Some students were investigating two local beaches made up of different materials. The beaches were about 5 km apart in a popular tourist area. The beaches are shown in Fig. 10 (Insert). They decided to test the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: The size of beach material increases away from the low water mark. Hypothesis 2: The environmental impact of tourism varies between the two beaches.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2011). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] (a)(i) Taking samples at equal distances / regular intervals / uniform intervals / specific order / every nth person.
2. [2] (a)(ii) Accept disadvantages of random if express it that way round OR Easier because sampling sites are evenly spaced out (1) OR Quicker to choose / locate sites (1) OR May give fairer test / less or no bias than random (1)
3. [1] (b)(i) Classification as sand, shingle or pebbles is subjective / inconsistent / may be classified differently at different sites / difficult to distinguish / student error / materials may be mixed up (1) OR Estimating the percentages may lead to inaccuracy / inconsistency. (1) OR Could be larger material such as cobbles / large stones / boulders (1) OR Other beach material qualified e.g. seaweed / litter / shells (1) OR Could take a long time to classify (1)
4. [2] (b)(ii) Completion of pie graph; 20% shingle, 5% pebbles (Can be either way) OR 1 mark for dividing line – should be 72 / 18 degrees; allow 2 degree tolerance OR 1 mark for shading both slices correctly.
5. [3] (b)(iii) Answers must be comparative between X and Y beaches OR between sites on each beach - Beach X (Site 1 / 2) compared with Beach Y (Site 3 / 4). 1 mark max for each material. Sand: higher proportion / percentage at beach X / Site 1 or 2 (1) / mainly sand at both sites on beach X but only at one site on beach Y (1) Shingle: higher proportion / percentage at beach Y / Site 3 or 4 than 1 or 2 at X. (1) Pebbles: no pebbles at beach X / Site 1 or 2 only pebbles at beach Y / Site 3 or 4 (1).
6. [4] (b)(iv) Hypothesis is true for beach Y – 1 mark reserve. If circle wrong answer then no other marks to be awarded. Recognition that Site 3 is at LWM or site 4 is near cliff / further from LWM (1) Sand decreases (1) from 75–0% / by 75% (1) Shingle increases (1) from 20–50% / by 30% (1) Pebbles increase (1) from 5–50% / by 45% (1) 1 mark max. RESERVED for use of data indicating change for one size of material; must use units i.e. percentages %.
7. [3] (c)(i) Look for three different decisions (3 × 1). Examples below. Decide on scoring system / range / scale of numbers (1) NOT Carry out a bi-polar method. OR How many survey points to choose (1) OR Which types / forms of litter to measure in the survey (1) OR How long they have to carry it out (1) OR How to choose the location of the survey sites / distance between them (1) OR What area to be covered at each site (1) OR When to carry it out (1) OR How frequently to carry it out (1) OR How to divide the work between the students / groups / pairs (1) OR How to agree on what exactly the −2 to +2 scale meant re the litter types (1) OR Decide on format to record the information (1) OR Is the environmental survey only to do with litter? (1)
8. [2] (c)(ii) Plotting on Fig. 5. OR 1 mark each for shading accurate bars at -2 on C and +1 on D for plastic
9. [2] (c)(iii) Examples: Note – Differences must be comparative. Answers must relate to the results NOT overall judgements Similarity: “no wood” scored +2 in both (1) / "no plastic” scored +2 in both (1) / All scored + 1 (1) / Same amount of wood / plastic in both (1) / No negative scores at all / all scores are positive. (1) Difference: glass / paper / other litter scored +1 at site A but +2 at site B (1) / Site A has some paper / glass but B has none (1)
10. [2] (c)(iv) Yes / hypothesis is true / correct / impact does vary between beaches OR Reserve 1 mark for agreeing with hypothesis (1) OR If disagree / partially agree no marks at all. OR If no decision made mark correct explanation for 1 max. OR Positive or no -ve impact at beach X / mostly –ve impact at beach Y (1) OR Beach X / Sites A and B cleaner than Beach Y / Sites C and D (1) OR Beach X / Sites A and B have less litter than Beach Y / Sites C and D (1) OR If use Sites instead of X and Y must refer to both Sites on each beach.
11. [3] (c)(v) Examples: Look for three separate reasons (Can be opposites on each beach) Beach X has less litter as hotels / officials / council clear up litter (1) OR Beach X has less litter as it has bins (1) OR Beach Y has more litter due to caravan park (1) OR Beach Y has more litter as less likely to have litter bins (1) OR Beach Y has more litter as not cleared up (1) OR Beach Y has more litter due to longshore drift / wind (1)
12. [1] (d)(i) Examples of Hypotheses: Can be phrased as a statement or question. OR Constructive / destructive waves affect the beaches differently. (1) OR The beach profile varies between X and Y. (1) OR Do cliff profiles vary because of their geology? (1) OR Vegetation varies on different coastal features (1) OR To what extent does water quality varies between the beaches? (1) OR Longshore drift affects the size of beach material at the beaches (1)
13. [4] (d)(ii) To avoid double penalising, if the hypothesis is not acceptable, award up to max. of 2 marks for HOW they would carry out their investigation. Look for four logical sequential investigative methods Example: Beach profiles: Mark the line of transect OR Measuring pole stuck into beach at water's edge OR Measure 10m up the beach and stick other measuring pole into sand OR Use clinometer to measure angle between two poles OR Record the angle and repeat along the transect line OR Repeat for other transect lines