Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS)
What qualifications are needed to follow
this course?
Students will be able to study this course successfully with
no specific previous knowledge of science or geography;
however, it is recommended that students have a grade B in
Biology and/or Geography in order to support the course.
What will I be studying at Standard Level?
The Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS) course is an
interdisciplinary course which is unique in that it contains
various sciences, coupled with a societal viewpoint, all
intertwined to help you understand the environment and
its sustainability.
This course is designed to combine the techniques and
knowledge associated with group 4 (the experimental
sciences) with those associated with group 3 (individuals
and societies).
During the course, students will study seven different
topics:
1. Systems and models
2. The ecosystem
3. Human population, carrying capacity and
resource use
4. Conservation and Biodiversity
5. Pollution management
6. Global warming
7. Environmental value systems
The most important aspect of the ESS course is hands-on
work in the laboratory and/or out in the field.
How will I be studying?
ESS is delivered through a variety of approaches, which all
rely on data from observations and experiments, and
involves reasoning to form a conclusion. Environmental
Scientists work internationally at all levels and in this
course students may share data collected with those in
other IB schools on other continents.
Practical work is seen as vital to the study of ESS. You will
be required to appreciate the limitations of data, and the
extent and limitation of our knowledge.
Many scientific problems, from climate change to
conservation, are international in nature and a global
approach to research has developed.
How is the course assessed at Standard Level?
Paper 1: 1 hour (30%)
Short answer and data-based questions (45 marks)
Paper 2: 2 hours (50%)
Section A: Data-based and short answer questions
Section B: Two structured essays from a choice of four (65
marks)
Internal Assessment: (20%)
An individual practical project. To be completed in Year 13.
(42 marks)
How will Environmental Systems and Societies
help me in the future?
Environmental issues are both local and global in their
extent. We all live on one planet Earth, yet use more than
one plant Earth’s worth of resources. This is obviously not
sustainable and this course aims to discuss the issues
surrounding resources from individual and global
perspectives.
Through studying environmental systems and societies
(ESS) you will be provided with a coherent perspective of
the interrelationships between environmental systems and
societies; one that enables you to adopt an informed
personal response to the wide range of pressing
environmental issues that you will inevitably come to face
in their lifetime.
This course of study will provide the skills necessary for
you to analyse, promote cultural awareness, connect
technology and its influence on the environment, and
realise that global societies are linked to the environment at
a number of levels and at a variety of scales and the
resolution of many of these issues rely heavily on
international relationships and agreements.
ESS is designed to give you the analytical tools and content
knowledge which will aid you as you grapple with global
issues and others as you continue your scientific
endeavours and fulfil your role as a citizen and future law
maker.
ESS is an interdisciplinary course; you can study this course
and have it count as a Group 4 Subject in place of a single
Science (eg Biology, Chemistry, Physics). This leaves you
with the opportunity to study (an) additional subject(s)
from any group of the hexagon including (an) additional
subject(s) from groups 3 or 4.
Enrichment opportunities
There will be a residential fieldtrip in the summer term in
which students will put their ecology studies into practice!
(There will incur an additional cost of approximately £80).
October 2016