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2009 Geography Paper One Suggested Answers

1ai)
Landform A shows a rift valley with very steep sides,
wide valley floor and
deep valley

1aii)
Rocks layers being pulled apart by tensional forces
Formation of normal faults
Central block is lowered relation to side blocks, forming the rift valley

1b)

At converging plate boundary, one plate sinks beneath the other subduction
process takes place.
Partial melting of the subducting plate produces magma which rises up
fractures in the lithosphere to subduction volcanoes.
At diverging plate boundary, magma escapes from the fractures, they formed
submarine rift volcanoes.
Whether it is at diverging or converging plate boundary, the volcanic material
piles up on the ground surrounding the vent. Repeated eruptions resulted in
accumulated materials which eventually build up the volcano

1c)
The greater the magnitude, the higher the number of deaths and buildings
being destroyed Tangshans earthquake in China is the strongest
earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale; it has the highest number of
deaths of 240 000 and most number of buildings being destroyed too
180 439.
There are however, exceptions to this relationship. E.g Loma Pretas
earthquake in USA measured 6.9 on the Richter scale, which is the third
strongest earthquake but the number of deaths is at 62 only. The
Northridges earthquake in USA measured 6.7 on Richter scale, slightest
below Kobes earthquake in Japan which is at 6.8 on Richter scale, but the
number of deaths is only at 57.
The duration of the earthquake does not seem to have effects on the deaths,
buildings destroyed and damages incurred. E.g Izmits earthquake in Turkey
has the longest duration of 48 seconds but the number of deaths is at 17 118,
which is not the highest. Kobes earthquake in Japan lasted 20 seconds but
the number of deaths is also not the highest at 5502.
Earthquakes occurred in more developed nations seem to incurred greater
damages in US$. E.g Kobes earthquake in Japan has the highest damages
of US$150 billion, Northridges earthquake in USA has the second highest
damages incurred of US$44 billion.

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cii)


Planning the location of infrastructure

Infrastructure to be built further away from earthquake-prone areas. Earthquake-
prone areas should have lesser infrastructure and as far as possible single-
storey buildings in order to minimize collapse of these structures. Population
distribution, type of building construction and technological hazards should be
used to assess risk of earthquakes too ie. earthquake-prone areas should not
be densely-populated and the type of building materials used should be able to
withstand the impact of earthquakes.

In some places, especially in the cities of less developed countries, control of
land use is difficult. This is due to expansion of cities and population size in
these cities. People are poor to afford proper housing. They may build their
houses without approval from the authorities.


Building control roads and buildings

Buildings made of shock absorbers materials to decrease the transmission of
earthquake energy. Buildings with flexible steel rods placed in between the
bricks to strengthen as it provides reinforcements to the buildings. Fireproof
materials and automatic shut-off valves can be installed into gas pipes and
electricity supplies to minimize the risk of fires in the event of an earthquake.
There should be open areas where people can use it for temporary shelters

Other building control measures include wrapping steel frames round the pillars
of buildings and bridges and placing steel roads in existing structures. Fireproof
materials and automatic shut-off valves can be installed into gas pipes and
electricity supplies to minimize the risk of fires in the event of an earthquake.

It is expensive to construct such infrastructure e.g The Transamerica Phyramid
in Sand Francisco cost S$75 million to build. LDCs may not have the financial
resources and technology to construct them.

Education

Drills can be conducted regularly in many earthquake-prone countries to educate
and familiarize people on what to do in the event of an earthquake e.g
crouching under tables when the earthquake warning signal goes off, run for
higher grounds when the tsunami warning siren goes off, switch off gas
appliances to limit fire outbreak etc.

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People can become complacent and may not see the importance of earthquake
drill, especially when a major earthquake has not occurred in the region for a
long time.

Earthquake monitoring and warning system

Using instruments such as seismometer and computers to measure movements
of the Earths surface. Scientists look for signals such as increase in the tremors
of the Earth or changes in water levels of seas and oceans. If signs of an
earthquake are detected, authorities are immediately alerted.

