DIRECTORATE FOR QUALITY AND STANDARDS IN EDUCATION

Department of Curriculum Management

Educational Assessment Unit
Annual Examinations for Secondary Schools 2017

YEAR 10 GEOGRAPHY (OPTION) MARKING SCHEME

Marking Scheme

Question Marks Instructions Answers

re marks

1. 12

a. 5 1 mark each Spring - 9939

Tributary river - 0239
Main river - 0441
Meander - 0539
Ox-bow lake – 0440

b. 3 1 mark each 319 on Torchuaig Hill – 004397

404 on Birnam Hill – 032402
317 on Newtyle Hill – 050419
Accept +1 or – 1 in 3rd and 6th digits

c. 4 1 mark for enlarged grid box with Eastings and

Northings
1 mark for new scale 1: 25000
2 marks for drawing of two springs and wood in
enlarged grid box

2. 8

a. 4 1 mark each Four mountain chains marked correctly as on atlas

b. 4 1 mark each Amazon 1

Niger 2
Nile 3
Congo 4

Geography (Option) – Marking Scheme – Year 10 – 2017 Page 1 of 7

 3. 12

a. 2 At the warm front, lighter, warmer air from the

south (tropical maritime air) meets cooler air from
the north (polar maritime air). The warm air, being
lighter, rises over the cold air mass.

b. 2 As the warm air slowly rises, it cools, its water

content condenses and clouds form (nimbostratus
then altostratus). The result is steady rain.

c. 2 At the centre of the depression is an area of warm,

rising air. As the air rises, the pressure falls and so
the low pressure system develops within the warm
sector of the depression.

d. 2 At the cold front, heavier, cooler air meets the warm

air at the centre of the depression, undercutting it
and forcing it steeply upwards. Quickly moving air
masses produce high winds and cooler
temperatures.
As the rapidly rising warm air cools, its water
condenses and cumulonimbus clouds form. The
result is heavy rain or thunderstorms.

e. 2 The depression becomes occluded when the cold

front catches up with the warm front.

f. 2 Depressions are most common during winter.

4. 10

a. 3 decaying leaves
and vegetation

weathered parent
material

parent rock

b. 2 Soil Profile

Page 2 of 7 Geography (Option) – Marking Scheme – Year 10 – 2017

 c. 4 2 marks for Any two factors:
each factor
The factors involved in soil formation are time,
geology, relief, drainage, climate and organic
matter.

Time - It takes about 1000 years for one centimetre

of soil to form. Soils can take many years to form.
Younger soils have some characteristics from their
parent material, but as they age, the addition of
organic matter, exposure to moisture and other
environmental factors may change its features. With
time, they settle and are buried deeper below the
surface, taking time to transform. Eventually they
may change from one soil type to another.

Parent material - Minerals from the parent material

are added to the soil by physical and chemical
weathering. Soils will carry the characteristics of its
parent material such as colour, texture, structure,
mineral composition and so on.

Relief - Different soils will form on different

degrees of slope and aspect. Gravity and
temperatures will affect the degree of slope
movement and weathering.

Drainage - Whether water can or cannot move

through the soil easily will affect the development
of the soil profile.

Climate - This is probably the most important factor

that can shape the formation of soils. Two important
climatic components, temperature and precipitation,
are key. They determine how quickly weathering
will be, and what kind of organic materials may be
available on and inside the soils. Moisture
determines the chemical and biological reactions
that will occur as the soils are formed.

Organisms – The source and richness of organic

matter is related to the living things (plants and
animals) that live on and in the soils. Plants, in
particular, provide lots of vegetative residue that are
added to soils. Their roots also hold the soils and
protect them from wind and water erosion. They
shelter the soils from the sun and other
environmental conditions, helping the soils to retain
the needed moisture for chemical and biological

Geography (Option) – Marking Scheme – Year 10 – 2017 Page 3 of 7

 reactions. Fungi, bacteria, insects, earthworms, and
burrowing animals help with soil aeration. Worms
help breakdown organic matter and aid
decomposition. Animal droppings, dead insects and
animals result in more decaying organic matter.
Microorganisms also help with mineral and nutrient
cycling and chemical reactions.

d. 1 The water washes down through the soil so it can

lead to the removal of soluble nutrients within the
soil.

