Island School History
  • Home
  • Y7/8 MYP
  • Y9 History
    • 1. Innovation & Industry >
      • 1. Causes
      • 2. Innovations
      • 3. Conditions
      • 4. Changes
      • 5. Sources
      • 6-7. Assessment 1 >
        • The USA
      • 8. Reflection
    • 2. Empire and Expansion >
      • 1. What is an Empire?
      • 2. Benefits of an Empire
      • 3. Negatives of Empire expansion
      • 4. Perspectives on Empires
      • 5. Assessment
    • 3. Rebellion and Revolution >
      • 1. Why do people protest?
      • 2. What are the causes of revolutions?
      • 3. What are the methods of protest?
      • 4. What are the consequences of protests?
      • 5. Assessment
      • Student Work
    • 4. War and Conflict >
      • 1. Causes of WW2
      • 2. Did that really happen here? WW2 in Hong Kong
      • 3. Why did the War extend to Hong Kong?
      • 4. How did the War affect Hong Kong?
      • 5. Assessment
    • Old History >
      • 1. Hong Kong Story >
        • Further Reading
      • 2. The Slave Trade
      • 3. The First World War
      • 4. The Changing Role of Women
  • Elements
    • Big History Project >
      • 1. What is Big History? >
        • 1.0 - Welcome to Big History
        • 1.1 - Scale
        • 1.2 - Origin Stories
        • 1.3 - What are Disciplines?
        • 1.4 - My Big History
        • Glossary
      • 2. The Big Bang >
        • 2.0 - Changing Understandings
        • 2.1 - The Big Bang
        • 2.2 - Claim Testing
        • Glossary
        • Links & Resources
      • 3. Stars and Elements >
        • 3.0 - How were stars formed?
        • 3.1 - Creation of Complex Elements
        • 3.2 - Ways of Knowing: Stars & Elements
        • Glossary
      • 4. Our Solar System & Earth >
        • 4.0 - Formation of Earth & Our Solar System
        • 4.1 - What was young Earth like?
        • 4.2 - Why is Plate Tectonics important?
        • 4.3 - Ways of Knowing: Our Solar System and Earth
        • Glossary
      • 5. Life >
        • 5.0 - What is Life?
        • 5.1 - How did Life Begin and Change?
        • 5.2 - How do Earth and Life Interact?
        • 5.3 - Ways of Knowing: Life
        • Glossary
      • 6. Early Humans >
        • 6.0 - How Our Ancesters Evolved
        • 6.1 - Ways of Knowing: Early Humans
        • 6.2 - Collective Learning
        • 6.3 - How did the First Humans live?
        • Glossary
      • 7. Agriculture & Civilisation >
        • 7.0 - The Rise of Agriculture
        • 7.1 - The First Cities and States
        • 7.2 - Ways of Knowing: Agriculture & Civilisation
        • Glossary
      • 8. Expansion & Interconnection >
        • 8.0 - Expansion
        • 8.1 - Exploration & Interconnection
        • 8.2 - The Columbian Exchange
        • 8.3 - Commerce & Collective Learning
        • Glossary
      • 9. Acceleration >
        • 9.0 - Transitions, Thresholds & Turning Points in Human History
        • 9.1 - Acceleration
        • 9.2 - The Anthropocene
        • 9.3 - Changing Economies
        • 9.4 - Industrialism
        • 9.5 - Modern States and Identities
        • 9.6 - Crisis and Conflict
        • 9.7 - Acceleration: Demographic, Political, and Technological
        • Glossary
      • 10. The Future >
        • 10.0 - Looking Back
        • 10.1 - The Biosphere
        • 10.2 - Looking Forward
        • Glossary
      • Assessment Rubrics
      • Key Texts
      • Little Big History
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
      • Thresholds of Increasing Complexity
      • Student Work
    • Social History
  • IGCSE
    • Germany 1918-45 >
      • 1. The Establishment of the Weimar Republic & Its Early Problems
      • 2. The Recovery of Germany 1924-1929
      • 3. The Rise of Hitler and the Nazis 1919-1933
      • 4. Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1939
      • 5. Germany during the Second World War
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • China 1900-89 >
      • 1. China 1900-1934
      • 2. Mao & the CCP 1934-1949
      • 3. Change under Mao 1949-1963
      • 4. The Impact of the Cultural Revolution
      • 5. China after Mao 1976-1989
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • US Civil Rights 1945-74 >
      • 1. McCarthyism and the Red Scare
      • 2. Civil Rights in the 1950s
      • 3. The Impact of MLK & Black Power
      • 4. Protest Movements
      • 5. Nixon & Watergate
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • Russia & the USSR 1905-24 >
      • Old Exam Questions
    • Past Papers
  • IBDP
    • Paper 1 >
      • Rights and Protest >
        • Exam Questions
      • The Move to Global War >
        • 1. Japanese Expansion >
          • 1. Impact of the Meiji Restoration
          • 2. Foreign Policy in the 1920s
          • 3. The Invasion of Manchuria
          • 4. The Sino-Japanese War
          • 5. The Road to War
        • 2. German and Italian Expansion >
          • 1. Causes of Italian Expansion
          • 2. Responses to Italian Expansion
          • 3. Causes of German Expansion
          • 4. Responses to German Expansion
          • 5. The Road to War in Europe
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 2 >
      • Paper 2: The Cold War >
