HSC Geography case studies
HSC Geography · Put your knowledge to work in context.
HSC Geography is a Higher School Certificate course in the Geography learning area of the NSW Stage 6 curriculum. The Higher School Certificate is issued within the NSW school system, and the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) describes its role as setting "syllabuses, assessments, teaching and school standards for all schools in NSW." The course is designed for Stage 6 students in Years 11 and 12 who are completing HSC patterns of study and who want to understand geographical processes, places, environments and the skills geographers use to investigate them. The HSC Geography case studies are 5 cases and about 3,241 words.
1Siting a Coastal Management Strategy on a Retreating Shoreline
A local council manages a 4.2 km sandy beach backed by a low dune system. Survey pegs show the high-water mark has retreated an average of 1.8 m per year over the last 20 years, but retreat is uneven: the northern 1.5 km lost 45 m total, the central 1.2 km lost 12 m, and the southern 1.5 km lost 3 m.
727 words, about 4 min2Reading a Population Pyramid for a Regional Town
A inland regional town of 28,000 people has the following age structure (percentage of total population): 0–14 years = 14%; 15–24 = 9%; 25–44 = 22%; 45–64 = 28%; 65–84 = 22%; 85+ = 5%. The national average for 0–14 is 19% and for 65+ is 17%.
559 words, about 3 min3Interpreting a Water Budget in a Semi-Arid Catchment
A 1,200 km² catchment receives 480 mm of rainfall annually. Evapotranspiration accounts for 78% of precipitation; 12% runs off; the remaining 10% infiltrates to groundwater.
646 words, about 3 min4Assessing a Land-Use Conflict at the Urban Fringe
A city of 900,000 people is expanding westward. A 600-hectare area of peri-urban land is contested.
684 words, about 3 min5Evaluating Tourism Carrying Capacity on a Heritage Island
A World Heritage-listed island of 12 km² receives 340,000 visitors per year, concentrated in a 4-month peak season. The island's resident population is 1,100.
625 words, about 3 min