Geography students in two schools in Manama, Bahrain and Jakarta, Indonesia planned a joint fieldwork investigation using email and a video-link between the two schools. They wanted to test if atmospheric pressure varied during the year and if it affected wind speed. The climate in Manama is tropical desert and in Jakarta is tropical rainforest. They agreed the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: As atmospheric pressure increases wind speed decreases. Hypothesis 2: Atmospheric pressure is different in January and July in both Manama and Jakarta.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2012). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [3 × 1=3] Air is sinking Weather conditions change slowly Expected weather is dry Air is rising Weather conditions change rapidly Expected weather is wet
2. [1 + 1 =2] Index pointer shows previous recorded value / align both pointers(1) Arrow / pointer /needle moves on dial (1) Difference between index pointer and arrow/ pointer needle / shows change (1) Read value/pressure on dial (1)
3. [1] 1018 (mb)
4. [1] Millibars
5. [1] To get comparable reading / consistent / fair / reliable NOT accurate
6. [1 + 1 = 2] Cones / cups revolve / spin / turn / rotate /moves (1) Read speed off meter (1) Shows reading as km per hour (1)
7. [1 + 1 = 2] Plot on scatter graph 13th (1016mb & 12 km per hr) & 19th (1017mb & 7 km per hr) for Manama. 1 mark per plot.
8. [1HA + 3 = 4] Hypothesis is NOT TRUE / as AP increases wind speed does not decrease – Accept As AP increases, wind speed does slightly / positive relationship (1) OR No relationship between AP and wind speed (1) Data evidence: e.g. at 1019mb speed is 13 km/hr but at 1010mb speed is 6 km/hour (1 max) e.g. at same AP wind speeds have large extremes (1) at 1016mb there are 4 different speeds /range 3-12 km/hour (1 max) (ALSO ok if use 1012mb/1019 lines) e,g. at same wind speed AP has large extremes (1) at 4km/hr AP ranges from 1012mb to 1019mb (1 max) (ALSO ok if use 7 km/hr line)
9. [1 + 1 = 2] Primary data: using a rain gauge & measuring the speed of river flow (1) Secondary data: researching on the internet & reading a newspaper report (1) Mark as 1 correct = 0, 2 or 3 correct = 1, all 4 correct = 2.
10. [1 + 1 = 2] Plot 2 bars for 18th in Manama: July= 999 mb, Jan = 1016 mb
11. [1HA + 3 = 4] Hypothesis is TRUE AP has larger differences in Manama / lower differences in Jakarta (1) Credit data up to 3 max with reserve of 2 marks In Manama AP varies between 16-23 mb between Jan & July (1) or raw figures (1) In Jakarta AP varies between 1-3 mb between Jan & July (1) or raw figures (1) Can compare individual data on any dates e.g. on 11th January 1018mb at Manama but 11th July 997mb (1) on 11th January 1012mb at Jakarta and on 11th July 1011mb (1)
12. [1 + 1 = 2] May not have carried out pilot study (1) Data only collected for 10 day periods (1) These days may not be typical conditions (1) Data collection only done twice a year (1) How accurate were readings /student errors (1) Unable to check the results from other school / confidence in other school (1) Time zone/communication/language difficulties/issues (1) Should have taken more than just 1 reading (1)
13. [1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4] Credit for 1 max an acceptable hypothesis regarding temperature (1) Use thermometer (1) Where thermometer is located e.g. in the shade / Stevenson screen (1) Details of readings taken e.g. maximum, minimum temperatures (1) When readings are made (1) How readings are recorded (1)