Sometimes, unusual animal behaviour dogs howling, fish jumping, mice fleeing
houses are observed. These signs, though not very scientific, may indicate an
imminent earthquake. E.g Before the Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004, elephants
saved the tourists in Thailand from the tsunamis by trumpeting to higher grounds.

Through sirens and media broadcast, authorities will inform the people staying in
the affected areas.

For example, scientists were able to predict an impending earthquake before it
occurs in Haicheng, China, 1975. They found changes in the ground levels and
increase in the number of small tremors. The authorities were informed and
people were then warned to evacuate the city. An earthquake measuring 7.3 on
the Richter Scale was reported thereafter and it destroyed 90% of the buildings in
the city. However many lives were saved as they had been evacuated.

There is no way to predict an earthquake accurately. Some predictions turned
out to be false alarms. Some authorities may choose to ignore the warnings for
fear of disrupting tourism and businesses. LDCs may not have the technology to
predict earthquakes too.

2a.

Temperatures were lower before 1920 highest temperature was about
14.1C and the lowest temperature is about 13.3C before 1920, whereas
after 1920, highest temperature is about 14.4C and lowest temperature is
about 13.8C.
Temperature range was higher after 1920 temperature range before 1920
was about 0.8C whereas temperature range after 1920 is about 0.6C.
There were greater fluctuations in the average temperatures before 1920 than
after 1920 great fluctuations before 1920 was seen in the period between
1860 to 1880 whereby average temperatures can fluctuates between the
range of 13.3C to 14.0C about 0.7C, whereas after 1920 average
temperatures fluctuates between 13.8C to 14.2C about 0.4C

b. Please refer to this picture instead of the black & white version printed for you.
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Largest positive change in the average temperatures at the Earths surface of
between 2.0C to 4C is found at the Arctic region
In the temperate region, there is high positive change of between 2C to 4C
in average temperatures. It includes countries in the North America continent
like USA, Canada and Alaska, in the European region and in Asia in countries
like Russia and China.
There is high positive change of between 1.0C to 2.0C in average
temperatures in central South America and parts of Africa.
Positive change of between 0.2C to 1C in average temperatures are largely
found in the oceans, in parts of North and South America, Africa, South Asia
and Southeast Asia
A change of between 0.2C to 2.0C is found mainly in the oceans and in
the Antarctica region.
Higher positive change in average temperatures is found in the Northern
Hemisphere whereas negative change in average temperature is found in the
Southern Hemisphere.

ci)
Weather refers to the conditions of the atmosphere at a specific place over a
relatively short period of time whereas climate refers to the atmosphere
conditions of a specific place over a considerable period of time, usually 30 to
35 years.
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E.g weather conditions for Singapore can be sunny and fair and this may vary
from a day-to-day basis but the climate for Singapore is tropical equatorial
climate with high average temperature and high rainfall throughout the year.

cii)

At lower latitudes (nearer to equator), sun rays is directly above the earths
surface (angle of incidence = 90). Thus the heat is more concentrated on a
small area, resulting in higher temperatures for places at this region.

At higher latitudes, the angle of incidence is small, resulting in sun rays
spreading over a larger area, causing heat to be diffused. Thus places at higher
latitudes will experience lower temperatures

E.g Singapore is located at the lower latitudes at the equatorial region, thus the
country receives high average temperatures with very little variations. Canada
which is located at higher latitudes experiences temperate climate, with lower
average temperatures.

Temperature falls as altitude increase. It falls by an average of 6.4C for every
increase in height of 1,000m (known as the normal lapse rate).

Air is warmed by heat radiated by the warm ground (ground absorbs heat from
the Sun). Thus it is much warmer at lower ground due to larger area of land
absorbing the heat from the Sun. Also, air is denser at lower ground, thus
containing more atmospheric gases which traps heat

At higher grounds, such as hills & mountains, because there is smaller area of
land which absorbs the heat from the Sun, the temperatures will be lower. Also,
the air is less dense at higher grounds (air is thinner at high mountains).

E.g In Malaysia, which is located at the equatorial region, the highland regions
like Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands, temperatures are much lower

The sea heats up and loses heat more slowly than the land.
At temperate latitudes, coastal areas will experience the maritime climate
(smaller range of temperature between summer and winter) due to the
moderating effects of the sea.

