Practice IB Geography Topic D.2 Geophysical Hazard Risks with authentic exam-style questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank focuses on the exact syllabus content for D.2 Geophysical Hazard Risks and mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 style where relevant.
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The map below shows cities’ risk of exposure to natural disasters.
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Identify one city shown to be at high risk from three or more types of natural disasters.
State the continent with the largest number of high-population cities (10 million or more) exposed to multiple hazard risks.
Outline one reason why urban areas are often more exposed to multiple natural hazards than rural areas.
Explain two ways in which multi-hazard exposure can increase the vulnerability of megacities.
Examine the challenges of managing geophysical hazards in cities located in multi-hazard zones.
Discuss the extent to which population size is the most important factor in determining urban vulnerability to geophysical hazards.
The map shows global seismic hazard zones, indicating the probability of ground shaking caused by earthquakes.
Source: Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program (GSHAP)
Identify one country that is located in a high seismic hazard zone.
Identify one country that is located in a low seismic hazard zone.
Outline one reason why seismic hazard is higher along plate boundaries.
Explain two reasons why the impacts of earthquakes differ between countries.
Discuss the extent to which earthquake hazards can be managed through prediction and preparation.
Evaluate the reasons why some locations experience more serious consequences from earthquakes than others.
The map shows global tectonic plates, the locations of volcanoes and earthquakes, and selected tectonic events since 2000.
Source: Oxford University Press (Adapted)
Using the map, identify one tectonic plate that has a high concentration of both earthquakes and volcanoes.
Using the map, state the type of plate boundary most commonly associated with both earthquakes and volcanoes.
Outline one reason why destructive plate boundaries are associated with high geophysical hazard risk.
Explain two ways in which the characteristics of different plate boundaries influence the severity of geophysical hazards.
Examine how different types of plate boundaries contribute to the occurrence of volcanic and earthquake hazards around the world.
Evaluate the extent to which the impacts of geophysical hazards are influenced more by the characteristics of the hazard than by human vulnerability.
The map shows global plate boundaries and the distribution of volcanic activity (active since 1900 and active in the Holocene).
Source:
Identify the type of plate boundary most commonly associated with active volcanoes.
Identify one region where volcanoes have been active since 1900.
Outline one reason why volcanic activity is concentrated along convergent plate boundaries.
Explain two challenges posed by volcanic hazards to communities living near active volcanoes.
Discuss the reasons why some regions are more vulnerable to volcanic hazards than others.
Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used to manage volcanic hazards.
The following figure indicates the number of major floods per decade.
State the number of major floods in the 1960s
Identify the decade with the highest number of major floods.
Outline one reason why the number of major floods may have increased over time.
Outline one physical reason and one human reason why the risk of river floods can change with time.
To what extent has human activity contributed to the increase in major floods over time?