Geography
Elective Unit
Subject Description
Biomes and Food Security
The unit begins with a focus on the distribution and unique characteristics of biomes as distinct regions of the world. A biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment. Examples of biomes include deserts, forests, grasslands and tundra. The way humans interact with biomes is explored — how we alter biomes to produce food and industrial materials and the environmental impact of these alterations. This then leads into food security and exploring the capacity of these biomes to produce enough food to sustain the current and projected global population.
Students investigate the factors that influence food production, from climate through to agricultural innovations such as the Green Revolution, and examine different farming types and how these connect to natural environments, available technology, and the economic status of different world regions. Students develop and apply geographic skills, including topographic mapping, cross sections and contour lines, to understand how landscape shapes farming type. The unit also examines the environmental consequences of farming and the sustainability of current farming methods in Australia, before evaluating whether world food production can be increased to meet the needs of future populations sustainably.
Geographies of Interconnections
This area of study looks at how the world is based on a series of connections between a wide variety of physical and conceptual phenomena. Students explore how humans connect with particular places and the way transport, information and communication technologies are used to connect people to services, resources and people in other places around the globe, with a particular emphasis on North-East Asia.
Students examine interconnection through the lens of trade and geopolitics, including the impact of measures such as tariffs, and assess the broader impacts of globalisation on places and environments. This includes a case study of fast fashion and its social and environmental impacts. Students also consider how global interconnectedness enables the rapid spread of phenomena such as pandemics and financial and economic crises.
Assessment
- Biomes: Test
- Food Security: Essay
- Trade Simulation / Negotiation Task: Group Assignment