During summer, the temperatures at coastal areas will be cooler than the inland
areas as the sea absorbs heat slower than the land. Prevailing onshore winds
will bring the cool air from the sea to the coastal areas.

During winter, the temperatures at coastal areas will be warmer than the inland
areas as the sea loses heat slower than the land. Prevailing onshore winds will
bring the warm air from the sea to the coastal areas.
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Thus, inland areas will not experience the maritime climate and will have larger
range of temperature between summer and winter.

E.g Different parts of China receives different types of temperatures coastal
cities like Shanghai experiences the maritime climate whereas inland places like
Harbin experiences the continental climate

A thick cloud cover reflects some of the incoming solar radiation so that the land
is not heated up excessively in the day. At night, the clouds prevent much the
heat from traveling back to the space. Equatorial areas usually have higher
humidity due to higher temperatures encouraging rapid rate of evaporation.
Thus cloud cover is thicker at these areas and temperature range will be smaller.

In desert areas like Sahara Desert, due to lack of cloud cover, the land is heated
excessively in the day. But the heat will be lost very quickly in the night (they
travel back to the space) due to the little cloud cover.





























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3.
ai)

Beach is gentle-sloping and it consists of sand and fine shingles or pebbles
Seawall is made of concrete and built at the coast
Groynes made of wooden structure built perpendicularly to the beach

aii)
Beaches are formed when there are more constructive waves with stronger
swash than backwash typically found at more gentle off-shore gradient
Beaches are also formed in between two headlands, in front of a bay by the
process of wave refraction. Waves curved in at headlands, channeling most
of its energy eroding the headlands. When waves reach the bay, its energy
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would have been reduced and thus encouraging deposition of sediments,
leading to the formation of beach at the bay.
Beaches can also be formed by the process of longshore drift sediments
which are transported parallel to the coast could be trapped by groynes a
made-man structure, resulting in the formation of beaches in between a
series of groynes

bi)


Trees have thick barks in coniferous forests to protect them against the
bitterly cold winter as winter temperatures can be as low as - 9C
Precipitation is low only about 590 mm and is usually in the form of snow
during the winter season when temperatures are below 0C. Roots are thus
shallow and widely-spread to allow the roots to obtain water once the snow
melts
Branches are sloping downwards to allow snow to slide off easily so as to
prevent accumulation of snow which could be too heavy and result in the
breaking of tree branches

The tree is conical-shaped to help them to withstand strong winds as the
trees sway with the wind rather than being toppled over.

Leaves are evergreen to allow for photosynthesis to take place throughout the
year

Precipitation is low and thus the leaves are needle-shaped and waxy to
reduce loss of water through transpiration


bii)
Availability of medicine
Plants in the forests may have medicinal value e.g Quinine, a drug for treating
malaria, is extracted from Cinchona tree which originates from the Brazilian
rainforest. The Calphyllum tree originated from Sarawak contains a compound
that can prevent full-blown AIDS.

Soil erosion
Lack of support from roots of vegetation and also roots to hold the soil particles
together result in soil being exposed directly to rain and being washed away.
Eroded materials may result in river sedimentation riverbed being raised by the
thick accumulation of sediments and thus reduces the capacity of river to hold
water river floodings. Soil erosion also results in soil losing its fertility as the
topsoil layer which contains the humus will be washed away.
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Flooding less vegetation to intercept rainfall and thus resulting rapid surface
runoff and thus rapid swelling of rivers after a storm

Global warming lesser trees to take in carbon dioxide during the process of
photosynthesis and thus more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to trap heat
rising worlds temperatures.

Air pollution
The clearing of large areas of forest by burning in Indonesia for farming purpose -
result in haze in Southeast Asia region like Malaysia and Singapore. The severe
air pollution result in bad air quality and more cases of people falling sick.

Loss of biodiversity
Rainforests are home to many varieties of plants and animal species. Exotic
animals living in the rainforest in Kalimantan, Indonesia like the proboscis
monkeys and flying lemurs are in the danger of being endangered due to rapid
deforestation in Kalimantan.

