What this lesson teaches
I can explain the chemical and physical weathering processes and what controls them.
Syllabus 9173, Topic 2.2, 1. Geomorphic Processes. What influences the weathering of rocks?
Make a guess
Upstream dams and sand mining cut the sediment reaching Vietnam's Mekong Delta, and groundwater pumping makes the land sink. What happened to rice crops in the droughts of 2016 and 2020?
- Salt water pushed inland and damaged them.
- They grew better from the extra sunshine.
- Nothing, as the delta was protected by dams.
Show the answer
Salt water pushed inland and damaged them.
With less sediment, sinking land and low river flow in drought, sea water moved further up the delta. Salty water harms rice.
A named place with a date or figure, linked to your point, turns a general answer into a developed one.
This lesson collects the 4 named examples from the lessons in this chapter, so you can revise them in one place. Each one is also a recall card below, so you can save the whole set and review it before an exam.
Cockpit karst and tower karst: Guilin and the Li River, China.
Caves and speleothems: Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Karst ecosystem services and human pressures: Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
Delta services and human pressures: Mekong Delta, Vietnam.
To use a case, name the place or organisation, give its date or a figure, then say what it shows about the question. One developed case earns more than a list of names.
- Guilin and the Li River, China
- Steep limestone towers rise from flat plains along the Li River near Guilin. Guilin was added in 2014 to the South China Karst World Heritage Site, which UNESCO first listed in 2007, and its towers are a classic example of tower karst.
- Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia
- A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, Mulu has some of the largest known limestone caves, including the Sarawak Chamber, one of the biggest cave chambers in the world. Heavy tropical rain and acidic water dissolving the limestone formed them.
- Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
- A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994, its limestone towers attract millions of visitors, bringing income but also pollution from boats and development.
- Mekong Delta, Vietnam
- Upstream dams and sand mining reduce sediment, while groundwater pumping makes land sink. Salt water pushed far inland in the droughts of 2016 and 2020, damaging rice crops.
Step by step
Name it
The place, event or organisation.
Prove it
A date, number or specific fact.
Link it
Say what it shows about the question.
Worked example: From a name to a developed point
Weak: "There are real examples, such as Guilin and the Li River, China." Strong: "Steep limestone towers rise from flat plains along the Li River near Guilin. Guilin was added in 2014 to the South China Karst World Heritage Site, which UNESCO first listed in 2007, and its towers are a classic example of tower karst." The strong version gives the place and the evidence, so it can earn a development mark.
Watch out for this
Naming a famous example is enough to earn the mark.
Examiners credit a developed case: a place, a date or figure, and a clear link to the question.
Check your understanding
Which is the strongest way to use a named example in an answer?
- Describe the example in general terms, without a place or figure.
- List several example names, with no details.
- Give the place, a date or figure, and its link.
Show the answer
Give the place, a date or figure, and its link.
Yes. A located, evidenced and linked case is what earns development marks.