CGF 3ME
IB1 Geography: Physical Geography: Patterns, Processes & Interactions

Prerequisite: CGC1DE (J) and standing in the pre IB programme

Course Level:
This course is an enriched university/college course. It is the first year (IB1) geography course for students in the IB programme at Colonel By. In the IB Geography programme there are two dedicated IB assessments, a Field Study and the final IB (in two parts) examination which contribute to the IB mark; both occur in the IB2 year. However, in this course there are several assignments including a Field Study, which will help prepare students for these key assessment/ evaluations next year, particularly those parts of the IB exam which relate to physical geography.

Please note that Colonel By has opened this grade 11 course to grade 10 students, but with the understanding that the grade 10 students are Standard Level (for further information regarding Standard Level and Higher Level designations in the IB programme, please see the IB pages on the CB website). The grade 11 students taking this course may choose Standard or Higher Level.

Note on International Baccalaureate Geography Content:
Central to this course are four themes which have been selected from the IB Geography Syllabus. They are:
—Climate hazards and change
—Lithospheric processes and hazards
—Drainage basins and their management
—Coasts and their management

Another required theme is Geographical Skills, which is integrated throughout the course as well as in the curriculum for the IB2 year.

Course Texts:
—Assigned textbook: Ron Chasmer; Earth Matters
—Supplementary texts; David Waugh; Geography: An Integrated Approach
—Atlas of Landforms

Assessment and Evaluation
Coursework throughout the year constitutes 70% of final grade and is comprised of the following:
—Knowledge and Understanding 17.5 %
—Thinking and Inquiry 17.5%
—Application 17.5%
—Communication 17.5%

The summative evaluation and examination will constitute 30% of the final grade.

Course Overview:

Introduction to Physical Geography
- Overview of the components of the closed system that is earth; atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere

Unit 1: Atmosphere (integrated IB theme: Climate hazards and change)
—Properties of the atmosphere, global heat budget
—Weather; meteorology, weather maps, air masses, fronts, cyclonic storms
—Climate; hazards, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, aridity and drought, global climate change both short term (ie. El Nino) and long term (ie. Greenhouse Effect), acid deposition, ozone depletion, microclimates, human response
—Case Studies

Unit 2: Lithosphere (integrated IB theme; Lithospheric processes and hazards)
—Building up the land: Tectonic processes; internal structure of the earth, plate margins and landforms, folding, faulting, volcanism, earthquakes, hazards, human response
- Case Studies
—Wearing down the earth: Gradational processes; mass movement, slope, forces shaping the earth, weathering and erosion, work of gravity, ice, wind, water
-Case Studies

Unit 3 Hydrosphere (integrated IB themes: 1. Drainage Basins and their Management and 2. Coasts and their Management)
— Drainage basins and their management
—Water/Land interaction, global hydrological cycle, fresh water, drainage basin operation, mechanics and controls; fluvial features in the landscape, river morphology, natural and human induced (anthropogenic) hazards; managing
supply and demand of water
—Case Studies
— Coasts and their management
—Oceanography; factors affecting shoreline environment, shoreline morphology and processes, management, coastal hazards
Case Studies

•Field Study (part of Summative Evaluation), formatted to IB requirements. The class topic is to be determined.
•Examination