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HWA CHONG INSTITUTION

EXAMINATION 2021 (Answer)

Geography

Level: Secondary Two SBGE

Duration 1 hour 15 minutes
:

Do not open this booklet until you are told to do so.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Answer all questions.

Number your answer carefully in the left margin of your answer

script.

Label Section A and Section B clearly.

Leave 3 lines between answers.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question

1
 This question paper consists of 9 printed pages including this page.

SECTION A: Data Response Questions (15 marks)

1. Fig. 1 below shows the expected share of population aged 60 and older
in China.

Year Share of persons aged above 60

2050 34.6%
2040 29.9%
2030 24.8%
2020 17.4%

Fig. 1

a) Describe the projected trend shown above and explain its economic [4]
impacts on China.

Impacts:
 The share of persons above 60 is expected to increase/double
 From 17.4 to 34.6%
 This will cause a labour shortage
 because fewer people entering the job market
 this will result in higher labour costs
 which will create an unattractive environment for investors
 this will obstruct efforts by the country to remain competitive
 and restrict its economic growth
 the working group would have to pay more taxes to help support
services for the growing aged population.
(cap at 3.5m if no data)

b) Suggest strategies to tackle these problems to ensure China’s continued [4]

economic growth.
 mechanization/automation
 this will reduce the need for labour
 as well as reduce labour costs
 encourage foreign labour
 especially for jobs which the locals are unwilling to do, eg manual
labour
 or skills which are lacking
 for long term China should continue to encourage marriages and
births
eg through more child care leave/more attractive financial benefits

2
2. Study Fig. 2 below.

Quality of life indicators for nine large urban areas

Socio-economic indicators Environmental indcators

Urban Area Persons % homes Mean traffic Levels of
per room with water & speed (km/h measured air
electricity in rush hour) pollution
(1 – 10)*

Tokyo 0.9 100 44.8 4

Mexico City 1.9 94 12.8 9

Sao Paulo 0.8 93 24.0 4

New York 0.5 99 13.9 5

Shanghai 2.0 95 24.5 4

Los 0.4 100 30.4 7

Angeles

Kolkata 3.0 60 21.3 10

Mumbai 4.2 83 16.6 7

Beijing 1.6 89 41.1 10

*Note: where 1–10 scale is used 1 is low and 10 is high

Fig. 2

a) Using only information from Fig. 2, describe three differences in the [3]
quality of life of people living in Tokyo and Mexico City.

 overcrowding of housing is more of a problem in Mexico City

 1.9 persons per room in Mexico City vs 0.9 persons per room in
Tokyo
 there are more houses without electricity/fresh water in Mexico City
 Mexico City:94% while all homes in Tokyo have this
 there is more traffic congestion in Mexico City;
 where mean traffic speed is 12.8 km/h while Tokyo has higher mean
traffic speed of 44.8 km/h
 Air quality is worse in Mexico City too
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  It ranks 9 versus 4 for Tokyo
[minus 0.5m if no units indicated]

b) With reference to Fig. 2, identify one city that is likely to have poor [4]
housing conditions and explain the impacts on the residents.
 Mumbai/Kolkata
 People in Mumbai are likely to stay in slums
 Houses in slums are also likely to be overcrowded
 As indicated by the high 4.2 persons per room in Fig.2
 So diseases can spread easily
 Lack of access to electricity and fresh water is also a common
problem in slums
 In Mumbai, about 17% of homes do not have access to water and
electricity
 Residents have poor hygiene due to lack of water
 Contributing to the poor health of residents

SECTION B: Structured and Open-ended Essay Questions (20 marks)

1. With reference to examples explain the socio-economic consequences

of poor traffic management in cities. [4]

Social Impact
 Fatigue due to long travelling times
 This can cause accidents
 Exposure to fumes during traffic jams can cause asthma and lung
diseases
 More time spent on the roads can increase stress and cause
frustration
 This can lead to accidents and fights
 In the long run it will affect the population’s health negatively
 Exposure to smog can reduce life expectancy by up to 15 years,
according to a British Medical Journal.

