IGCSE Agricultural Processes Revision

Farming as a System
This is where started our work on agriculture.



Types of Farming:
1. Commerical Farming - the growing of crops / rearing of aniamls to make a profit
2. Subsistence Farming - where there is just sufficient food producted to provide for the farmer's own family
3. Arable Farming - involves the growing of crops
4. Pastoral Farming - invovles the rearing of animals
5. Intensive Farming - where the farm size is small in comparison with the large amount of labour, and inputs of capital, fertilisers etc. which are required.
6. Extensive Farming - where the size of a farm is very large in comparison to the inputs of money, labour etc.. needed


FARMING SYSTEMS
INPUTS - these are things that go into the farm and may be split into Physical Inputs (e.g. amount of rain, soil) and Human Inputs (e.g. labour, money etc.)
PROCESSES - these are things which take place on the farm in order to convert the inputs to outputs (e.g. sowing, weeding, harvesting etc.)
OUTPUTS - these are the products from the farm (i.e. wheat, barley, cattle)

Depending on the type of farming e.g. arable/ pastoral, commerical / subsisitence, the type and amount of inputs, processes and outputs will vary.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/agriculture/char_farmrev2.shtml
Farming as a system, BBC Bitesize

The Green Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution
Wikipedia is a good place to start
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6496585.stm
BBC, The limits of a Green Revolution
http://www.indiaonestop.com/Greenrevolution.htm
From Bengal Famine to Green Revolution
http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/SNYDERD/APHG/Unit%205/GreenRev.htm
The Green Revolution in India

If you back up your notes with reading these websites it makes a great case study for Agricultural Processess and Population with reference to Boserup and the fact that man is infinitely inventive and creative in solving the problems of feeding people. Although in this case it wasnt particularly successful.

Subsistence Farming
Ourr LEDC case study for this was from The New Wider World Textbook

Commercial Farming

IGCSE Tectonic Processes Revision

There will be a test next week on everything that we have covered on Tectonic processes, so to ensure that you arent going to panic too much here is a revision checklist.

Key Terms
Constructive Boundary (Divergent) - where two plates move away from each other resulting in new crust being formed.
Destructive Boundary (Convergent) - where two plates move towards each other - in the case of a plate consisting of continental crust meeting a plate consisting of oceanic crust, the oceanic crust will be subducted and destroyed as it is less dense.
Conservative Boundary - where two plates move alongside each other - although crust is neither created or destroyed here, earthquakes usually occur here.
Collision Boundary - where two plates of continental crust move towards each other creating fold mountains.
Volcano - a vent through which lava, ash etc. is erupted (often, but not always cone-shaped)
Earthquake - a sudden ground movement

The USGS is excellent for increasing your undesrstanding of all of the key terms.

IGCSE Revision

At this time of year I am always reminded of this scene from my favourite BBC television series...... watch it and bear with me on this as it is relevant....ish!



For Year 10 the mock examinations are on the horizon and I am sure that some of you are starting to panic..... just a little bit, well don´t, you have all the necessary notes and your textbook New Wider World, now you just need to organise yourself effectively.

One of the most important things is to be confident with command terms that are commonly used in exams. These are not just important in geography but also in every exam and if you can understand what the word is asking you to do then answering the question is so much easier, well I think so anyway. Hopefully the following short video should help!



I should point out however that PEE doesnt mean what you think it does it means
Point
Explanation
Evidence
Explink (explain and link)
but of course you all knew that!

Since September 2008 when you started IGCSE Geography I have constantly been on your case about the importance of case studies, you need to ensure that when you start to revise that you have a relevant case study (sometimes you will need 2, an MEDC and a LEDC one)for every topic, without case studies to emphasise points you are unlikely to gain the top grades. A full list of all the case studies we have studied will be given out next week although it is up to you to produce revision notes on them.

Past papers are also one of the key building locks for succesful revision and a whole host of them will be handed out over the next week or two to help you.

Perhaps I am a bit sad but it is importnt to vary your revision techniques, and I know from bitter experience that staing at your books for hours on end is no good at all. Use digital media and load up some podcasts onto your ipod, no one will know, honest! BBC Bitesize has the best at the moment but I will tell you about others as I investigate them.

It might be a bit cheesybut a great way to relaz after a hrd day revising is to play a game, and here is the answer, Games 4 Geog.

Read through all your notes and then start to boil them down into one or two pages per topic, and then do it again reducing the information even further. This techniques is tried and tested and is proven to work......try it and find out.

And of course if all ese fails you could always revert to reading my rambling musings on the blog!

Earthquakes ICT task

The link for the ICT earthquakes task is the http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/world_deaths_sort.php
Students completing the task need to remember that the precise details are up to them but the key is that a scattergraph has to be completed in Excel.

Past IGCSE Questions

Unfortunately IGCSE is not all fun and games we do have some serious work to do in the form of getting you the best grades possible in the upcoming examinations and it is to that end that I am going to start posting a few past questions on various topics with links to academic websites, articles, references to your textbook and also the BBC news reports attached, to make revision simpler and more interactive, and hopefully not too scary a prospect!

