The question
Name: ______________________ Date: ____________ Land use in a river valley: determinism, possibilism and sustainability (7 points)
Text
Source 1: Green River Valley plan, Valley Council of Country A, 2024 (invented for practice)
The Green River valley has steep sides and a narrow, flat floor that floods most springs. For centuries, families farmed the valley floor in summer and grazed animals on the slopes. Since 1990, a new highway has brought factories and housing to the valley floor, and forest on the lower slopes has been cleared for new fields. After heavy rain, soil from the bare slopes now washes into the river. This plan will replant forest on the upper slopes, allow new homes only above the flood line, and help farmers cut the lower slopes into flat, walled steps so that rain no longer carries the soil away.
Data
Source 2: Land use in the Green River valley, 1990 and 2020
| Land use | 1990 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 60% | 35% |
| Farm fields | 30% | 40% |
| Built-up (homes, factories, roads) | 5% | 20% |
| Water and bare rock | 5% | 5% |
Invented data for practice.
(A) Identify Using Source 2, identify the land use that grew the most between 1990 and 2020. [1 point]
Identify means: Give the information asked for: a word or short phrase can earn the point, with no reasons needed.
(B) Describe Using Source 2, describe the change in the valley's forest between 1990 and 2020. [1 point]
Describe means: Give the relevant characteristics: what it is like, where and how much. A name alone earns nothing.
(C) Explain Using Source 1, explain how land use in the valley changed after the highway was built. [1 point]
Explain means: Say how or why, with every link of the chain: a cause, then because or so, then its effect, tied to the place or data asked about.
(D) Explain Explain how the change in forest shown in Source 2 could threaten sustainability in the valley. [1 point]
Explain means: Say how or why, with every link of the chain: a cause, then because or so, then its effect, tied to the place or data asked about.
(E) Compare Compare what Source 1 and Source 2 each tell you about the valley. [1 point]
Compare means: Give a similarity or a difference and say it about both things, not one.
(F) Identify Identify the scale of analysis of the data in Source 2. [1 point]
Identify means: Give the information asked for: a word or short phrase can earn the point, with no reasons needed.
(G) Explain the degree Explain the degree to which the council's plan in Source 1 reflects possibilism rather than environmental determinism. [1 point]
Explain the degree means: State the degree first (to a high, moderate or low degree), then explain why with evidence.