetosupportyouranswer.You

maycompleteasketchorwrittenresponse.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

3. Compare TWO characteristicsofacountrycategorisedaslowincome/developingandacountrycategorisedas

highincome/developed.

1.

2.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

4a. Whateconomicactivitieswouldyouexpecttofindinadeveloping/lowincomecountry?

Circle TWO fromthelistprovided.

Farming Industrialactivity MedicalIndustry Mining

4b. Howwouldtheseeconomicactivitiesdiffertothatinadeveloped/highincomecountry? Givereasonsfor

youranswer.

5a. Irelandiscategorisedasadeveloped/highincomecountry.Describeyouraccessto:

Education:

Healthcare:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

5b. Howdoesthisdiffertoanindividualofsimilarageinadeveloping/lowincomecountry?

Education:

Healthcare:

6. Describepossiblewaysinwhichhealthcarecouldbeimprovedindeveloping/lowincomecountries?Useyour

knowledgeofdevelopmentassistancetohelpyoutoanswer.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Sample 4

1. Fillintheblanksintheparagraphbelow.Usethewordsprovidedinthebox.

TheEarthismadeupofthreelayersconsistingoftheCrust, and .The Earth’s

crustismadeupofmanyplatesthatfittogetherlikeajigsaw.Theseplatesarecalled . The place

wheretheseplatesmeetiscalledaplateboundary.PlatesthataremovingapartarecalledDivergentorConstructive

plateboundaries,alandformassociatedwiththisboundaryis .Platesthatarecollidingareknown

asConvergentorDestructiveplateboundaries,whereoneplateispushedunderanother occurs.

plateboundariesareplatesthatareslidingpasteachother,thismaycauseabuildupofpressure

resultingin .

AnEarthquake Core AVolcano

AFoldMountain Mantle Subduction

Passive Tectonicplates Magma

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

2a. Usingyourpenorpencilmarkin‘ThePacificRingofFire’onthemapabove.

2b. Describethepatternoftectonicactivityalongthe‘ThePacificRingofFire’

EURASIANPLATE

INDO-AUSTRALIANPLATE

PACIFICPLATE

ANTARTICPLATE

NORTH AMERICANPLATE

NAZCAPLATE

AFRICAN PLATE

SOUTH AMERICANPLATE

EURASIANPLATE

ARABIAN PLATE

SCOTIAPLATE

COCOSPLATE

CARIBBEANPLATE

PHILIPPINEPLATE

VOLCANO

EARTHQUAKE

PLATE MOVEMENT

PLATE BOUNDRY

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

3a. ExplaintheformationofTWOdistinctlandformsassociatedwithtectonicactivity,usediagramstoaidyour

explanation.

Landform1:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Landform2:

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

3b. DrawasketchmapbasedonthemapprovidedofthelocationofONE ofthelandformsyouhaveexplained

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

4a. Themapaboveshowsthedistributionofvolcanoes.Whatconclusionscanyoudrawaboutthedirectionplates

aremovingatthelocationofavolcano?Youmaysupportyouranswerwithdiagrams.

5. Volcanicactivityinanareacanbringdestructionandriskbutalsoprovidesmanysocial, environmental, and

economicbenefitstotheareaandcountry.ChooseONEfromthelistbelowandexplainthebenefitsof

volcanicactivity.SOCIAL/ENVIRONMENTAL/ECONOMIC

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

6. In2010twoEarthquakesoccurredofsimilarmagnitudeandsimilardepthandclosetobuiltupareas.One

oftheseearthquakesoccurredinChristchurch,NewZealand,theotherinPort-au-PrinceHaiti.Haiti

experienceddevastatingresultscomparedtoNewZealandwhichexperiencedmilddamage.Haitiislocated

onanislandintheCaribbean.Itisclassifiedasalow-incomecountry.Itisdenselypopulatedwithmanyofits

populationlivinginextremepoverty.NewZealandisanislandlocatedinthePacificOcean.Itisclassifiedasa

high-incomecountry.StandardoflivingisveryhighinNewZealand.

ChristchurchNewZealand,AlamyStockPhoto,NorbertEisele-Hein

PortauPrinceHaiti,AlamyStockPhoto,NICOLASJosé/hemis.fr

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

ExplainTHREE factorsthatmayhavecausedtheeffectstobefeltworseinHaiti.

Factor Explanation

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Sample 5

1. Matchthecorrectrocktypewiththeimagebelow.Source:www.gsi.ie

Shale Marble Granite

2. Fillinthefollowingtable

Category Formation Characteristics Humanuses/Economicuses?

Igneous MagmafromtheEarth’scorecooledtoformrock.

Sedimentary Manysedimentscompactedtogethertoformrock.

Metamorphic Rocksthathavechangedduetoextremeheatand/orpressure

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

3. RockexploitationinIrelandprovidesmanyadvantagesanddisadvantages.ExplainONEadvantageandONEdisadvantage.

Advantage

Disadvantage

4a. List TWO natural resources OTHERTHANROCKSfoundinyourlocalarea.

1.

2.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

4b. ExplainTWOwaysinwhichthenaturalresourcesareusedinyourlocality.

1.

2.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

5. DescribeTWOenvironmentalimpactsofusingrenewableenergysources.

1.

2.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

6. DescribeTHREEthingsyoucandotoreduceenergyconsumption.

1.

2.

3.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Sample 6

BelowaretwosnapshotstakenofthesameareaofCo.GalwayfromGooglemaps.

Source:GoogleEarth

Source:GoogleMaps

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

1a. UsingthesnapshotofthetwoGooglemapimagesabovewouldyouclassifythissettlement

asA) Rural or B)Urban

1b. UseTHREE piecesofevidencetoexplainyouranswer.