        • 1. Why did the Grand Alliance breakdown? >
          • 1. What role did ideology play in the Grand Alliance?
          • 2. How did wartime disagreements affect the alliance?
          • 3. Did Soviet expansionism end the alliance?
          • 4. Was US exceptionalism to blame?
          • 5. Did events in Asia exacerbate tensions?
          • 6. Were tensions over Germany the final straw?
          • 7. Assessment: Who was to blame for the Cold War?
        • 2. How did superpower competition unfold? >
          • 1. How did competition unfold in Asia?
          • 2. What conflicts emerged in Europe?
          • 3. How did the Cold War shape the Middle East?
          • 4. Were tensions in the Americas unexpected?
          • 5. Why did the Cold War spread to Africa?
          • 6. How did scientific change drive the conflict?
          • 7. Assessment: Who won the global struggle?
        • 3. Were attempts at detente a failure? >
          • 1. Did peaceful coexistence work?
          • 2. What did detente achieve?
          • 3. Why did detente fail?
          • 4. Were other forms of cooperation effective?
          • 5. Assessment: Was detente a failure?
        • 4. What role did China play in the Cold War?
        • 5. How did the Cold War end? >
          • 1. Did the USSR decay from within?
          • 2. Did Ronald Reagan win the war?
          • 3. Was Mikhail Gorbachev to blame?
          • 4. What role did people power play?
          • 5. Why did the USSR finally collapse?
          • 6. Assessment: Who, or what, ended the Cold War?
        • 6. What role did leaders, crises and nations play? >
          • 1. What was the impact of leaders?
          • 2. How significant were Cold War crises?
          • 3. In what ways were nations affected?
          • 4. Assessment: What was the role of leaders, crises and nations?
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Glossary
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
      • Paper 2: Authoritarian States >
        • 1. Emergence of Authoritarian States >
          • 1. Why do Authoritarian States emerge?
          • 2. Rise of Hitler
          • 3. Rise of Mao
          • 4. Rise of Castro
          • 5. Rise of Stalin
          • 6. Comparing the Emergence of Authoritarian States
        • 2. Consolidation & Maintenance of Power >
          • 1. Hitler's Germany 1933-45
          • 2. Mao's China 1949-1976
          • 3. Castro's Cuba 1959-Present
          • 4. Comparing the Rule of Authoritarian States
        • 3. Aims and Results of Domestic Policies >
          • 4. Comparing Domestic Policies
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 3: Asia and Oceania >
      • Topic 9: Imperial Decline in East Asia 1860-1912 >
        • 1. The Tongzhi Restoration
        • 2. Effects of the Sino-Japanese War
        • 3. Impact of the Boxer Rebellion
        • 4. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution
        • 5. The Meiji Restoration
        • 6. Early Japanese Imperialism
        • 7. The Opening of Korea
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 11: Japan 1912-1990 >
        • 1. Taisho Japan
        • 2. The Rise of Militarism
        • 3. The Move to Global War
        • 4. The Pacific War
        • 5. The US Occupation
        • 6. The 'Economic Miracle'
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 12: China and Korea 1910-1950 >
        • 1. What accounts for the rise of nationalism? >
          • 1. Was Yuan Shikai a national hero or villain?
          • 2. What did Sun Yixian do to promote nationalism?
          • 3. What was the impact of WW1 on nationalism?
          • 4. How significant was the New Culture Movement?
          • 5. Did the May 4th Movement achieve anything?
          • 6. How did nationalism survive the warlords?
          • 7. Assessment: What accounts for the rise of nationalism?
        • 2. Did Guomindang rule achieve anything? >
          • 1. How did Chiang Kai-shek emerge as leader of the GMD?
          • 2. Why was the Northern Expedition successful?
          • 3. Was the Nanjing Decade a success?
          • 4. Assessment: Was GMD rule a success or failure?
        • 3. Was the rise of communism inevitable? >
          • 1. What were conditions like for peasants in China?
          • 2. How did the CCP benefit from the First United Front?
          • 3. Why did the First United Front fail?
          • 4. How did Mao become leader of the Jiangxi Soviet?
          • 5. To what extent was the Long March a turning point?
          • 6. How did Mao consolidate his position at Yan'an?
          • 7. Assessment: Was Communism inevitable?
        • 4. How did war and conflict benefit the CPC? >
          • 1. What were the turning points of the Sino-Japanese War?
          • 2. What accounts for GMD failures during the war?
          • 3. What were the turning points of the Civil War?
          • 4. Did the CPC win or GMD lose the civil war?
          • 5. Assessment: Where did the CPC win the civil war?
        • 5. What was the impact of Japanese occupation on Korea?
        • 6. Was martial law in Taiwan justified?
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 14: The People's Republic of China 1949-2005 >
