VCE Geography Units 1 & 2

Unit 1: Hazards and disasters

In this unit students undertake an overview of hazards before investigating two contrasting types of hazards and the responses to them by people. Hazards represent the potential to cause harm to people and or the environment whereas disasters are judgments about the impacts of hazard events. Hazards include a wide range of situations including those within local areas, such as fast moving traffic or the likelihood of coastal erosion, to regional and global hazards such as drought and infectious disease. Students examine the processes involved with hazards and hazard events, including their causes and impacts, human responses to hazard events and interconnections between human activities and natural phenomena. This unit investigates how people have responded to specific types of hazards, including attempts to reduce vulnerability to, and the impact of, hazard events.

AREAS OF STUDY

Characteristics of hazards

Response to Hazards and disasters

Unit 2: Tourism

In this unit students investigate the characteristics of tourism, with particular emphasis on where it has developed, its various forms, how it has changed and continues to change and its impacts on people, places and environments. They select contrasting examples of tourism from within Australia and elsewhere in the world to support their investigations. The travel and tourism industry is directly responsible for one in every twelve jobs globally. Tourism at local, regional and global scales emphasises the interconnection within and between places. For example, the interconnections of climate, landforms and culture help determine the characteristics of a place that can prove attractive to tourists. The growth of tourism at all scales requires careful management to ensure environmentally sustainable and economically viable tourism.

AREAS OF STUDY

Characteristics of tourism

Impact of tourism