Danho
ZIMSEC A Level · 6037/2 · N2023

Geography Paper 2 November 2023

Questions
30
Total marks
250
Syllabus code
6037/2

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Questions
30
Pass mark
18
Sit this paper

Answer every question in the printed order, get marked at the end, then see the answers.

The questions

Question 101

[2 marks]Environmental degradation and legislation
Name the term for materials that can be broken down naturally by micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi into harmless natural products over time, such as food waste and paper.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 102

[2 marks]Environmental degradation and legislation
Which Zimbabwean law requires an Environmental Impact Assessment before a major development project may proceed?
  1. AThe Environmental Management Act, which established the Environmental Management Agency and requires impact assessments.
  2. BThe Mines and Minerals Act, which requires a rehabilitation bond once a mine closes.
  3. CThe Forest Act, which protects only land already gazetted as forest.
  4. DThe Water Act, which regulates the abstraction and pollution of water sources.

Question 103

[3 marks]Environmental degradation and legislation
Many boreholes drilled under rural water programmes fall back into disrepair after a few years. What is the main reason for this?
  1. AA shortage of spare parts and technical support leaves broken pumps unrepaired for long periods.
  2. BGroundwater levels beneath rural boreholes are falling faster than in urban areas for entirely natural reasons.
  3. CThe boreholes were never properly capped, so surface contamination re-enters the water within weeks of drilling.
  4. DRural communities are legally barred from repairing their own boreholes without a government permit.

Question 201

[2 marks]Urbanisation processes
Name the process by which population moves away from large cities altogether, to smaller towns and rural areas beyond the urban fringe.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 202

[3 marks]Urbanisation processes
A former mining town such as Kamativi declined sharply once its mine closed. Which factor in urban decline does this best illustrate?
  1. ALoss of the original economic function that founded the settlement in the first place.
  2. BRural-urban migration bypassing the town in favour of the national capital.
  3. CPoor infrastructure that discouraged residents from ever settling there.
  4. DCompetition for investment from a larger, better-connected nearby city.

Question 203

[2 marks]Urbanisation processes
What is a commonly cited negative impact of counter-urbanisation on the rural areas that receive the incoming population?
  1. ARural schools and clinics close for lack of any remaining local population.
  2. BAgricultural land use expands as newcomers take up commercial farming.
  3. CRural unemployment falls to zero as incomers bring guaranteed local jobs.
  4. DRural house prices rise, pricing out residents who already lived there.

Question 301

[2 marks]Settlement geography and central place theory
Name the term for the minimum number of customers, or minimum purchasing power, needed to make providing a good or service profitable.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 302

[3 marks]Settlement geography and central place theory
Hwange grew from a small settlement into a town primarily because of which function?
  1. AA route-centre function, at the junction of two major rail lines.
  2. BAn administrative function, as the seat of provincial government.
  3. CA mining function, servicing the coalfield the town was built to work.
  4. DA tourism function, servicing visitors to a nearby national attraction.

Question 303

[3 marks]Settlement geography and central place theory
Central Place Theory predicts a regular hexagonal hierarchy of settlements over an even plain. Why does the theory only partly explain Zimbabwe's actual settlement pattern?
  1. AZimbabwe has too few settlements of any size for a hierarchy to be tested at all.
  2. BZimbabwe's population, resources and transport routes are unevenly distributed, unlike the theory's even plain.
  3. CZimbabwean consumers never travel to buy goods, which the theory assumes they will do freely.
  4. DThe theory applies only to settlements founded after 1980 and cannot be tested against colonial-era towns.

Question 401

[2 marks]Migration in Southern Africa
Name the migration pattern in which migrants follow relatives or community members who migrated earlier to the same destination, using their contacts to ease the move.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 402

[3 marks]Migration in Southern Africa
On Fig. 4.1, the arrows converging on South Africa are by far the thickest on the map. What best explains this?
  1. AEvery other country on the map was experiencing an economic boom in the early 1990s, which discouraged anyone from leaving them.
  2. BSouth Africa's population was declining sharply in the early 1990s, creating an artificial labour shortage that pulled in workers.
  3. CSouth Africa's industrialised, mining-based economy offered wages far above its neighbours and had long recruited migrant mine labour directly.
  4. DSouth Africa is drawn at the centre of the map, which makes any arrow pointing toward it appear thicker than it really is.

Question 403

[3 marks]Migration in Southern Africa
The arrow from Angola into Zambia on Fig. 4.1 has a different underlying cause from the arrows converging on South Africa. What is that difference?
  1. AThe Angola-Zambia flow represents wealthy retirees relocating for climate, while the South Africa-bound flows are all labour migration.
  2. BThere is in fact no real difference; both flows were driven purely by wage differences between origin and destination.
  3. CThe Angola-Zambia arrow represents tourist travel rather than any form of migration at all.
  4. DThe Angola-Zambia flow was driven mainly by displacement from Angola's civil war, an involuntary movement, rather than by an economic pull toward higher wages.

Question 501

[2 marks]Agriculture and rural development
Name the intensive form of cultivation of fruit, vegetables and flowers, typically grown on a small area with high labour and capital input, often under irrigation.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 502

[3 marks]Agriculture and rural development
Which factor most directly cut Zimbabwe's national dairy herd after 2000?
  1. AGovernment banned all private dairy farming in favour of a single state-run monopoly producer.
  2. BLand reform disrupted many of the established large-scale commercial farms that held the country's dairy breeding stock and infrastructure.
  3. CA nationwide outbreak of a dairy-specific cattle disease wiped out most breeding stock in a single season.
  4. DConsumer demand for milk in Zimbabwe collapsed entirely as diets shifted away from dairy products.

