Welcome to GCSE Geography
Name: ___________________________________
GCSE Structure:
Paper 1 – 1hr30 – Living with the Physical Environment
- The Challenge of Natural Hazards
- The Living World
- Physical Landscapes in the UK – Rivers and Coasts
Paper 2 – 1hr30 – Challenges in the Human Environment
- Urban Issues and Challenges
- The Changing Economic World
- The Challenge of Resource Management
Paper 3 – 1hr30 – Geographical Applications
- Issue Evaluation
- Fieldwork
Command Words – These are the words in a question
that tell you how to answer the question. Understanding
the command words are key to being able to achieve top
marks in GCSE Geography.
- Assess – To make an - Justify – Support a case
informed judgement. with evidence.
- Describe – Set out - Suggest – Present a
characteristics possible case
- Discuss - Present key - To what extent - Judge the
points about different ideas importance or success of
or strengths and (strategy, scheme, project,
weaknesses of an idea. etc).
- Evaluate – Judge from
available evidence.
To what extent has urban change created environmental
challenges in a UK city you have studied? [9 marks]
Explain how living in areas that are at risk from a tectonic hazard(s)
may have both advantages and disadvantages. [6 marks]
‘Tropical rainforests are important at both the local and global
- Explain – Set out reasons.
scales.’ Discuss this statement. [6 marks]
Hazards KO
How can you support your studies in Geography?
1. Read or watch the news - Immerse yourself in current affairs and
geographical issues. Aim to visit these sites frequently or watch the news on TV.
• BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
• The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/uk
• The Conversation - http://theconversation.com/uk
2. Podcasts - Give your eyes a break at a time when your screen time has
increased and pop your headphones in instead to broaden your geographical
understanding :
• Costing the Earth - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006r4wn - Podcasts on a wide
variety of geographical issues including climate change, carbon, urban greening,
deforestation, alternative power, plastics etc.
• Royal Geographical Society – “Ask the Geographer podcasts”
https://www.rgs.org/schools/teaching-resources/?
categories=Podcast&loadall=0&pageindex=1 . A fantastic set of podcasts to keep you up-to
date with the latest geographical research.
• Global Dispatches Podcasts - https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/ These
podcasts created by the United Nations focus on investigating global development issues.
3. Netflix/BBC iPlayer Recommendations – Why not watch 1 a week over the
holidays?
• Into the Inferno: Eruptions and lava flows it captures the raw power of volcanoes. (Netflix)
• The Boy who harnessed the wind: About a Malawian boy who creates a water pump in a
time of water shortage. (Netflix)
• Cowspiracy: Investigate the food and meat industry . (Netflix)
• Our Planet, Planet Earth and Planet Earth 2: The Irreplaceable Sir David Attenborough
explores some of the world’s different biomes and their varied flora and fauna.(BBC iPlayer)
• Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake: Looks at the events of the 2015 earthquake.
(Netflix)
• The Dark Tourist: David Farrier's eight-part series looks at unconventional destinations
across the world. From the radioactive villages of Japan following the 2013 tsunami to the
voodoo villages of South Africa. (Netflix).
Research Task – Create a fact-file on the Somerset
Levels flooding of 2013-2014. Use the links to help you.
1. Define the following key terms:
Primary Effect: the main effect
Secondary Effect: the second main effect
Immediate Response: response for the current flood
Long-term response: response for future floods
2. Key facts about the floods:
Where: areas near rivers
When: during heavy rains, when ocean waves come on shore,
Why: when snow melts quickly, or when dams or levees break.
3. What were the effects and responses to the Somerset Levels
Floods?
Effects Primary Secondary
over 600 houses flooded, 16 farms villages cut off, leading to
evacuated significant disruptions in daily life.
Responses Immediate Long-Term
Much flood defence and risk Many people used sandbags to
management work has taken place protect their property and moved
since 2014, at a cost of around valuable items upstairs.
£80m as part of a 20-Year Flood
Action Plan (FAP).
https://www.internetgeography.net/topics/the-somerset-levels-flood-case-study/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/articles/z7gby9q
A preview of GCSE Geography Lesson 1
Read the information and answer the questions to impress your teacher in
your first lesson!
Natural hazards are extreme natural events that can cause loss What is a natural hazard?
of life, extreme damage to property and disrupt human
activities.
An event caused by nature usually
Some natural hazards, such as flooding, can happen anywhere involving temperature or the movement
in the world. Other natural hazards, such as tornadoes, can only of tectonic plates
happen in specific areas. And some hazards
need climatic or tectonic conditions to occur, for example
tropical storms or volcanic eruptions.
Human activities can influence how often certain natural
hazards occur and how severe they are. Understanding when,
where, why and how natural hazards occur can help us to Name two types of natural hazards
understand how to minimise their impact on our lives
Tsunami.
Tornado.
Types of natural hazard
Natural hazards can be placed
into two categories - tectonic
hazards and climatic hazards.
Tectonic hazards occur when
the Earth's crust moves. For example, when the plates move, What is the difference between tectonic
friction can cause them to become stuck. Tension builds until the hazards and climatic hazards?
plates release, which leads to an earthquake.
Climatic hazards occur when a region has certain weather Ones caused by tectonic plates the other
conditions, for example heavy rainfall can lead to flooding. one is cased by temperature
Name two types of climatic hazards
Tornado.
Flooding.
Hazard risks - economic, social and environmental What effect does the development of a
consequences country have on a natural hazard?
Hazards can have economic, social and environmental
consequences. For each hazard event the risks, or probability, of Repairing of roads, increased death toll
a particular consequence occurring can vary greatly. and decreased economic costs
This depends on certain factors. For example in a developing
country, the death toll tends to be high but the short-term
economic costs are often relatively low, whereas in a developed
country, the death toll tends to be low but the short-term
economic costs can be extremely high.
What is causing hazard risk to increase?
The long-term situation is more complex. Developing countries
can be slower to repair damage to roads and buildings. This can Population growth, urbanization, pressure on
lead to a reduction in tourists and therefore a long-term loss of marginal land and changes to the natural
valuable income. environment
Hazard risks are increasing due to population
growth, urbanisation, pressure on marginal land and changes
to the natural environment.