        • 1. How did the CPC consolidate power? >
          • 1. What form of government did the CPC take?
          • 2. What policies did Mao use to consolidate power?
          • 3. What methods of repression did Mao use?
          • 4. What does the Hundred Flowers Campaign reveal?
          • 5. Assessment: How successful was Mao's consolidation of power?
        • 2. Was the transition to socialism successful? >
          • 1. Did the First Five Year Plan achieve its goals?
          • 2. What happened during the Great Leap Forward?
          • 3. Who was responsible for the Great Famine?
          • 4. How did the economy change in the 1960s?
          • 5. Assessment: How successful was the socialist economy?
        • 3. Who benefited from CPC rule under Mao? >
          • 1. How did CPC rule change society?
          • 2. Assessment: Did CPC rule benefit society?
        • 4. What was the cultural revolution? >
          • 1. What caused the cultural revolution?
          • 2. How did the cultural revolution evolve?
          • 3. What was the impact of the cultural revolution?
          • 4. Assessment: How can we explain the cultural revolution?
        • 5. Did China become a global power under Mao? >
          • 1. How did the CPC change China's foreign policy?
          • 2. Why were Sino-Soviet relations so turbulent?
          • 3. How did Sino-American relations change?
          • 4. What other relations did China cultivate?
          • 5. Assessment: When did China become a global power?
        • 6. How did Deng Xiaoping win power? >
          • 1. How did the Gang of Four rise to power?
          • 2. Why did Hua Guofeng become leader?
          • 3. Assessment: How did Deng Xiaoping win power?
        • 7. What accounts for China's modern success? >
          • 1. How successful were Deng Xiaoping's reforms?
          • 2. Why wasn't there a fifth modernisation in China?
          • 3. What was the significance of Tiananmen Square?
          • 4. How did China develop under Jiang Zemin?
          • 5. Assessment: What accounts for China's modern success?
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
      • Topic 15: Cold War Conflicts in Asia >
        • 1. How was Communism defeated in Malaya? >
          • 1. What triggered conflict in Malaya?
          • 2. How did the Emergency evolve?
          • 3. Why was the insurgency defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Emergency?
          • 5. Assessment: Why was Communism defeated?
        • 2. Why was the Korean War a turning point? >
          • 1. What caused the Korean War?
          • 2. How did the Korean War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Korean War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the war?
          • 5. Assessment: Was the war a turning point?
        • 3. Why did the French fail to defeat the Vietminh? >
          • 1. What caused the Indochina War?
          • 2. How did the Indochina War evolve?
          • 3. How was the war in Indochina resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the French Indochina War?
          • 5. Assessment: What accounts for the French defeat?
        • 4. Could the Vietnam War have been avoided? >
          • 1. What caused the Vietnam War?
          • 2. How did the Vietnam War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Vietnam War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Vietnam War?
          • 5. Assessment: Was the Vietnam War inevitable?
        • 5. How was Cambodia shaped by the Cold War? >
          • 1. What caused the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 2. How did the Cambodian Civil War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Cambodian Civil War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 5. Assessment: Who can be blamed for events in Cambodia?
        • 6. How were the Soviets defeated in Afghanistan? >
          • 1. Why did the USSR invade Afghanistan?
          • 2. How did the Soviet-Afghan war evolve?
          • 3. How was the Soviet Union defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Soviet-Afghan war?
          • 5. Assessment: Why did the USSR withdraw?
        • Exam Questions
    • Internal Assessment >
      • Forming Questions
      • Researching Primary Sources >
        • New York Times Digital Archive
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      • Researching Secondary Sources >
        • Google Scholar
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        • HK Public Library e-resources
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        • questia
        • Worldcat
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      • Chicago Citation Format
      • IA Help Guide
    • Extended Essay >
      • 1. Title Page
      • 2. Abstract & Contents Page
      • 3. Introduction
      • 4. Body of the Essay
      • 5. Conclusion
      • 6. References, Bibliography & Appendices
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        • Essay Writing >
          • 1. Introductions
          • 2. Conclusions
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5.0 - what is life?

