VCE Geography

Unit 1:Natural Environments

Overview• This unit investigates the geographic characteristics of natural

environments and the natural processes that shape and change the earths surface.

• It investigates how the interactions between natural processes and human activities can also change natural environments.

• The worlds physical environment is composed of four natural systems: atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere.

• Human activities interact with natural processes, each affecting the other.

• Students investigate at least two natural environments.

Area of study 1.Characteristics of natural environments

• This area of study focuses on natural environment at two different scales, comparing and contrasting their geographic characteristics, for e.g. Location, climate, soils, drainage, natural vegetation and topography.

• It investigates natural processes, including extreme natural events, that create and change landforms, landscapes and environments.

Topics will includeForests

• Rivers

Key Knowledge

• The earths four natural systems• Biosphere, lithosphere, Hydrosphere, atmosphere

• Landforms that make up landscapes• Natural processes and factors that create natural

environments• Geographic characteristics of natural

environments• Distribution of natural environments at different

scales

Key Skills

• Fieldwork • Collect, sort, process and represent spatial

data• Identify and describe geographic

characteristics• Analyse and explain data

Area of study 2Changes in natural environments

Changes In natural environments

• This area of study focuses on the dynamic nature of natural environments and the contribution of the various agents of change such as weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition as well as human activity.

• It explores the nature of change and the dimensions of change in different environments.

Topics may include:

• Deforestation • Logging • Fire• Climate change• Tourism• Urban expansion• Conservation (e.g. National parks)

Key Knowledge• Types of changes to natural environments produced by natural

processes and human activity

• Nature, rate and scale of interactions between natural environments and human activity

• The impact of change on natural environments and human activity

• The importance of the interactions between natural processes and human activity in influencing changes to natural environments, including the management of change.

Key Skills

• Fieldwork

• Process and represent data

• Describe and analyse data about changes to natural environments produced by the interaction between natural processes and human activity