National 5 worked answers Part 1 Physical Environments

I have taken a selection of questions from the Physical, Human and Global Issues parts of the course
and will outline some ways to approach the questions as well as showing you where you might pick
up the marks on offer. First of all, some general advice; Read the question very carefully. Look for
the command words and make sure that you follow them for example, if you have been asked to
explain, you shouldnt be describing, a very common mistake. Also, look at the marks that are on
offer. If a question is worth 5 marks, you shouldnt be spending 20 minutes trying to answer it but,
by the same token, you will need to ensure that you have 5 points included in your answer,
preferably developed points with examples where appropriate.
Physical Environments
All of these question shave been taken from the revision booklets you were given assuming you
attended school towards the start of study leave! I have started with two coast questions, as this
was a topic we completed ages ago and may need a bit of refreshing.
1. Explain the formation of headlands and bays (4 marks).
The question says that you may wish to use diagrams you should do this as there is every chance
you will label something on the diagram which you may have forgotten to include in your
explanation. Here is a rough idea of what you should be including in that explanation:
Headlands and bays form where there are alternating bands of hard and soft rock found
along a coastline (you could give examples - maybe in your diagrams of hard rocks such as
limestone with soft rocks such as clay)
As the rock is of different hardness, there is differential erosion of the coastline. The clay
will erode at a much faster rate than the limestone
This will leave the hard rock jutting out into the sea. It will protect the bay which has formed
behind it from the strongest waves
As the waves in the bay lose energy, beaches may be deposited here
This is only one example of a feature which you could be asked about. You need to be prepared
for both features of erosion (wave cut platform, caves, arches, stacks) and features of deposition
(spits, sandbars, tombolos).
2. For a coastal area you have studied, describe measures taken to protect the environment
(5 marks)
This solutions question comes up now and again, but you will have to be prepared for land uses and
conflicts in both coastal and glaciated landscapes too. It also specifically asks you for a coastal area
you have studied (yours was the Ayrshire and Arran coast), so if you do not reference this, you are
not fully answering the question.
This question, for me, has two different parts to the answer. You can look at ways in which the
coastal environment is physically protected from erosion and you can look at how land uses, such as
tourism, are managed. For coastal protection, you might get marks for mentioning some of the
following:
Sea walls which deflect waves, particularly good at protecting cliffs
Groynes, which trap sand and pebbles and stop longshore drift removing beach material
Rock armour this is large boulders piled up[ against a vulnerable part of the coast which
take the force of the waves
All of these are hard defences. Soft defences might include
Beach nourishment, the replacement of sand on a beach which requires constant
maintenance
Managed retreat, which is allowing areas to flood naturally, creating marsh which
eventually helps reduce wave power
If you look at managing land uses, this is where you can really use your case study and, in particular,
Culzean. There are some examples below of how Culzean manages environmental conflicts.
Traffic problems are reduced by overflow car parks (1),and a one way system to improve
traffic flow (1)
Littering is controlled by concentrating vistors in certain honeypot areas (1). For example,
the visitor centre has a caf, toilets and picnic areas and the swan pond has similar facilities
and a playpark (1).
Footpath erosion is controlled by the National Trust volunteers maintaining wooden boards
(1).
Habitats are protected by a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Barwhin point (1) and
through education via park rangers (1)
You can see that this is a lot for one answer! The truth is that most people will not remember all of
these points in an exam and you will also have to work to time. Remember, this is a question where
examples are important and all of those in my write up are also in your conflicts booklet.

Now, we will look at some glaciation questions. In the booklet, I included mapping questions and you
will have to come in to see me if you want most of these marked or explained. I am, however, going
to use one such question for land uses to let you see how you should be using the map to get you
marks. The question below is in the booklet:
Glen Cloy farm in square 0035 is a mixed farm. Explain why this area is suitable for mixed farming
(4 marks)
I have included a screen shot from digimap below with the farm marked by the red pin. Here is how I
think the map can help me:
Most of the area around the farm has very steep relief indicated by the contours e.g . at High
GlenCloy (Grid reference). This would make the land very difficult to farm crops as it would
be difficult to use machinery (1), soils would be thin and infertile (1) and, at altitude,
temperatures would be low and make the growing season short (1). Sheep farming would
therefore be the only suitable land use here as sheep are hardy animals which do not need
much tending (1). In the valley floor near Kilmichael House (Grid ref), there is flat relief
which would be more suitable for crop farming (1). There is easy access to the town of
Brodick and the ferry port (Grid ref the pier) which would make it easy to move and sell the
produce (1).
Again, there are more than enough marks here, but hopefully this gives you an idea of what to look
for in similar questions. There are so many ways that the exam can present the map. It can be a
cross section/ transect reading, finding glacial or coastal features, explaining land uses, suggesting
conflicts etc. The most important thing that you do is include map evidence in your answers.


Finally, for glaciation, Im going to look at a glacial features question.
Explain, with the aid of diagrams, the formation of a u-shaped valley (4 marks)
In this question, you are specifically asked for the diagram, so make sure you include one.
Remember in the glaciation booklet we had 3 very simple diagrams showing before glaciation,
during glaciation and after glaciation. You want to make sure that these are quick and easy to draw
as a work of art can take time in the exam! In your explanation, you should be looking for the
following:

A glacier moves downhill into a v-shaped valley with interlocking spurs
The glacier begins to pluck rocks from the valley surfaces and then uses these rocks to
abrade the valley sides and floor
This makes the valley deeper and wider and plucking steepens the valley sides
Truncated spurs are left high on the valley sides where the glacier cut through existing
slopes (interlocking spurs)
A misfit stream occupies the valley floor. This is the original stream which is too small to
have cut a valley of such size
Where the glacier has over-deepened part of the valley, a long thin ribbon lake may occupy
the valley floor
You will need to be able to do similar answers for corries, artes and pyramidal peaks in the exam.

The last part of the physical exam questions booklet that I want to look at is weather. Often, but not
always, the questions will refer to the passage of a depression and you will be expected to show
your knowledge of conditions in the cold sector, warm front, warm sector and cold front. You are
sometimes given a scenario where you have to predict what will happen as the depression passes to
justify your answer. One such question is shown below:
With reference to the weather chart, explain why Londons New Year celebrations went ahead
whilst the celebrations in Glasgows were cancelled (5 marks)
This question is really asking you to forecast and compare the likely weather conditions and how
they will change in both locations. The answer may include some of the points below (you will need
to refer to the synoptic chart in the question booklet).
Glasgow is close to the warm front and it would be expected that by midnight the cold front would
bring heavy rainfall (1) which may affect attendance and enjoyment of the event (1). The synoptic
chart shows that the isobars are close together, meaning winds will be strong at the time of the
street party (1). This may make travelling difficult for some of the party goers and may affect some
of the outdoor stalls etc that would be set up for the party (1). London, on the other hand, is in the
cold sector and, although temperatures will be cold, it will be dry (1). The isobar pattern shows that
wind speeds will be low as they are far apart. London may experience some rainfall as the night
progresses, but it is likely to be steady rather than heavy as the warm front approaches (1).
I hope this helps. I will be doing the same with a selection of questions from the other two revision
booklets and positing over the next couple of days. Try the look, cover, write and check technique if
you have read over some of the answers here. Please come in to school for any marking of papers
that you have attempted that I have not covered here. One last tip remember that there will be
parts of the Physical Environments unit in the exam paper that you do not attempt! There will be
questions on limestone and rivers as well as coasts and glacial uplands. You do not need to do the
first of these as schools pick either the first two or the second two. Look at the specimen paper
online and get yourself familiar with its layout.