Lesson Purpose


With the appearance of the first planets, the Universe became much more complex. Planets, which formed from clouds of chemicals created during the death of stars, are more chemically diverse than the stars from which they came. Planets also differ from stars because they don't generate huge amounts of energy at their centres. As a result, their surface temperatures are much cooler. This combination of diverse chemical ingredients and less violent conditions enabled planets to become the setting for life. When life emerged on Earth, it had characteristics that made it very different from non-living things. Many people will tell you they 'know' the difference between living and non-living things. However, biologists - the experts - have struggled to agree on a single definition of life, even though many of the proposed definitions share similarities. In this lesson, we'll focus on understanding the characteristics all livings things share.

The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To describe the conditions that made it possible for life to emerge on Earth; 2.) To explain the differences between life and nonlife.​

Activity 1 - The Driving Question Notebook


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Activity Objectives
This activity presents the driving question for Unit 5. It’s meant to help you stay focused on this question as you learn new material.

Activity Tasks
  1. Download this latest DQ Notebook worksheet for the question: 'How does extinction drive evolution?'​
  2. Complete the first column by jotting down some notes and reflections on the question.

Activity 2 - A Big History of Everything H2


Activity Objectives
​This video introduces you to the emergence of life on Earth. Understanding how life emerged from nonlife can be confusing, and this video gives one explanation of how this process occurred, and what happened as life evolved.

Activity Tasks
  1. Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:​
    1. What do most people believe is the reason for the emergence of life on Earth?
    2. What is the biological blueprint for everything that exists?
    3. What is the earliest form of life?
    4. Why is the egg a critical development?
    5. What did the extinction of the dinosaurs clear the way for?
    6. What did humans ultimately evolve from?
    7. How did primates take the first step toward being human?
    8. Based on what you learned from the video, do certain things need to happen for new species to evolve? If so, what are those things?
The emergence of life on Earth is a truly amazing development in the history of the Universe. And the fact that a chemical reaction in the oceans eventually resulted in something as complex as ourselves is nearly mind-boggling. It’s no wonder that life is one of Big History’s thresholds of increasing complexity!

Activity 3 - How Closely Related Are We?


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Activity Objectives
This activity helps you gain an understanding of the relationship between different species, and see how we (humans) are related to other species. The evolution of life from bacteria to humans is pretty hard for people to wrap their minds around, and showing connections among different species will help increase your understanding.

Activity Tasks
  1. Download this worksheet. Draw lines to match the list of organisms to the percentage of DNA shared with humans.​

Activity 4 - The Origin of Life: Crash Course


Activity Objectives
It’s not always easy to see the close connections humans share with other species. Sometimes, the connections are detectable only at the genetic level; but the connections are there, nonetheless. What is it that connects humans with other species? DNA is one important ingredient – after all, DNA is something that all living things share. There are other key characteristics that most living things share with each other and these are what make living organisms different from non-living.

