IB Group 3 Subjects - Geography SL & HL

Geography SL & HL

IB Geography involves the investigation of human relationships with the environment. The common core unit comprises: population, resources and development.

Topics include: population distribution, fertility, mortality, the geography of disease, population structure and change, migration, the relationship between population and resources, population policies, resource production and consumption, the geography of food, food production and consumption, food trade, food aid, measuring development, issues in 'developed' and 'developing' countries, sustainable development.

Both Standard level and Higher level students follow the core unit plus a number of options. Standard level students choose any two from the following units.

Higher level students must choose four options with at least one from section A and one from section B.

Section A

• Arid Environments and their Management
• Drainage Basins and their Management
• Coasts and their Management
• Lithospheric Processes and Hazards
• Ecosystems
• Climatic Hazards

Section B

• Urbanisation
• Geographical Regions
• Industrial Change
• Globalization

Section C

• Topographic Mapping

Internal assessment is in the form of a 1500 word research assignment or fieldwork project for standard level students or a 2500 word fieldwork project for higher level students.

External assessment is made up of two exam papers. Paper 1 covers topics from the core unit and is 1 hour 30 minutes long. Paper two examines the option units. Standard level students sit a paper 1 hour 30 minutes in length in which they should answer two questions. Higher level students must answer four questions in 2 hours 30 minutes.