4.
ai)

Photo B
Valley is wide with forested sides
River channel as a gentle gradient and is wide
River contains rocks

Photo C
Valley has steep sides
River channel is narrower with a gentle gradient too

aii)

The river flows across resistant rocks, it will erode its channel vertically,
resulting in the formation of a narrow, steep-sided valley called a gorge.
Gorges can also be formed when a waterfall retreats upstream.
At the base of the waterfall, the river undercuts the cliff face of the less
resistant rocks.
This results in an overhanging portion of rock losing support at the base and
eventually collapses.
As the waterfall retreats upstream, a long, narrow, deep valley called a gorge
is formed.

bi)
River is meandering with deepest points in the concave banks.
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At A, the river channel is straight and thus the shape of the channel is
asymmetrical
At B, the river channel is bent and thus the shape of the channel is
asymmetrical, with the river having deeper points at B.
At C, the river channel is also bent and thus the shape of the channel is also
asymmetrical, with the river having deeper points at C1.

bii)
At B and C1 which are the concave banks, river flows at higher velocity as
these are the deepest points in river channel. With a deeper pool of water,
river speed is faster
At B1 and C which are the convex banks, river flows at low velocity as water
is shallower here and thus velocity is slower.
At A, which is a straight river channel, velocity is lowest at the channel,
channel sides due to friction from the river bed and sides of channel. Velocity
is lowest at the surface level of the river due to resistance from air above
surface level. Velocity is fastest at the centre portion of the channel as there
is least amount of friction there.

c.

Building artificial levees to increase the rivers capacity to hold water.
However, building of levees is not effective if a lot of sediments are
accumulated on the river bed, as in the case of dykes built Yellow River.
River in China still floods as the river bed has been raised by the accumulated
sediments, making the water levels rise higher than the dykes. Thus, higher
dykes have to be built constantly.

Construction of dams involves creating gates which hold back or release
water from the man-made reservoir behind the dam. This controls the
amount of water flowing downstream and thus prevents occurrence of floods
downstream. Building of dams may not be able to control floods as seen in
the case of the Three Gorges Dam in Yangtze River, China, as sediments
may be accumulated in the reservoir as the dam slows down the speed of the
river and encourages deposition. The accumulated sediments raise the
reservoir bed and may lead to flooding.

River channelisation, whereby the natural course of river is changed, to make
it flow in a specific path in order to reduce possibility of flooding. River
channels can be straightened to increase the speed of river so that water can
flow away quickly and sediments accumulated on river bed can also be
removed. E.g the Mississippi River in USA has been shortened by 240km &
it has successfully reduced the occurrence of localized flooding to a certain
extent. However, meanders may still develop overtime & become more
pronounced river flow slows down & the area will be vulnerable to floods
thus is only a short term measure. E.g Along the Mississippi, meanders may
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develop overtime river velocity slows down, causing the area to be prone to
flooding again. Also, even though flooding is controlled upstream, when the
water flows away quickly to the downstream, flooding will still occur there.

River channels can also be widened and deepened to increase the channels
capacity to hold water. River channels can also be smoothened by replacing
the soil on the river banks and bed with cement and granite this will
increase the speed of river flow and allow water to flow away quickly.
Concrete structures like gabions and revetments can be built along a river
channel in order to reduce erosion of river banks this will reduce amount of
sediments accumulated in river beds. E.g Re-sectioning has been carried out
at the Singapore River to widen and deepen the channel helped to prevent
flooding. However, it is not very successful as such measures are expensive
& regular maintenance is required


Building control drawing up of maps which provide information on areas
prone to flooding. Engineers could design buildings which are raised above
the ground in these areas. Construction of drainage canals in Singapore has
successfully reduced flood-prone areas in Singapore.

Water-shed management the forestry dept in Thailand developed a
watershed management programme to prevent floods from occurring. The
programme involves conserving vegetation cover through planting of trees
and grass on slopes, in order to reduce rapid surface runoff and sediments
flowing into rivers. However, not very successful as the growing population &
rapid industrialization lead to a greater demand for land. Vegetation has to be
cleared to create land for farming, settlements & industries