Activity Tasks
  1. Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:​
    1. 0:20 What is one of the biggest puzzles about life that we still have yet to figure out?
    2. 2:55 Hank talks about the definition of life at least three times. So, what is life?
    3. 3:33 How was Friedrich Wohler’s chemistry experiment important in the discovery of where life originated?
    4. 5:07 What forms of life dominated Earth for the vast majority of its existence?
    5. 6:19 How can oxygen be harmful and how did it change life?
    6. 8:03 What makes eukaryotes more complex?
    7. 10:16 What makes DNA such an important molecule, and where did it originate?
DNA is the most important characteristic of all living things. It is essential to the story of life. Understanding the complexities of it are not essential to the Big History story; however, understanding its importance to life, is. Try not to get too bogged down in the details, especially since scientists are still trying to work out how this molecule became the master blueprint of all life on Earth.

Activity 5 - "Life and Purpose"


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Activity Objectives
You will get an introduction to another way of defining what it means to be living. As you have already learned in the course, different scholars, especially those from different disciplines, may approach the same subject from a different angle, or use different words to describe the same thing. This is a great example of that process.

Activity Tasks
  1. Download and read this article on 'Life and Purpose' and answer the following questions:​
    1. What does Goodenough mean by self-generation?
    2. What does Goodenough mean by self-maintenance? Is this the same as the process Hank calls metabolism?
    3. What does Goodenough mean when she says, “Every organism is instructed”? Is this the same as the process Hank calls reproduction?
    4. What does Goodenough mean when she says, “Every organism evolves”? Is this the same as the process Hank calls adaptation?
    5. In the article, Goodenough talks about how “the most interesting single generalization is that organisms are purposive whereas nonlife is not.” What do you think she means by this?

Activity 6 - Claim Testing: What is Life?


Activity Objectives
You will use claim testers to firm up your understanding of the differences between life and nonlife. More and more research and writing is coming up in the course, and your claim-testing skills need to be well-developed so you’re ready for the upcoming work.

Activity Tasks
  1. Download this worksheet and look at page 1. Decide whether each claim is true or false - but make sure you explain what claim tester you used to support that claim.​
  2. Remember, the four claim testers are:
    1. Intuition - Does your gut reaction tell you the claim is reliable? Do you feel that the claim is true?
    2. Authority - Does the person stating the claim have experience in that field? Are they trustworthy?
    3. Logic - Does the claim make sense to you? Does it follow a clear line of reasoning?
    4. Evidence - Do you have facts that others can 'see' that support the claim?
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Challenge Yourself! - Optional Activities


1. Humans and chimpanzees are close cousins; we diverged from a common ancestor that lived around 7 million years ago.
2. “The most reliable joy is to be out of doors, to be a creature among other creatures. I find it very restful."
-Ursula Goodenough​​
TAKE THE QUIZ!

