Geog chap 1 and 2

Question 1

What is a physical environment?

Answer 1

A physical environment consists of both living and non-living things found naturally, along with natural processes that occur on the Earth.

Question 2

Break down the physical environment into 4 components and explain each component

Answer 2

**Biosphere- **All living things found on earth, on land and in Sea.
Lithosphere- Layer of rocks forming the surface of the Earth.
Hydrosphere- All water found on Earth and in the atmosphere. It can be in liquid, gas, and solid states.
**Atmosphere- **layer of tiny gases and particles that surrounds the Earth. The atmosphere condition is also known as weather, which includes temp., rainfall, humidity, and wind. It can be broken into 5 layers as well.

Question 3

Types of geography and their definitions.

Answer 3

Physical geography- The study of the physical environments and the natural processes that occur.
Human geography- Study of human life in a built environment.

Question 4

What is a built environment?

Answer 4

Human-made changes to the physical environment. Aspects: Housing, Transport.

Question 5

Define what housing and transport systems are with examples.

Answer 5

Transport system: the networks/equipment that support the movement of goods and people from one location to another. E.g. Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Changi Airport.
Housing: Structures built by people to shelter from certain elements. They can be temporary or permanent. E.g. Housing and development board flats (perm), Tents in a campsite (temp).

Question 6

What are geographical concepts and what concepts are there?

Answer 6

• Important idea that geographers use to better understand the world. SEPS: SCALE, ENVIRONMENT, SPACE, PLACE

Question 7

Define each geographical concept.

Answer 7

Space: A physical area on Earth, e.g. Sch, offices, parks. They can be classified as spaces for learning, business, and recreational activities respectively. Location is also closely related to space, and i usually represented by coordinates such as latitude and longitude.
**Environment: ** Physical and built environments, together with processes that occur naturally or result from human actions. Geographers are also keen to observe the interactions between built and physical environments.
Place: Area of earth’s surface that holds special meaning for ppl (diff ppl hold diff places close to their hearts). They develop feelings and memories towards/of places over time.
Scale: The amt of detail at which geographers study smth. There are two types of scales: map and time.

Question 8

Natural resources

Answer 8

useful materials produced by natural processes.

Question 9

Define renewable and non-renewable resources.

Answer 9

Renewable: Replenished naturally within the same period of time it is used, causing it to be UNLIMITED.
Non-renewable: May or may not be replenished. Processes to replenish takes beyond the period of time when it is used, causing its availability to be LIMITED.

Question 10

Name the ways in which we can sustainably use natural resources (RRRTC)

Answer 10

Recover
Recycle
Reduce
Technological Development
Conservation

Question 11

What are water stores and where can they found?

Answer 11

Water stores are where water is contained in. They can be broken into 2 types of stores; Saltwater stores and freshwater stores. Water stores are not even dispersed on Earth.
Freshwater stores: Groundwater, lakes, glaciers, soil, rivers
Saltwater stores: Ocean.

Question 12

What are the physical states of water?

Answer 12

Solid- Ice
Liquid- Water
Gas- water vapour

Question 13

Describe what lakes, rivers, groundwater, soil, glaciers, and oceans are.

Answer 13

LAKES- water bodies surrounded by land.
RIVERS- Natural wide flows of freshwater across the land, They flow from places with higher elevation to places of lower elevation. The river source is where a river starts. The river mouth is where water from the river flows into another water body.
**SOIL- **the loose topmost layer of Earth’s surface where plants grow. Water stored in the soil is known as soil moisture.
GROUNDWATER- Found under the surface of the Earth.
**GLACIERS- **Large masses of ice that rest on land or float on water (snow accumulates and hardens into ice)
**OCEANS- **Large masses of water that are connected to one another. There are 5 oceans in the world (largest to smallest): the Pacific (surrounded by the countries in Asia, Australia, and the Americas), the Atlantic Ocean (separates countries in the Americas from Europe and Africa), the Indian Ocean (surrounded by countries in Asia, Africa and Australia), the Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean.

Question 14

What is the hydrological cycle?

