O-LevelGeographyEconomic development2217/22 · May/June 2013 · Q830 Marks

Students decided to investigate the effects of tourism in their local area. The location which they chose was a hilltop with a tower. This location is shown in Fig. 14 (Insert) and the tower is shown in Photograph B (Insert).

(a)(i)The hilltop and tower is a popular tourist site. Suggest why this location is a popular tourist site.[1]
(a)(ii)Which one of the following buildings is most likely to be located close to this tourist site? Circle your answer below. hospital factory cafe shopping mall school[1]
(b)(i)To investigate Hypothesis 1 the students did a pedestrian count at different points along two of the paths which lead to the tower. Describe how they would organise and carry out the pedestrian count.[4]
(b)(ii)The students did the pedestrian count on two different days. Their results are shown in Table 6 (Insert). Suggest two reasons why the students counted more people on the Sunday.[2]
(c)(i)The students plotted the results of their pedestrian count for Sunday on a graph, shown in Fig. 15 below. Complete Fig. 15 by plotting the results for sites 4 and 5 on path B.[2]
(c)(ii)The students partially agreed with Hypothesis 1: The number of people walking on the paths will increase towards the tower. Support their decision with evidence from Fig. 15 only.[3]
(c)(iii)Suggest two reasons for the results shown in Fig. 15.[2]
(d)(i)To investigate Hypothesis 2: Footpath erosion caused by trampling will increase towards the tower, the students estimated the percentage of vegetation cover and bare soil at each site. They did this by using a quadrat, shown in Photograph C (Insert). Describe how the students would have carried out this investigation.[3]
(d)(ii)The students used their results shown in Table 7 (Insert) to draw graphs to show the percentage of vegetation cover and bare soil at each sampling site. These are shown in Fig. 16 below. Use the results to complete Fig. 16 for sites 4 and 5 on path B.[2]
(d)(iii)What conclusion would the students make about Hypothesis 2: Footpath erosion caused by trampling will increase towards the tower? Consider your conclusion for each path separately and support your answer with data from Fig. 16 and Table 7.[4]
(e)Suggest three ways that the students could have improved their investigation into both hypotheses. Look again at Fig. 14 (Insert) to help you to answer.[3]
(f)To extend their fieldwork the students decided to look for evidence of management strategies which were being used to protect the area from the impact of tourism. Suggest three pieces of evidence that they might have found.[3]

This question uses a diagram from the original paper, which isn't shown here. Open the full paper from the past papers archive to see it.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2013). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

[1] Examples Good views / attractive scenery (1) Historical building (1) Access by roads/paths (1)
[1] Cafe
[1 + 1 + 1 + 1] [4] Examples Student(s) in pairs/groups (1) Start counting people walking at same time (1) Count people walking to the tower (1) Use a stopwatch/timer to measure time (1) Use 10 minutes / >10 minutes / same time span (1) Tally method/counter to record pedestrians (1)
[1+1] [2] Examples from the Table Not a working day/children not at school (1) Sunny/dry/warm weather (1) Good visibility from hilltop (1) Attraction / tower open (1) Tower closed on Wednesday (1 max for ref to Wednesday)
[1+1] [2] Completion of scatter graph Plots at 12 (site 4) and 27 (Site 5). 1 mark per plot.
[1 + 1 + 1] [3] Examples: NOTE this refers to Fig 9 i.e. the SUNDAY pattern Highest number of people at site 5 / nearest tower OR both highest nearest tower (1) But number of walkers generally decreases towards tower / from Site 1-4(1) Same pattern of results for both paths (1) Path A: 45 to 36 to 50 (1 max for any two of these figures) Path B: 16 to 12 to 27 (1 max for any two of these figures) Credit data (two numbers from either A or B) to 1 mark max but not a reserve mark
[1+1] [2] Examples (Can be reverse of following) Highest number at site 5 / tower because people may have come to hilltop via other paths (1) Highest at site 5 / tower because of any valid activity e.g. came earlier and stayed there/ taking photographs / picnics / enjoy the views (1) Path A goes from a car park (1) Higher number at site 1 on path A because people stay close to car park (1) Path B may be too steep to go all the way (1) May wander off path between Sites 1/5 (1)
[1+1+1] [3] Examples Worked in pairs / groups (1) Put quadrat on ground / down (1) Estimate/count number of squares which include vegetation cover/bare soil (1) Estimate/work out percentage of quadrat with bare soil/veg OR multiply squares counted by 4 = 100% (1) Record their results (1)
[1+1] [2] Completion of divided bars 1 mark for correct plot of bar at 44/56% and shading for Site 4. 1 mark for correct plot of bar at 10/90% and shading for Site 5.
[1 HA + 1] + [1HA + 1] [4] Path A: Hypothesis is incorrect / not supported With the exception of site 5 percentage of bare ground / vegetation cover is similar / varies slightly / fluctuates for all sites (1) Path B: Hypothesis is correct / agree with hypothesis Bare ground percentage increases / vegetation cover decreases at each site nearer to tower (1)
[1+1+1] [3] Examples Carry out pilot study (1) More sampling sites on each path (1) Sample more paths up hillside (1) Do more quadrat samples at each site (1) Measure depth of footpath erosion at each site (1) Do more pedestrian counts at different times of the day / more days (1) Use data from Wednesday & Sunday / don't ignore Wednesday data (1) Do pedestrian count at different times of year / seasons (1) Use other students to check results (1)
[1+1+1 + 1 + 1] [3] Paved path / aggregate / limestone / artificial surface man-made paths (1) Signs to tell walkers to stay on paths / warnings re fines (1) Information boards (1) Fences/barriers alongside paths / conservation areas (1) Re-seeding worn areas / fenced off (1) Wardens / guides / security guards (1) Litter bins (1) Car parks (1) Seating / picnic places (1)