Y7-9 MYP

Y7 Humanities
Y8 Humanities
Y9 History

Y10-11 IGCSE

IGCSE History
Big History
Social History

Y12-13 IBDP HISTORY

Paper 1 SL/HL
Paper 2 Cold War / Paper 2 Authoritarian States
Paper 3 HL Only
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Y7/8 MYP
  • Y9 History
    • 1. Innovation & Industry >
      • 1. Causes
      • 2. Innovations
      • 3. Conditions
      • 4. Changes
      • 5. Sources
      • 6-7. Assessment 1 >
        • The USA
      • 8. Reflection
    • 2. Empire and Expansion >
      • 1. What is an Empire?
      • 2. Benefits of an Empire
      • 3. Negatives of Empire expansion
      • 4. Perspectives on Empires
      • 5. Assessment
    • 3. Rebellion and Revolution >
      • 1. Why do people protest?
      • 2. What are the causes of revolutions?
      • 3. What are the methods of protest?
      • 4. What are the consequences of protests?
      • 5. Assessment
      • Student Work
    • 4. War and Conflict >
      • 1. Causes of WW2
      • 2. Did that really happen here? WW2 in Hong Kong
      • 3. Why did the War extend to Hong Kong?
      • 4. How did the War affect Hong Kong?
      • 5. Assessment
    • Old History >
      • 1. Hong Kong Story >
        • Further Reading
      • 2. The Slave Trade
      • 3. The First World War
      • 4. The Changing Role of Women
  • Elements
    • Big History Project >
      • 1. What is Big History? >
        • 1.0 - Welcome to Big History
        • 1.1 - Scale
        • 1.2 - Origin Stories
        • 1.3 - What are Disciplines?
        • 1.4 - My Big History
        • Glossary
      • 2. The Big Bang >
        • 2.0 - Changing Understandings
        • 2.1 - The Big Bang
        • 2.2 - Claim Testing
        • Glossary
        • Links & Resources
      • 3. Stars and Elements >
        • 3.0 - How were stars formed?
        • 3.1 - Creation of Complex Elements
        • 3.2 - Ways of Knowing: Stars & Elements
        • Glossary
      • 4. Our Solar System & Earth >
        • 4.0 - Formation of Earth & Our Solar System
        • 4.1 - What was young Earth like?
        • 4.2 - Why is Plate Tectonics important?
        • 4.3 - Ways of Knowing: Our Solar System and Earth
        • Glossary
      • 5. Life >
        • 5.0 - What is Life?
        • 5.1 - How did Life Begin and Change?
        • 5.2 - How do Earth and Life Interact?
        • 5.3 - Ways of Knowing: Life
        • Glossary
      • 6. Early Humans >
        • 6.0 - How Our Ancesters Evolved
        • 6.1 - Ways of Knowing: Early Humans
        • 6.2 - Collective Learning
        • 6.3 - How did the First Humans live?
        • Glossary
      • 7. Agriculture & Civilisation >
        • 7.0 - The Rise of Agriculture
        • 7.1 - The First Cities and States
        • 7.2 - Ways of Knowing: Agriculture & Civilisation
        • Glossary
      • 8. Expansion & Interconnection >
        • 8.0 - Expansion
        • 8.1 - Exploration & Interconnection
        • 8.2 - The Columbian Exchange
        • 8.3 - Commerce & Collective Learning
        • Glossary
      • 9. Acceleration >
        • 9.0 - Transitions, Thresholds & Turning Points in Human History
        • 9.1 - Acceleration
        • 9.2 - The Anthropocene
        • 9.3 - Changing Economies
        • 9.4 - Industrialism
        • 9.5 - Modern States and Identities
        • 9.6 - Crisis and Conflict
        • 9.7 - Acceleration: Demographic, Political, and Technological
        • Glossary
      • 10. The Future >
        • 10.0 - Looking Back
        • 10.1 - The Biosphere
        • 10.2 - Looking Forward
        • Glossary
      • Assessment Rubrics
      • Key Texts
      • Little Big History
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
      • Thresholds of Increasing Complexity
      • Student Work
    • Social History
  • IGCSE
    • Germany 1918-45 >
      • 1. The Establishment of the Weimar Republic & Its Early Problems
      • 2. The Recovery of Germany 1924-1929
      • 3. The Rise of Hitler and the Nazis 1919-1933
      • 4. Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1939
      • 5. Germany during the Second World War
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • China 1900-89 >
      • 1. China 1900-1934
      • 2. Mao & the CCP 1934-1949
      • 3. Change under Mao 1949-1963
      • 4. The Impact of the Cultural Revolution
      • 5. China after Mao 1976-1989
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • US Civil Rights 1945-74 >
      • 1. McCarthyism and the Red Scare
      • 2. Civil Rights in the 1950s
      • 3. The Impact of MLK & Black Power
      • 4. Protest Movements
      • 5. Nixon & Watergate
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • Russia & the USSR 1905-24 >
      • Old Exam Questions
    • Past Papers
  • IBDP
    • Paper 1 >
      • Rights and Protest >
        • Exam Questions
      • The Move to Global War >
        • 1. Japanese Expansion >
          • 1. Impact of the Meiji Restoration
          • 2. Foreign Policy in the 1920s