Economic Impact
 Reduced productivity
 As more time is spent on the road
 Leads to higher transportation cost
 consumer goods will be more costly
 and this will cause greater inflation
 Eg in 2014, there was a 9% of annual income per head economic
loss in Singapore due to congestion
 In Philippines up to 2.5b peso loss in earnings due to delays in traffic
(Max 3m for 1 impact)

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2. “Population policies introduced by the government are the most [8]
important factor influencing the birth rate of a country.” How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
Given Factor:
 I agree to some extent
 The government can launch policies to increase or slow down
the birth rate.
 Examples: To limit the population growth the government of
Singapore introduced the “Stop at two” policy through various
measures.
 Couples were given incentives to get sterilisated after their
second child
 Abortion was legalised to reduce unwanted pregnancies
 There was extensive public education to publicise this policy
through media, posters, etc
 This policy was very successful and birth rates dropped from
4.46% in 1966 to 1.82% in 1977.
 However, government policies are not always successful
 Singapore’s 'Have three and more if you can afford it' policy
was introduced in 1987 to boost births
 However, it has not been successful and birth rates are less than
1% now.
 Thus the role of the government greatly affects the birth rate and
population size of a country.

2 Other factors:
Factor 1

 Culture plays a very important role such as countries engaged in

farming where children are a valuable source of labour on the
farm, thus birth rate tends to be high.
 In some societies the men are accorded more respect and
importance than women because the former are the
breadwinners and they carry on the family line. There are also
certain roles that only the males can perform. In India, for
example, sons have to light funeral pyres. Families with
daughters continue to try for sons causing higher birth rate.
 there are societies where children are a symbol of wealth as
the people believe that only the rich have the means to raise
a large family. Children also reflect the parents' virility. Where
such beliefs prevail, the birth rate tends to be high.
 Religions also influence the birth rate. The Roman Catholic
Church opposes the use of artificial means of birth control. In the
Philippines where 84% of population are Roman Catholics
population policy to control birth rate will not be effective .
 However, people who live in cities in Developed countries are less
likely to follow cultural and religious beliefs.
 This is true in the cities of LDCs too. This is because they are

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 educated and want a better life for their children and tend to have
lower birth rates.

Other factor 2

 However there are other factors that affect the birth rate of a
country such as improvement in standard of living
 In developed countries, standard of living is high
 This increases the cost of living
 In Singapore people desire the best for their children, eg music
classes, tuition, etc.
 Hence cost of raising children increases, and some estimate it at
more than $500000 per child.
 This causes many couples to have few children and birth rates
remain low.
 As a country develops accessibility to improved medical facilities
and health care services improves life expectancy and reduces
infant mortality rate
 this reduces the need to have many children as most children
born will survive.
 However, some developed countries encourage migration of
young working adults, who marry and have babies, boosting birth
rates.
 In spite of this, higher standard of living generally decreases birth
rates.

Accept also: Education

Conclusion: Government policies are important in influencing birth rates

due to the attractive incentives, eg Singapore’s 1960’s policy. However,
these are not always successful, as in the case of Singapore’s policy to
increase birth rates since the 1980s. Cultural factors are important in
affecting birth rates in LDCs, especially in the rural areas. Level of
development is the most important factor, as in more developed
countries, people are richer and incentives are not important for them to
have more babies. They have other aspirations, eg pursuit of material
needs. Hence they are less influenced by government policies. Hence I
only agree to a small extent that government policies introduced by the
government are the most important factor determining the birth rate of a
country.