1.

2.

3.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

2. Discuss TWOfactorsthatwouldhaveinfluencedtheoriginofthissettlement

1.

2.

3a. IdentifyTHREEwayspeopleareinteractingwiththephysicallandscapeinthemapsabove.

1.

2.

3.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

3b. OutlinetheenvironmentalconsiderationsofONE oftheinteractionsyouhaveidentifiedabove.

4. Thereisevidenceofprimary,secondary, and tertiaryeconomicactivityinthesettlementabove.

a. Identifyevidencefromthetwogooglemapsnapshotstosupportthestatementabove.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

b. OutlinetheenvironmentalconsiderationsofONEoftheeconomic activitiesyouhaveidentifiedabove.

5. List THREEfactors thatinfluencethedevelopmentofsecondaryeconomicactivities.

1.

2.

3.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Startingin1970,Cancún,Mexico,transformedfromanimpoverishedtownofabout100peopleintoavacation

destinationwithapermanentpopulationof740,000and2millionvisitorsperyear.Cancúnaccountsforaquarterof

Mexico'stourismrevenue.

6a. Housing,transport,andservicesweredevelopedinCancún.ChooseONEexamplefromthelistandexplain

indetailbased on the information above whattypeofdevelopmentoccurred.

Housing/Transport/Services

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

Cancun,1985 Cancun,2019

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

6b. Describe TWOpossiblesocialimplicationsoftheincreaseofinternationalvisitorsperyeartothisarea.

1.

2.

6c. WhatistherelationshipbetweenthegrowthoftourismandtheenvironmentinCancún?Referto

onepositiveOR onenegativerelationshipinyouranswer.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Sample 7

1. Circle the PULLFACTORSinthelistbelow:

War Employment Goodhealthcare Famine Accesstoschools

2.

Definetheterm ‘Refugee’.

ThisSyrianrefugeefamilyfledtheirhomeinAleppoin2012.Whenbombingstrucktheirtown,‘within24hoursthecitywasdestroyed,’Ahmadrecalls.TheyfledtoLebanon,wheretheysharedasmallflatwithAhmad’sthreesiblingsandtheirchildren.Ahmadwasabletofindsomeworkfromtimetotime,butknewhisfuturewasbleak,especiallyashis6-yearoldsonAbdullahhaddevelopedhearingproblems.ThefamilywaseventuallyacceptedtoresettleinGermanyundertheGovernment’shumanitarianAssistanceprogramme.TheytravelledtoGermanyinSeptember2013andwereamongthefirstgroupofSyrianstoarriveinthecountryunderthis programme.

TheUNRefugeeAgency(https://www.unhcr.org/556725e69.html

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

3. Descirbe TWO possible REASONSwhythefamilywouldhaveoriginallymigratedtoLebanon.Refer tothesnapshotofthe map below to inform your answer.

Source:GoogleMaps

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

4a. WhatistheimpactoffamilieslikethefamilyaboverelocatingtohostcountriessuchasGermany?

b. ListTWOpositiveimpactsoffamilieslikethefamilyabovelocatingtoyourlocalarea.

1.

2.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

5. Thedatapresentedbelowrepresentschildmigrantshostedina country. Usethedatainthetabletodrawabar

graph.(Inthisdataset‘childmigrants’arepersonsaged19andunder)

Year 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Percentage of Migrants 21% 20% `19% 15% 14% 14%

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

6. Outline ONEpatternthatthetabledemonstrates.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

Sample 8

BelowisaclimographshowingthegeneralclimateinMalta.Thegraphshowsmonthlyaveragetemperatureand

monthlyaverageprecipitation.

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC0

15

30

45

60

75

90

105

0.0

0.6

1.2

1.8

2.4

3.0

3.5

4.1

mm inch

32

41

50

59

68

77

86

95

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

˚F ˚C

Temperature Precipitation

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

1. Analysethegraphaboveandanswerthefollowingquestions(Source:https://en.climate-data.org/).

a. Basedonthedataprovided,howwouldyoucharacterisetheclimateinMalta?

b. InwhichmonthwouldyouchoosetoholidayinMalta? Provideevidencefromthegraph above.

c. Inwhatmonthistherepeakprecipitationlevels?

d. Whatisapossiblerelationshipbetween the climateinMaltaandimmigration?

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

2. Choose ONEofthefollowinganddescribehowtheyaffectclimateinIreland?

a. Latitude b. Airmasses

3a. List TWOwaysIreland’seconomicactivityisrelatedtoitsclimate.

1.

2.

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

3b. UsingONE exampleofeconomicactivityfromyouranswerabove,outlinethe

environmentalconsiderationsassociatedwiththateconomicactivity.

4a. ThefollowingtablehasbeensourcedfromdatasharedbyNASA

4b. ChooseTWO ofthefollowingandoutlinepossiblecausesforthechangeinrecordovertime.

CarbonDioxide/GlobalTemperature/ArcticIce/IceSheets/SeaLevel

1.

CarbonDioxide GlobalTemperature ArcticIce IceSheets SeaLevel

CarbonDioxidelevelsin the air are at their

highest in 650,000 years

Nineteenofthe20warmestyearsonrecordhaveoccurredsince

2001

In2012,Arcticsummerseaiceshranktothelowestextentonrecord

SatellitedatashowthatEarth’s polar ice sheets

are losing mass

Globalaveragesealevelhasrisennearly7”(178mm) overthepast100

years

Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items

2.

4b. Whataretheconsequencesofclimatechangeinyourlocalarea?

4c. Inwhatwayscoulditbepossibleforpeopletoincreaseoraddtoclimatechange?