          • 3. The Invasion of Manchuria
          • 4. The Sino-Japanese War
          • 5. The Road to War
        • 2. German and Italian Expansion >
          • 1. Causes of Italian Expansion
          • 2. Responses to Italian Expansion
          • 3. Causes of German Expansion
          • 4. Responses to German Expansion
          • 5. The Road to War in Europe
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 2 >
      • Paper 2: The Cold War >
        • 1. Why did the Grand Alliance breakdown? >
          • 1. What role did ideology play in the Grand Alliance?
          • 2. How did wartime disagreements affect the alliance?
          • 3. Did Soviet expansionism end the alliance?
          • 4. Was US exceptionalism to blame?
          • 5. Did events in Asia exacerbate tensions?
          • 6. Were tensions over Germany the final straw?
          • 7. Assessment: Who was to blame for the Cold War?
        • 2. How did superpower competition unfold? >
          • 1. How did competition unfold in Asia?
          • 2. What conflicts emerged in Europe?
          • 3. How did the Cold War shape the Middle East?
          • 4. Were tensions in the Americas unexpected?
          • 5. Why did the Cold War spread to Africa?
          • 6. How did scientific change drive the conflict?
          • 7. Assessment: Who won the global struggle?
        • 3. Were attempts at detente a failure? >
          • 1. Did peaceful coexistence work?
          • 2. What did detente achieve?
          • 3. Why did detente fail?
          • 4. Were other forms of cooperation effective?
          • 5. Assessment: Was detente a failure?
        • 4. What role did China play in the Cold War?
        • 5. How did the Cold War end? >
          • 1. Did the USSR decay from within?
          • 2. Did Ronald Reagan win the war?
          • 3. Was Mikhail Gorbachev to blame?
          • 4. What role did people power play?
          • 5. Why did the USSR finally collapse?
          • 6. Assessment: Who, or what, ended the Cold War?
        • 6. What role did leaders, crises and nations play? >
          • 1. What was the impact of leaders?
          • 2. How significant were Cold War crises?
          • 3. In what ways were nations affected?
          • 4. Assessment: What was the role of leaders, crises and nations?
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Glossary
        • Historiography
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      • Paper 2: Authoritarian States >
        • 1. Emergence of Authoritarian States >
          • 1. Why do Authoritarian States emerge?
          • 2. Rise of Hitler
          • 3. Rise of Mao
          • 4. Rise of Castro
          • 5. Rise of Stalin
          • 6. Comparing the Emergence of Authoritarian States
        • 2. Consolidation & Maintenance of Power >
          • 1. Hitler's Germany 1933-45
          • 2. Mao's China 1949-1976
          • 3. Castro's Cuba 1959-Present
          • 4. Comparing the Rule of Authoritarian States
        • 3. Aims and Results of Domestic Policies >
          • 4. Comparing Domestic Policies
        • Exam Questions
    • Paper 3: Asia and Oceania >
      • Topic 9: Imperial Decline in East Asia 1860-1912 >
        • 1. The Tongzhi Restoration
        • 2. Effects of the Sino-Japanese War
        • 3. Impact of the Boxer Rebellion
        • 4. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution
        • 5. The Meiji Restoration
        • 6. Early Japanese Imperialism
        • 7. The Opening of Korea
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 11: Japan 1912-1990 >
        • 1. Taisho Japan
        • 2. The Rise of Militarism
        • 3. The Move to Global War
        • 4. The Pacific War
        • 5. The US Occupation
        • 6. The 'Economic Miracle'
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 12: China and Korea 1910-1950 >
        • 1. What accounts for the rise of nationalism? >
          • 1. Was Yuan Shikai a national hero or villain?
          • 2. What did Sun Yixian do to promote nationalism?
          • 3. What was the impact of WW1 on nationalism?
          • 4. How significant was the New Culture Movement?
          • 5. Did the May 4th Movement achieve anything?
          • 6. How did nationalism survive the warlords?
          • 7. Assessment: What accounts for the rise of nationalism?
        • 2. Did Guomindang rule achieve anything? >
          • 1. How did Chiang Kai-shek emerge as leader of the GMD?
          • 2. Why was the Northern Expedition successful?
          • 3. Was the Nanjing Decade a success?
          • 4. Assessment: Was GMD rule a success or failure?
        • 3. Was the rise of communism inevitable? >
          • 1. What were conditions like for peasants in China?
          • 2. How did the CCP benefit from the First United Front?
          • 3. Why did the First United Front fail?
          • 4. How did Mao become leader of the Jiangxi Soviet?
          • 5. To what extent was the Long March a turning point?
