IB ESS · 2021 to 2026
Unit 5: Land
89 past paper questions from 35 papers across 17 exam sessions. See what repeats, then practise the same skills with AI marking.
Starter set across the most-tested skills, with AI marking and model answers.
SL archive · 2017 to 2026
Unit 5: Land
Latest exam session: May 2026
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Topics in Unit 5: Land
In syllabus order. The ring is the share of the marks each one carries.
Exam pattern
How often each micro-topic has been examined, year by year. Each label is explained under the grid.
Does it repeat?
Top 4 of 19 micro-topics for the next sitting. Numbers are questions per year.
fewermore
| Micro-topic | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ·Soil conservation, 2017: 0 questions | 1Soil conservation, 2018: 1 question | 1Soil conservation, 2019: 1 question | 1Soil conservation, 2020: 1 question | ·Soil conservation, 2021: 0 questions | ·Soil conservation, 2022: 0 questions | 3Soil conservation, 2023: 3 questions | ·Soil conservation, 2024: 0 questions | 1Soil conservation, 2025: 1 question | 3Soil conservation, 2026: 3 questions | |
| 2Outputs from soil, 2017: 2 questions | 1Outputs from soil, 2018: 1 question | 1Outputs from soil, 2019: 1 question | ·Outputs from soil, 2020: 0 questions | ·Outputs from soil, 2021: 0 questions | 1Outputs from soil, 2022: 1 question | ·Outputs from soil, 2023: 0 questions | ·Outputs from soil, 2024: 0 questions | 2Outputs from soil, 2025: 2 questions | 5Outputs from soil, 2026: 5 questions | |
| ·What shapes farmers' choices, 2017: 0 questions | ·What shapes farmers' choices, 2018: 0 questions | 1What shapes farmers' choices, 2019: 1 question | 1What shapes farmers' choices, 2020: 1 question | ·What shapes farmers' choices, 2021: 0 questions | 1What shapes farmers' choices, 2022: 1 question | 1What shapes farmers' choices, 2023: 1 question | 2What shapes farmers' choices, 2024: 2 questions | 1What shapes farmers' choices, 2025: 1 question | 1What shapes farmers' choices, 2026: 1 question | |
| ·Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2017: 0 questions | ·Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2018: 0 questions | ·Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2019: 0 questions | ·Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2020: 0 questions | 1Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2021: 1 question | ·Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2022: 0 questions | ·Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2023: 0 questions | ·Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2024: 0 questions | 2Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2025: 2 questions | ·Synthetic fertilizers and natural productivity, 2026: 0 questions |
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- Risingappearing more often in the last two years than before
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Questions on Unit 5: Land, by exam session
Which papers asked about Unit 5: Land, and which question numbers. Open a paper to see them highlighted.
May 2026
5 questions across 4 papers
Specimen 2026
1 question across 1 paper
May 2025
3 questions across 2 papers
November 2024
4 questions across 4 papers
May 2024
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2023
5 questions across 3 papers
May 2023
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2022
1 question across 1 paper
May 2022
2 questions across 2 papers
May 2021
3 questions across 2 papers
November 2020
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2019
1 question across 1 paper
May 2019
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2018
3 questions across 1 paper
May 2018
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2017
2 questions across 2 papers
May 2017
2 questions across 2 papers
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Frequently asked questions
Short answers about this page.
Which ESS exam sessions are covered for Unit 5: Land?
18 exam sessions from 2017 to 2026, the latest May 2026. Every Paper 1 and 2 in every timezone is read and classified in full, which gives 35 papers in this archive.
Which Unit 5: Land topic comes up most?
Soil conservation (5.2.9): in 20% of papers, last seen May 26 P2 TZ3. Usually "Outline", worth about 2.8 marks in a paper that includes it.
Can I see the original question and mark scheme?
No. The wording belongs to the IB. You get the citation, the marks, the command term and the skill tested, plus our own matched practice questions with worked answers and AI marking.
What do "banker", "due" and "rising" mean?
Banker: examined in at least one sitting in four and still appearing. Due: regular before, but absent for the last two exam sessions. Rising: clearly more common in the last two years. Our classification of real papers, not an IB statistic.
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What each ESS paper tests across all its sittings: the marks by unit and the micro-topics it keeps coming back to.
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