St.

Paul University Philippines

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

OFFICE OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION- December, 2022

Academic Year 2022-2023

Program/ Major : MST major in Social Studies

Course Code : SST 201

Course Title : General Geography

Instructions:
 Out of the seven (7) questions, please choose any five (5) to answer.
 Write your answer just below the question.
 Each question is worth 20 points and the entire exam weighs 100 points in all.
 Refrain from lifting answers from the web, dishonesty will be dealt accordingly.
 Please work independently and make sure to finish within 1 ½ hours and turn in your
answer on time!

BE HONEST
IF NOT TO OTHERS, THEN TO YOURSELF!

Good luck and God bless you!

 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

OFFICE OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Please indicate your

EXAMINEE NO.: Dec2022-241

Directions: Answer the following questions substantially and comprehensively in NOT less
than 250 words each.

1. Describe the geography of your own place. What are its unique geographical
characteristics and in what way these characteristics affect the daily socio-economic
and political activities of its people?


2. Give four (4) skills/competencies that should be learned from studying geography.
Explain how each of the skills/competencies are achieved in the classroom whether in a
face-to-face class or in a distance learning.
 As we head further into the 21st Century, we are living in an every changing and
interdependent world. Students need a global awareness that includes familiarity
with different cultures, beliefs, and lifestyles in order to understand and address
global issues. Geography can help students understand these issues.

Four essential learning and innovative skills can help students with geography for
confronting the challenges of tomorrow: creativity and innovation; creative
thinking and problem solving; and communication and collaboration skills. One
simple way to stimulate student creativity can be a walking tour of the school or
campus. Teachers might challenge students to produce a musical composition
based on items they observed or heard on their tour. Have the students explain
what the sound from their composition represents and discuss the difficulty of
representing these sounds. Another way to stimulate creativity with geography is
to use a poem as a springboard for having students write their own poems
describing physical or human sounds in the environment. There are four
important features of creativity: using imagination; pursuing purpose; being
original; and judging values. (1) Imagination involves looking at a situation from
a different perspective or thinking of alternatives. Pursuing purpose and being
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Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

OFFICE OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

original encourages the student to have a set action or intention while conceiving
of new ideas. Creative thinking involves trying new possibilities and rejecting
those that do not work. Creativity does not happen in isolation; as Stephen
Scoffham notes, "It is a way of thinking about the world and in many ways
mirrors the process of learning itself." (2) Geography provides students an
inexhaustible context for creativity in an interdependent world.

One invaluable asset for 21st century teachers is the availability of global
positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS). GPS, first
created by the Defense Department, is today being increasingly integrated into
the curriculum. EarthCache, developed by the Geological Society of America and
the National Geographic Society, builds on the popularity of Geocaching--which
invites users of GPS units to search for hidden or virtual caches around the
world. (3) The EarthCache curriculum can be teacher created, and students then
follow, investigate and learn how geography can be applied in a real setting.
Students can then use creativity and critical thinking skills to create their own
EarthCache.

Besides being outdoors and being a "detective," part of the adventure of finding
a Geocache or an EarthCache is being able to read and use a map with the GPS
units. The Garmin and TomTom GPS units...

3. People live in an environment of their own choice. Does the geography of a place
influence the behavior of people or the people’s behavior affect the geography of a
place? Explain by giving a concrete example.

 Geography plays a major role in determining the result in human societies.

Geography has indeed shaped a broad variety of the many characteristics of
human life over time and that result has somewhat mold human behavior. In this
sense, geography and humans influence each other. Based on a country’s
location and boundaries it can have many economic interest for example like
underground oil and other natural resources that exist. Boundaries appears to be
worth inspecting because they are both cultural and physical and do impact a
country’s economic advantage. Geography doesn't just determine whether
humans can live in a definite area or not, it also determines people's lifestyles,
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Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

OFFICE OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

as they modify to the climate patterns and available food. As humans have
migrated across the planet, they have had to adapt to all the changing situation
they were uncover to. Geography looks at the influence and behavior of people
and how they relate to the physical world. However, it is important to remember
that all areas of geography are interconnected: for example, the way human CO2
emissions affect the climate is part of both physical and human geography.
Geography influences everything starting from a food, health, safety, climate to
our social and economic systems. Geography may not seem like a big deal when
you live in a urban, but when you are going to move across different country, it's
like collecting up your whole life and moving it with you. Whether you are
moving for career/ job or for love, the way that geography influences us is easily
seen. From houses to family traditions and customs to food, one physical
location can affect every single part of our life.

4. The Philippines needs to take more initiatives on environmental transformation and

scientific transformation. Give one initiative the local/national government or any
private sector has undertaken to make this possible? What do you think were its impact
to the lives of people?
 Around the world, plastic pollution is affecting life on land and in the ocean, and
plastic production is a factor in climate change and global warming. In 2001, the
Philippines enacted a landmark law - Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act of 2001. Because of its decentralized and community-focused
approach to waste and resource management systems, this law is recognized as a
model law. In addition to Republic Act 8679, also known as the Clean Air Act, R.A.
Waste burning and incineration are prohibited.

