← Environmental Science syllabus

VICEnvironmental Science

Unit 4: How can climate change and energy use be managed?

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do Earth's four systems and the energy balance work together to control the climate?

Earth's climate system as the interaction of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere, and the global energy balance including incoming solar radiation, albedo and outgoing radiation
A focused answer to the VCE Environmental Science Unit 4 dot point on Earth's climate system as the interaction of the four spheres and the global energy balance of incoming and outgoing radiation, with Australian examples.
6 min answer →

What evidence shows the climate is changing and what are the impacts?

the lines of evidence for climate change including direct measurements and proxy data such as ice cores, and the environmental and social impacts of climate change
A focused answer to the VCE Environmental Science Unit 4 dot point on the lines of evidence for climate change and its environmental and social impacts, with Australian examples.
7 min answer →

What natural factors and feedback mechanisms have driven climate change throughout Earth's history?

the natural drivers of climate change including Milankovitch cycles, solar variation and volcanic activity, and the role of positive and negative feedback mechanisms in amplifying or dampening change
A focused answer to the VCE Environmental Science Unit 4 dot point on the natural drivers of climate change (Milankovitch cycles, solar variation, volcanic activity) and the role of positive and negative feedback mechanisms.
7 min answer →

How does carbon move between Earth's systems, and how have humans disturbed the carbon cycle?

the carbon cycle including the main carbon stores (reservoirs), the fluxes between them, the role of fast and slow cycling, and how human activities have altered the cycle
A focused answer to the VCE Environmental Science Unit 4 dot point on the carbon cycle, its main stores and fluxes, fast and slow cycling, and how human activity has disturbed it, with Australian examples.
6 min answer →

How does the greenhouse effect work and why is the climate warming?

the natural greenhouse effect, the main greenhouse gases and their sources, and how the enhanced greenhouse effect from human activity drives global warming
A focused answer to the VCE Environmental Science Unit 4 dot point on the natural and enhanced greenhouse effect, the main greenhouse gases and their sources, and global warming.
7 min answer →