Edexcel B Global challenge last minute tips

>Do a plan! If you do not then you will do badly, forget about the limited time, in the end if you write 1 page of planned quality answer it's better then 3 pages of random crap you thought up as you went along

>Time your questions it is recommended: 35 for A 35 for B and 45 for C that is a total of 115 minutes in a 120 minute exam! SO they MUST be expecting you to use 5 minutes to quickly decide which questions you want to do. The question is in two parts, in section A and B it is usually split into 10 and 15 marks so 14 minutes for the first part and 21 for the second part. So rounded up:

15 marks= 20 minutes, 10 marks= 15 minutes.

Bring a calculator in you want to do 35/25 * the number of marks.

It appears that section C has the pattern 18 and 12 so that is 18 minutes for 12 marks and 27 minutes for 18 marks!

Look at how little time you have for each question! You have to hurry, try and use that 5 minutes extra for the plan, choose your questions quickly! Try and work out your strengths and knowledge so you know which question is best, if you can't think of a good plan you have a chance to change your mind but you have to hurry.

IF YOU GO OVER THE TIME YOU MUST QUICKLY FINISH THE POINT YOU ARE MAKING AND MOVE ON!

If you do not then you are losing marks from the other sections it is better to have wrote a reasonable amount for all questions then to have written loads on one and very little on the others!
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Thats general exam technique, stuff that I personally failed to do which dropped me so many marks, so don't do the same.

Next post will be about section A knowledge, then B knowledge and finally C knowledge, contribute please, don't comment keep it nice and clean for users.

Reply 1

Hayley Kim

Thanks! very much appreciated!

Also be precise- you lose marks if you do not state exactly what you are talking about i.e. Africa and all it's different communities, ecosystems etc.

Bounce back the structure of the question to the examiners. At the end of each paragraph make a referal to the question posed.

Reply 2

wackojacko

Ugh I swear im going to die! Im exhasted :P heree we go. Im going to copy and paste other people's stuff which I may give no credit :biggrin:

sorry. I will post some of which is mine too...

Section A (Geogger's conference) notes:

SECTION A – THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Global Warming / short term climate changes – look at Causes (natural/ not), Impact or Effects (direct / indirect) and Solutions (Global and One country for specifics). Many ways this could be presented eg graph showing average temperature change over time.

How the sources and track of air masses influence the weather. (Think about the recent snows in Kent as eg). How does the weather influence Human / Economic activities?

Look at good weather maps eg from the Observer, look at synoptic weather maps esp. Anticyclonic conditions (winter and summer)

Look at how what happens in the Upper Air influences low level weather eg high pressure/ convergence at altitude – adiabatic warming, hence dry, with low pressure / divergence at altitude there is adiabatic cooling hence rainfall. Etc DIAGRAMS are really useful – learn a little repertoire you can use in exams.

Look at how Climate graphs can illustrate the passage through the ICTZ eg in Africa and this leads to changes in vegetation (link with Ecosystems) ie Ecocline

Global Ecosystems – when choosing Forests you are often asked about the global distribution – eg TRF – its global distribution ranges from Brazil, to C America, to central West Africa, to Indonesia etc. You must not just discuss 1 forest (eg Korup) as this is only 1 eg and not global pattern.

Look at Biodiversity loss in Ecosystems section.

(dudley cool):
Last-minute Global Warming points:

-The "Greenhouse Effect" is a natural, essential and sustainable feature of the Earth's climate system, without which our planet would be unhibatable.
-It is the human-induced "Enhanced Greenhouse Effect" that is not natural and, more importantly, not sustainable.

-If global warming continues at its current rate by 2050 most of southeast UK will be submerged.
-British birds now lay their eggs a week earlier - food-chain implications
-In Africa; mass drought (as rainfall levels decrease), decreased crop production, flora and fauna and food and water supplies for millions.
-Ice-cap of Mt Kilimanjaro shrunk by more then 80% last century

ME :biggrin:

:
Anticylones can block out low pressure systems (Depressions): this can lead to drought, boost tourism, protect against hurricanes, split the jet stream in two!

Jet streams are caused by a low pressure air mass coming together with a high pressure air mass (such as a polar air mass with a tropical air mass near the uk) the air travels from high to low and with such a gradient of pressure the air picks up incredible speeds. There are many jet streams to make a rossby wave, it spirals east to west because of the spin of the earth (the collisis effect (not sure how to spell)). The jet stream follows the boundaries of high and low pressure, when the jet stream bends toward the poles it is speeding up so causes low pressure (air is sucked in), but when it bends away it slows down and air piles up become high pressure!

Tropical rainforests have very poor soil because they have a very low storage of litter since there are so many organisms to consume it. The majority of energy is in the Biomass. So if you remove rainforests your not going to have much luck farming it!

Biomass is storage, NPP is the rate of energy creation.

Climate, altitude, soil type and relief are the main cause of biome distribution.

Uses of ecosystems? It could be removed for timber of to build houses however it is a water filtation system, attracts tourists, prevents global warming, potential cures for disease could be found from one of the species!
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Thats all I can think of, add more.

edit- Ill do the rest later, I got to go :biggrin:

. Need sleep and practice exam questions

Reply 3

ryry

Are we allowed to scribble down on a piece of paper or something the timing for each question.. or is that not allowed? (I'm highly guessing thats NOT allowed) Ugh, my memory/maths is terrible!

Reply 4

Eternal Fantasy

From my experience of Global Challenge in January, I'd say:

1. Choose what questions to answer very carefully, and don't rush your decision. Even if you take 5 minutes to choose, it's better that than launching straight into one question and then changing your mind when you realise you can't do it as well as you thought you could (like I did :rolleyes:

)
2. Plans are definitely important, especially for Section C, but don't make them too detailed 'cos time is ridiculously limited. Just jot down a few sequenced key points, or something.
3. Try to stick to the recommended timings.
4. GOOD LUCK! :biggrin:

Reply 5

wackojacko

Yes you can! Write it on the paper itself if you want ( or on the desk :wink:

)

Reply 6

froggymills

How long do you advice looking through the paper and planning?

Im terrible at planning - never do it!

Reply 7

jcd

Don't forget there have been some recent news stories on 'global challenges' ie. G8/aid/debt/climate and whaling/conservation. They're always good to drop into an answer when its relevent.

And try to answer the question. It may sound silly but I'm often guilty of seeing the key words e.g. global warming and just going off on one. So remember to pay attention to the command words e.g. assess, evaluate, explain etc.

Good luck. I know I need some! :biggrin:

Reply 8

!Laxy!

I did it in January and would say:

- Spider diagram plan for C.
- Pick questions wisely.
- Write b****y fast!

Reply 9

Eternal Fantasy

!Laxy!

I did it in January and would say:

- Spider diagram plan for C.
- Pick questions wisely.
- Write b****y fast!

Oh yeah, I definitely second the last one! :biggrin:

Reply 10

wackojacko

Yeah you might want to get a pen with a good grip so you don't kill your fingers in the exam :biggrin:

I know I do.

I can't be bothered with section B and C but I might do it tommorow morning...or someone else could do it. :biggrin:

im so tired it's unbeliveable, I should sue the exam boards for all this energy I put into it.

Reply 11

_poptart_

dont panic! make sure you remember to use as many relevant case studies from broad areas of the course as poss!
And before you start the question make sure you understand the resource carefully! If not do another question instead :biggrin: