Practice 8.2 Urban systems and urban planning with authentic IB Environmental systems and societies (ESS) exam questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank mirrors Paper 1, 2 structure, covering key topics like ecosystems, human impact, and sustainability. Get instant solutions, detailed explanations, and build exam confidence with questions in the style of IB examiners.
Paper
Level
Question 1
SLPaper 2
1.[4]
Outline four ways urbanization may influence processes in the hydrological cycle.
2.[7]
Hydropower is a resource that can be exploited from rivers. Discuss how the value of this resource to a society may vary over time.
3.[9]
To what extent are water scarcity issues better addressed through behavioral interventions than through technological development?
Question 2
SLPaper 2
1.[4]
Using named examples, distinguish between the concept of a “charismatic” (flagship) species and a keystone species.
2.[7]
Explain the role of two historical influences who shaped the development of the environmental movement.
3.[9]
Discuss the role of environmental value systems in the protection of tropical biomes.
Question 3
HLPaper 2
1.[4]
Explain the role of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) in sustainable resource management.
Question 4
HLPaper 2
1.[6]
Discuss how natural resource insecurity can impact socio-economic development.
Question 5
HLPaper 2
1.[7]
Evaluate the concept of 'natural capital' and how its value can change over time.
Question 6
SLPaper 2
1.[4]
Explain how soil can be viewed as an ecosystem.
2.[7]
Compare and contrast the impact of humans on the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
3.[9]
Examine the role of humans in the destabilization of ecological systems.
Question 7
SL & HLPaper 2
The figure shows Growth in global lithium production, 1995 to 2022
*
(Source: "Lithium production”, part of the following publication: Hannah Ritchie, Pablo Rosado and Max Roser (2023) - “Energy”. Data adapted from Energy Institute. Retrieved from OurWorldinData.)
1.[2]
Explain whether lithium is renewable or non-renewable natural capital.
2.[2]
Natural capital is valued for many different reasons. List two ways in which natural capital may be valued.
3.[2]
The status of natural capital can change over time. This means that something that may be of value now, may have not been in the past. Or something that may have been valuable in the past, may no longer be now. Using one example, explain how this is possible.
4.[2]
Explain how the tragedy of the commons impacts non-renewable natural capital.
Question 8
HLPaper 2
1.[4]
Explain the role of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in managing natural capital globally.
Question 9
SLPaper 1
The resource booklet provides information on Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada. Use the resource booklet and your own studies to answer the following.
Figure 7(b): Fact file on beaver hunting
- By 1900 beavers had been hunted almost to extinction for their pelts (skin and fur).
- The IUCN classify beavers as “least concern” on the Red List.
- There are 19 registered trap lines in Algonquin Provincial Park where beavers may be trapped for their pelts by First Nation (indigenous) people.
- All trappers must have a licence, and may only trap during the hunting season using ethical traps.
- 135 000 beavers are still trapped and killed in Canada each year.
- The price for a beaver pelt was US$19 in 2015, compared to US$500 a pelt in 1940.
- Many landowners trap beavers on their property because of the damage they cause. (Beavers cut timbers and their dams can create floods causing millions of dollars of economic damage.)
1.[2]
With reference to Figure 7(b), calculate the percentage reduction in the price of beaver pelt between 1940 and 2015.
2.[1]
Identify one reason why the value of beaver pelts has changed over time.
Question 10
SL & HLPaper 2
- A model was built to investigate the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in fisheries of cod, brown shrimp, plaice and sole. In the baseline scenario 4 ships together caught the MSY for each species.
Two variables were changed:
- primary productivity in the ecosystem
- marine mammal (harbour porpoise and seal) presence
The outputs of the model were:
- the effort needed to catch the MSY of fish and shrimp
- the catch of each species at MSY
- the amount of fish and shrimp biomass in the ecosystem at MSY
Results are shown below.
Figure 1: Modelling the effects on North Sea fisheries of primary productivity and marine mammals
Stäbler M, Kempf A, Smout S, Temming A (2019). Sensitivity of multispecies maximum sustainable yields to trends in the top (marine mammals) and bottom (primary productivity) compartments of the southern North Sea foodweb. PloS ONE 14(1)
. Retrieved 21 Sep, 2023 from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210882. Open Access.
1.[2]
Distinguish between the effect of "reducing primary productivity" and "increasing marine mammals to carrying capacity" on the biomass of catch species in the water, as shown in the Figure.