Ess
G3N tutors you through the full International Ess syllabus offline — from Living things and their environments, Caring for plants and animals, Recycling and reducing waste and more — with adaptive lessons, instant quizzes, flashcards and exam-ready summaries.
Syllabus
What you’ll cover in Ess.
The complete topic outline G3N teaches, mapped to the International curriculum.
Phase 1 (KG)
8 topicsLiving things and their environments
Caring for plants and animals
Recycling and reducing waste
Clean water and why it matters
Weather and seasons
Soil and what grows in it
Animals and where they live
How we use energy at home
Phase 2 (Grades 1-2)
8 topicsFood chains: where our food comes from
Habitats and adaptations
Conservation: protecting nature
Water cycle: rain, rivers, oceans
Pollution: what it is and how to reduce it
Renewable energy: sun, wind, water
Biodiversity: variety of life
Human needs vs environmental needs
Phase 3 (Grades 3-4)
8 topicsEcosystems: biotic and abiotic components
Energy flow in food webs
Nutrient cycling: decomposition and soil health
Water systems: rivers, lakes, groundwater
Climate and weather patterns
Land use: agriculture, urbanisation, deforestation
Species extinction and conservation
Environmental footprint and sustainability
Phase 4 (Grades 5-6)
8 topicsBiomes: tundra, rainforest, desert, grassland, marine
Human population growth and resource demand
Carbon cycle and climate change basics
Renewable vs non-renewable energy
Pollution types: air, water, soil, noise
Sustainable agriculture and food systems
International environmental agreements
Personal and community action for sustainability
MYP 1 (Grade 6)
8 topicsEcosystems: structure, function, biotic and abiotic factors
Energy flow: trophic levels, food chains, food webs
Nutrient cycles: carbon and nitrogen cycles
Population dynamics: birth rate, death rate, carrying capacity
Biodiversity: genetic, species, ecosystem diversity
Biomes and their key characteristics
Freshwater systems: rivers, lakes, wetlands
Introduction to environmental ethics
MYP 2 (Grade 7)
8 topicsSoils: formation, composition, fertility
Agriculture and food production: conventional vs sustainable
Water management: irrigation, dams, water scarcity
Atmospheric composition and air quality
Climate and climate zones
Deforestation: causes, consequences, solutions
Marine ecosystems: coral reefs, mangroves, open ocean
Pollution and its effects on ecosystems
MYP 3 (Grade 8)
8 topicsClimate change: evidence, causes, greenhouse effect
Carbon footprint and emissions by sector
Renewable energy: solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, tidal
Non-renewable energy: fossil fuels, nuclear
Conservation biology: hotspots, protected areas, rewilding
Invasive species and their impacts
Waste management: reduce, reuse, recycle, landfill
Environmental legislation and global agreements
MYP 4-5 (Grades 9-10)
9 topicsSystems thinking: feedback loops, resilience, tipping points
Ecological footprint and carrying capacity of Earth
Sustainability frameworks: SDGs, planetary boundaries
Environmental economics: natural capital, externalities
Human population: growth models, demographic transition
Urbanisation: impacts, green cities, smart cities
Food security: challenges and sustainable solutions
Environmental justice and equity
Personal and collective environmental action
Foundations of environmental systems
8 topicsSystems and models: feedback loops, equilibrium, resilience
Environmental value systems: ecocentric, anthropocentric, technocentric
Sustainability and sustainable development concepts
Ecological footprint: calculation and limitations
Environmental indicators: HDI, GPI, Wellbeing Index
Research methods in ESS: quantitative, qualitative, mixed
Ethics in environmental decision-making
International environmental governance: key treaties and organisations
Ecosystems and ecology
8 topicsEcosystem structure: producers, consumers, decomposers
Energy flow: gross and net productivity, ecological efficiency
Trophic levels and biomass pyramids
Nutrient cycling: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur cycles
Species interactions: competition, predation, mutualism, parasitism
Succession: primary and secondary, climax communities
Biomes: terrestrial and aquatic, climate and vegetation
Measuring ecosystem health: indicator species, biotic index
Biodiversity and conservation
8 topicsBiodiversity: genetic, species, and ecosystem levels
Measuring biodiversity: species richness, evenness, Simpson's index
Threats to biodiversity: HIPPO (habitat loss, invasives, pollution, population, overexploitation)
Extinction rates and the sixth mass extinction
Conservation strategies: in situ (national parks, reserves) and ex situ (zoos, seed banks)
International conservation: IUCN Red List, CITES, CBD
Rewilding and ecological restoration
Role of local and indigenous communities in conservation
Water and food production systems
8 topicsWater cycle: global and local hydrological systems
Freshwater access and global water scarcity
Aquatic food production: fishing, aquaculture, sustainability
Terrestrial food production: agricultural systems and their impacts
Green Revolution: benefits and ecological costs
Organic farming vs conventional agriculture
Food miles, supply chains, and carbon emissions
Food security: definitions, drivers, and policy responses
Soil systems and terrestrial food production
8 topicsSoil formation: parent material, climate, organisms, time
Soil profiles: horizons and their composition
Soil fertility: nutrients, pH, organic matter, texture
Soil degradation: erosion, salinisation, compaction, contamination
Land management: crop rotation, cover crops, no-till farming
Deforestation and land-use change effects on soil
Urban agriculture and vertical farming
Bioremediation of contaminated soils
Atmospheric systems and societies
8 topicsAtmospheric composition and layers
Greenhouse gases: sources, concentrations, global warming potential
Enhanced greenhouse effect and global warming mechanisms
Ozone depletion: causes (CFCs), effects, Montreal Protocol success
Acid deposition: formation, effects on ecosystems, mitigation
Urban heat island effect
Air quality: pollutants, health effects, clean air legislation
Atmospheric monitoring: satellite, ground stations, data interpretation
Climate change and energy
9 topicsEvidence for climate change: temperature records, ice cores, sea level, species range
IPCC reports: key findings and confidence levels
Feedback loops: ice-albedo, permafrost carbon, water vapour
Climate tipping points: Arctic ice, Amazon dieback, AMOC
Climate change impacts: biodiversity, agriculture, human health, displacement
Mitigation strategies: carbon pricing, renewable energy, reforestation
Adaptation strategies: sea walls, drought-resistant crops, early warning systems
Energy mix: fossil fuels, nuclear, renewables — comparison and trade-offs
Energy transition: policy, technology, and social dimensions
Human systems and resource use
8 topicsHuman population dynamics: growth, distribution, demographic transition
Urbanisation: causes, consequences, sustainable cities
Resource consumption: material footprint, overshoot day
Solid waste management: landfill, incineration, recycling, circular economy
Pollution management: source reduction, treatment, regulation
Environmental economics: market failure, externalities, green taxation
Environmental justice: distributional equity, procedural equity
Moving towards sustainability: individual, community, national, global action
How G3N helps
Turn this syllabus into a pass.
Concept-led learning
Lessons that match inquiry-based, conceptual international curricula rather than rote answers.
Practice on demand
Generate quizzes for any unit and review marked answers with explanations.
Summarise anything
Turn dense readings into clear, structured study notes in seconds.
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