Systems at Higher Level: Same definition as SL. At HL, test it: take one component away and predict how the whole system changes.
Practise this as you read
- Name the components and how they depend on each other.
- Predict what happens to the whole when one part is lost.
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The idea behind the whole topic: A system is a set of components that interact or are interdependent, organised into one working whole.
Components
- Corals, the algae living inside them, reef fish.
Interdependence
- The algae feed the coral; the coral shelters the algae.
Functional whole
- The reef builds itself and shields the coast from waves.
Remove one part, and the whole changes: When the sea gets too warm, corals push out their algae. Without that food the coral starves and the reef stops growing: coral bleaching.
Ecological systems
- A coral reef.
- A mangrove forest.
Societal systems
- A city's water supply.
- A country's food system.
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The features are the same for a societal system. A city's water supply:
| Feature | In a city's water supply |
|---|---|
| Components | Reservoir, treatment works, pipes, homes |
| Interdependent, one whole | Homes get water only if every part works |
| Flows of matter and energy | Water piped from reservoir to homes |
| Transformations | Treatment kills microbes; pumps turn electricity into motion |
| Open to its surroundings | Rain fills the reservoir; wastewater leaves |
| Feedback | Reservoir low, hosepipe ban, less use, levels recover |
Each feature has its own page later: Flows (1.2.2), transformations (1.2.4), open systems (1.2.5) and feedback (1.2.8).
How this comes up: "Explain how X may be considered a system": features of a system, each with an example from X.
IB-style questionExplain[7 marks]
Explain how a community of trees in a mangrove forest may be considered a system.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Stay with the community asked about: The question is about the trees. Crabs, fish and birds belong to the whole mangrove ecosystem, so they do not count here.