Page 1
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
The sample material presented has been prepared to support teacher professional development. It offers a broad
indication of types and formats of assessment items that might be used to assess the learning outcomes in the Junior
Cycle Geography Specification at common level, but it is not a complete set of the types and formats that may be used.
The items included should be read as examples of individual pieces of assessment material; they do not constitute full
or partial examination papers. They are not full or partial questions from an examination paper, neither do they attempt
to replicate how the examination paper might be laid out, for example, as an integrated booklet that includes the
questions and the space for the student’s responses.
The Junior Cycle Geography Specification and Assessment Guidelines can be found on www.curriculumonline.ie.
Introduction
Page 2
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Sample 1
1. WhatdoestheDemographicTransitionModelasseenaboveshow?Ticktheboxbelow
A. Theglobalpopulation
B. Therelationshipbetweendevelopmentandpopulation
C. Apopulationpyramid
D. Thedeathratesinagivenyear
Lorem
The Demographic Transition Model
High Fluctuating
STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4 STAGE 5
Early Expansion Late Expansion Low Expansion Decline
Birt
h Ra
tes a
nd
Dea
th R
ates
per y
ear p
er 1
00
in a
Pop
ulat
uon
HIGH
LOW
TIME
BIRTH RATE
DEATH RATE
POPULATION
Natural increase
Natural decrease
Page 3
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
2. Outlinehowthebirthratechangesfromstage 3 and stage 4 oftheDemographicTransitionModel.
3. AccordingtotheDemographicTransitionModel,birthratesanddeathratesaredecreasinginstage 3. Outline
THREEreasonsforthispossibledecrease.
1.
2.
3.
4. In stage 2ofthemodelweseeanaturalincreasewhileinstage 5weseeanaturaldecrease.Whatismeantby
theseterms?
Natural increase:
Natural decrease:
Page 4
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
5. ExplainTWO waysagovernmentusestheinformationintheDemographicTransitionModeltosupportits
citizens.
1.
2.
Page 5
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
BelowisaphotographofthecityofBarcelonainSpainandagraphillustratingthepopulationgrowthsince
1.5M
1950.Thepopulationisestimatedtobe5.5millionin2020.
Barcelona Population 2020 5,585,556
3M
4.5M
6M
7.5M
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
YEAR
POPU
LATION
2020
Page 6
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
6. Describe the environmental challenges a high population density poses to a city like Barcelona.
Page 7
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
7a. Choose ONEofthefollowingwordstodescribethepopulationdensityinyourlocalareaandgivereasonsfor
yourchoicecitingevidenceinyourlocalareatosupportthedescription.
SPARSLEY POPULATED or DENSLEY POPULATED
Descriptionoflocalarea:
Reasonsforyouranswer:
Page 8
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-urli/urbanandrurallifeinireland2019/
7b. DescribeTWO economic OR socialopportunitiesposedbyyourlocalpopulationdensity.
YoumayusetheinfographicfromtheCentralStatisticsOfficeshownabovetoinformyouranswer.
1.
2.
Page 9
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
7c. Describeusingexamplestherelationshipbetweenlanduseandpopulationdensityinyourlocalarea.
Page 10
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
8. Accordingtothesocialjustice.ieIreland'sgrowingandageingpopulationisasuccessstory.
WehaveoneoftheyoungestpopulationsinEurope,withacomparativelyhighbirthrate.Advancesin
healthcareprovisionandhealthierfood,anincreasedawarenessofwellbeing,andimprovedstandardsofliving
moregenerallyhaveledtolowinfantmortalityratesandincreasedlifeexpectancy.(www.socialjustice.ie)
Source:SocialJusticeIreland
8a. Theinfographicaboveispredictingthepercentageofthepopulationagedover65by2051.
Whatpercentageofthepopulationispredictedtobeover65in2051?
Page 11
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
b. TheinformationpresentedaboveoutlineshowIrelandwillexperienceanincreaseintheagingpopulation.
ExplainTWOconsiderationsnecessaryinpreparingforthistrend.
Consideration1:
Consideration2:
Page 12
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Sample 2
BelowisaphotographtakenfromthetopofCroaghPatrick,amountaininWestportCo.Mayoandamapofthearea
seen in the photograph.
TakenfromCroaghPatrick
Source:Scoilnetmaps
Page 13
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
1. Thereisevidenceoferosionanddepositioninthephotographabove.
Circle THREEexamplesofevidencefromthephotographthatsupportthestatement above.
