British (UK)

The National Curriculum of England (UK) is a very structured curriculum that is designed to meet the needs of all students, stretching brighter children and supporting those who need it through differentiated teaching and learning activities. The curriculum extends and excites all students, whatever their interests or ability. Through it, teachers are able to identify, celebrate and nurture the talents and intelligences of students.

British education is renowned for concerning itself with the development of the whole personality.

In the British education system, students are taught to learn by questioning, problem-solving and creative thinking rather than by the mere retention of facts, hence giving them analytical and creative thinking skills that they will need in the working world. A variety of teaching and assessment methods designed to develop independent thought as well as a mastery of the subject matter is used.

The National Curriculum of England has a clearly defined series of academic and other objectives at every level. mydrasa focuses on Key stage 3 (Year 7-9), Key stage 4 IGCSE/GCSE (Year 10-11) and Key stage 5 A-Level (Year 12-13).

mydrasa added subjects related to Key stage 4 to Year 9, and added subjects related to Key stage 5 to Year 11 for student preparation.

IGCSE stands for the "International General Certificate of Secondary Education". It is a program leading to externally set, marked and certificated examinations from the University of Cambridge. Any student who takes an IGCSE subject will be gaining a qualification that is recognized globally.

The exam boards covered under the International GCSE are Cambridge, Edexcel, and Oxford AQA.

SUbjects

Subjects

Cambridge - Environmental Management - 8291

  • Overview
  • Chapters

Through following this syllabus, candidates should:

1. develop a knowledge of the Earth’s natural systems and the effects of human activity on these systems

2. be challenged to think about important environmental problems which face the world today

3. understand that solutions to environmental issues are not easy to find

4. recognise that the environment is an important social and political issue

5. understand that while environmental issues can be debated by government, non-government and scientific organisations, there is an important role for individuals in thinking about these issues and in considering solutions.


The syllabus will address a number of basic issues which are included as learning objectives:

• people are affected by, and respond to natural phenomena in many different ways

• rapid human growth is the fundamental environmental issue

• the sustainable use of resources is fundamental to all solutions

• human beings affect the environment of the whole planet, thus the importance of a global perspective

• urban environmental issues need to be given an important focus.

