A2 Geography Unit 4A Fieldwork Jan 2013

Geographical Information Systems, you should do some, it is in the specification under skills checklist and on assessment, and is now expected that every school does some (the pilot which had GIS in was years ago and all schools were told after that they have to do some, there's open source software and is something that every uni does), and you should do if you've done fieldwork.

Reply 26

There's tonnes of stuff if you google GIS. Don't go to far in as it gets complicated, for GIS you'd need to know basics at a geography level, not a GIS degree/masters level which is what most of it is. If you can get access to some of the ESRI stuff it is useful, just avoid the stuff you physically have to do.

http://www.lib.virginia.edu/scholarslab/resources/class/mlbs/introToGIS.pdf

I like parts of this, others it goes in to to much detail on ArcGIS. however most stuff you'll find online will at some point mention ArcGIS.

There's also one called An Introduction to GIS - ADEC Distance Education Consortium which seems good for what you need.

This is one thing where no coursework is actually submitted, as GIS can then be assessed so easily.

Hopefully they'll be a question that you can link GIS in to, if not even do it in your fieldwork if they ask for any improvements.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 27

theronkinator

I did AQA B 5 years ago now, found the it to be the easiest exam, I had 5 hours of exams the morning before so did no revision except in my hour lunch break, didn't really know my fieldwork as our biology trip was similar and I got them mixed up, it was just common sense, somehow got 100% in it (never happened before or since).

Reply 28

Original post by theronkinator

I did AQA B 5 years ago now, found the it to be the easiest exam, I had 5 hours of exams the morning before so did no revision except in my hour lunch break, didn't really know my fieldwork as our biology trip was similar and I got them mixed up, it was just common sense, somehow got 100% in it (never happened before or since).

the new ones came in 2008 therefore you couldn't of done it 5 years ago. did you really get 100% or all the UMS available?

Reply 29

Can any clever ones give me tips/pointers on how to answer the 'location and relevance to theories' questions on the fieldwork? I have done urban heat island.. Thanks

Reply 30

nat.2013

1

Original post by ScottENGLAND

Can any clever ones give me tips/pointers on how to answer the 'location and relevance to theories' questions on the fieldwork? I have done urban heat island.. Thanks

5. How important was theory in the choice of location?

•

The UHI theory relates to urban areas with varying land uses

•

The area we chose had to have an urban landscape and be large enough to show the differences between the CBD and other transitional zones such as the suburbs and rural areas.

•

The place you chose was a good location since it has clearly defined land use zones which we could investigate to show the differences in air temperatures between the CBD and rural areas to investigate the UHI

•

(Location) has a commercial centre in the CBD which fits the characteristics of many other urban areas. Talk about the factors in a CBD that contribute to a UHI e.g. low albedo values, reduced sky view factor etc etc which all traps thermal energy.

•

Therefore, theory was v important in the choice of location.

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 31

Very useful thankyou! Are you doing UHI aswell?

Reply 32

Original post by nat.2013

5. How important was theory in the choice of location?

•

The UHI theory relates to urban areas with varying land uses

•

The area we chose had to have an urban landscape and be large enough to show the differences between the CBD and other transitional zones such as the suburbs and rural areas.

•

The place you chose was a good location since it has clearly defined land use zones which we could investigate to show the differences in air temperatures between the CBD and rural areas to investigate the UHI

•

(Location) has a commercial centre in the CBD which fits the characteristics of many other urban areas. Talk about the factors in a CBD that contribute to a UHI e.g. low albedo values, reduced sky view factor etc etc which all traps thermal energy.

•

Therefore, theory was v important in the choice of location.

Hope this helps :smile:

Very useful thankyou! Are you doing UHI aswell?

Reply 33

Mason96

Hello guys,
I am doing this exam soon and i get stuck when it asks me how either Primary or secondary data helped me draw up my conclusions. It sounds simple i know, but i just cant seem to word it right in mocks we do in class. Any ideas? :confused:

Reply 34

nat.2013

1

Original post by ScottENGLAND

Very useful thankyou! Are you doing UHI aswell?

Yeah I am. I think it's quite a good topic to do the skills exam on. What sort of things have you been doing to revise? I'm not sure what to make notes on :L

Reply 35

Original post by nat.2013

Yeah I am. I think it's quite a good topic to do the skills exam on. What sort of things have you been doing to revise? I'm not sure what to make notes on :L

I have been answering as many previous fieldwork questions as possible! What did u use to record?

Reply 36

iTOMTOMi

Original post by Mason96

Hello guys,
I am doing this exam soon and i get stuck when it asks me how either Primary or secondary data helped me draw up my conclusions. It sounds simple i know, but i just cant seem to word it right in mocks we do in class. Any ideas? :confused:

Primary data is that which you collected in the field, and secondary data is that which is found before/after the actual fieldwork - such as maps and weather forecasts etc.....

So i would say Primary data helped you draw up your conclusions because you researched and got first hand data relevant to your investigations...
Secondary data helped you draw up conclusions as you had other background information into the area/fieldwork and used relevant sources of information to further your knowledge...

Is this any help at all? haha

Reply 37

iTOMTOMi

Original post by clareramos

you mean 2012?

I may have a copy of the mark scheme somewhere, not sure where though. For fieldwork though I would revise everything as it is limited what they can asses you on and there is some very similar questions occasionally.

Reply 38