Answer 14

The H.C. is a sequence of processes that occur to ensure that water is naturally replenished on the Earth.

Question 15

State the 8 processes of the H.C. and what each process does.

Answer 15

Preipitation- Water falls as rain, or snow if the air is cold enough.
Infiltration- Water enters the ground or soil.
Percolation- Downward flow of water through the soil into the groundwater (due to gravity)
Groundwater-Water that seeps into the ground may be absorbed by plants or stored as groundwater.
Surface Runoff- Water flows from the highlands and over the ground surface into streams and rivers.
Evaporation- The Sun’s heat causes water to evaporate into water vapour.
Transpiration- Plants give out water vapour through their leaves.
Condensation- Warm moist air cools as it rises, and condenses into water droplets. The small droplets combine to form bigger droplets. Large amt of water droplets combine to form clouds.

Question 16

Preipitation- Water falls as rain, or snow if the air is cold enough.
Infiltration- Water enters the ground or soil.
Percolation- Downward flow of water through the soil into the groundwater (due to gravity)
Groundwater-Water that seeps into the ground may be absorbed by plants or stored as groundwater.
Surface Runoff- Water flows from the highlands and over the ground surface into streams and rivers.
Evaporation- The Sun’s heat causes water to evaporate into water vapour.
Transpiration- Plants give out water vapour through their leaves.
Condensation- Warm moist air cools as it rises, and condenses into water droplets. The small droplets combine to form bigger droplets. Large amt of water droplets combine to form clouds.

Answer 16

Input: Precipitation
Flows: Infiltration, Percolation, groundwater, surface runoff
Output: Evaporation, Transpiration, discharge into the sea
Condensation does not fall under any of these categories.

Question 17

Define a water budget.

Answer 17

The water budget describes the flow of water in and out of a catchment area/ How much water is available in an area.

Question 18

What are inputs and outputs?

Answer 18

Processes that increase the amount of water in a catchment are known as inputs. Processes that decrease the amounts of water in a catchment are known as outputs. When input is more than output, there will be more than enough water needed which is known as water surplus. This causes higher chances of floods. When there is more output than input, there will likely not be enough water available. This is known as water deficit and causes higher chances of droughts. To prevent either of these situations, inputs and outputs need to be balanced to have just the right amount of water.

Question 19

What is net change?

Answer 19

As the amounts of inputs and outputs change throughout the year, the amount of water stored within a catchment also changes. This is known as net change.

NET change in storage= input-output

N.C. is positive if water surplus occurs.
N.C. is negative if water deficit occurs.

Question 20

How does precipitation affect areas?

Answer 20

The amount of precipitation that an area receives determines how much water is available. This can result in droughts and floods.

Question 21

How does water support river ecosystems?

Answer 21

Precipitation provides a regular supply of water to river ecosystems so that organisms can live in the rivers.

Question 22

What are river ecosystems?

Answer 22

River ecosystems refers to the community of plants and animals found in rivers that interact with one another.

Question 23

Describe the food chain of the river ecosystem.

Answer 23

Aquatic plants, known as phytoplankton, obtain energy from the sunlight through photosynthesis and release oxygen in the water. Zooplankton, otherwise known as small aquatic animals, feed on the phytoplankton. insects feed on zooplankton and in turn eaten by fish. Humans are at the top of the chain, fishing.

Question 24

How is water used by people?

Answer 24

Water is used for:
- Domestic purposes
- Recreation purposes
- Agriculture purposes
- Industry purposes

Question 25

How is water used for domestic purposes?

Answer 25

It is commonly used to bathe, flush the toilet, drink, cook, and wash dishes.

Question 26

How is water used for recreation purposes?

Answer 26

Water sports such as canoeing, sailing, and sport fishing depend on the conditions and quality of the water.

Question 27

How is water used for Agriculture?

Answer 27

Water is used to grow crops and rear animals. Different animals and plants require different amounts of water. e.g. Among plant products, nuts requite more amounts of water than fruits or vegetables. Among animal products, the production of beef requires more amounts of water than the production of chicken and pork.