5. 10

a. 1 Destructive or Convergent Plate Boundary

b. 4 4 marks for The oceanic plate is forced under the lighter

detailed continental plate. Friction causes melting of the
paragraph oceanic plate and may trigger earthquakes. Magma
rises up through cracks and erupts onto the surface.
Less marks
if answer is
brief

c. 1 Constructive or divergent plate boundary

d. 4 4 marks for This occurs when plates move apart. Volcanoes are
detailed formed as magma wells up to fill the gap, and
paragraph eventually new crust is formed.
Less marks
if answer is
brief

6. 10

a. 8 2 marks each Arable farms grow crops, while Pastoral farms rear
animals.
1 mark if
answer is too Subsistence farming is when crops and animals are
brief produced by a farmer to feed his family only, while
Commercial farming is when crops and animals are
produced to sell at the market for a profit.
Extensive farming is where a relatively small
amount of produce is generated from a large area of
farmland, while Intensive farming is where a large
amount of produce is generated from a relatively
small area of land. Inputs will be high to achieve a
high yield per hectare.
Sedentary farming is when a farm is based in the
same location all the time, while Shifting
agriculture is when a farmer moves from one place

Page 4 of 7 Geography (Option) – Marking Scheme – Year 10 – 2017

 to another. This is common in some LEDCs as, for
example, the farming system of slash and burn by
the tribes of the rainforest.

b. 2 2 marks More people are choosing to buy organic vegetables

because they are grown using natural systems
1 mark if
answer is too without the use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers;
so they are considered to be safer for their health.
brief

7. 10

a. 2 Urban areas are growing faster in LEDCs than

anywhere else in the world, but this growth brings
problems and challenges. These include unplanned
housing called squatter settlements or shanty towns.
Accept any other relevant answers.

b. 2 Some of the worst conditions are found in the

shanty towns on the edge of the city, near the CBD
or along main transport routes. They tend to be
unplanned and are often illegal. Houses are
self-built, using basic materials, and shanty towns
have few services such as electricity, running water,
sewerage and public transport.
Accept any other relevant answers.

c. 2 The people living in shanty towns face a lot of

problems, namely: overcrowding for the settlement
has a high population density; risk from fires which
can spread quickly; poor sanitation and limited
health care can lead to the spread of disease. The
lack of space means that the new poor arrivals are
forced to live on the worst quality land with limited
and dangerous connections to the electricity supply.
Such conditions result in a poor quality of life for
all those living in the shanty towns.
Accept any other relevant answers.

d. 2 Community organizations sometimes working

alongside NGOs, private companies, and the
government, set up connections to the municipal
water supply, pave roads, and build local schools.
This is one of the ways how the shanty towns are
improved.
Accept any other relevant answers.

Geography (Option) – Marking Scheme – Year 10 – 2017 Page 5 of 7

 e. 2 Self-help schemes give people the tools and training
to improve their homes. Low-interest loans may be
used to help people fund these changes. People may
be given legal ownership of the land.
Accept any other relevant answers.

8. 8

a. 4 1 to 3 marks Any two of the terms explained below:

if answers use of chemicals
are too brief
The use of chemicals has the advantage of increasing
the quantity of food that can be produced but can also
have an adverse effect on the environment. Chemical
fertilisers are added to the soil to increase the
quantity of nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates
available to plants. Fertilisers can be lost from the
soil by the process of leaching and pollute the water
table. Water moving through the soil can dissolve the
compounds in fertilisers and transfer them to lakes
and rivers and cause eutrophication. Pesticides can
have adverse effects on the environment if they are
not biodegradable as they can accumulate in the
bodies of organisms over time.
Removal of forests
The vast old-growth forests that once covered much
of the world have largely been cut and burned down
because of agriculture and so many species lost their
habitat.
b. 4 Removal of hedgerows/rubble walls
Loss of hedgerows leads to a loss of animal habitat.
This can lead to a loss of biodiversity and negatively
impacts the food chain. There is greater soil erosion
as the roots bind the soil. Hedgerows act as natural
shelter belts, protecting crops from the wind.
Drainage of wetlands
The loss or destruction of wetlands can result in the
loss or degradation of wetland habitat and a loss of
plant and animal biological diversity, deterioration
of wetland water quality, reduction in water supply
and water storage, increased occurrence of algae
blooms caused by nutrient overload from land
adjacent to a wetland, increased abundance of
weeds, loss of species and shifts in species
dominance, mosquito problems and increased soil
erosion.
Accept any other relevant answer.

Page 6 of 7 Geography (Option) – Marking Scheme – Year 10 – 2017

 9. 10

a. 2 Bangladesh is located in South Asia, bordered by

India in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the east and
west, while Myanmar surrounds it to the south.

b. 4 2 marks each Any two relevant causes.

Causes of flooding in Bangladesh are:
 cyclones cause coastal flooding
 lots of low-lying land
 melt water from the Himalayas
 deforestation
 heavy monsoon rains
 increasing urban areas

c. 2 Any one relevant effect.

In 2007 flooding made 9 million people homeless
and approximately 1,000 people died from
drowning and from waterborne diseases.

d. 2 A catchy but relevant title.

Total 90

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