Atmospheric and oceanic circulation, the hydrological cycle, and the evidence and mechanisms of climate change.
These are the statements the Earth and Environmental Science syllabus makes about Atmosphere, Water and Climate. Dux records each one against the questions you answer, so you can see which of them you have actually been tested on and which have never been asked.
Atmospheric structure, pressure systems and the processes that produce local weather.
The hydrological cycle, catchment behaviour and ocean systems, including their role in moving heat.
The greenhouse mechanism, radiative forcing, and the multiple independent records that establish recent warming.
Hadley, Ferrel and polar cells, the Coriolis effect, and why rainfall falls where it does.
The distinction between the natural greenhouse effect and the enhancement caused by added gases, and why the distinction matters.
Ice cores, tree rings, sediments and corals, and the resolution and limitation of each record.
Surface currents, thermohaline circulation, and the consequences of a weakening overturning circulation.
Inputs, stores and outputs in a catchment, and how land use changes the balance.
Positive and negative feedbacks, including albedo, water vapour and permafrost, and the idea of a threshold.
HSC Earth and Environmental Science - Examination Shape is 100 marks in 180 minutes. Questions on Atmosphere, Water and Climate are not one shape repeated: the command word decides what the marker is looking for, and the mark value decides how much of it. These are the ones Earth and Environmental Science uses.
Dux writes practice for this module in exactly these shapes, so the drill is the same task the paper sets — not a general knowledge quiz with the module name on it.
Atmosphere, Water and Climate is module 2 of 4 in Earth and Environmental Science. Students routinely lose marks because a question spans two modules, so the neighbouring modules are worth reading next to this one.
Dux diagnoses Earth and Environmental Science dot point by dot point, then writes questions in the shape this course marks. Written answers come back marked against the bands.