Short synoptic questions

For AQA and OCR students

[Before I start, there are now almost 800 subscriptions to this Substack – it is good to know so many teachers find it useful. Thank you.]

This week I completed my last face-to-face talk to A level students for this year’s exams here in the UK (at a school in the NW of England) where I offer advice on exam technique. One feature was to point out that the examination boards AQA and OCR require ‘synoptic’ questions to be set where targeted links (or connections) are assessed between two very different areas of content – often taught by different teachers and taught at different times during the course. The students have no idea which areas of content will be linked in this way, and so must ‘think on their feet’ to address these synoptic links.

The exam Board AQA has a mark tariff of 9 marks for such questions, whereas OCR has a tariff of 12 marks. Bearing in mind the time constraints, about 15/18 minutes, the word count that can be expected for the answers is probably a maximum of 400 words.

In assessment terms, the Assessment Objective AO1 (knowledge) is met by accuracy of content, and case studies. The Assessment Objective AO2 (application of knowledge and understanding) is met by the links made between the two separate areas of content. (See earlier Substacks for more information on these AOs.)

Here are two examples of such questions, with an answer to each.

The former question links the following areas of content: carbon cycle (physical) and waste management of cities (human).

The second links food security (human) with global governance (human).

Assess the effects on the carbon cycle of incineration and landfill approaches to waste disposal in urban areas.

Incineration involves a form of energy recovery by burning waste, known as municipal solid waste (MSW). There are some serious concerns regarding atmospheric pollution, as burning MSW is a greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter. However, by converting the waste to energy for use nearby, incineration can be considered as GHG reducer. Most sites around the world use some of the heat created to warm buildings or generate electricity.

Sheffield integrates a waste incinerator, located centrally, with a network of pressurised hot water pipelines under parts of the city centre (called the District Energy Network (DEN)) to recover heat from MSW. The heat created from the process is converted to steam and used to generate heat and electricity. The facility is designed to handle 225,000 tonnes of MSW a year. Up to 60MW of heat is supplied to over 140 buildings connected to the DEN including offices, leisure facilities (the Ponds Forge swimming pool), hotels, and new apartments. The plant also generates up to 19MW of electricity for the National Grid; enough to power up to 19,000 homes. It is estimated that the heat provided by the DEN in Sheffield saves 12,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from being released into the atmosphere every year, and so has a substantial reducing impact on the carbon cycle.

For landfill, MSW is buried - dumped in old quarries or hollows where it is unsightly and a threat to groundwater supplies and river quality as toxic chemicals are leached out. The decomposing waste also emits methane, the most toxic of the GHGs and is potentially explosive. To discourage the use of landfill sites, landfill taxes are often imposed, and the activity is now closely regulated in the UK.

One UK strategy to reduce GHGs is landfill methane oxidation techniques. When waste is disposed of in a landfill it biodegrades and produces carbon dioxide and methane. Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and the climate change impact of landfilling is reduced by capturing the landfill gas and oxidising the methane to create carbon dioxide. It is hoped that this strategy will enable landfill operators and regulators to ensure the continued oxidation of landfill methane and so will help to mitigate the climate change impact of landfill.

Both incineration and landfill impact the carbon cycle, though there are initiatives to deal with some of these impacts and reduce GHG emissions. (397 words)

To what extent do you agree that global governance is necessary to ensure food security?

Strong global governance is just one way to ensure food security. One of the most significant forms of governance has been the work of the World Food Programme (WFP) under the United Nations (UN) to supply food aid in crisis situations.

Food aid has its benefits, particularly in crisis situations such as Syria’s civil conflict and the 2023 Turkish earthquake. Types of aid include ‘Programme’ food aid - the transfer of food from one government to another as a form of economic support. In addition to the above is ‘Project’ food aid, where food is provided for hunger-related issues such as disaster relief. Most Project food aid is directed through multilateral agencies, such as the WFP. It forms emergency food aid, intended for direct, free distribution to people facing famine or acute food shortage because of natural or human-made disasters.

Criticisms of food aid include the following. Donor-driven food aid is often a means of ‘dumping’ surplus food from advanced countries. Food aid dependency for the recipient countries could also be a long-term outcome of this type of aid. Large quantities of food aid can also swamp local markets and drive down prices, reducing the income of indigenous farmers.

An alternative to food aid includes fair trade (which includes principles such as fair prices and good working conditions), appropriate technology and small-scale projects to promote the recovery of farming. For example, the MERET Ethiopia programme helps farmers reclaim degraded land using simple techniques such as terracing hillsides to prevent soil erosion.

In contrast to global governance forms of dealing with food security, small-scale ‘bottom-up’ approaches could be adopted and can be very effective. Cooperative farming, such as organiponicos in Cuba, and mixed farming practices which allow the recycling of nutrients, and the management of grazing practices to reduce land degradation can all assist.

Finally, national based schemes could also work well. These range from large scale water projects, as with the new dam and HEP scheme being built by the Ethiopian government on the Upper Nile could help with food security if the water is used for irrigation schemes. Similarly, the Indian government has invested in projects across the country to improve the storage and distribution of food.

It is clear therefore that there are several strategies aimed at ensuring food security, but perhaps it is those linked to global governance that are both most effective and better known. (399 words)