You are here: Home › Departments › Social Studies › Geography 12

Geography 12

Geography is the interdisciplinary study of both the natural and built environments. Specifically geography is concerned with the spatial location and interaction between humans and their physical surroundings. All systems are interrelated and it is imperative that we understand the impacts of all our actions on environmental systems. We all rely on these environmental systems for our biological and economic survival. Only in the last few decades has it become immediately apparent that the earth is a finite closed system with limited resources. The ozone hole, climate change and rapid species extinction are happening at alarming rates. Your challenge for the next millennium will be to strike a balance in allocating our planet’s resources to ensure an equitable future for all.

COURSE GOALS

The goal of Geography 12 is to create a geographically literate individual. It is the applied nature of geography that can open up a whole new way of seeing your environment and your place in it. The course will use three scales when studying the environment: Local, Regional, and Global. It is my hope that you will find Geography not only interesting, but the new skills you will learn will be practical in your daily life.

TOPIC OUTLINE

UnitTopicsClasses
Unit 1: Tectonics
  • Earth’s Four Spheres
  • Structure and composition of the lithosphere
  • rock cycle
  • Plate tectonics & Plate Boundaries
  • Crustal Formation & Deformation
  • earthquakes and their effects
  • Volcanism
8 classes
Unit 2:  Weathering
  • Weathering & Erosion
  • Karst Topography
  • Mass Movements
 3 classes
Unit 3:  Rivers
  • Hydrologic Cycle
  • Fluvial Processes
  • Flooding & River Management
 4 classes
Unit 4: Sand-forms
  • Aeolian Processes
  • Desert landscapes
  • Tides & waves
  • Coastal Landforms
  • Wetlands, Coral Reefs, Salt marshes
 4 classes
Unit 5: Glaciers
  • Glacier types & Formation
  • Alpine Glaciers & Landforms
  • Periglacial Environments
  • Paleoclimatology
 4 classes
Unit 6:  Atmosphere
  • Incoming Solar Radiation & the seasons
  • structure and components of the atmosphere
  • Air Quality & Air pollution, Acid Rain
  • Ozone hole
  • Surface Energy Balances
  • Global Temperature Patterns
 4 classes
Unit 7:  Weather
  • Atmospheric Pressure & Wind
  • Ocean Currents
  • Humidity
  • Clouds and fog
  • Types of precipitation
  • Air masses & Dynamics
  • Cyclones, Tornados & Hurricanes
 9 classes
MID-TERM EXAMS
Unit 8: Climate

  • Köppen Climate Classification
  • Climate Change
  • El Nino
 8 classes
Unit 9: Biomes
  • Soil Characteristics and Formation
  • Soil Classification
  • Ecosystem components & cycles, Stability & Succession
  • Food Webs & Chains
  • Biogeoclimatic Zones
  • Major Terrestrial Biomes
 6 classes
Unit 10: Resource Management
  • 5 themes of geography
  • Systems Theory
  • Sustainability & global citizenship
  • Environmental Costs and benefits of technology
  • Renewable, Reusable, and Non-Renewable
  • Physical, Political, social, and economic factors
  • Legal and ethical responsibilities of resource use
  • Environmental impact assessment
  • Waste management
  • Sewage treatment
 4 classes
Unit 11: Resources
  • Water distribution
  • Groundwater resources
  • Fisheries resources
  • Energy Resources
  • Softwood Forest management
  • Tropical forest resources
  • Mineral resources
  • Soil management
  • Agricultural land pest control
  • Desertification
  • Parks and protected areas
 8 classes
Unit 12: Mapping Skills
  • Location, Time, & direction, Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
  • Projections, scales, area & distance
  • Map Types
  • Topographic Map: grids, profiles, contours, symbols & legends
  • Air photograph interpretation
  • Remote sensing
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • geography careers
 6 classes

EVALUATION

Term1Term 2Final Grade
Homework 15 % Homework 15% Provincial Exam 40%
Labs & Assignments 20% Labs & Assignments 20% Term 1 30%
Tests & Quizzes 40% Tests & Quizzes 40% Term 2 30%
Term Exam 25% Term Project 25%

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

  • ask geography questions during class that your are curious about
  • stay after class to clarify concepts that were unclear to you
  • do your own work
  • homework is due at the start of class
  • I am not able to decide if you really need to use the washroom
  • come to extra help to prepare for tests
  • late assignments will be penalized 10% per day to a maximum of 50% and can not be handed in after an assignment has been graded and handed back to other students
  • I do not have make up tests or extra assignments to raise your marks