QCAA Geography case studies
QCAA Geography · Put your knowledge to work in context.
QCAA Geography is a senior secondary subject in Queensland, Australia, assessed through a written external examination set by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. It suits students who want to understand how physical and human processes shape places, and who are willing to reason with data rather than memorise isolated facts. The QCAA Geography case studies are 5 cases and about 2,737 words.
1Choosing the right data for a coastal erosion claim
A Year 12 student is investigating whether a 2.4 km stretch of sandy beach has experienced net erosion over the past 40 years. Available data: (1) aerial photographs from 1983, 2001 and 2023 at 1:5000 scale, with the 2001 set partly cloud-affected; (2) a local council survey of 12 cross-shore transects measured annually since 2010, showing a mean shoreline retreat of 1.8 m per year with a standard deviation of 0.9 m; (3) anecdotal reports from long-term residents describing 'much less sand than when I was a child'; (4) a single drone survey from 2023.
549 words, about 3 min2Interpreting a flood hazard map for a school evacuation plan
A town of 14,000 people lies on a river floodplain. A council flood study provides: a 1-in-100-year flood extent map (based on 1990 topography, before a levee was built in 2005); a 1-in-20-year map updated in 2022; rainfall records showing three of the town's five largest daily totals occurred since 2010; and a levee designed to a 1-in-50-year standard.
539 words, about 3 min3Explaining a population pyramid anomaly
A country of 28 million people has a population pyramid showing an unusually narrow cohort at ages 20–29 and a bulge at ages 45–54, with a smaller secondary bulge at ages 10–19. Total fertility rate fell from 4.1 in 1990 to 1.7 in 2023.
560 words, about 3 min4Testing a hypothesis about urban heat and vegetation
Two suburbs in the same city are compared. Suburb A has 42% tree canopy cover, a population density of 1,200 people/km² and a mean summer maximum temperature of 31.2°C.
519 words, about 3 min5Evaluating a bushfire risk communication strategy
A rural shire of 9,000 people has one road in and out of its main settlement. A bushfire risk assessment rates 60% of the shire as 'high' or 'extreme' risk.
570 words, about 3 min