Earth and Environmental Science syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the WA Earth and Environmental Science syllabus, in syllabus order, with a focused answer for each. Open any dot point for the answer, exam-style questions and links to related points.
Unit 3: Managing Earth resources
Unit overview →What services do ecosystems provide and why is valuing natural capital important?
What is maximum sustainable yield and how is it used to manage renewable resources?
How do different mining methods reshape the geosphere and produce waste?
How is a mined site rehabilitated, and how well can ecosystems be restored?
How does carbon move between Earth's reservoirs and how do humans disrupt it?
How do magmatic and hydrothermal processes concentrate metals into ore deposits?
How do monitoring, modelling and remote sensing support resource management decisions?
How does nitrogen cycle through ecosystems and how do humans alter it?
How does phosphorus cycle through ecosystems and why does it often limit growth?
What Earth-system energy flows drive renewable energy resources?
How do sedimentary and weathering processes form ore deposits at or near the surface?
How does the water cycle move and store water, and how are groundwater resources managed?
How does mining contaminate water, and why is acid mine drainage so persistent?
How do Earth and environmental processes form renewable and non-renewable resources?
How do biogeochemical cycles move matter through ecosystems and Earth systems?
How is the extraction of renewable resources managed to sustain their availability?
How do geological processes form coal, oil and natural gas over millions of years?
How does resource extraction affect Earth systems and how is rehabilitation achieved?
Unit 4: Earth hazards and climate change
Unit overview →What natural processes drive climate change and how do we know past climates?
How do earthquakes generate seismic waves, and how do magnitude and intensity differ?
How are human activities changing the climate and what are the consequences?
How do hazard, risk, exposure and vulnerability differ in assessing Earth hazards?
How do changes in Earth's orbit drive the ice age cycles?
How do solar variation, volcanic eruptions and ocean circulation drive natural climate change?
How do tsunamis form and why do they grow so destructive near the coast?
How are Earth hazards predicted and their impacts mitigated?
How do the three types of plate boundary control where Earth hazards occur?
How does the greenhouse effect keep Earth warm and balance its energy budget?
How do feedbacks amplify or dampen climate change, and what are tipping points?
How do plate tectonics cause volcanic eruptions and earthquakes?
Why do some volcanoes erupt gently while others erupt explosively?
How do tree rings, pollen, corals and sediments record past climate?
How do ice cores and oxygen isotopes reveal past temperatures and greenhouse gases?
What human activities enhance the greenhouse effect and what is the evidence?
What are the impacts of climate change and how do mitigation and adaptation differ?
How are geological hazards predicted, monitored and mitigated to reduce their impacts?