Waterfall Beach Scree
Meander Sandbar
2. Identifythefollowingstatementsastrueorfalse
True False
a. Ariversourceisgenerallyfoundinhighmountainousareas
b. Anarrow,fastflowingriverwouldgenerallymeanitisinayouthfulstage
c. Itisuncommontofindasettlementalongariver
d. Soilsfoundclosetoriversarerichandfertile
e. Freezethawactionisatypeofweathering
f. Abrasionisatypeofdeposition
g. Beachesareexamplesofdeposition
h. 20,000yearsago,icecoveredmostofthecontinentofEurope
Page 14
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
3. ThephotographandmapaboveshowevidenceofGlacial,Weathering,MarineandFluvialprocesses.
Using THREEofthesenamed processes,describehowthelandscapehaschangedovertime.
Process1:
Process2:
Process3:
Page 15
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
4. Identify TWOfeaturesorlandformsinthephotographormapandexplainhowtheprocessesformedthe
feature.Supportyouranswerusingdiagrams.
Feature 1:
Page 16
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Feature 2:
Page 17
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
5a. Youmustsetupaneconomicactivityintheareashowninthephotographandmap.Whateconomicactivity
i.e.business,industryetc.wouldyousetup?Useevidencefromthephotographormaptoexplainthefactors
thatwouldmakethistypeofeconomicactivitypossible.
Typeofeconomicactivity:
Explanation:
Page 18
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
5b. DescribeONEpossible positiveandONEpossible negativeimpactoftheeconomicactivity you have listed above onthearea.
Positive impact:
Negative impact:
Page 19
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Sample 3
Theworldmapbelowshowscountriescategorisedbyincomegroup.
1. UseanAtlasorGlobetolisttwocountriesasshowninthemapaboveineachofthecategoriesofincome
outlined.
Lowincome:
Lowermiddleincome:
Upper middle income:
High income:
INCOME GROUP
LOW INCOME UPPER MIDDLE INCOME NALOW MIDDLE INCOME HIGH INCOME
Page 20
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
2. Describethepatternofdistributionofwealthglobally.RefertotheAtlasorglobetosupportyouranswer.You
maycompleteasketchorwrittenresponse.
Page 21
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
3. Compare TWO characteristicsofacountrycategorisedaslowincome/developingandacountrycategorisedas
highincome/developed.
1.
2.
Page 22
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
4a. Whateconomicactivitieswouldyouexpecttofindinadeveloping/lowincomecountry?
Circle TWO fromthelistprovided.
Farming Industrialactivity MedicalIndustry Mining
4b. Howwouldtheseeconomicactivitiesdiffertothatinadeveloped/highincomecountry? Givereasonsfor
youranswer.
5a. Irelandiscategorisedasadeveloped/highincomecountry.Describeyouraccessto:
Education:
Healthcare:
Page 23
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
5b. Howdoesthisdiffertoanindividualofsimilarageinadeveloping/lowincomecountry?
Education:
Healthcare:
6. Describepossiblewaysinwhichhealthcarecouldbeimprovedindeveloping/lowincomecountries?Useyour
knowledgeofdevelopmentassistancetohelpyoutoanswer.
Page 24
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Sample 4
1. Fillintheblanksintheparagraphbelow.Usethewordsprovidedinthebox.
TheEarthismadeupofthreelayersconsistingoftheCrust, and .The Earth’s
crustismadeupofmanyplatesthatfittogetherlikeajigsaw.Theseplatesarecalled . The place
wheretheseplatesmeetiscalledaplateboundary.PlatesthataremovingapartarecalledDivergentorConstructive
plateboundaries,alandformassociatedwiththisboundaryis .Platesthatarecollidingareknown
asConvergentorDestructiveplateboundaries,whereoneplateispushedunderanother occurs.
plateboundariesareplatesthatareslidingpasteachother,thismaycauseabuildupofpressure
resultingin .
AnEarthquake Core AVolcano
AFoldMountain Mantle Subduction
Passive Tectonicplates Magma
Page 25
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
2a. Usingyourpenorpencilmarkin‘ThePacificRingofFire’onthemapabove.
2b. Describethepatternoftectonicactivityalongthe‘ThePacificRingofFire’
EURASIANPLATE
INDO-AUSTRALIANPLATE
PACIFICPLATE
ANTARTICPLATE
NORTH AMERICANPLATE
NAZCAPLATE
AFRICAN PLATE
SOUTH AMERICANPLATE
EURASIANPLATE
ARABIAN PLATE
SCOTIAPLATE
COCOSPLATE
CARIBBEANPLATE
PHILIPPINEPLATE
VOLCANO
EARTHQUAKE
PLATE MOVEMENT
PLATE BOUNDRY
Page 26
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
3a. ExplaintheformationofTWOdistinctlandformsassociatedwithtectonicactivity,usediagramstoaidyour
explanation.