Question 28

How is water used for industrial purposes?

Answer 28

Water is used to cool equipment in factories and power plants. It is also used to generate electricity when it passes through turbines installed in dams. Moreover, it is used as a cleaning agent in water fabrication (the process of cleaning components for the electrical circuitry found in devices).

Question 29

When does water pollution occur?

Answer 29

Water pollution occurs when harmful substances are introduced to water bodies and cause the water quality to fall. Thus, the amount of water that is clean enough to use is reduced.

Question 30

How does water pollution pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems?

Answer 30

Excess fertilisers from algae from farms that get washed into rivers provide additional nutrients for algae to grow rapidly. When the algae eventually die, the process of decomposition by bacteria requires a large amount of oxygen. Thus, less oxygen remains in the water, causing other fishing and other aquatic animals to die.

Question 30

How do humans play a part in polluting water?

Answer 30

People may throw rubbish into drains, and factories may release toxic chemicals into the sea to save costs.

Question 31

How do we manage water resources?

Answer 31

• Improving water quality
• Reducing water consumption
• Improving water technologies
• Importing water
  This ensures that there is an adequate supply of water for human activities in both the long and short term.

Question 32

How is water quality determined?

Answer 32

It is determined by considering factors such as temperature, pH (how acidic water is/alkaline), amount of dissolved oxygen, and turbidity (how clear the water is)

Question 33

How do countries manage the improvement of water quality?

Answer 33

Countries implement laws to maintain or improve water quality. For example, according to Singapore’s Environmental Protection and Management Regulations, industries are not allowed to release wastewater into water bodies without permission from (NEA) the National Environment Agency.

Question 34

Give examples of what wastewater released by industries cannot contain.

Answer 34

~ Radioactive material
~ inflammable solvents
~ refuse
~garbage
~sawdust
~pesticides
~fungicides
~insecticides

Question 35

Why must countries encourage people to treasure water?

Answer 35

The amount of water used is known as water consumption. Water consumption increases when a country’s economy and population grow. Although water is renewable, it takes time to be replenished, treated, and cleaned, and if used faster than it can replenish, can run out. Thus countries encourage people to conserve and treasure water.

Question 36

Give an example as to how countries reduce water consumption.

Answer 36

In Singapore, the Public Utilities Board works closely with communities, schools, and businesses to raise awareness and promote water conservation. The Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme grades water appliances with a tick rating to ensure that people are aware of more water-efficient appliances. E.g. PUB’S W-A-T-E-R water-saving poster.

Question 37

How does Singapore improve water technologies?

Answer 37

Singapore has built a water supply known as the “The Four National Taps”; water from a catchment, NEWater (recycled water) desalinated water, and imported water.

Question 38

What are desalination taps?

Answer 38

Desalination taps puts seawater, of high salt content, through a process involving advanced membeane techonolgy and turns it into drinking water with a lower, acceptable salt level. This method js efficient as it does not rely on weather and Sg is an island surrounded by seawater, making it easy to draw large amounts of water easily. EXAMPLE: the Keppel Marina East Desalination plant is a large-scale plant that can treat both seawater and freshwater in one place.

Question 38

Which of the taps are the most reliable?

Answer 38

Desalinated water and NEWater are the most reliable water sources as they do not depend on the weather.

Question 39

How do countries import water?

Answer 39

Countries which have abundant water resources may allow their neighbours to import water from them. However, this is not as efficient as 1. It is expensive to buy untreated (raw) water as countries may increase the prices in the future) and 2. The supply of the imported water is not guaranteed as any political conflicts or tensions between two countries can break ties between them.
e.g. Singapore imports water from Malaysia. To date, only 2 agreements remain, both of which will expire in 2061.

Question 40

What process is seawater put through in desalination taps?

Answer 40

First seawater goes through processes such as screening and filtration to remove any fine particles and microorganisms. This is known as the pre-treatment. Next it is pumped at high pressure to separate dissolved solids. Finally, the water is disinfected, remineralised and made potable by adding chemicals producing drinking water.