2020 HKDSEGeography Paper 1Level 3 Exemplar 1

Paper 1 Level 3 exemplar 1 comments

- The candidate demonstrated adequate knowledge and understanding of the curriculum content in general.

- In Question 1, the candidate stated the merits and demerits of the ‘Urban Environmental Quality Assessment

Form’. Although he/ she failed to comment on the sampling method, he/ she showed some understanding of the

principle of selecting field study sites, such as covering all land uses in the study area. In part (c), the candidate

did not show adequate understanding of data processing. He/ she compared the field study sites and described

their differences only. Finally, he/ she described only briefly the use of instruments in the field study in part (c).

He/ she also failed to state clearly how to increase the number of field study sites.

- In Question 4, the candidate described the major characteristics of nomadic herding. He/ she referred to the

climate graph to explain systematically how the physical and human settings affect food production in the Sahel

region. However, he/ she did not explain how irrigation helped increase farm output in California. Finally, he/

she discussed only briefly some general constraints of using agricultural technology in less developed countries.

- In Question 5, the candidate explained the vegetation characteristics of a tropical rainforest according to the

climatic conditions. However, he/ she did not have a clear concept of nutrient cycling. He/ she failed to give a

sound explanation of decreasing nutrient storage in the biomass and mixed up the concepts of biomass and

biodiversity. Although the candidate was able to give a general account of the diminishing nutrient storage in

the soil, he/ she mixed up the processes of soil erosion and leaching. He/ she also wrongly interpreted the

decrease in soil nutrients with salinization. The candidate stated the time required for the trees to grow to the

size as shown in the photograph as being a constraint to the proposal but he/ she failed to further elaborate on it.

- In Question 8, the candidate described and explained population growth as a factor in increasing fossil fuel

consumption. He/ she described generally the human activities which emit greenhouse gases but did not explain

their ‘rising trend’. Finally, he/ she gave some examples of technologies which were either irrelevant or

indirectly related to the second part of the question.

2020 HKDSEGeography Paper 2Level 3 Exemplar 1

Paper 2 Level 3 exemplar 1 comments

- The candidate communicated his/ her knowledge and understanding appropriately, occasionally using

geographical terminology.

- In Question 2, the candidate named planetary winds X and Y correctly but wrongly named planetary wind Z as

easterlies. The candidate explained the formation of trade winds only with reference to pressure gradient force,

without referring also to the Coriolis force. He/ she also did not understand clearly the formation of the East

Asian monsoon. He/ she incorrectly stated that the trade winds blow from the Indian Ocean to the low pressure

centre in China. The candidate described correctly the change in wind direction from southeast to northeast when

the tropical cyclone approached Hong Kong. However, he/ she did not explain clearly why wind speed and wind

direction changed.

- In Question 6, the candidate gave only a brief account of the physical factors favouring for the formation of

sandstorms in North China. He/ she described the dry conditions and proximity to desert in North China but did

not explained how strong winds lift up the sand and dust. Finally, the candidate mentioned only the limitations

of the shelter forest programme, such as the growth of trees taking a long time, harsh growing conditions and huge

capital input. He/ she should also have discussed the effectiveness of the programme for a higher mark.