Extreme Environments

Mock exam paper – answers by students in year 10 – what marks would you give them?

What is the definition of an extreme environment? (2 marks)

• An extreme environment is an area or place that makes it extremely hard for humans, animals or plants to live in. This means that food may be hard to grow because the climate may be too hot or too cold.

Name and describe one extreme environment within the UK (4 marks)• Snowdonia

• Snowdonia is a area in north wales it has large mountains with large lakes it has large pools of water with mountains around them with green fields around them and slightly rocky surfaces.

Name and describe one extreme environment within the UK

• Ben Nevis.• Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Great

Britain. It is located in the Scottish Highlands. It is 4, 500 feet high and receives 4, 350 mm of rainfall every year. The average winter temperature is -5 degrees centigrade. Snow is found on the mountain all year around. Over 20 people have died trying to climb it.

Describe the global distribution of deserts (2 marks)

• The deserts of the world are almost all found along either the tropic of capricorn or the tropic of Cancer and are spread throughout all continents.

Account for this distribution (6 marks)

• At the equator warm, moist air goes up then rotates around and becomes dry air. It then goes down between the equator and the tropics and creates deserts.

• (included diagram showing Hadley cells, but with arrows going the wrong way for one of the cells)

Account for this distribution (6 marks)

• This distribution is due to trade winds. This is where damp air rises due to the heat of the equator, then cools and releases its contents as rain. The dry air then descends on the tropics which dries out the land there, creating deserts. One example of a desert formed through this process is the Sahara desert, which covers most of North Africa. (also included very clear diagrams showing this)

Explain the formation of sand dunes. (4 marks)

• A sand dune is a mount of loose sand deposited by the wind. It is formed by the wind picking up some loose sand usually found on the coast or a dried river bed. An obstacle causes the sand to lose momentum and settle.

• Used a diagram showing the prevailing wind and sand being deposited.

Explain the formation of sand dunes. (4 marks)

• Sand dunes are formed around a large obstacle such as a boulder. Wind carrying sand at a high speed hits the rock losing its energy and depositing the sand around the rocks.

• Included diagram showing the process described.

With reference to examples you have studied, explain how different

people use the desert (7 marks)• A group of people who use the desert are the

Bedouin. This race of people travel across the desert looking for vegetation to feed their livestock. Another group is big companys who set up big solar farms to create renewable energy. Lastly tourist use the deserts for their holidays. They come to the desert to witness new culture, see the sites like the pyramids in Egypt and soak up the sun.

With reference to examples you have studied, explain how different people use the desert. (7 marks)

• There are many people who use the desert, the Bedouin live in the desert and they use the desert as their home. They also use it for there animals for food. Tourists also come to the desert and this means that the Bedouin can sell things to them. The tourists go to the desert mainly for the weather and sites. There is also a group called Desertec that takes advantage of the sun and turn it into renewable energy.

Identify one source of information that you found useful when studying your extreme environment. Explain how it

helped your understanding of the extreme environment. (2 marks)

• We have looked at video clips about mountains and deserts to help understand more about the different environments. These are useful as they explain it in a way you understand.

Identify one source of information that you found useful when studying your extreme environment. Explain how it

helped your understanding of the extreme environment. (2 marks)

• One source I found useful while studying mountains was a video on glaciation and the landforms it creates. This was useful because it effectively portrayed the creation of mountain landforms.

In what ways do you think your chosen extreme environment may change in the future? Describe and

explain the impact of these changes. (8 marks)• Mountain environments could change in a number of ways in

the future. Global warming is a major problem for mountain areas. Temperatures are rising steadily, causing glaciers to melt and retreat, which eventually destroy a water source for any nearby settlers to mountains, as the glaciers will not reach far enough. This will also cause a change in weather patters, which could have a number of effects, mainly erosion. If there is more precipitation in mountain areas erosion will increase, which can ultimately change the face of an entire mountain. Tourism is another major factor towards this. Mountains are becoming more popular for leisure and sport. As more people appear in these areas, walking, skiing and al the building that comes from this – lodges and ski-lifts etc – will change the environment and cut away at mountains faces, reducing habitats.

In what ways do you think your chosen extreme environment may change in the future? Describe and

explain the impact of these changes. (8 marks)

• The mountain environments may change because of global warming, for example the rise in temperature means that the snow on some mountains is melting and that is causing problems for people that use the mountains for water. Like the people of Paz in Peru. They rely on a glacier on the mountain but because of the warming it will disappear and they will have no source of water.

Identify and describe one characteristic landform of your

chosen environment. (4 marks)

• An arete is a narrow knife edge ridge seperating 2 corries. They are formed when the cirques cut back into the mountain.

• Basic diagram included, showing arete, label for top of ridge.

Explain the key physical processes that lead to the formation of your

chosen landform. (6 marks)

• An arete is formed in ice erosion, abrasion and plucking. This creates a sharp ridge where the wall of two cirques cut back into the mountain.

Identify and describe one characteristic landform of your

chosen environment. (4 marks)

• One landform found in mountainous regions is a U-shaped valley. This is a large valley between the mountain that has been formed through glacial erosion. They usually form where a river bed once was and a V-shaped valley had formed. A glacier then erodes more of the rock and then melts. (included two diagrams showing with ice and without ice)

Explain the key physical processes that lead to the formation of your

chosen landform. (6 marks)

• The key physical processes that lead to the formation of U-shaped valleys are abrasion, where rock frozen to the glacier scrapes bed rock away, plucking, where ice forms around broken lumps of rock and the down hill movement of the ice pulls it away, and freeze-thaw weathering, where melt water gets into cracks in rock, freezes and expands, causing the rock to crack to grow larger. Eventually the rock breaks off.

How have plants and/or animals adapted to cope with the challenges of your chosen environment? (5 marks)

• The mountain lion has adapted to the mountain region by its long tail to keep its balance its sharp claws and teeth to hunt it prey powerful legs to jump high and run fast.

How have plants and/or animals adapted to cope with the challenges of your chosen environment? (5 marks)

• A mountain goat has adapted to the harsh conditions of a mountain. The mountain goat can crop grass closely together because its incisor teeth project slightly forwards. With a sharp rim and rubber like sole, the mountain goat’s hoof is well adapted for rugged slopes. Also the woolly fur becomes longer in the winter to keep it warm.

Task

• Choose one of your answers to one mock exam question.

• How could you improve this answer?

• Could you achieve full marks?

Reflection

• What are your top three tips for exam success?

Checklist for revision:• Definition- extreme environment and reasons why.• Location • Distribution- reasons why they are formed or located there?• Climate- reasons for conditions? • Landforms & erosion processes- be able to draw and label

a diagram & explain formation• People who use extreme environments

- which groups can you identify and what do they do? Their impact?

• *Vegetation and adaptations• Animals and adaptations• How may the extreme environment change in the future

and the impacts? Climate change, tourism, energy sources.• Case studies eg. UK Snowdon, Machu Picchu, The Khapi.