Course Content – Edexcel Syllabus (7447)
Unit 1 – The living environment
- Atmosphere
- Insolation
- Position in the solar system
- Orbital behaviour
- Magnetosphere
- Oxygen production
- Ozone layer
- Carbon sequestration
- Biogeochemical cycles
- Methods of conserving biodiversity
- Captive breeding and release programmes
- Ecological monitoring
- Abiotic and biotic factors
Unit 2 – The physical environment
- Global climate change
- Difficulties monitoring and predicting climate change
- Ozone depletion
- Sustainable management strategies
- Mineral supplies
- The carbon cycle and human influences
- The nitrogen cycle and human influences
- The phosphorous cycle and human influences
- Soil degradation and erosion
- Soil management strategies
Unit 3 – Energy resources
- Strategies to secure future energy supplies
- The importance of energy supplies in the development of society
- Features of energy resources
- New energy conservation technologies
- Building energy conservation
- Industrial energy conservation
- Environmental factors that affect rates of degradation
Unit 4 – Pollution
- The properties of pollutants
- Environmental factors that affect rates of degradation
- Strategies to control pollutants
- Hydrocarbons
- Carbon monoxide
- Thermal pollution
- Oil pollution
- Pesticides
- Nutrient Pollution
- Organic nutrient pollutants
- Noise
- Developing new pollution control technologies
Unit 5 – Biological resources
- Agriculture
- Strategies to increase the sustainability of agriculture
- Marine Productivity
- Fishing
- Aquaculture
- Forest resources
- Deforestation
Unit 6 – Sustainability
- Dynamic equilibria
- Natural Energy Processes
- Carbon footprints and sustainable development
- The circular economy
Unit 7 – Research Methods
- Sampling techniques
- Fieldwork and laboratory activities
- Specialist techniques