The IGCSE syllabus consists of four main areas:
Population studies (Population and settlement)
Natural Environment (Tectonics,Weathering, Ecosystems, Weather, Climate, Rivers and Coasts)
Economic Activities (Farming, Tourism, Industry, Energy Resources and Environmental Risk and Benefit)
Fieldwork Studies

Looking at this list the only subjects in year 10 that we haven't covered are Energy Resources and Environmental Risk and Benefits and they will be worked on as one module straight after the mock examinations in January. From then on it will be fieldwork, practical application of knowledge and revision, and revision and .... ahem! .... surprisingly even more revision.

Don't consider the prospect of an extended period of revision as just endless past papers, because that is not what it is all about, yes there will be endless past papers but there will also be advice about how to construct the most effective essays, what are key words and command words and tactics on how to give the examiners exactly what they want and most importantly for some of the more verbose amongst you, how to cut the waffle and get straight to the point! Not pointing the finger at anyone in particular, but you know who you are.


Year 10, now is the time to start getting all your notes in order and checking with friends where you have gaps in your notes if you were ill or off school, making sure you have comprehensive case studies for all topics and that everything is up to date. It really does pay to be organised, and most importantly of all......

Virtual volcanoes

The study of volcanoes is one of my favorite topics as there are so many fabulous resources out there. A game that I am playing at the moment is Volcano Explorer its good fun and tells you all about the structure of a volcano and the three main types. Its all about stepping back in time to 79 A.D., and you live near Mount Vesuvius. But not for long. One man survived the volcano and left history in writing, it's all recreated it in a Web video documentary.

An essential starting point for all those budding vulcanologists out there!


I said vulcanologists NOT Vulcans!

Forces of Nature is an online Geo simulator from the National Geographic Magazine and is good fun just to play around with.



Just click on the link to earthquake, volcano, tornado and hurricane simulators. I guarantee you will want to play!

I am on a mission to find tectonic related games and this one is a serious goodie. The Quake Quiz where you can test your knowledge of earthquakes and what to do in the event of a quake and how to prepare for such a disaster! Fun and serious at the same time as it really makes you think about the implications of an earthquake.



This is quite an informative game, however it is fairly obvious that Victoria Beckham didn't play it before she went house hunting in LA, if she had paid more attention in her Geography lessons she would have been more prepared and probably wouldn't have worn such ridiculous shoes!
Want to know more? Then watch this video clip!



Duck, cover and hold!! How difficult is it to remember that...... obviously quite difficult.
Even in primary schools in earthquake prone areas in California earthquake drill are part of the normal school routine.

The Stop Disasters game is fun and covers hurricanes, wildfires and a hops of other natural disasters and whilst it is not directly related to tectonic processes it does fall into the same category and as such is an easy way in which to while away a few hours.

The BBC has a SuperVolcano Sims like game, I havent played it myself but I have been reliably informed that it is alright for an educational game, so why not give it a go!



The very last game that I am going to push at you is Earthquake Emergency where an earthquake has just occurred and you have to put yourself in the shoes of a doctor or a volunteer in order to help the victims of the disaster as quickly as possible. Give it a go!



Hopefully all of these games will distract you from the latest XBox or Wii games, and at least when you are told to stop playing computer games you can truthfully say that they are educational to the amazed shock of your parents!

Tectonics

We are off to an excellent start with both years 9 and 10 battling it out with tectonics. A good singalong is always a good way to start a lesson and of course provide us all with a general overview!



Now that you cant get the Mt St Helens tune out of your head perhaps this is the best time to look at the good old BBC and see what they have to offer in the way of a more technical explaination.
Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis are all demonstrated here with clear and easy to understand diagrams and animations.

Mount St Helens erupted on May 18th 1980 following a period of activity which began in March 1980 with an earthquake measuring 4.0 on the richter scale. What followed was 3 months of seismic activity as magma rose within the mountain. As the magma rose, a large bulge grew on the north flank of the volcano, this was due to a blockage in the main vent resulting in the growth of a cryptodome (mound of viscous lava) in the side of the volcano.

On May 18th, an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the richter scale caused a landslide on the northern flank of the volcano, which in turn exposed the cryptodome below, resulting in a sudden release of pressure and a cataclysmic eruption in the form of a lateral (sideways) blast.

The blast zone consisted of 230 square miles with the eruption leaving a 'lunar' landscape in its wake. The effects of the eruption included:
* laval flows and ash filling in Spirit Lake and log jams and ash blocking the channel of the Toutle River;
* 57 people died in the eruption - most from poisonous gases;
* large number of wildlife were killed by the blast and the volcanic ash with nothing surviving in the blast zone
* flooding resulting from blocked rivers washed away road and rail bridges
* crops were ruined and livelihoods of loggers were devastated with large areas of trees being flattened like matchsticks.

These websites will provide you with an excellent source of information for the homework which is due in next week.
USGS Information on Mt St Helens
Wikipedia 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens is an excellent place to start your research
The Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument has lots of tourist information and webcams.
Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument library has lots of interesting photographs.

The following videos should also provide you with a good overall understanding of the main issues.





A 2008 update on what is happening at Mt St Helens is an interesting thought for the future of the Mountain.