S2 Geography — The Industrial System and Location Factors: Tutor Prep Guide | System diagram, five factors, weight-loss ratio

2026-11-13

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Junior Secondary Geography

Students can chant raw material and market, but cannot say when each one wins. This lesson uses a ten-to-one sugar mill to turn the location decision into arithmetic they can show.

Objectives — Students can: (1) draw the four boxes (input, process, output, waste or by-product) and state what each step adds; (2) use the weight-loss ratio to pick a location: 2.5 tonnes of cane become 0.25 tonnes of sugar, a ratio of 10 to 1, and at 80 dollars a tonne hauling cane costs 200 dollars against 20 dollars for sugar, a saving of 180 dollars, so the mill sits at the cane; (3) compute value added and its rate (price 120, total cost 70, value added 50, rate 41.7 per cent) and explain why labour at 35.7 per cent of cost is a different figure.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Percentages	What is 50 divided by 120, times 100?	Answers 41.7; a wrong answer breaks every value-added question
Ratio	What is 2.5 divided by 0.25?	Answers 10, which is the weight-loss ratio in its simplest form
Industry types	What separates light from heavy industry?	Names weight of material and capital intensity, not factory size

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-5 min	Diagnostic	Ask whether a sugar mill belongs beside the cane field or the city, and demand one reason	Write an answer and a reason, right or wrong
5-14 min	Four-box diagram	Draw input, process, output and waste, asking what each box adds	Draw it once and label what enters and leaves each box
14-23 min	Weight-loss ratio	Use 2.5 tonnes of cane becoming 0.25 tonnes of sugar to show the ratio and haulage	Get ratio 10, 200 dollars against 20 dollars, a saving of 180
23-32 min	Five location factors	List material, market, power, labour and transport, matching an industry to each	Match five industries and name the dominant factor
32-41 min	Value added and cost	Use price 120 and cost 70 to compute value added and both rates	Get 50 dollars, 41.7 per cent and 35.7 per cent
41-45 min	Exit check	Collect three answers and mark them on the spot	Hand in three answers with one reason each

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Act 1: The industrial system is four boxes, not one sentence

Say: “The system has four boxes: input, process, output, waste or by-product. For each box ask what goes in, what comes out and what was added. Cane goes in, sugar comes out, and bagasse comes out too, which can make paper or generate power, so the waste box needs a use. Writing that a factory turns material into products scores nothing, because no system was described.”

Say it back: four boxes, and every box has an input, an output and something added.

Scene 2: Act 2: The weight-loss ratio decides where the plant sits

Say: “2.5 tonnes of cane make only 0.25 tonnes of sugar, so the ratio is 10 to 1: ten parts material for one part product. Haulage is charged by weight at 80 dollars a tonne, so cane costs 200 dollars to move while sugar costs 20, a difference of 180 dollars, that is 90 per cent. A sugar mill therefore sits at the cane, because moving water and fibre is a loss. Reverse it: assembly, printing or baking, where the product is as heavy or heavier and often bulky, belong near the market.”

Say it back: material over product above one means sit at the material.

Scene 3: Act 3: Keep value added separate from the wage share

Say: “Price 120, material 30, labour 25, transport 15, so total cost is 70 and value added is 50, a rate of 50 over 120, that is 41.7 per cent. Labour as a share of cost is 25 over 70, that is 35.7 per cent. The two numbers answer different questions: value added measures what the plant creates, the wage share measures how labour-heavy the cost base is. Asked whether the industry is labour-intensive, use 35.7 per cent; asked how much value was added, use 50 dollars.”

