Water and its management — IGCSE Environmental Management (0680) questions by topic
Interpreting water-cycle process diagrams, describing the global distribution of predicted water shortage, tracking a saltwater lake's shrinkage across aerial images from different years, and plotting pH tolerance ranges for river organisms sit at the centre of this topic, worth 5 to 23 marks across 13 real questions from 2023 to 2025 papers.
Suggest, state, describe, explain and name top the command words, and name means giving the specific term or source rather than a general description. Reports show candidates confusing the ocean with a fresh water source, so plotting or describing the data and checking it against instant marking is a quick way to confirm a named source or process is actually correct, not just plausible-sounding.
What examiners look for
- A recurring criticism is plotting a pH bar beyond the tolerance limit, or misaligning it with the spacing of bars already drawn.
- Examiners note a persistent misconception that the ocean would be a valid source of fresh water.
- Reports flag the word equation for respiration as poorly known, particularly that water is a product of the reaction.
- A common error was describing the causes of poor sanitation, or how it could be improved, rather than answering on its actual impacts.
- Strong answers correctly plotted data in the same style as the given example, identified sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen as forming acids with atmospheric water vapour, and knew glacial melting mixes fresh water with salt water, causing flooding.
May–June 2025, Paper 11
The diagram shows part of the water cycle. Name process A and process B. A ............................................ B ............................................
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 12
The map shows some oil spills (key: a dot represents an oil spill). The world map shows oil-spill dots concentrated in coastal areas, with most spills north of the Equator and…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 13
The diagram shows part of the water cycle. Name process A and process B. A ........................................... B ...........................................
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 22
There was heavy rainfall on Ischia on 26 November 2022. Rainfall is part of the water cycle. Complete the sentences about the water cycle. Use words from the list. Each word may…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 12
The graph shows the global availability of drinking water supplies in 2015–2020 (water available /%, key: surface water, unimproved source, improved source, safely managed). State…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 11
The diagram shows part of the water cycle. A labelled cross-section runs from a body of water (ocean) up over land. A key indicates that single arrows show 'movement of water' and…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 13
The diagram shows part of the water cycle. (The original diagram has been removed from the published paper due to copyright restrictions; it showed water-cycle processes including…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 21
Lake Tuz is a large saltwater lake in Türkiye. The diagrams show aerial views of Lake Tuz from 1988 to 2020 (key: saltwater, marsh land, salt deposits; three maps for 1988, 2016…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 11
The diagram shows the distribution of the Earth's fresh water. The pie chart shows: ice sheets and glaciers 68.7%, other fresh water 1.2%, and ground water (the remaining sector,…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 12
A scientist investigates the pH range of rivers that aquatic organisms can live in. The results are shown as horizontal bars on a pH scale (0 to 14) for: bacteria, frogs, perch,…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 13
The diagram shows the distribution of the Earth's fresh water. The pie chart shows: ice sheets and glaciers 68.7%, other fresh water 1.2%, and ground water (the remaining sector,…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 12
The map shows predicted water shortage for 2025 (key: no water shortage; water shortage; no data), with the Tropic of Cancer, Equator and Tropic of Capricorn marked. Describe the…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 13
Trees have an important role in the water cycle. The diagram of the water cycle has five blank boxes to label (around a lake, with ground water flow and surface run-off marked).…
Answer this question and get it marked →