Proper segregation of waste is being practice in this program. Organic waste can be
composted in homes, schools, and workplaces with adequate segregation. Organic
waste is squandered in a linear waste management strategy rather than being used
as a resource. Recyclables are reused and repurposed as part of a Zero Trash
strategy, which became a source of livelihood for waste workers as well.

However, as seen in these Zero Waste communities, residual wastes, which are
primarily made of sachets and cannot be recycled or composted, have grown to be
unmanageable. his is because communities are burdened with a portion of residual
wastes that they are unable to handle. Collective action and proactive coordination
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

OFFICE OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

amongst diverse sectors and stakeholders are necessary to reduce plastics pollution.
Governments, businesses, and individuals all have a part to play in helping us solve
the plastics challenge. National governments, on the other hand, have a role to play
in enabling an environment and policies that can support the Zero Waste vision and
plastic-free communities.

5. Describe the relationship between history and geography. How has the discipline of
geography influenced the history and culture of your respective place? Be specific with
your answer.
 The association between geography and history is relatively impressive since
they represent two essential aspects of the same phenomenon. Geography looks
at the world from the perspective of space, while history looks at it from the
perspective of time. Every historical event has a geographic location, which,
according to National Geographic explains why there is a connection between
geography and history: "geographical factors having impacted the course of
history in many ways".This connection solidifies the relationship between
geography and history. Geography has an impact on cultural interactions, what
people require for food, shelter, and clothes, as well as on how they express
themselves. One of the most important aspects of culture is geography. People's
actions, diets, and fashion choices, for instance, are influenced by their
environment.

History is a record of past human activities. History is temporal, but geography is

largely spatial and environmental. The geography of a place greatly affects its
history, traditions, and culture. Geographical features including rivers,
mountains, forests, and climate are examples of natural phenomena that have
influenced human history.

First and foremost, the association between geography and history is relatively
impressive since they represent two essential aspects of the same phenomenon.
Geography looks at the world from the perspective of space, while history looks
at it from the perspective of time. Indeed, every historical event has a
geographic location, which, according to National Geographic explains why there
is a connection between geography and history: "geographical factors having
impacted the course of history in many ways".This connection solidifies the
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

OFFICE OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

relationship between geography and history. One more thing, geography has an
impact on cultural interactions, what people require for food, shelter, and
clothes, as well as on how they express themselves. Furthermore, one of the
most important aspects of culture is geography. People's actions, diets, and
fashion choices, for instance, are influenced by their environment. Lastly, there
are numerous distinctive cultures in the world. The development of culture in
many parts of the world has been greatly influenced by geography. It is crucial
to remember that other elements, such as religion, psychology, languages, and
society, influence culture in addition to geography.

6. What major environmental problem or challenge is currently affecting your place that
further contributes to environmental degradation in the whole country? How should this
be addressed/solved? Expand your answer.
 Cagayan, a province located in the Cagayan Valley region and the northeastern tip of
Luzon, is one of the areas hit the hardest. Ulysses brought what is now known as the
“worst flooding” in the region in decades, according to Cagayan Governor Manuel
Mamba. Several factors caused the flooding. Aside from being the catch basin of
rainwater from Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region, the opening
of the floodgates of the nearby Magat Dam is also seen as a cause of the massive
flooding in Cagayan. The NIA-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (Mariis), the
operator of Magat Dam, said the successive typhoons contributed to high inflows.
The Cagayan River had also reached its maximum capacity, which caused overflows.
On top of this, the nearby mountain ranges became so saturated that they could no
longer absorb as much rainfall as they normally could, causing rainfall to flow directly
to the reservoirs.

What can we do in the future to prevent similar disasters?

One of the common goals of both the Senate and House investigations is to come
up with measures and a comprehensive strategy to prevent similar tragedies in the
future. Part of this is identifying the infrastructure needed to prevent or lessen the
damage brought by natural disasters.

“We must anticipate that the dams will release water, so there should have been
infrastructure in place into which the water would flow and gather, so that it does
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

OFFICE OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

not inundate and devastate communities,” Senator Ramon Revilla Jr, principal
author of the Senate resolution, earlier said.

“Climate science tells us that, absent adaptation and mitigation, the climate hazards
the region faces in the future, from heat waves to flooding, are likely to be more
severe, more intense, or both,” the report said, which is part of the company’s
ongoing series about the future of Asia.

7. Let say the pandemic is now over. If you were to assess, how has this global health
crisis changed our human and natural environment? Did it do more harm than good?
Explain your answer.


Prepared by:

MR. ISMAEL S. ALLAG

Instructor