          • 6. How did Mao consolidate his position at Yan'an?
          • 7. Assessment: Was Communism inevitable?
        • 4. How did war and conflict benefit the CPC? >
          • 1. What were the turning points of the Sino-Japanese War?
          • 2. What accounts for GMD failures during the war?
          • 3. What were the turning points of the Civil War?
          • 4. Did the CPC win or GMD lose the civil war?
          • 5. Assessment: Where did the CPC win the civil war?
        • 5. What was the impact of Japanese occupation on Korea?
        • 6. Was martial law in Taiwan justified?
        • Exam Questions
      • Topic 14: The People's Republic of China 1949-2005 >
        • 1. How did the CPC consolidate power? >
          • 1. What form of government did the CPC take?
          • 2. What policies did Mao use to consolidate power?
          • 3. What methods of repression did Mao use?
          • 4. What does the Hundred Flowers Campaign reveal?
          • 5. Assessment: How successful was Mao's consolidation of power?
        • 2. Was the transition to socialism successful? >
          • 1. Did the First Five Year Plan achieve its goals?
          • 2. What happened during the Great Leap Forward?
          • 3. Who was responsible for the Great Famine?
          • 4. How did the economy change in the 1960s?
          • 5. Assessment: How successful was the socialist economy?
        • 3. Who benefited from CPC rule under Mao? >
          • 1. How did CPC rule change society?
          • 2. Assessment: Did CPC rule benefit society?
        • 4. What was the cultural revolution? >
          • 1. What caused the cultural revolution?
          • 2. How did the cultural revolution evolve?
          • 3. What was the impact of the cultural revolution?
          • 4. Assessment: How can we explain the cultural revolution?
        • 5. Did China become a global power under Mao? >
          • 1. How did the CPC change China's foreign policy?
          • 2. Why were Sino-Soviet relations so turbulent?
          • 3. How did Sino-American relations change?
          • 4. What other relations did China cultivate?
          • 5. Assessment: When did China become a global power?
        • 6. How did Deng Xiaoping win power? >
          • 1. How did the Gang of Four rise to power?
          • 2. Why did Hua Guofeng become leader?
          • 3. Assessment: How did Deng Xiaoping win power?
        • 7. What accounts for China's modern success? >
          • 1. How successful were Deng Xiaoping's reforms?
          • 2. Why wasn't there a fifth modernisation in China?
          • 3. What was the significance of Tiananmen Square?
          • 4. How did China develop under Jiang Zemin?
          • 5. Assessment: What accounts for China's modern success?
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
      • Topic 15: Cold War Conflicts in Asia >
        • 1. How was Communism defeated in Malaya? >
          • 1. What triggered conflict in Malaya?
          • 2. How did the Emergency evolve?
          • 3. Why was the insurgency defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Emergency?
          • 5. Assessment: Why was Communism defeated?
        • 2. Why was the Korean War a turning point? >
          • 1. What caused the Korean War?
          • 2. How did the Korean War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Korean War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the war?
          • 5. Assessment: Was the war a turning point?
        • 3. Why did the French fail to defeat the Vietminh? >
          • 1. What caused the Indochina War?
          • 2. How did the Indochina War evolve?
          • 3. How was the war in Indochina resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the French Indochina War?
          • 5. Assessment: What accounts for the French defeat?
        • 4. Could the Vietnam War have been avoided? >
          • 1. What caused the Vietnam War?
          • 2. How did the Vietnam War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Vietnam War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Vietnam War?
          • 5. Assessment: Was the Vietnam War inevitable?
        • 5. How was Cambodia shaped by the Cold War? >
          • 1. What caused the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 2. How did the Cambodian Civil War evolve?
          • 3. How was the Cambodian Civil War resolved?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Cambodian Civil War?
          • 5. Assessment: Who can be blamed for events in Cambodia?
        • 6. How were the Soviets defeated in Afghanistan? >
          • 1. Why did the USSR invade Afghanistan?
          • 2. How did the Soviet-Afghan war evolve?
          • 3. How was the Soviet Union defeated?
          • 4. What was the impact of the Soviet-Afghan war?
          • 5. Assessment: Why did the USSR withdraw?
        • Exam Questions
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