Say it back: value added divides by price, the wage share divides by cost.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Draw the system diagram	Using sugar refining, draw the four boxes and fill each one.	(1) input (2) process (3) output (4) waste or by-product with a use	Input: cane; process: crushing, filtering, crystallising; output: sugar; waste: bagasse (paper, power) and molasses (feed).
Weight-loss ratio and location	2.5 tonnes of cane make 0.25 tonnes of sugar at 80 dollars a tonne. Where should the plant sit?	(1) find the ratio (2) cost both hauls (3) compare (4) conclude with the reason	Ratio 10 to 1; cane 200 dollars against sugar 20, saving 180 or 90 per cent, so at the raw material.
Value added	Price 120 with material 30, labour 25 and transport 15. Find value added and its rate.	(1) add the costs (2) subtract from price (3) divide by price and multiply by 100 (4) state units	Cost 70, value added 50, rate 41.7 per cent.
Factor matching	Match garment making, aluminium smelting, bread baking and software to labour, power, market and skills.	(1) compare material and product weight (2) check power demand (3) check perishability (4) check knowledge intensity	Garments to labour, smelting to power, baking to market, software to skills.

Sanity check (teach this): Reasonableness check: the weight-loss ratio is material divided by product and must exceed 1 (here 10), so a value below 1 means the fraction was inverted; haulage is weight times rate, 2.5 tonnes at 200 dollars against 0.25 tonnes at 20, a gap of 180 or 90 per cent, so “about the same” means nothing was computed; value added is price minus total cost and its rate divides by price, here 41.7 per cent, which cannot exceed 100; labour at 25 over 70 is 35.7 per cent, a different rate from value added, and mixing them ruins any labour-intensity answer.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
At 60 dollars a tonne, 1.8 tonnes of material make 0.3 tonnes of product. Find the ratio and the haulage gap.	Ratio 6 to 1; 108 dollars against 18, a gap of 90 or 83.3 per cent, so stay near the material.	Is the ratio above 1, and was each haul costed by weight
Price 200 with material 60, labour 40 and other costs 20. Find value added and its rate.	Cost 120, value added 80, rate 40 per cent.	Were the other costs included in the total
Why do software firms cluster in cities rather than near mines?	Skills and market dominate; the product has almost no weight, so haulage barely matters.	Was light product weight used to rule out material orientation

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Ratio inverted	“2.5 divided by 0.25 is 10, so the product is ten times heavier.”	Say: “10 is material divided by product, so the product is ten times lighter. Invert the meaning and your whole conclusion flips.”
Factors recited, no numbers	“It is near the material because transport is convenient.”	Say: “Convenient is not a reason, numbers are. Cane costs 200 to move and sugar costs 20. Show those two figures and you have answered why.”
Value added treated as profit	“Value added of 50 means the owner keeps 50.”	Say: “Value added is price minus production cost; tax, rent and interest still come out. Profit is a later figure, so do not merge them.”
Wage share mixed with value added	“Labour is 41.7 per cent of cost, so it is labour-intensive.”	Say: “41.7 per cent is the value-added rate. The wage share is 25 over 70, that is 35.7 per cent. Two different formulas.”

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Geography index: redo practice questions 1 to 3, then compare with the farming systems chapter on material sources — This chapter, practice 1-3
Geography index: pick one manufacturer still operating in Hong Kong, draw the four boxes and name its dominant location factor — This chapter, section 3, diagram 1-4

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
What does a weight-loss ratio of 6 to 1 mean?	Six parts material give one part product, so the product is much lighter and the plant sits at the material.	Answering that the product is six times heavier means the fraction was inverted
Price 150 with total cost 90. What is the value-added rate?	Value added 60, rate 40 per cent.	Dividing 60 by 90 for 66.7 per cent means the wrong denominator
What is the dominant factor for aluminium smelting?	Power, because the process is extremely electricity-hungry.	Answering material or market means the power profile is not known

09 Tutor FAQ

Which year is this for?

S2. It reuses the four-box diagram in S3 for industrial change and relocation, with time and policy factors added.

Is 45 minutes enough for three acts?

Yes. About nine minutes each, with time for the five-industry matching and the exit check; draw the diagram once only.

Is there practice material?

Yes. The subject index links this chapter practice with answers, and it pairs with the farming systems chapter on where material comes from.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.