DSST Introduction to Geography case studies
DSST Introduction to Geography · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The DSST Introduction to Geography exam - listed by its former title, Human/Cultural Geography - is a Social Sciences exam rated at 3 Baccalaureate level and worth 3 semester hours at schools that recognize it. It is built for students who already know introductory college geography, or who can learn it independently, and want credit by examination rather than by sitting in a classroom. The DSST Introduction to Geography case studies are 5 cases and about 3,313 words.
1Frost Risk on a Tropical Highland Coffee Farm
A coffee cooperative in the southern highlands of Tanzania farms plots between 1,500 m and 2,700 m on the slopes of a dormant volcano. Cooperative records for the dry season show that plots on the valley floor at 1,600 m lose a crop to frost on clear, calm nights roughly one year in three, while plots at the same elevation on the mid-slope, 300 m above the valley floor, almost never freeze.
645 words, about 3 min2Choosing Projections and Scales for a Coastal County
A county planning office must produce two products from the same shoreline data: (1) a property-tax map that assigns every parcel in a 45 km coastal county an area accurate to within 1%, and (2) a navigation chart for small fishing boats entering an estuary with a narrow 120 m channel. The office has a GIS with a coastline digitized at 1:5,000, a 30 m digital elevation model, and aerial photography.
629 words, about 3 min3Waterlogging and Salinization in an Irrigated District
An irrigation district in the lower reaches of a semi-arid river basin has expanded from 12,000 to 38,000 hectares over 25 years. Winter wheat and cotton are grown, and irrigation applies about 1,400 mm per year against an estimated evapotranspiration demand of 1,050 mm.
666 words, about 3 min4Language, Religion, and a Seasonal Mountain Pass
A census district in a mountain borderland has two towns, A and B, 40 km apart, linked by a single road over a 2,400 m pass that closes for about 60 days each winter. Census data show that in town A, 78% of residents speak language X at home and 20% language Y; in town B, 71% speak Y and 27% X.
659 words, about 3 min5Siting a Hospital in a Sparse Upland Region
A sparsely populated upland region of 24,000 km² has three towns: P with 18,000 people, Q with 12,000, and R with 5,000. P lies on a national highway and a rail line; Q is 70 km from P on a secondary road; R is 45 km from Q and 95 km from P, at the end of a road that crosses a 1,900 m pass, closed about 30 days a year.
714 words, about 4 min