1.2 Geographical Research

1. 1.2Geographical Research 4G1 Year 8 Geography

2. Syllabus Key geographical questions • apply key geographical questions to a local environment Fieldwork: the use of geographical tools in investigating the physical and human environment • use geographical tools to measure and record elements of the local environment • present geographical information about the local environment using a range of written, oral and graphic forms

3. What's It All About? • In order to understand the world it is essential to experience environments firsthand. • Books and modern technology can provide useful information about people and places, but it is only through directly interacting with environments that we can appreciate their real scale and complexity.

4. Why Is This So? Key Geographical Questions

5. Key Geographical Questions • Geographers start by asking questions. • What is it? • Where is it? • Why is it there? • When investigating issues they go on to ask questions, such as: • What are the effects of it being there? • How is it changing? • Should it be like this? • Then they consider citizenship. • What groups are involved? • What do different groups think? • What action is appropriate?

6. A Wonderful Kind Of Answer • What is it? • Uluru • Where is it? • Northern Territory, Australia • Why is it there? • Geological answer: It has evolved over time through a combination of erosion and other geographic factors • Indigenous peoples answer: came to being during the dreamtime

7. Issue Investigations • What groups are involved? • Local Australian aboriginal peoples • State Government • Local business • Tourists • What do different groups think? • Local Australian aboriginal peoples as a sacred site • State Government from a legal control and tourism marketing perspective • Local businesses earn income from the tourists visiting the site • Tourists are interested in the cultural and historical significance of the site • What action is appropriate? • Environmental protection of the rock itself • Environmental protection for the area surrounding • Control of urban development impacts when considering the needs for tourists

8. Citizenship Issues • What are the effects of it being there? • Creates a unique biome for flora & fauna in the area. • Creates a destination for tourists within Australia • Is a location of spiritual significance for the local Australian aboriginal people • How is it changing? • Wind and rain and people are further eroding the site • The visual look of Uluru changes at sunrise and sunset through the shifting of lift from the sun • Should it be like this? • Respect for indigenous culture is growing in Australia and the request of all of the local peoples should always be considered when developing the site • Human impact should be minimized. • People climbing have now been banned to reduce the damage to a a sacred site

10. Exploring our environment • A good way to explore impacts to our environment is through the use of fieldwork. • Field work is the use of geographical tools in investigating the physical and human environment • Some geographical tools can include such things as: • Maps • Observations • Surveys • Mathematical models

11. FIELDWORK • Fieldwork guide: • Step 1: Decide on the aim of your fieldwork. • To identify the main physical and human features of the environment. • Step 2: Generate key questions that relate to the aim. • What are the main physical features of the environment? • What are the main human features of the environment? • Where are the features located? • Step 3: Decide what data you need to collect. • Photographs of physical features. (Think about how many you need and what type.) • Photographs of human features. • The location of each feature. • Step 4: Identify the techniques that you will use to collect your data. • Photography and mapping.

12. FIELDWORK • Fieldwork guide continued: • Step 5: Go out and collect your data. • Draw your own map or use a base map of the school provided by your teacher. • Spend time observing all the features in the environment before you select the ones that you are going to photograph. • When you take each photograph record the location, feature, where you were standing and the direction you were facing. • Step 6: Process the data. • Develop or download the photographs. • Step 7: Select a presentation method. • You could use your workbook, a poster, PowerPoint or another electronic format. • Remember that maps should all have BOLTS, and photographs should have titles and/or captions

13. FIELDWORK • Observations • One of the easiest ways to collect information about an environment is to look at it carefully and keep a detailed record of observations • Field sketches are line drawings drawn from observation in the study environment • Samples and Surveys • A survey is a collection of statistical data. These include counting, polls that record people’s votes on an issue and questionnaires that provide a more detail set of data

14. Rain, rain ….come today  • A good way to further understand the water cycle is to create a rain gauge and measure the water that is naturally introduced into our environment over a certain period of time. • This information will build on our previous classes where we discussed the water cycle

15. Measuring the weather • Ever wondered what caused rain or breezy winds? Or why is it so hot for a few months and relatively cold in the other months? Well, these all are a part of the weather. • Weather is a condition of air at a certain time or place. • This condition is affected by a number of factors, thus keeps on changing regularly. • However, according to some researchers, human beings are also responsible to some extent for causing changes in the weather. • Meteorologists collect and analyse information about the weather in order to make forecasts • A traditional weather station contains instruments that measure air pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed and precipitation. These are read regularly and the observations recorded to build up an understanding of weather patterns

16. (a) Rain Gauge Activity • You will be allocated a group of “Master Geographers” to work with • Each group should bring 2 empty plastic bottles (approx 1lt plus in size) in which to collect water • The tops will be cut off the bottles to allow better water collection so don’t use a good water bottle your parents have bought you • Tape will be attached to the bottle to show how much water is in the bottle daily • A name will be written on each bottle to show which group owns which bottle • A wire will be attached to the bottle & it will be hung from a fence in the school grounds

17. What Will You Be Doing? • Each group will be required to: • Download the Rain Gauge worksheet from www.studyismybuddy.com • Check the daily forecast at http://www.willyweather.com.au/nsw/sydney/castle-hill.html • Update the actual versus forecast weather • Measure the water in their gauges every day for 2 weeks (excluding weekends) • Update the excel spreadsheet everyday for 2 weeks • Create a sketch of the environment where we are hanging the rain gauges and accurately label the picture.

18. What Will We Do With The Data? • At the end of this time we will be creating a variety of charts to graph: • Daily amounts of water • Daily temperatures • Comparisons of previous years rainfall patterns • Accuracy of forecast versus actual temperatures