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Unit notes and practice questions

Grade 12 Geography unit 6: Solutions to environmental and sustainability problems

Everything here is for unit 6 of the Grade 12 Geography textbook: what the chapter covers, the short notes, practice questions with their answers, and the lesson video where one exists.

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Cards
10
Practice questions on unit 6
153–186
The textbook pages for unit 6

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The Temari lesson on unit 6

A short video lesson on this chapter, made by Temari. It loads only when you press play.

Five challenges to sustainable development · 4 min · 2 past exam questions worked through

Parts of the lesson

Tap a part to play the lesson from there.

What unit 6 covers

  1. 1.Environmental Problems
  2. 2.Sustainability Challenge
  3. 3.Environmental Education
  4. 4.Environmental Movements
  5. 5.Environmentally Friendly Indigenous Practices

Short notes for unit 6

The cards filed under this chapter on the Grade 12 Geography page. Open one at a time.

CategoryMechanism of OriginMajor Textbook Examples
Primary PollutantsEmitted directly from specific identifiable sourcesSO2\text{SO}_2, NO2\text{NO}_2, CO\text{CO}, VOCs, primary particulates
Secondary PollutantsFormed in the lower atmosphere via chemical reactions driven by sunlightGround level ozone (O3\text{O}_3), photochemical smog

When you use it

Use when distinguishing atmospheric pollutants by their origin and formation mechanisms.

Watch out

Do not classify ground level ozone as a primary emission. It is a secondary pollutant synthesized in the troposphere from NOx and VOCs under solar radiation.

Drafted from Grade 12 Geography, pages 153-186, then checked twice before it went up

Practice questions on unit 6

10 multiple-choice questions written against this chapter, each with its answer and the reason. Try one before you open the answer.

Question 1

In the environmental impact formula I = f(P, A, T), what does the letter A represent?

  1. A.Atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases
  2. B.Increasing affluence and consumption of goods and services
  3. C.Agricultural land area per capita
  4. D.Anthropogenic aerosols released by industries
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Increasing affluence and consumption of goods and services

Why

In the formula I = f(P, A, T), P represents world population growth, A represents increasing affluence or consumption of goods and services, and T represents environmentally unsound technology.

Question 2

What type of environmental knowledge is acquired implicitly by living together, socializing, and observing the actions of others without formal instruction?

  1. A.Formal education
  2. B.Tacit knowledge
  3. C.Capacity building
  4. D.Standardized curriculum
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Tacit knowledge

Why

Tacit knowledge refers to information and habits that people pick up implicitly by living together and observing the behavior of others around them without formal classroom teaching.

Question 3

Which primary air pollutant is a colorless, odorless, and highly toxic gas produced by the incomplete burning of fuels such as charcoal or wood?

  1. A.Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
  2. B.Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
  3. C.Carbon monoxide (CO)
  4. D.Tropospheric ozone (O3)
Show the answer and why

Answer: C Carbon monoxide (CO)

Why

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, and very poisonous gas formed when charcoal, wood, natural gas, or coal burns incompletely.

Question 4

In which year was LEM, the Environment and Development Society of Ethiopia, established by 29 Ethiopian professionals?

  1. A.1981
  2. B.1992
  3. C.2000
  4. D.2015
Show the answer and why

Answer: B 1992

Why

LEM Ethiopia (the Environment and Development Society of Ethiopia) was founded in 1992 by 29 Ethiopian professionals to promote sustainable development.

Question 5

A factory near Hawassa discharges untreated industrial wastewater directly into a stream through a single drainage pipe. What type of pollution is this?

  1. A.Point source pollution
  2. B.Nonpoint source pollution
  3. C.Secondary pollution
  4. D.Atmospheric deposition
Show the answer and why

Answer: A Point source pollution

Why

When contamination originates from a single, identifiable source (such as a specific pipe or discharge outlet), it is called point source pollution. When it comes from diffuse areas, it is nonpoint source pollution.

Question 6

Which environmental group argues that ecological destruction is an inherent outcome of industrial capitalism and "growth mania", demanding radical political transformation?

  1. A.Light Greens
  2. B.Dark Greens
  3. C.Bright Greens
  4. D.Free market environmentalists
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Dark Greens

Why

Dark greens believe that environmental crises are rooted in industrial capitalism and continuous economic growth ("growth mania"), and they seek radical political and economic change.

Question 7

According to the textbook, approximately how much fertile soil is lost globally each year due to unsustainable farming practices?

  1. A.2.01 billion tons
  2. B.11.2 billion tons
  3. C.24 billion tons
  4. D.85 billion tons
Show the answer and why

Answer: C 24 billion tons

Why

Scientists have warned that about 24 billion tons of fertile topsoil are lost every year across the globe, mainly due to unsustainable agricultural practices.

Question 8

According to the threshold stated in the textbook, a country is considered water-scarce when its annual renewable freshwater supply drops below:

  1. A.500 cubic meters per person
  2. B.1,000 cubic meters per person
  3. C.2,000 cubic meters per person
  4. D.3,500 cubic meters per person
Show the answer and why

Answer: B 1,000 cubic meters per person

Why

A country is classified as water-scarce when its annual supply of renewable freshwater is less than 1,000 m3 per capita.

Question 9

Which historical events in the 1920s and 1930s led directly to the emergence of "conservation education" as a specialized form of environmental education?

  1. A.The 1918 Great Influenza Pandemic
  2. B.The Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit
  3. C.The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl
  4. D.The signing of the Montreal Protocol
Show the answer and why

Answer: C The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl

Why

The textbook states that conservation education emerged as a new kind of environmental education as a result of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in the 1920s and 1930s.

Question 10

Under the Montreal Protocol, ozone-depleting substances were replaced by fluorinated gases (F-gases). What major environmental problem do these replacement gases create?

  1. A.They directly destroy stratospheric ozone above tropical regions.
  2. B.They function as powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
  3. C.They react with moisture to form severe photochemical classic smog.
  4. D.They cause rapid oxygen depletion in coastal dead zones.
Show the answer and why

Answer: B They function as powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

Why

Although F-gases (such as HFCs, PFCs, and SF6) do not deplete the ozone layer, they are potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and are increasing in the atmosphere.

The app holds 12 questions on this unit, marked as you go. These are the first 10.

The textbook pages for unit 6

Unit 6 runs from page 153 to page 186 of the Ministry of Education edition.

Ministry of Education edition, English, 266 pages

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All Grade 12 Geography short notes

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