  • 1: Introduction to environmental management
    1.1: Continents and oceans
    1.1.1: identify and name the world’s continents and major oceans
    1.2: Country classification by income level
    1.2.1: Describe the income groups the World Bank uses to classify countries
    1.3: Sustainability
    1.3.1: Define the term sustainability
    1.3.2: Understand the need for the sustainable management of resources
    1.4: The water cycle
    1.4.1: Describe the water cycle
    1.4.2: Interpret and draw diagrams representing the water cycle
    1.5: The structure and composition of the atmosphere
    1.5.1: State the major components of the Earth’s atmosphere
    1.5.2: Describe the structure of the Earth’s atmosphere
    1.5.3: State that the ozone layer is located within the stratosphere
    1.5.4: Describe the ozone layer and outline its role in absorbing ultraviolet radiation
    1.5.5: The natural greenhouse effect that maintains the Earth’s ambient temperature
    1.6: Ecosystems
    1.6.1: Define the terms biome, ecosystem, population, community, habitat and niche
    1.6.2: State the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem
    1.6.3: How biotic factors affect the number & the diversity of organisms
    1.6.4: Outline examples of biotic interactions
    1.6.5: Define photosynthesis
    1.6.6: State the word and chemical equations for photosynthesis
    1.6.7: State that chlorophyll captures light energy for photosynthesis
    1.6.8: Availability of water, concentration of carbon dioxide & availability of light
    1.6.9: How photosynthesis on land and in the oceans is a vital part of the carbon cycle
    1.6.10: Producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer and decomposer
    1.6.11: Define trophic levels as feeding levels within food chains
    1.6.12: Identify organisms at different feeding levels in a food chain or food web
    1.6.13: State that energy is transferred between organisms in a food chain
    1.6.14: Explain how energy is lost in food chains
    1.6.15: Construct simple food chains and food webs
    1.6.16: Define aerobic respiration
    1.6.17: State the word and chemical equation for aerobic respiration
    1.6.18: Describe the carbon cycle
    1.6.19: Interpret and draw diagrams representing the carbon cycle
  • 2: Environmental research and data collection
    2.1: The scientific method
    2.1.1: interplay between observations & formation, testing & evaluation of hypotheses
    2.1.2: Formulate hypotheses based on observations or experimental data
    2.1.3: Design investigations in which variables are controlled
    2.1.4: Explain the terms dependent and independent variable
    2.1.5: Interpret data to determine whether they support or refute the hypothesis
    2.1.6: How limitations in the measurement of data lead to uncertainty in the results
    2.1.7: A hypothesis can become a theory
    2.2: Environmental research in the context of climate change
    2.2.1: Define the terms reliable and bias and explain their significance
    2.2.2: Outline how historical data have developed
    2.2.3: Outline how bias has led to the misuse of scientific data
    2.2.4: How unreliable data has led to false reporting of scientific conclusions
    2.3: Collection of environmental data
    2.3.1: State that sampling strategies are used to collect representative data
    2.3.2: Ensure samples are well distributed with a low risk of bias
    2.3.3: systematic sampling strategies for different studies
    2.3.4: Evaluate the choice of random and systematic sampling strategies
    2.4: Data collection techniques and data analysis
    2.4.1: Describe techniques used to collect sample data
    2.4.2: Describe benefits and limitations of each sampling technique listed
    2.4.3: Select and use a suitable sampling technique to collect environmental data
    2.4.4: Use the collected data
    2.5: The use of technology in data collection and analysis
    2.5.1: Methods of data collection that include the use of technology
    2.5.2: Describe what is meant by the term ‘big data’
    2.5.3: Outline the benefits and limitations of the analysis of big data
  • 3: Managing human population
    3.1: Human population dynamics and structure
    3.1.1: Calculate population density from given data
    3.1.2: Describe and explain factors influencing population density and distribution
    3.1.3: Describe populations in terms of their size and the composition of age groups
    3.1.4: Changes in birth & death rates and migration rates may affect population size
    3.1.5: Define and calculate dependency ratio
    3.1.6: Differences between the population structures of HICs and LICs
    3.2: Impacts of human population change
    3.2.1: Describe the impacts of ageing populations on countries
    3.3: Managing human population change
    3.3.1: Describe and evaluate strategies for managing a changing population
  • 4: Managing ecosystems and biodiversity
    4.1: Ecosystems
    4.1.1: World’s major terrestrial biomes in terms of their soil type & vegetation
    4.1.2: The characteristics of primary and secondary succession from pioneer species
    4.1.3: Define the terms gross primary productivity and net primary productivity
    4.1.4: Ecosystem productivity as the rate of production of biomass for an ecosystem
    4.1.5: Discuss the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels
    4.1.6: Interpret and draw ecological pyramids based on numbers, biomass and energy
    4.1.7: Explain the shapes of ecological pyramids
    4.2: Managing the conservation of biodiversity
    4.2.1: Define the terms native species and invasive species
    4.2.2: Explain the impacts of invasive species on biodiversity
    4.2.3: Describe and explain the benefits of conserving biodiversity
    4.2.4: Evaluate legislation and protocols as methods of conserving biodiversity
    4.2.5: Explain the role of the (EDGE) programme in the conservation of biodiversity
    4.2.6: Evaluate captive breeding and release as a method of conserving biodiversity
    4.2.7: Evaluate habitat conservation and creation as methods of conserving biodiversity
    4.3: Impacts of human activity on ecosystems
    4.3.1: Describe and explain the impacts of human activity on tropical rainforests
    4.3.2: Strategies for managing the impacts of human activity on tropical rainforests
    4.3.3: Describe and explain the impacts of human activity on Antarctica
    4.3.4: Evaluate strategies for managing the impacts of human activity on Antarctica
  • 5: Managing resources
    5.1: Food security
    5.1.1: Define food security
    5.1.2: Describe and explain causes of food insecurity and threats to food security
    5.1.3: Outline the impacts of food insecurity
    5.1.4: Describe and evaluate strategies for managing food security
    5.2: Energy resources
    5.2.1: Classify energy resources as renewable or non-renewable
    5.2.2: Define energy security
    5.2.3: Describe and explain the causes of energy insecurity
    5.2.4: Outline the impacts of energy insecurity
    5.2.5: Describe and evaluate strategies for managing energy security
    5.3: Waste management
    5.3.1: Describe methods of waste disposal and treatment
    5.3.2: Explain the impacts of waste disposal methods
    5.3.3: Describe and evaluate strategies to reduce the impacts of waste disposal
  • 6: Managing water supplies
    6.1: Global water distribution
    6.1.1: Describe the distribution of the Earth’s water
    6.1.2: Define the term water security
    6.1.3: Explain the causes of water insecurity
    6.1.4: Explain the impacts of water insecurity
    6.1.5: Describe and evaluate strategies for managing water security
  • 7: Managing the atmosphere
    7.1: Acid deposition
    7.1.1: Define acid deposition
    7.1.2: Describe the two types of acid deposition
    7.1.3: Outline the formation of acid deposition
    7.1.4: Outline the impacts of acid deposition
    7.2: Photochemical smog
    7.2.1: Define photochemical smog
    7.2.2: Describe the impacts of photochemical smog
    7.3: Managing air pollution
    7.3.1: Describe strategies for managing air pollution
    7.4: Ozone depletion
    7.4.1: Outline how ozone depletion occurs
    7.4.2: State that ozone concentration is measured using the Dobson Unit
    7.4.3: Define the term ozone hole
    7.4.4: Explain why ozone depletion has been greatest over Antarctica
    7.4.5: Impacts of ozone depletion due to the increased amounts of ultraviolet radiation
    7.4.6: International agreements used to reduce the use of ozone depleting substances
    7.4.7: The use of some alternatives to ozone depleting substances
    7.4.8: The importance of experimental evidence to support a hypothesis
  • 8: Managing climate change
    8.1: Climate change
    8.1.1: Define greenhouse gases
    8.1.2: State the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities
    8.1.3: The enhanced greenhouse effect leading to global warming
    8.1.4: Outline the difficulties of monitoring and predicting climate change
    8.2: The impacts of climate change
    8.2.1: State the impacts of climate change on the environment
    8.2.2: Describe the impacts of climate change on human populations
    8.3: Managing climate change
    8.3.1: Describe strategies for managing climate change
    8.3.2: Outline geo-engineering strategies to counteract climate change
    8.3.3: Evaluate strategies for managing climate change

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