QCAA Earth & Environmental Science study plan

Map every Unit 3 syllabus point to a one-line summary and flag the three you understand least

Define and contrast the key Earth-systems terms (sphere, reservoir, flux, residence time, feedback) in your own words

Draw a labelled carbon-cycle diagram from memory and annotate each flux with its approximate direction and driver

Build a glossary file of at least 40 Unit 3 terms with a definition and one worked example each

Explain how energy from the Sun and Earth's internal heat drive surface and deep-Earth processes

Trace the rock cycle and link each rock type to the process and environment that forms it

Interpret a stratigraphic sequence and relative-age principles to order events without absolute dates

Solve five half-life and radiometric-dating calculation problems showing full working

Distinguish positive from negative feedback loops and classify six real examples correctly

Predict how a perturbation to one reservoir propagates through the carbon and nitrogen cycles

Quantify residence-time and flux changes using simple box-model arithmetic

Write a 150-word explanation of a climate-feedback scenario using correct causal language

Analyse how human activities alter biogeochemical cycles and rank the alterations by magnitude

Evaluate a data set of atmospheric or ocean measurements and describe the trend with units and uncertainty

Practise full-mark extended-response structure: claim, evidence, mechanism, evaluation

Complete a timed 60-minute Unit 3 practice paper under exam conditions

Map every Unit 4 syllabus point to a one-line summary and flag the three weakest areas

Describe the formation, classification and distribution of the main rock and soil resources

Explain the geological and hydrological processes that concentrate ore and energy resources

Build a glossary file of at least 40 Unit 4 terms with definitions and examples

Compare renewable and non-renewable energy sources on availability, efficiency and environmental cost

Interpret resource-exploration data (drill logs, seismic or geochemical surveys) to justify a target

Explain groundwater behaviour including aquifer type, recharge, discharge and contamination pathways

Calculate a simple resource-reserve or extraction-life estimate from given figures

Assess environmental impacts of extraction and land use using a structured impact matrix

Compare rehabilitation and remediation strategies and justify which suits a given site

Evaluate management and policy responses against sustainability criteria

Practise data-response questions that require interpreting unfamiliar graphs and tables

Sit two full timed papers, one per unit, and mark both strictly against the criteria

Rank your recurring error types and re-teach the top three from source notes

Rehearse extended-response planning in under five minutes for six unseen prompts

Review both glossaries and both syllabus maps for any gap still flagged