GGH2604/201/2/2019
Tutorial Letter 201/2/2019
People and the Environment
GGH2604
Semester 2
Department of Geography
This tutorial letter contains important information
about the examination.
GGH2604/201/2/2019
1. IMPORTANT EXAMINATION INFORMATION
This tutorial letter contains important information about the examination and your examination
preparation. Please bear the following in mind when you prepare for the examination:
• The duration of the examination is two hours.
• The final date for the examination will be communicated to you officially by the university.
• The total marks for the examination is 100.
o The examination consists of three sections.
o You must answer ALL questions in Section A.
o Question 1 is 20 marks in total and is made up of 10 multiple choice questions (MCQ) of 2 marks
each.
o You must answer ALL questions in Section B.
o Section B consists of six questions made up of two questions worth 5 marks, one question worth 10
marks, three questions worth 15 marks and one question worth 20 marks.
• Plan your time carefully. Make sure that you leave time at the end after you have answered all the
examination questions to read through and check your answers.
2. EXAMINATION PREPARATION
Please visit myUnisa for more information on how to prepare for the examination. Make sure that you
also refer to Tutorial Letter 101 and the my Studies @ Unisa brochure for other important information about
the examination.
Important: This examination paper differs significantly from past papers. Although studying past papers
will assist you to acquire the necessary skills to answer the questions in this examination, I advise you
not to rely solely on past papers when you prepare for the examination. In order to ensure that you are
properly prepared for the examination, it is in your own best interests to visit the discussion forums regularly
and to read and consult the resources placed on myUnisa.
3. FOCUS AREAS FOR EXAMINATION PREPARATION
To prepare for the examination, you need to focus on the following areas of your module. Note that the
MCQ’s come from all the learning units given below. It is also important to understand that each of the
learning units need to be understood within the broader context of the study material.
Learning Study Breakdown
Unit
1 Geography and the Anthropocene – All parts of the learning unit.
2 Population Growth and Resource Use – All parts of the learning unit.
3 Air pollution and Climate Change – All parts of the learning unit.
4 Soil Degradation – All parts of the learning unit, especially section 4.6 and 4.7.
5 Biodiversity Loss – All parts of the learning unit.
6 Urbanisation and the Environment – All parts of the learning unit, especially Case
Study 6.
7 Governing the Environment – All parts of the learning unit, especially section 7.6
8 Greening the Brain – All parts of the learning unit, especially section 8.8 and Case
Study 8.2.
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GGH2604/201/2/2019
4. EXAMINATION PRACTICE EXERCISES
The following exercises are designed to help you prepare for the examination. Please note that these
questions are not the questions that you will encounter in the examination; instead, they are examples of
the types of questions asked. Do not rely solely on the following exercises in your examination
preparation. This exercise also does not include the MCQ section of the exam. These questions are
provided to help get a feel for what the layout of the exam will be. To make sure that you are properly
prepared for the examination, you must make sure that you revise all the focus areas listed above.
Section A – Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ’s)
Please remember that you need to fill in the answers to the MCQ’s on the exam question
paper. There will not be a separate MCQ answer sheet. For example:
1A
2B
3C
4D
Section B
Question 2
Describe the effectiveness of green parks in mitigating the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect with
specific reference to Addis Ababa [5]
Question 3
Evaluate the statement “the example of rare earth metals reminds us that price alone is anunreliable
indicator of absolute resource scarcity” (Whitehead 2014:27). [10]
Question 4
Explain how population growth and resource consumption contribute to resource scarcity, with
specific reference to water resources in the Nile Basin. [15]
Question 5
Explain the causes and consequences of soil degradation in Africa. [20]
Question 6
Discuss the consequences of climate change in Africa on human life and the environment. [15]
Question 7
7.1 Using real world examples to illustrate your answer, critically discuss how mining has affected the [10]
environment in Africa negatively
7.2 Suggest and explain remedial actions that may mitigate the negative effects of mining on the [5]
environment.
If you have any questions about your examination preparation, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mr Ruan Schoeman Mr. Phindulo Ramasunga
eschoerc@unisa.ac.za ramasp@unisa.ac.za
+27 (0)11 471 2364 +27 (0)11 471 2160
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GGH2604/201/2/2019
© Unisa
2019
