Catalonia PAU Geology & Env Sci study guide
Catalonia PAU Geology & Env Sci · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Proves d'Accés a la Universitat (PAU) in Geologia i Ciències Ambientals is the Catalan university-entrance examination for students who want to sit this specific subject within the general PAU route to university. It is taken by upper-secondary (batxillerat) students who have studied the subject and by candidates improving their admission score for degrees such as geology, environmental sciences, biology, geography or engineering, where this subject can count toward the specific-part weighting. The Catalonia PAU Geology & Env Sci study guide has 8 sections and about 3,607 words.
01Internal Geodynamics and Plate Tectonics
This domain examines the layered interior of the Earth, the geophysical evidence used to reconstruct it, and the way each plate boundary controls magmatism, metamorphism and deformation. PAU items usually give a map, a described cross-section or a rock association and ask you to identify the tectonic setting and justify it physically, not just to name it.
442 words, about 2 min02External Geodynamics and Geological Processes
This domain covers the surficial system that transfers mass from relief to basins: weathering, erosion, transport, sedimentation, soil formation and the hazards that arise when these processes act fast. PAU questions typically ask you to link a climate, a lithology and a landform, or to explain why a deposit is sorted, rounded or chemically mature.
431 words, about 2 min03Historical Geology, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology
This domain tests how geologists order and date events, and how fossils constrain both age and environment. Typical PAU tasks are a described cross-section with a fault, a dyke and an unconformity, or a fossil assemblage to be dated and interpreted environmentally.
436 words, about 2 min04Minerals, Rocks and Geological Resources
This domain tests identification and classification of minerals and rocks, the processes that form them, and the economic and sustainability questions attached to mining and energy resources. Identification questions reward systematic observation: composition first, texture second, origin third.
421 words, about 2 min05Atmosphere, Climate and Meteorological Processes
This domain covers atmospheric composition and structure, the dynamics that create winds and precipitation, the climate system and the evidence and mechanisms of climate change. PAU questions often ask you to explain a weather situation in terms of pressure, humidity and stability, or to separate natural from anthropogenic forcing.
489 words, about 2 min06Hydrosphere and Water Resources
This domain covers the water cycle, surface and groundwater behaviour, water quality and the management problems of a Mediterranean country. PAU questions favour hydrograph interpretation, aquifer reasoning (especially coastal salt intrusion) and quality indicators.
469 words, about 2 min07Environmental Systems, Biodiversity and Ecological Interactions
This domain tests ecosystem structure, population dynamics, energy and matter flows, and the factors that generate and maintain biodiversity. PAU questions usually give data - a survivorship curve, a trophic table, a growth curve - and ask for interpretation plus a management consequence.
421 words, about 2 min08Environmental Impact, Natural Risks and Management
This domain integrates everything else: how impacts are predicted, how risk is quantified, how land-use planning reduces exposure, and what sustainability means in practice. PAU questions are usually decision-based - given a project or a hazard map, argue a position with explicit criteria.
498 words, about 2 min