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Leaving Certificate Geography

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Rationale

  • The study of people and their environment
  • Develop understanding of physical and human surroundings
  • Examine changing interrelationships between physical and human worlds
  • Develop geographical skills

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Why pick geography?

  • Interest

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  • Aptitude

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  • Post-Leaving Certificate study

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  • Career path

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Careers associated with geography

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Syllabus Structure

  • Core Units - Physical, Regional, Skills and Investigation

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  • Elective Units - Patterns and Processes in either Economic or Human Environment

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  • Optional Units - Higher Level only

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Core Units

  • Physical – plate tectonics, folding and faulting, earthquakes, volcanoes, rock cycle, weathering, karst landscapes, mass movement, rivers, coasts, glaciation

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  • Regional – concept of a region, West of Ireland, Dublin, Paris Basin, Mezzogiorno, Brazil, complexities of regions

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  • Geographical skills and GI – maps, aerial photographs, graphs and data analysis, Geographical Investigation

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Elective – Human Environment

  • Dynamics of population
  • Overpopulation
  • Migration
  • Settlement
  • Urban settlement and planning issues
  • Urban Problems

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Option - Geoecology

  • Soils – composition, characteristics, factors influencing formation, classification, processes, human interference

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  • Biomes – characteristics of the Amazon rainforest biome, human interaction with this biome

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Assessment

  • Terminal Examination 80% of total marks (June 2027)

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  • Geographical Investigation 20% of total marks

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  • Weighting of marks same for HL & OL

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Exam Paper - 2 hours 50 minutes

  • Higher Level
  • 12 short questions, best 10 awarded marks = 80m
  • Physical = 80m
  • Region = 80m
  • Human = 80m
  • Each of the above answer 1 question with parts a, b, and c
  • Option – one long essay question = 80m
  • Exam total = 400m
  • Ordinary Level
  • 12 short questions, best 10 awarded marks = 100m
  • Physical = 100m
  • Region = 100m
  • Human = 100m
  • Each of the above answer 1 question with parts a, b, and c
  • Exam total = 400m

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Higher Level Exam Question

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Geographical Investigation

  • Field study and report

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  • Report is worth 20% of overall Leaving Cert grade (100 marks)

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  • Report will be sent off around Easter time in 6th Year

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  • Often a river study

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Lugduff Brook

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Any questions?

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Why pick geography?

  • Interest

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  • Aptitude

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  • Post-Leaving Certificate study

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  • Career path