Unit 1: Foundations of ESS

Topic 1.3: Equilibrium, Stability and Resilience Questions

Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB ESS Topic 1.3. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.

1Outline3 marks
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.1
Give three ways in which the mangrove forests fringing the coastline of Belize function as natural capital, providing goods or services that support human or ecological wellbeing.
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2State2 marks
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.4
State one advantage and one limitation of using the carbon footprint as a model for assessing the sustainability of a country's energy system.
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3state2 marks
2026vault
State the three pillars (domains) of sustainability.
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4Outline3 marks
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.1
Give three ways in which the peat bogs of the Scottish Highlands function as natural capital, providing goods or services that support human or ecological wellbeing.
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5Suggest1 mark
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.4
A figure shows that Indonesia's biocapacity declined from 4.2 gha/capita in 1980 to 2.1 gha/capita in 2022. Suggest one reason for this decline.
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6State2 marks
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.4
State one strength and one weakness of using the ecological footprint as a model to measure the environmental impact of an individual's lifestyle.
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7define1 mark
2026vault
Define the term footprint in an environmental context.
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8state1 mark
2026vault
State what the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are.
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9Outline3 marks
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.1
Give three ways in which the mangrove forests fringing the coastline of Belize function as natural capital, providing goods or services that support human or ecological wellbeing.
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10define1 mark
2026vault
Define the term environmental justice.
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11identify1 mark
2026vault
Using Figure 1, identify the country that meets the minimum criteria for sustainability.
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12Outline3 marks
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.1
Give three ways in which the peat bogs of the Scottish Highlands function as natural capital, providing goods or services that support human or ecological wellbeing.
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13Outline1 mark
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.1
Using the information provided, give one reason why a reed-bundle canoe used by fishing communities on Lake Titicaca is more sustainable than a fibreglass motorboat.
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14Identify1 mark
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.4
The bar chart below compares ecological footprint (EF) and biocapacity (BC) for five world regions in 2020. Identify one region that is operating with an ecological surplus.
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15define1 mark
2026vault
Define the term sustainability.
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16state1 mark
2026vault
State the unit commonly used for ecological footprint.
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17state2 marks
2026vault
State two different scales at which environmental justice can be applied.
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18define1 mark
2026vault
Define a composite indicator.
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19state1 mark
2026vault
State what is meant by a single indicator of development.
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20State1 mark
Aimnova PP-practice — 1.3.4
Singapore has an ecological footprint roughly 6 times greater than its biocapacity. State one mechanism that allows Singapore to maintain this level of resource consumption.
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