Develop your understanding in IB ESS SL using custom-built flashcards, perfect for quick study sessions on desktop or mobile app.

Foundations of ESS

1.1 MCQ

Historical Influences, EVS, Anthropocentric, Ecocentric, Technocentric

Environmental Value Systems

1.2 MCQ

System Diagrams, Storages, Flows, Transfers, Transformations, Open & Closed Systems, Models

Systems & Models

1.3 MCQ

Laws of Thermodynamics, Conservation of Energy, Negative & Positive Feedback Loops, Stability, Resilience, Tipping Point

Energy & Equilibria in Systems

1.4 MCQ

Sustainable Development, Natural Resources, Capital, and Income, Goods, Services, EIA, Ecological Footprint (EF)

Sustainability

1.5 MCQ

Non-Point & Point Source, Persistent, Biodegradable, Acute, Chronic, Primary, Secondary, DDT, Pollution Management

Pollution

Ecosystems & Ecology

2.1 MCQ

2.1 Terminology

Habitat, Biotic & Abiotic Factors, Interactions, S-Curve, J-Curve, Limiting Factors, Carrying Capacity

Species & Populations

2.2 MCQ

Respiration, Photosynthesis, Food Chains, Trophic Levels, Ecological Pyramids, Bioaccumulation, Biomagnification

Food Webs & Energy

2.3 MCQ

Solar Radiation, Net, Gross, Primary, and Secondary Productivity, Maximum Sustainable Yield, Carbon & Nitrogen Cycles

Productivity & Nutrient Cycles

2.4 MCQ

Tricellular Model, Biome Shift, Habitat, Species, and Genetic Diversity, r- & K-Strategists, Pioneer & Climax Community

Biomes, Zonation, and Succession

2.5 MCQ

Investigating Ecosystems

Biodiversity & Conservation

3.1 MCQ

Species, Habitat, and Genetic Diversity, Species Richness & Evenness, Diversity Index

Biodiversity

3.2 MCQ

Natural Selection, Survival of the Fittest, Speciation, Plate Tectonics, Mass Extinctions

Evolution & Extinction

3.3 MCQ

Habitat Destruction, Invasive Species, Pollution, Overharvesting, IUCN Red List, Conservation Status, Tropical Biomes

Threats to Biodiversity

3.4 MCQ

NGOs, Conventions, Protected Areas, Habitat & Species-Based Conservation, CITES, Flagship & Keystone Species, Zoos

Conservation of Biodiversity

Water & Aquatic Food Production

4.1 MCQ

Hydrological Cycle, Aquifer, Glacier, Ice Cap, Evaporation, Precipitation, Freshwater, Saltwater, Ocean Conveyor Belt

Water Cycle & Oceanic Circulation

4.2 MCQ

Supply, Access, Irrigation, Reservoirs, Desalination, Aquifers, Rainwater Harvesting, Conflict

Freshwater Resources

4.3 MCQ

Marine, Freshwater, Phytoplankton, Whales, Wild Fisheries, Fish Stocks, Aquaculture, Maximum Sustainable Yield

Aquatic Food Production

4.4 MCQ

Eutrophication, Dead Zones, Plastic, Runoff, Sewage, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Indicator Species, Biotic Index

Water Pollution

Soil & Terrestrial Food Production

5.1 MCQ

Soil Profile, Leaching, Erosion, Sand, Silt, Clay, Loam, Soil Texture Triangle

Soil Structure & Systems

5.2 MCQ

Farming, Fertilisers, Pesticides, Yield, Food Waste, Food Choices, Subsistence & Commercial Farming, Vegetarianism

Terrestrial Food Production

5.3 MCQ

Fertility, Deforestation, Grazing, Monoculture, Erosion, Desertification, Salination, Terracing, Marginal Lands

Soil Degradation & Conservation

Atmosphere

6.1 MCQ

Natural Greenhouse Effect, Troposphere, Stratosphere, Clouds, Albedo

Atmospheric Structure & Function

6.2 MCQ

Hole in Ozone Layer, UV radiation, CFCs, Aerosols, Montreal Protocol, Skin Cancer, Phytoplankton

Stratospheric Ozone

6.3 MCQ

Urban Pollution, Primary & Secondary Pollutants, Soot, Nitrogen & Sulfur Oxides, Tropospheric Ozone, Thermal Inversion

Photochemical Smog

6.4 MCQ

Fossil Fuels, Acid Rain, Nitrogen & Sulfur Oxides, Wet & Dry Deposition, Direct & Indirect Effect, Lime

Acid Deposition

Climate Change & Energy Production

7.1 MCQ

Fossil Fuel, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Renewables, Nuclear, Energy Security & Strategy, Energy Efficiency & Conservation

Energy Choices & Security

7.2 MCQ

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect, Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), Methane, Global Temperature, Extreme Weather Events, Sea Level Rise

Climate Change - Causes & Impacts

7.3 MCQ

Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Geo-Engineering, Carbon Sinks, Flood Defences, Desalinization, CDR, UN-REDD, CCS, IPCC

Climate Change - Mitigation & Adaptation

Human Systems & Resource Use

8.1 MCQ

Births, Deaths, Fertility, CBR, CDR, TFR, DT, NIR, Population Pyramids, Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

Human Population Dynamics

8.2 MCQ

Renewable & Non-Renewable Natural Capital, Sustainable Use, Value of Natural Capital

Resource Use

8.4 MCQ

Extending Carrying Capacity, Ecological Footprint (EF), Limits to Human Population Growth

Human Population Carrying Capacity

8.3 MCQ

SDW, Non-Biodegradable, Plastic, Landfill, Incineration, Recycling, Composting, Circular Economy

Solid Domestic Waste

These new IB ESS Case Studies have been designed for you to apply your knowledge and understanding of Environmental Systems & Societies in challenging Paper 1-style contexts. Each Case Study provides you with a range of materials about a country or region and a set of questions of varying levels of difficulty. A complete markscheme identifies the ESS concepts and terminology required to achieve the marks and a sample answer allows you to see how this could be compiled into a good response. The Case Studies are organised into themes taken from the Environmental Systems and Societies SL concepts: four themes focusing on nature and four on humans. All the Case Studies are written in a Paper 1-style; our team of experienced IB ESS teachers and examiners have created both full-length and shorter examples as well as three levels of difficulty to suit a range of revision needs.

Original Case Studies to train the skills in analysing and evaluating data that you need for Paper 1. 

IB ESS SL - 2025
Flashcards

Foundations of ESS

#1 IB Math Resource

34% Grade Increase

80% of IB Students

More IB Environmental Systems and Societies SL - 2025 Resources

Questionbank

Case Studies

Practice Exams

Past Papers

Flashcards

IB ESS SL - 2025Flashcards

Foundations of ESS

#1 IB Math Resource

34% Grade Increase

80% of IB Students

More IB Environmental Systems and Societies SL - 2025 Resources

Questionbank

Case Studies

Practice Exams

Past Papers

Flashcards

IB ESS SL - 2025
Flashcards