Landform1:
Page 27
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Landform2:
Page 28
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
3b. DrawasketchmapbasedonthemapprovidedofthelocationofONE ofthelandformsyouhaveexplained
Page 29
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
4a. Themapaboveshowsthedistributionofvolcanoes.Whatconclusionscanyoudrawaboutthedirectionplates
aremovingatthelocationofavolcano?Youmaysupportyouranswerwithdiagrams.
5. Volcanicactivityinanareacanbringdestructionandriskbutalsoprovidesmanysocial, environmental, and
economicbenefitstotheareaandcountry.ChooseONEfromthelistbelowandexplainthebenefitsof
volcanicactivity.SOCIAL/ENVIRONMENTAL/ECONOMIC
Page 30
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
6. In2010twoEarthquakesoccurredofsimilarmagnitudeandsimilardepthandclosetobuiltupareas.One
oftheseearthquakesoccurredinChristchurch,NewZealand,theotherinPort-au-PrinceHaiti.Haiti
experienceddevastatingresultscomparedtoNewZealandwhichexperiencedmilddamage.Haitiislocated
onanislandintheCaribbean.Itisclassifiedasalow-incomecountry.Itisdenselypopulatedwithmanyofits
populationlivinginextremepoverty.NewZealandisanislandlocatedinthePacificOcean.Itisclassifiedasa
high-incomecountry.StandardoflivingisveryhighinNewZealand.
ChristchurchNewZealand,AlamyStockPhoto,NorbertEisele-Hein
PortauPrinceHaiti,AlamyStockPhoto,NICOLASJosé/hemis.fr
Page 31
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
ExplainTHREE factorsthatmayhavecausedtheeffectstobefeltworseinHaiti.
Factor Explanation
Page 32
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Sample 5
1. Matchthecorrectrocktypewiththeimagebelow.Source:www.gsi.ie
Shale Marble Granite
2. Fillinthefollowingtable
Category Formation Characteristics Humanuses/Economicuses?
Igneous MagmafromtheEarth’scorecooledtoformrock.
Sedimentary Manysedimentscompactedtogethertoformrock.
Metamorphic Rocksthathavechangedduetoextremeheatand/orpressure
Page 33
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
3. RockexploitationinIrelandprovidesmanyadvantagesanddisadvantages.ExplainONEadvantageandONEdisadvantage.
Advantage
Disadvantage
4a. List TWO natural resources OTHERTHANROCKSfoundinyourlocalarea.
1.
2.
Page 34
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
4b. ExplainTWOwaysinwhichthenaturalresourcesareusedinyourlocality.
1.
2.
Page 35
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
5. DescribeTWOenvironmentalimpactsofusingrenewableenergysources.
1.
2.
Page 36
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
6. DescribeTHREEthingsyoucandotoreduceenergyconsumption.
1.
2.
3.
Page 37
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Sample 6
BelowaretwosnapshotstakenofthesameareaofCo.GalwayfromGooglemaps.
Source:GoogleEarth
Source:GoogleMaps
Page 38
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
1a. UsingthesnapshotofthetwoGooglemapimagesabovewouldyouclassifythissettlement
asA) Rural or B)Urban
1b. UseTHREE piecesofevidencetoexplainyouranswer.
1.
2.
3.
Page 39
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
2. Discuss TWOfactorsthatwouldhaveinfluencedtheoriginofthissettlement
1.
2.
3a. IdentifyTHREEwayspeopleareinteractingwiththephysicallandscapeinthemapsabove.
1.
2.
3.
Page 40
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
3b. OutlinetheenvironmentalconsiderationsofONE oftheinteractionsyouhaveidentifiedabove.
4. Thereisevidenceofprimary,secondary, and tertiaryeconomicactivityinthesettlementabove.
a. Identifyevidencefromthetwogooglemapsnapshotstosupportthestatementabove.
Page 41
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
b. OutlinetheenvironmentalconsiderationsofONEoftheeconomic activitiesyouhaveidentifiedabove.
5. List THREEfactors thatinfluencethedevelopmentofsecondaryeconomicactivities.
1.
2.
3.
Page 42
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Startingin1970,Cancún,Mexico,transformedfromanimpoverishedtownofabout100peopleintoavacation
destinationwithapermanentpopulationof740,000and2millionvisitorsperyear.Cancúnaccountsforaquarterof
Mexico'stourismrevenue.
6a. Housing,transport,andservicesweredevelopedinCancún.ChooseONEexamplefromthelistandexplain
indetailbased on the information above whattypeofdevelopmentoccurred.
