ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Y1
Topic outline
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Information on the course
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Past paper exam questions and mark schemes organised into topics for you to use when consolidating work and revising. -
Research methods include details of the methods used to investigate a wide range of environmental issues.
Students must understand the general principles of scientific methodology.
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This topic covers the importance and threats to biodiversity and methods that can be used to conserve our biodiversity. It also covers the interaction of living things with each other and their abiotic environment, and how an understanding of this can inform decisions that lead to sustainable human activities.
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In this topic students will look at the conditions that make live possible on Earth followed by detailed study of the atmosphere and the anthropogenic activities that cause global climate change and reductions in the ozone layer. Students will then link this how our use of non-renewable energy resources have exacerbated the change in the atmosphere and link this to air pollution problems caused.
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In this topic students will look at how mineral resources are made in the Earth's crust, how they are exploited and the environmental issues associated with mining. This topic will also cover the pollution issues associated with mining and finish with ways in which this pollution can be controlled.
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In this topic students will learn how human activities alter the hydrological cycle and look at strategies that may allow sustainable exploitation. They will then look at the challenge posed by the need to provide forest resources for a growing human population.
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In this topic students will study the importance of biogeochemical cycles. They will then look at out aquatic food production systems and understand how large-scale hunting of fish has led to exploitation of fish populations and advent of aquaculture. This will be followed by a look at nutrient pollution in waterways.