Level 1 (1 – 3m)
Level Descriptor Marks
6
 L1  States stand 1m
(1-3 m)  Describes given factor vaguely
 Describes given factor, without eg 2m
 Describes given factor with eg 3m
L2  Clear explanation of given factor with 4m
(4-6 m) detailed examples
 OR explains given factor and another
factor with only one example
 At least one counter argument, which
may be weak
 Clear explanation of 2 factors plus 2 5m
detailed egs
 At least one good counter argument
 Clear explanation of 3 factors plus egs, 6m
 Two good counter arguments
L3  Clear explanation of 3 factors plus 7m
(7-8 m) detailed egs for all
 Good counter arguments
 Conclusion justifies opinion logically. 8m

3. Study Fig. 1 below.

China has for the first time embraced road congestion fees
that are similar to Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing (ERP)
as a solution to tackle traffic jams that have worsened even in
smaller cities.

Fig. 1

With reference to studies you have made, to what extent do you

agree that Road Pricing is the best strategy to manage traffic
congestion in megacities? Explain your answer. [8]

 I agree to some extent that this is a good strategy for megacities.

 Road pricing is a traffic management measure that charges drivers
when they use certain roads,
 thus decreasing traffic congestion as drivers try to decrease their
usage of the popular roads due to the higher costs.
 One example of this road pricing strategy is the Electronic Road
Pricing (ERP) in Singapore.
 This strategy is rather effective as it directly discourages driving during

7
 peak hours,
 and drivers may consider other forms of transport instead.
 However, traffic may be diverted to other roads because of drivers
trying to avoid ERP,
 leading to congestion elsewhere.

 However, megacities should consider other strategies too

 Eg the expansion of railway networks
 By increasing the number of locations the trains can reach, public
transport becomes a much more attractive option than driving.
 One example of an extensive railway network is the Dallas Area Rapid
Transit (DART) in Texas, where there is a total of 61 stations and 137
kilometers covered as of 2014.
 This is a good strategy as trains have very high capacities and
 are extremely efficient at transporting large numbers of people at a
time,
 also, previously inaccessible areas can now be reached by rail.
 However, this is extremely costly to do build.

 Increasing the capacity and frequency of the buses and rail is also a
good strategy to manage traffic congestion in megacities
 To help relieve traffic congestion, buses and rail systems can be
upgraded to carry more people and run more frequently.
 One good example of this is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Curitiba,
Brazil, which has triple-sectioned articulated buses that arrive every
90 seconds.
 This allows large numbers of people to be transported to places within
a short time.
 However, this is also a costly strategy.

In conclusion, I only agree to a small extent that Road Pricing is the best
strategy. This is because in order to sufficiently manage traffic
congestion, megacities need to reduce road usage as well as make
public transport attractive. Therefore, there is a need to employ multiple
strategies to achieve these two goals. Hence, although congestion tax
(road pricing) is a good strategy to use in megacities, this should not be
the only strategy used.

Level Descriptor Marks

8
 1  Brief description of one factor, no 1
examples.
 States stand.
 A factor is explained with no 2
example.
 OR Two factors, briefly explained,
with no examples
 A factor is explained with example. 3
 OR Three factors, briefly explained,
with no examples
 One strong PEEL with good details
and example
2  2 factors with detailed explanation 4
and only one has example
 At least one counter argument,
which may be weak
 Two factors, explained with 5
examples
 At least one good counter
argument
 Three factors, explained with 6
examples
 May not link to “the best strategy to
manage traffic congestion in
megacities” for 1-2 strategies
 Two good counter arguments
3  Three factors, well-explained with 7
examples
 All strategies well linked to “the best
strategy to manage traffic
congestion in megacities”
 Good counter arguments
 Scripts show clear understanding of
challenges faced by megacities
found in both Developed and
Developing countries
 Comparison between the strategies 8
(based on cost, practicality…) OR
 Multi-pronged approach and
explain.

Source Acknowledgements
Section A
Fig. 1 https://tinyurl.com/38wmvn3y
Fig. 2 iGCSE Nov 2014
Section B
Fig. 1 https://tinyurl.com/2w525d72