Housing/Transport/Services
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Cancun,1985 Cancun,2019
Page 43
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
6b. Describe TWOpossiblesocialimplicationsoftheincreaseofinternationalvisitorsperyeartothisarea.
1.
2.
6c. WhatistherelationshipbetweenthegrowthoftourismandtheenvironmentinCancún?Referto
onepositiveOR onenegativerelationshipinyouranswer.
Page 44
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Sample 7
1. Circle the PULLFACTORSinthelistbelow:
War Employment Goodhealthcare Famine Accesstoschools
2.
Definetheterm ‘Refugee’.
ThisSyrianrefugeefamilyfledtheirhomeinAleppoin2012.Whenbombingstrucktheirtown,‘within24hoursthecitywasdestroyed,’Ahmadrecalls.TheyfledtoLebanon,wheretheysharedasmallflatwithAhmad’sthreesiblingsandtheirchildren.Ahmadwasabletofindsomeworkfromtimetotime,butknewhisfuturewasbleak,especiallyashis6-yearoldsonAbdullahhaddevelopedhearingproblems.ThefamilywaseventuallyacceptedtoresettleinGermanyundertheGovernment’shumanitarianAssistanceprogramme.TheytravelledtoGermanyinSeptember2013andwereamongthefirstgroupofSyrianstoarriveinthecountryunderthis programme.
TheUNRefugeeAgency(https://www.unhcr.org/556725e69.html
Page 45
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
3. Descirbe TWO possible REASONSwhythefamilywouldhaveoriginallymigratedtoLebanon.Refer tothesnapshotofthe map below to inform your answer.
Source:GoogleMaps
Page 46
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
4a. WhatistheimpactoffamilieslikethefamilyaboverelocatingtohostcountriessuchasGermany?
b. ListTWOpositiveimpactsoffamilieslikethefamilyabovelocatingtoyourlocalarea.
1.
2.
Page 47
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
5. Thedatapresentedbelowrepresentschildmigrantshostedina country. Usethedatainthetabletodrawabar
graph.(Inthisdataset‘childmigrants’arepersonsaged19andunder)
Year 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Percentage of Migrants 21% 20% `19% 15% 14% 14%
Page 48
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
6. Outline ONEpatternthatthetabledemonstrates.
Page 49
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
Sample 8
BelowisaclimographshowingthegeneralclimateinMalta.Thegraphshowsmonthlyaveragetemperatureand
monthlyaverageprecipitation.
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC0
15
30
45
60
75
90
105
0.0
0.6
1.2
1.8
2.4
3.0
3.5
4.1
mm inch
32
41
50
59
68
77
86
95
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
˚F ˚C
Temperature Precipitation
Page 50
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
1. Analysethegraphaboveandanswerthefollowingquestions(Source:https://en.climate-data.org/).
a. Basedonthedataprovided,howwouldyoucharacterisetheclimateinMalta?
b. InwhichmonthwouldyouchoosetoholidayinMalta? Provideevidencefromthegraph above.
c. Inwhatmonthistherepeakprecipitationlevels?
d. Whatisapossiblerelationshipbetween the climateinMaltaandimmigration?
Page 51
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
2. Choose ONEofthefollowinganddescribehowtheyaffectclimateinIreland?
a. Latitude b. Airmasses
3a. List TWOwaysIreland’seconomicactivityisrelatedtoitsclimate.
1.
2.
Page 52
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
3b. UsingONE exampleofeconomicactivityfromyouranswerabove,outlinethe
environmentalconsiderationsassociatedwiththateconomicactivity.
4a. ThefollowingtablehasbeensourcedfromdatasharedbyNASA
4b. ChooseTWO ofthefollowingandoutlinepossiblecausesforthechangeinrecordovertime.
CarbonDioxide/GlobalTemperature/ArcticIce/IceSheets/SeaLevel
1.
CarbonDioxide GlobalTemperature ArcticIce IceSheets SeaLevel
CarbonDioxidelevelsin the air are at their
highest in 650,000 years
Nineteenofthe20warmestyearsonrecordhaveoccurredsince
2001
In2012,Arcticsummerseaiceshranktothelowestextentonrecord
SatellitedatashowthatEarth’s polar ice sheets
are losing mass
Globalaveragesealevelhasrisennearly7”(178mm) overthepast100
years
Page 53
Junior Cycle GeographyAssessment Items
2.
4b. Whataretheconsequencesofclimatechangeinyourlocalarea?
4c. Inwhatwayscoulditbepossibleforpeopletoincreaseoraddtoclimatechange?