Environmental Science

Last exam July 2018

GCSE Environmental Science offers students the opportunity to:

• study a hands on science

• support their pure science options

• learn about important global issues

• understand future global changes

• make informed decisions about political issues

• raise their environmental awareness

• learn how to reduce their ecological footprint

• develop challenging fieldwork skills

• model environmental hazards in the laboratory

Pupils will explore some of the big environmental issues, evaluating evidence and the implications for Global Citizenship. Candidates will find out about the concept of sustainability and examine it within the background of global population growth and the increasing use of resources. Candidates will also study how scientists work in the environment and apply their scientific and technical skills in different situations.

The skills, knowledge and understanding of how science works have been set in the context of three contemporary issues: food supply, energy use and Global Climate Change in Section A.

This section also highlights the work of different environmental scientists in dealing with these contemporary issues. In Section B wildlife and water resource management are used to illustrate how environmental scientists work in two contrasting areas.


Year 10 Course Structure

AUTUMN TERM

Topic 1

A - Environmental issues

A1 Population and Sustainability

A1.1 Why is the human population increasing so fast?

A1.2 Are some lifestyles more sustainable than others?

A1.3 How may food supplies be increased to provide for the growing population?

A1.4 Are the developments in world food production sustainable?

9 weeks

 

AUTUMN TERM – SECOND HALF

Topic 2

A2 Energy Resources

A2.1 How are energy resources used?

A2.2 How can energy consumption be reduced?

5 week

 

SPRING TERM

Topic 2

A2.3 Why is the continued use of fossil fuels unsustainable?

A2.4 What alternative energy technologies are available?

5 weeks

 

SPRING TERM – SECOND HALF

Topic 3

A3 Global climate change

A3.1 Why is the greenhouse effect important for life on Earth?

A3.2 How many human activities change the global climate?

 

6 week

 

SUMMER TERM – FIRST HALF

Topic 3

A3.3 What are the potential effects of global climate change?

A3.4 Can global climate change be stopped?

5 weeks

 

SUMMER TERM – SECOND HALF

 

Unit 2 -  Investigation in Environmental Science

(Controlled assessment)

  • An investigative skills assignment
  • A practical skills assessment

 8 week

 

Year 11 Course Structure

AUTUMN TERM

Topic 4

 B – Environmental Management Issues

 

B1 The Management of Wildlife resources

B1.1 Why is there a need to manage wildlife?

B1.2 How is wildlife conserved?

B1.3 Can the wild food sources of the ocean be exploited sustainably?

14 weeks

(2-3 weeks can be used to finish off controlled assessments)

 

SPRING TERM

Topic 5

B2 The Management of Water Resources

B2.1 How s water allocated to different uses in the UK?

B2.2 Where do supplies of drinking water come from and how are they treated to make them safe?

B2.3 What happens to wast water?

11 weeks

 

SUMMER TERM

 

Exam Revision

6 weeks

 

SUMMER TERM – SECOND HALF

 

N/A Exams

7 week