Question 503

[2 marks]Agriculture and rural development
What most limits ICT's contribution to agricultural development reaching poorer, remote rural farmers in Zimbabwe?
  1. AExtension officers refusing to work with any farmer who owns a mobile phone.
  2. BGaps in mobile network coverage and the cost of a smartphone in remote areas.
  3. CA government ban on using mobile phones for any agricultural purpose.
  4. DICT services being available only to farmers growing tobacco for export.

Question 601

[2 marks]Industrial location
Name the class of industry characterised by heavy research and development investment, highly skilled labour, and a footloose location not tied to raw materials.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 602

[3 marks]Industrial location
Hi-Tech firms often cluster together in places such as Silicon Valley rather than spreading evenly across a country. Why?
  1. AClustering lets firms share a pool of skilled labour and knowledge, an agglomeration advantage.
  2. BNational law in most developed countries forbids a Hi-Tech firm from operating outside a designated cluster.
  3. CHi-Tech products require a specific raw material found only in a small number of locations.
  4. DClustering is required so that every firm in the cluster can share one single electricity substation.

Question 603

[2 marks]Industrial location
Why do government incentives to reduce industrial over-concentration usually only shift investment at the margin?
  1. APeripheral regions always lack any land at all on which a new factory could be built.
  2. BFirms still gravitate toward existing agglomeration economies, skilled labour, infrastructure and market access, unless incentives are large and sustained.
  3. CIncentives are illegal under international trade law and so cannot be offered in practice.
  4. DFirms are legally required to remain in the region where they were first founded.

Question 701

[2 marks]Small scale mining
Name the type of mining carried out with limited capital, simple technology and a small workforce, as opposed to a large mechanised operation.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 702

[3 marks]Small scale mining
What is the main purpose of Fidelity Printers and Refiners' gold-buying scheme for small scale miners?
  1. ATo provide free mining equipment to every registered small scale miner in the country.
  2. BTo set a fixed low price for gold so that mining becomes unprofitable and miners leave the sector.
  3. CTo offer a formal, better-paying market for gold, discouraging miners from smuggling it out unrecorded.
  4. DTo confiscate gold from any miner found operating without a formal mining licence.

Question 703

[2 marks]Small scale mining
Despite formalisation drives, why do most small scale miners in Zimbabwe remain unlicensed?
  1. ALicensing, formal equipment and legal claims require capital and paperwork many miners cannot access.
  2. BThe government has made it illegal for any small scale miner to apply for a licence at all.
  3. CLicensed mining has been shown to be less profitable than unlicensed mining in every case.
  4. DThere is no benefit whatsoever to holding a licence, so no miner has any reason to apply.

Question 801

[2 marks]Energy and hydro-electric power
Name the situation in which a country or region produces more energy than it currently needs, allowing it to export the excess or hold it in reserve.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 802

[3 marks]Energy and hydro-electric power
Why does an HEP dam need to be sited on a narrow gorge with a hard, stable rock foundation?
  1. AA wide, flat site would generate more electricity than a narrow gorge ever could.
  2. BThe gorge keeps the dam wall short and economical, while the hard rock is strong enough to bear its weight safely.
  3. CA narrow gorge is required only because it looks more attractive to tourists visiting the dam afterward.
  4. DHard rock is needed purely to prevent fish from being able to swim past the dam wall.

Question 803

[2 marks]Energy and hydro-electric power
Put the stages of HEP generation in the correct order, from stored water to grid electricity.
  1. AA transformer steps up the voltage first, which then causes water to be released through the penstock onto the turbine.
  2. BThe generator spins first and pulls water up into the reservoir behind the dam through the penstock.
  3. CWater is released directly into the transmission grid without passing through any turbine or generator.
  4. DWater falls through a penstock onto a turbine, the turbine spins a generator, and a transformer steps up the voltage for the grid.

Question 901

[2 marks]International trade
Name the category of trade covering intangible services, such as tourism, banking, insurance and remittances, that does not involve a physical good crossing a border.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 902

[3 marks]International trade
Which of the following was a direct effect of COVID-19 on global trade?
  1. AGlobal trade volumes rose steadily throughout 2020 as demand for goods increased.
  2. BShipping costs and container availability improved sharply during the pandemic.
  3. CSupply chains became shorter and more reliable everywhere almost overnight.
  4. DInternational tourism, an invisible trade, collapsed as borders closed.

Question 903

[2 marks]International trade
Why is the true scale of Zimbabwe's cross-border trade difficult to capture in official statistics?
  1. ACross-border trade with every neighbouring country was suspended for the whole of the last decade.
  2. BAll cross-border trade in Zimbabwe passes through a single, fully automated recording post.
  3. CA large share of it is carried out informally by individual traders, outside the recorded, formal channels.
  4. DZimbabwean law bans any statistical agency from measuring cross-border trade at all.

Question 1001

[2 marks]Globalisation and economic development
Name the composite indicator that combines income, education and health into a single measure of a country's development.

Answer this when you sit the paper.

Question 1002

[3 marks]Globalisation and economic development
Many African economies face an unfavourable terms of trade under globalisation. What does this describe?
  1. ASelling manufactured goods abroad while importing only raw materials in return.
  2. BHaving no trade relationship at all with any economy outside their own region.
  3. CExporting low-value raw materials while importing higher-value manufactured goods.
  4. DReceiving more foreign direct investment than any developed economy in the world.

Question 1003

[2 marks]Globalisation and economic development
Why do domestic savings and capital markets fail to substitute fully for Foreign Direct Investment in most African countries?
  1. AAfrican governments have made domestic investment illegal in every economic sector.
  2. BForeign Direct Investment is in fact smaller in value than domestic investment in every African country.
  3. CDomestic banks refuse as a matter of policy to lend to any local business whatsoever.
  4. DDomestic savings and capital markets in most African countries remain too shallow to fund large-scale investment on their own.

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