Exam Paper Hk - Form 2 Geography

Example short-answer structure (3 marks): 1 mark — brief fact; 1 mark — short explanation; 1 mark — example or result.

Understanding the marking rubric is half the battle. Here is an example for a 6-mark question:

Question: Explain two reasons why Hong Kong is at low risk from volcanic eruptions. (6 marks)

| Marks | Descriptor | |-------|-------------| | 0 | No answer or completely off topic. | | 1-2 | Vague: "Because there are no volcanoes." (Needs explanation of plate boundary). | | 3-4 | Correct but shallow: "HK is far from plate boundaries." (Missing Eurasian/Philippine Sea plate detail). | | 5-6 | Detailed and accurate: "Hong Kong is located on the Eurasian Plate, far from destructive plate boundaries. The nearest active volcano is 1,500 km away in Japan, and HK has no mantle plume or rift zone." |

Tip: Always use the "PEEL" method (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link back to HK).

Answer any four of the following (5 marks each).

When marking Form 2 Geography papers, HK teachers repeatedly see the same errors. Avoid these to secure top marks:

Part 1: The Night Before

Ming, a Form 2 student in Hong Kong, was packing his bag for tomorrow’s geography field trip to Tai O and Lantau Island. He stared at a map his teacher, Mr. Chan, had given him. On the map, he saw contour lines close together near a place called Sunset Peak and a blue line labelled River Mui Wo winding down to the sea.

“Remember,” Mr. Chan had said, “Hong Kong is not as stable as it looks. We sit on the Eurasian Plate, but just 200km away, the Philippine Sea Plate is pushing against us. That’s why we felt tremors last year.”

Ming fell asleep reading his notes: Destructive plate boundary... Fold mountains... Deep ocean trench... Example short-answer structure (3 marks): 1 mark —

Part 2: The River Study

At 9:00 AM, the class stood by the River Mui Wo. Mr. Chan pointed to the upper course. “Look at the boulders here,” he said. “They are large and angular. The river is flowing very fast, cutting down vertically.”

They walked downstream to the middle course. The river meandered gently. On the inside of a bend, they saw a sandy beach (a slip-off slope). On the outside, the bank was undercut and collapsing (a river cliff).

Ming took out his flow meter. He measured the velocity:

Part 3: The Earthquake

Suddenly, the ground shook. Just a small tremor (magnitude 3.5). Everyone crouched down.

“Don’t panic,” said Mr. Chan. “This is a minor earthquake caused by the friction between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. But in Japan, which is on the same plate boundary, they get much bigger quakes and tsunamis.” Understanding the marking rubric is half the battle

Ming looked at his worksheet. It had a diagram of a destructive plate boundary with a subduction zone.

Part 4: The Coastline (Tai O)

By noon, they reached Tai O, a fishing village built on stilts. The coastline here is famous for its strange rock formations.

“Look at the headland,” said Mr. Chan. “See how the sea has eroded the bottom to form a notch? Eventually, the top will collapse, leaving a stack.”

Ming saw waves crashing against the cliffs. He also noticed a long stretch of sand curving inwards—a bay—where the village was protected from the full force of the waves.

Part 5: The Lost Log

On the bus back to Tung Chung, Ming realized he had lost his field log. He only had the photos on his phone. “I need to rewrite my answers from memory,” he sighed.